How to measure achievement motivation ?

Introduction The selection of the right persons for a job is decisive for the success of a business, as it determines the working performance of the employees and to a large extent their job satisfaction, motivation and commitment. As a result, efforts are made, above all in Englishspeaking countries, to supplement the subjective impression from the job interview with standardised "objective" assessment procedures (Tangenberg, 2005). Special psychometric tests enjoy a great deal of popularity as they are simple and inexpensive to use. The major demand for such trait-oriented tests is matched by an enormous range of tests on offer and only rarely do personnel managers have the required psycho-diagnostic knowledge to be able to make a systematic selection of the appropriate instruments. Thus, general procedures are normally applied, which, although they provide an overall picture of the personality of a person (Big 5), are only of limited relevance to the specific requirements of the company or of the field of activity in question. This practice is highly questionable, especially as scientific findings indicate that only two of the Big 5 dimensions conscientiousness and neuroticism – have general importance in relation to professions (Höft, 2005).