Test 2 - Selection & Placement

Question 1

Personnel Selection

Answer 1

the process by which companies decide who will or will not be allowed into the organization
- measurement of applicants’ physical characteristics, abilities, personality

Question 2

Selection decisions can…

Answer 2

• have a critical impact on the organization’s ability to compete and on every job applicant’s life
• can help the nation’s innovation and economic growth

Question 3

Racial bias in hiring

Answer 3

White applicants receive on average 36% more callbacks than black applicants, and 24% more callbacks that Latino applicants
- Between 1989 and 2015 hiring discrimination of black applicants held steady, while hiring discrimination of Latino applicants decreased slightly

Question 4

Gender bias in hiring

Answer 4

Women are less likely to be hired into male-dominated jobs than men; such gender-role congruity tendencies do not take place for female-dominated jobs
- Findings of gender bias in hiring held steady between the 1970s and the 2000s

Question 5

Disability bias in hiring

Answer 5

Callbacks and hiring recommendations for applicants with disabilities tend to be lower among companies not subject to the ADA, and they tend to depend on the type of disability

Question 6

Selection Method Standards

Answer 6

must be followed in order to measure desired characteristics directly, free from biases based on stereotypes

Question 7

Goal of Selection Method Standards

Answer 7

The goal is to avoid two types of errors in human resources selection
- Selecting an applicant who should be rejected
- Rejecting an applicant who should be selected

Question 8

5 Selection Method Standard

Answer 8

• Reliability
• Legality
• Validity
• Utility
• Generalizability

Question 9

Reliability

Answer 9

The degree to which a performance measure is free from random error
- Consistency of a performance measure over time and in different contexts

Question 10

Test-retest reliability

Answer 10

• Relationship between scores on the measure at Time 1 and scores on the same measure at Time 2
• Under the assumption that the characteristic has not changed over time, the correlation of the scores should be strong
  – Ex: High retest reliability –> darts will hit the same area on the target over and over again
  – Ex: Low retest reliability –> darts will hit all over the target, will not be in the same area each time

Question 11

Inter-rater reliability

Answer 11

• Relationship between scores given by Rater 1 and scores given by Rater 2
• Standardization tests are considered more reliable than human judgment

Question 12

Validity

Answer 12

• The extent to which a performance measure assesses all the relevant-and only the relevant-aspects of job performance
• For a measure to be valid, it must also be reliable
  – Ex: High reliability high validity  hit the target multiple times on the bullseye (hitting where you need to hit)
  – Ex: High reliability low validity  hit the target multiple times, but not in goal spot (you do not hit the bullseye, but hit a different spot on the board a lot)

Question 13

Criterion-related validation

Answer 13

A method of establishing the validity of a personnel selection method by showing a substantial correlation (validity coefficient) between test scores and job performance scores
- Substantial correlation means that the validity coefficient has to approach +/- 1.0 and be statistically significant

Question 14

Concurrent validation

Answer 14

• Establish an empirical relationship between job incumbents, test scores and their current performance on the job

Question 15

Predictive validation

Answer 15

• Establish an empirical relationship between applicants’ test scores and their eventual performance on the job

Question 16

Content validation

Answer 16

• A method demonstrating that the items, questions, or problems posted by a test are a representative sample of the kinds of situations or problems that occur on the job
• Exposure of the job applicant to situations likely occurring on this job

Question 17

Generalizability

Answer 17

The degree to which the validity of a selection method established in one context extends to other contexts
- Different situations
- Different samples of people

Question 18

Validity generalization

Answer 18

• Alternative for validating selection methods when criterion-related or content validation is not possible for the company

Question 19

Steps of validity generalization

Answer 19

• Step 1: evidence for criterion-related validity of the measure used in other situations
• Step 2: job analysis as evidence that the job to be filled is similar to that for which criterion-related validity is established
• Step 3: show that the test used by the company is the same as or similar to the test used in the criterion-related validity setting

Question 20

Utility

Answer 20

• The degree to which the information provided by the selection method enhances the effectiveness of selecting personnel
  – Practical value
• Utility is higher the more reliable, valid, and generalizable the selection method is
• Characteristics of the selection context may alter the usefulness of a method
  – Utility increases as the selection ratio decreases

