Across the Nation: News of the Councils

Déonda Scott, Associate Editor

Bay Area Applied Psychologists (BAAP)

BAAP is now on-line! The website provides news on events as well as a Career Opportunities Forum. BAAP sponsors a speaker once a quarter who delivers a presentation to BAAP members. The location varies, but the format involves networking from 6-7 p.m., followed by the speaker's presentation at 7 p.m. BAAP speakers are typically leaders in the field and deliver interactive presentations with plenty of group discussion. Check the website www.baaponline.net for the most current information on upcoming events, speakers, and topics. For more information please contact the speakers coordinator Michelle Donovan at michelle@terranovaconsulting.com.

Chicago Industrial/Organizational Psychologists (CI/OP)

CI/OP and the Chicago School of Professional Psychology are co-sponsoring an event featuring Harry Levinson, Profession Emeritus of Harvard who will speak on the topic of "The Fallacies Behind Leading Organizational Change." This event will take place on May 10. In addition, CI/OP's annual dinner meeting will take place on May 31. Nancy Tippins will be the speaker at this event. CI/OP generally has Friday afternoon sessions from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. featuring several speakers addressing a topic. Visit their website at www.iit.edu/~ciop/.

Metropolitan New York Association for Applied Psychology

METRO hosted a career day in March. On April 4, Bruce Avolio of SUNY Binghamton will discuss "e-Leadership: How Technology Changes the Way We Lead and Follow." "Knowledge Management and Organizational Leadership" will be Tony O'Driscoll of IBM's topic at the May 10 meeting. Visit METRO's website at www.metroapppsych.com.

Mid-Atlantic Personnel Assessment Consortium (MAPAC)

MAPAC's Spring Meeting will be held on May 16-18 in New York, NY. The program is now available on the website at www.ipmaac.org/mapac. Contact Robyn Talesnik, Program Chair, at (410) 545-5630 or at rtalesnik@sha.state.md for more information. For information on upcoming events, contact Linda Dunn at (212)749-2710 or dunnlnd@cs.com or visit their website at www.ipmaac.org/mapac.

Minnesota Professional for Psychologists At Work (MPPAW)

The February 15 meeting: Peter B. Vaill, the chair of the Management Education department at the Graduate School of Business, U. St Thomas spoke on his continuing research and authorship interest in the area of continual change and how people react to and manage in such environments. His 1996 book entitled "Learning as a Way of Being; Strategies for Survival in a World of Permanent White Water" served as the background for his talk. Mr. Vaill said that the most important issue for managers is "how to get it done." "Competencies, " "360 evaluations," and most other HR systems must directly serve that issue, or they will fail. A second point he made was that in the process of mentoring and teaching others in the work place, we often struggle because we do not know what the other person knows and what it will take to teach them what they do not know. He captured this with the following couplet:

You understand something I don't
You understand that I don't understand, but
You don't understand what it is that I don't understand.
I understand that I don't understand, but
I don't understand what it is I don't understand.

His last point covers his latest interest into management behavior in that many managers in his experience use words such as: "flying by the seat of my pants," "shooting from the hip," and "going with the flow." The issue here is that given experienced and knowledgeable managers, why do they use these phrases, and what do they mean when they say them. Do highly successful managers mean something different than managers who are moderately successful?

The March 15 meeting: Terry W. Mitchell was the presenter and is the founder and CEO of eSelex.com and nationally recognized as a leading authority on the practical use of biodata for personnel selection. He demonstrated significant validity coefficients predicting performance using his biodata items.

Coming up: The May 17 program is a panel discussion of work/life balance issues from the perspectives of Amy Gage, (journalist), Beverly Mills-Nova (internal human resources professional) and Teresa Rothausen (Business professor and researcher.) Contact Sidney Teske for more information at Sid.Teske@co.hennepin.mn.us or (612)348-4443.

PTC/Arizona

The PTC-AZ conducted a full-day workshop on Performance/ Demonstration/ Job Simulation Testing in March which included presentations on physical ability tests, video simulations, and testing blue-collar positions with presenters from the City of Phoenix, Salt River Project, and the City of Peoria. For more information on this program or about PTC-AZ contact Vicki Packman, Salt River Project at 602-236-4595 or vspackma@srpnet.com.

PTC/Northern California

PTC/NC's Annual Spring Conference "Getting It Right: The Pursuit of a Talented Workforce" was held in March. Several general sessions including an overall perspective from Jim Sharf; a legal update from Jeff Feuquay; and a discussion on the difference between I and O (in Industrial/Organizational Psychology) in today's world. There were two tracks: Foundational and Strategic. The Foundational track will include presentations on psychometric basics, job analysis techniques, instrument types and setting pass points. The Strategic track featured Mark Schmit from ePredix/PDI discussing on-line assessments; a presentation on web-based performance management; and a panel on internships as a recruiting and retention approach. A panel discussed the impact of generational and cultural assimilation into the workplace on the retention of workplace talent.

Future meetings will be held on the following dates: April 20, May 11, June 8, July 13, August 10, September 14, October 12, and December 14. Topics and speakers TBA. For information regarding upcoming events, contact Peggy Tang at (916)327-1444 or ptang@oehha.ca.gov or Shelley Langan at slangan@spb.ca.gov.

PTC/Metropolitan Washington

PTC/MW will hold a luncheon meeting on April 11 and May 9. Speaker and topic TBA. The June 13 meeting will feature Seymour Adler of Assessment Solutions, Inc. presenting the topic "Measuring Customer Service Skills. Speaker and topic TBA. Access PTC/MW's resource-rich website from IPMAAC Online! or contact Shane Pittman, (301)320-9500 for information.

PTC/Southern California

The November 29 luncheon meeting featured Donna Denning speaking on "Principles for the Validation and use of Personnel Selection Procedures." PTC/SC holds a luncheon meeting at Luminarias in Monterey Park, CA each month. PTC/SC and its upcoming activities are listed on IPMAAC Online! For information regarding luncheon meetings, workshops, or membership contact Roxanne Cochran rcochran@hr.san-bernardino.co.ca.us. For information about conferences, contact Hollie Levy (213) 847-9140 or hlevy@per.lacity.org.

Western Region Item Bank

The Western Region Item Bank (WRIB) is a cooperative organization of public agencies using a computerized test item bank. Services include draft test questions with complete item history, preparation of "printer ready" exams, and exam scoring and item analysis. Membership includes 190 agencies nationwide. For more information, contact Kathryn Paget, (909)387-5575.

WRIPAC

WRIPAC's Legal Committee has been busy updating its online list of recent court cases involving HR practice. You can access this helpful resource through the IPMAAC website, linking to WRIPAC's page, and clicking on "Legal Committee Updates." Western Regional Intergovernmental Personnel Assessment Council (WRIPAC) is comprised of assessment professionals from more than sixty small, medium, and large public agencies throughout the western United States. For more information, contact Mark Rau, (209)297-2335.

Déonda Scott is the Civil Service/Testing Manager for the City of Orlando. If you have regional organization news or an item to add to the calendar, please contact her. She can be reached by phone (407)246-2061; fax (407)246-2019; or e-mail dscott@ci.orlando.fl.us. Snail-mail will eventually find her at the City of Orlando, 400 S. Orange Avenue, Orlando, FL 32801-3302.