Investigation of the Construct Validity of Assessment and Development Center for Managers: Case Study of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC)

The purpose of this study was to examine the construct validity of the Assessment and Development Center for Managers of NIOC. The method of research was applied and the data collection was descriptive – analytical. The statistical sample included which have been selected by simple random sampling (Cochranchr('39')s sample size formula) 1022 managers from the competent managers’ database of the organization. The data were analyzed based on multitrait-multi method (MTMM) correlation and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results suggested that the mean of correlation between the scores for a single dimension with different methods (exercises) was 0.32, which was lower than the mean total correlation between different dimensional scales in the same exercises, which was .60. Therefore, although the rating of dimensions possessed relatively moderate convergent validity, it did not show satisfactory discriminant validity. On the other hand, the result of factor analysis showed that the share of dimensions (competencies) in describing the change of the rating performed was significantly more than methods and based on that, it can be claimed that discriminant validity among the studied dimensions is the main determinant.