LECT 1 Flashcards
(35 cards)
why does google spend so much money on selection
Avoiding supervision costs
Their “superstars” who pass the rigorous selection require less training and supervision, saving money in the long run.
Reducing turnover
Better selection leads to higher person-job and person-organization fit, which means employees are more likely to stay — lower turnover = lower replacement costs.
Increasing performance & innovation
Selecting top talent ensures high performance, creativity, and alignment with company goals, which is especially crucial in a fast-moving tech environment.
Selection as an investment
Google sees selection as a way to save on later costs (e.g., training, rehiring, poor performance), so the high upfront cost pays off over time.
what is HR
A set of interrelated processes designed to attract, develop, and maintain human resources.
what do you as HR do
Recruit and screen candidates
Evaluate and improve selection procedures
Manage performance systems
Organize training
Ensure fair and legal practices
what do you as manager do
Decide who to hire based on selection outcomes
Choose which selection tools to use (e.g. interview, tests)
Assess employee performance using relevant measures
Balance the cost of selection vs. the cost of a bad hire
what do you as a consultant do
Give advice on selection procedures
Help design or improve performance measures
Recommend training programs or systems
Ensure practices are valid, fair, and efficient
what is personnel selection conserned with and whjat would be the ideal situation for personnel selection
Personnel Selection is concerned with:
✅ Identifying individual differences in behavior and job performance, and using methods to measure and predict them.
This includes things like:
- Cognitive ability
- Poersonality
- Skills and competencies
🌟 Ideal (but unrealistic) situation in selection:
✅ Assess every individual’s aptitudes, abilities, personality, and interests, then match them to the perfect job.
– This would benefit both the individual and society.
what is a job analyisis
The process of defining a job and identifying what employee behavior and characteristics are needed to perform it.
It involves two main steps:
Job description → What tasks, duties, and responsibilities does the job involve?
Job specification → What KSAOs (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other characteristics) are needed?
what is job performance
Job performance is what employees do — the behaviors and outcomes that contribute to organizational goal
Two key components:
Behavior-based performance
Actions under the employee’s control (e.g., helping a customer, writing reports)
Outcome-based performance
Results of those actions (e.g., sales numbers, error rate
what is the binning and barret midel
A conceptual framework that shows how selection measures (predictors) are linked to job performance (criteria) through a chain of inferences.
The model emphasizes: Psychological constructs → e.g., conscientiousness, intelligence
Measurement of those constructs
→ e.g., personality test, IQ test
Link between constructs and job behaviors → e.g., conscientiousness → reliable work behavior
Link between job behaviors and performance outcomes
→ e.g., reliable behavior → fewer mistakes
🧩 Why it matters:
It unifies all forms of validity:
Construct validity (is the test measuring what we think?)
Content validity (does the test reflect the job?)
Criterion-related validity (does the test predict performance?)
📌 Key idea: You don’t validate a test — you validate the inferences you make from the test.
what is potential for success and succes at job and how are they reklated
Potential for Success is a predictor of future job performance — something we measure before hiring (e.g., via interviews, tests, CVs).
It’s about: Abilities, Personality traits Skills Motivation
Think of it as: “Does this person have what it takes to succeed?”
Success at Job is a criterion — the actual job performance we observe after hiring.
It includes:
Task performance (e.g. doing the job duties well), Organizational citizenship (e.g. helping others, being reliable), Avoiding counterproductive behavior
🔗 How are they related?
✅ Potential for success (predictor) → should predict → success at job (criterion).
This relationship is what we test when we look at validity in selection procedures.
So, selection tools should aim to capture true potential, and then we use job performance data to validate whether they did.
what is the essence of validity
Validity is the extent to which a selection tool accurately measures what it’s supposed to and supports correct decisions about job performance.
what is the process of validation
Validation is the process of collecting evidence to show that a selection method accurately predicts job performance.
understand and describe the process of job analysis (i.e.
what it is, why it is important, how to do it)
Job analysis is the process of systematically identifying what a job involves and what characteristics are needed to perform it effectively.
