简体中文
Русский
Polski
Free Essays - Sciences Essays
In comparison with other methods, how far is competency testing an efficient and effective measure of quality assurance?
Quality assurance refers to thechecking of excellence and value of a particular item or items. Quality isoften measured by how well a product performs or how well a person can performat any given task(s). This can refer to how competent the product or personacts. This element of performance is often assessed through various tests (proficiencytesting, report review and evaluation of testimony).Therefore, quality assurance is built up from a number of different sources andvarious people and perceptions.
Competency is often measured by astandardised achievement - e.g. qualification - such as a degree (IOCE BestPractice Guide, 2002). In many professional areas, graduation from anappropriately accredited academic programme is a preliminary step towardsclaiming that they possess competence in their chosen career path. It isassumed that students who have succeeded in a degree without this charteredapproval will not have the competency level of those who have studied on achartered course (Harvey 2001). Therefore, it may be argued that competencytesting in this manner is subjective and open to bias or differences in interpretation(Harvey, 1999).
For example, it may not be the case that a student who has completed an approved degree can perform any task better or worse than someone who has not studied on the course. The degree gained is tiered into four levels of ability that is captured within the exam assessment; the first, the second, the lower-second and the third. Therefore it is assumed that these four levels will be a written demonstration of the different levels of competency displayed in the individual who has obtained them. The validity of this is questionable for a number of reasons. Personal variables may have affected a person's performance on the day of testing - which may result in their competency being inaccurately represented. Alternatively, the human variation between individual personality traits and aspects of motivation are not shown through this method of measuring competency. Therefore the quality of their work may not be accurately represented. For example, twenty students may have gained a lower second degree; however, their ability has been simplified and quantified into a category that may not truefully represent their actual behaviour in relation to real time and in comparison to others.
In addition, another issue surrounding the assessment of competency via educational achievement is that the degree qualification is largely a consequence of theory based exams. Therefore, it may be argued that this method of assessment does not show how the individual is competent at actually applying the knowledge in a practical setting. Therefore competency needs continuous training and assessment - this will help to maintain competency levels and help to improve it if needs be in the workplace.
In reference to Karni's (1995)twenty five year analysis of employment patterns in laboratory personnel inthe five county Minneapolis-St Paul area of the US, competence testing oftenrelates to whether the job can be done - not necessarily how well the job isdone. For example, Karni (1995) found that competency levels were testedthrough the demonstration of technical knowledge of the analytic phase oftesting materials and being able to document the testing efficiently. Inaddition, the staff team was also tested on their ability at being able to followstandardised instructions and operating procedures efficiently.
The connection between the staff and their competency level was measured through indirect and direct methods of data collection. For example, it may be through observation and specimen analysis, paper exam and retrospective analysis of work and/or quality control procedures. All these methods need to be standardised for them to collect any valuable data and conclusions. Therefore, the positive side about competency testing is that there is an agreed level of expectation that is adhered to, to maintain the correct levels of competency.
However, it must be noted that the above measurements all in some way relate to the level of productivity. Karni (1995) found that productivity in the laboratory environment was seen as an importance measure of competency. For example, the more tests worked through, the more competent the individual was perceived to be at their laboratory work. However, relying on production levels may not correspond directly with competency. Production may account for efficiency measurement, however, a person can be efficient at carrying out their work, yet if the quality of their work is not up to standard, this implies that their competency at the particular task is also not up to standard. Therefore, competency testing in this way is not a valid measurement of efficient and effective quality.
Professionalism was also observedto be a level of competent assessment. Karni (1995) refers to this concept in thelaboratory setting to mean the trust that was given to people to follow actionsthrough. However, is this method of quality assurance reliable enough toenforce an effective quality of work? It may be argued that the level ofautonomy given to be a person produces a higher level of work, however, higherlevels of autonomy usually bring with it higher levels of pressure to completetasks. If this pressure is too high, task performance usually becomes lesseffective. A survey conducted by EKOS Research Associates on Canada (HRDC.(2001), found that thirty-six per cent of the respondents commented that their workloadwas heavy.
Furthermore, nine out of twenty workers stated they could only "sometimes" or "rarely" perform their regular duties during normal working hours. Thus this implies that the efficiency of the worker may be sacrificed by been given too greater expectations to complete a given workload. Therefore, having professionalism (trust to carry out tasks) as a competency measure may not represent an accurate picture of behaviour. Therefore quality assurance results will not show how competent the individual is, just that they have completed the task in the given deadline through working overtime. Therefore applying competency testing to reflect the efficiency and effectiveness of quality within a work environment is somewhat questionable in terms of reliability and validity. Does competency testing really assess how the task gets done? - it would seem from the research discussed above that competency tests are more a measure of whether the task can be achieve, regardless of how.
References
Fatah, A.A.and Higgins, K.M (1999). Forensic Sciences: Review of Status and Needs. Officeof Law Enforcement Standards National Institute of Standards and Technology(1999). U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs. NationalInstitute of Justice
Karni, K.R. (1995). ClinicalLaboratory Personnel Employment Patterns: Hiring Practices and Quality Issues.Institute: Frontiers in Laboratory Practice Research.
Harvey,L., (1999), 'Evaluating the evaluators' Opening keynote of the Fifth Biennial
Conferenceof the International Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education,Santiago, Chile.
HRDC. (2001) Creating aFamily-Friendly Workplace: Work-Life Balance in Canadian Workplaces, LabourProgram, Human Resources Development Canada, cited on http://labour-travail.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/worklife/familyfriendly-en.cfm.
IOCE Best Practice Guide V1.0May. (2002) cited on http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:oL0XrzH9OcAJ:www.ioce.org/2002/Guidelines%2520for%2520Best%2520Practices%2520in%2520Examination%2520of%2520Digital%2520
Evid.pdf+Forensic+science+competency+testing+is+an+efficient+and+effective+measure+of+
quality+assurance%3F&hl=en
Harvey,L., (2001), 'The British experience in assessing competence' in Palumbo,
C.A.and Banta, T.W. (Eds.), Assessing Student Competence in Accredited
Disciplines: Pioneering approaches to assessment in higher education, pp. 217-43, Sterling,Virginia, Stylus.
Find out how a custom written essay can help you
Click hereAll of the essays in this section were written by students and then submitted to us to publish and help others. Thanks to all of the students who have submitted their essays to us. You should not hand in our essays as your own. We do not condone plagiarism! If you need custom essays on your exact essay questions, then have a look at our essay writing service.