Question 21

Legality

Answer 21

All selection methods should conform to existing laws and legal precedents
- Litigation, settlements, and court-ordered awards are financially costly and may damage the organization’s social reputation

Question 22

Federal legislation protecting job applicants from discrimination

Answer 22

• Civil Rights Act of 1991 (extends Civil Rights Act of 1964)
• Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
• Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Question 23

Civil Rights Act of 1991 (extends Civil Rights Act of 1964)

Answer 23

• Employer is obligated to establish neutral-appearing selection methods
• Granting preferential treatment to minority groups is prohibited

Question 24

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Answer 24

• Employers must make reasonable accommodations to allow individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions
• Pre-employment medical exams, medical questions, or identification of a disability are restricted

Question 25

Types of Selection Methods

Answer 25

• Application blanks
• Physical ability tests
• Cognitive ability tests
• Personality inventories
• Honesty tests
• Work samples
• Interviews
• References, background checks
• Drug tests

Question 26

Application blanks

Answer 26

To collect background information from the applicants
- Information collected typically includes names, addresses, contact information, education, military background, work experience, reference information
- Avoid illegal and inappropriate questions

Question 27

Physical Ability Tests

Answer 27

To assess physical abilities and/or psychomotor abilities required on the job
- Must be essential to performing the job
- Failure to adequately perform the job results in safety or health risks to applicant, coworkers, or clients

Question 28

7 classes of physical ability tests

Answer 28

Muscular tension, Muscular power, Muscular endurance, Cardiovascular endurance, Flexibility, Balance, Coordination

Question 29

Cognitive Ability Tests

Answer 29

• To differentiate individuals based on their mental capacities
• 3 dimensions (Verbal comprehension, Quantitative ability, Reasoning ability)
• Generally valid predictors of job performance in many different contexts

Question 30

Cons of Cognitive Ability Tests

Answer 30

Best for complex jobs but:
- can have an adverse impact on some minority groups
- can raise concerns about cheating in computerized testing

Question 31

Personality inventories

Answer 31

• Categorizing individuals by what they are like
• “Big Five” dimensions of personality
• Evidence for validity and generalizability is mixed
• Personality characteristics and teamwork

Question 32

Honesty tests

Answer 32

• Assess the likelihood of an employee stealing or committing other disruptive behaviors
• Polygraph tests prohibited for most companies (Polygraph Act of 1988)
• Paper-and-pencil honest tests ask directly about dealings with theft and the like or assess broader traits the conscientiousness and conformity

Question 33

Work samples

Answer 33

• Simulate the job in a pre-hiring context to observe how the applicant performs in the simulated job
• Great variety of how work samples are collected
• High validity but low generalizability due to high job specificity
• High costs are incurred in developing tests

Question 34

Interviews

Answer 34

• Selection interviews are a dialogue initiated by one or more persons to gather information and evaluate the qualifications of an applicant for employment
• Situational interviews
• Relatively low utility due to high costs

Question 35

Situational interviews

Answer 35

• Applicants are confronted with specific issues, questions, or problems that are likely to arise on the job
• High predictive validity
• Experience-based questions
• Future-oriented questions

Question 36

To increase reliability and validity while reducing bias, interviews should be

Answer 36

• Structured
• Standardized
• Focused on dimensions that are observable and quantitatively ratable
• Use multiple interviewers who must be trained

Question 37

References, background checks

Answer 37

• Not conducting reference and background checks exposes the organization to lawsuits based on negligent hiring
• Reference checks may range from calls to former employers to reference letters
• Background checks conducted by outside vendors

Question 38

Drug tests

Answer 38

• Concerns about invasion of privacy, unreasonable search and seizure, violation of due process
  – Should be admitted systematically to all applicants for the same job
  – Report test results to applicants and give applicants an avenue to appeal
• Should be administered at the end of the selection process in conjunction with a job offer
• Employees must consider marijuana laws enacted in various states, countries, and cities across the United States

Question 39

Making the Job Offer

Answer 39

Job offers may be extended by phone, by letter, or in person
- Discussion of wage/salary and benefits
- Layout of any further conditions that must be met