It is essential because it forms the foundation for key HR practices such as recruitment, selection, performance appraisal, and training. A good job analysis results in a job description (tasks and responsibilities) and a job specification (required KSAOs: knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics). The process typically involves methods like interviews, observations, questionnaires, and expert panels to gather accurate information about the job.
understand how job analysis fits into the entire
personnel selection process
Job analysis is the foundation of the personnel selection process. It defines what the job requires and what characteristics a successful candidate needs. This information guides the development of selection tools, ensures valid and fair hiring decisions, and links directly to performance evaluation and training needs. Without job analysis, selection methods may not accurately target what matters for success on the job.
the first 2 steps of job analysis
- Define the job & specify what employee behavior is necessary to complete it (job description)
- Then identify which characteristics underlie this behavior (job specifications)
what is the goal of job analysis
Goal is to define each job in terms of behaviours necessary to perform the job and develop hypotheses about personal characteristics necessary to perform it
Job description vs specification
Job Description - specify the work to be done. i.e. tasks, duties & responsibilities of a job. - task duties responsibilities
do they accurately represent job
content, environment and conditions of employment?
Job Specification - which psychological constructs underlie performance? i.e. personal characteristics necessary to do the work - skill requirements, physical demands, knowledge requirements, abilities neededàdo people possessing the personal
characteristics believed necessary for successful job
performance in fact do perform more effectively on the job
than people lacking such characteristics?
whats the difference between skill and ablility
Skills = Practiced acts. They can improbve over time to the limits of one’s natural ability, intelligence, or personality.
ndividuals may be limited in their capacity to change
depending on their ability.
how do you come up with job specifications
using SMEs
give me some example of a job specification
Knowledge: Product info, basic IT
Skills: Communication, problem-solving
Abilities: Multitasking, staying calm under pressure
Other: Patience, empathy, shift flexibility
give me some example of a job descriptzion
Handles customer inquiries via phone and email, resolves complaints, processes orders, provides product information, and ensures customer satisfaction. Works closely with other departments to solve issues and improve service quality.
Relevance of job analysis
The results of job analysis affect all other aspects of personnel
selection.You need to define the job first before you can even
begin to find a person to match that job.
what are the choices awaiting the job analysist
- Activities (work-oriented, description) vs attributes (worker-oriented, specification) or a hybrid of both?
- General vs specific level of detail (flexibility)
- Qualitative (narrative à career planning…) vs
Quantitative (numeric on fixed scales – time,
frequency, importance, criticality; à for cross-job
comparisons…) description. - Taxonomy-based (e.g., PAQ, F-JAS) vs blank slate
- Observer (trained job analyst)
vs incumbents (people on the job) & supervisor - KSAs vs KSAOs:
O = other personal characteristics (personality
traits, values and attitudes, e.g. confident) - Single job vs multiple-job comparisons
(à justify use of same/different selection system …) - Descriptive vs prescriptive (=strategic job
analysis, new job)
what are the 6 ways to gather job information?
✅ 1. Direct Observation & Actual Performance
Analyst watches employees perform tasks or performs the job themselves.
Best for physical, observable jobs.
Pros: Firsthand, objective data
Cons: Misses mental or rare tasks
✅ 2. Interviews
Conducted with jobholders, supervisors, or both.
Can be structured, semi-structured, or unstructured.
Pros: Captures detailed insights and reasoning
Cons: Time-consuming; can be biased
✅ 3. SME (Subject Matter Expert) Panels
Group of experienced employees or supervisors discuss and agree on job tasks and required KSAOs.
Often used to validate other methods.
Pros: Broad, expert-based input
Cons: Risk of dominant opinions or groupthink
✅ 4. Critical Incidents Technique (CI)
Collects examples of effective and ineffective job behaviors.
Focus on what leads to success or failure.
Pros: Highlights important, real-world behaviors
Cons: Doesn’t cover routine tasks; relies on memory
✅ 5. Questionnaires
Standardized tools completed by jobholders or supervisors:
PAQ (Position Analysis Questionnaire) – Focuses on work behaviors
F-JAS (Fleishman Job Analysis Survey) – Measures abilities required for the job
O*NET – Online resource with job descriptions and task data
Pros: Efficient, scalable, comparable across jobs
Cons: Can be generic or too abstract; assumes respondents understand all items
✅ 6. Other Methods
Advanced or specialized approaches:
Incorporating Personality – Links traits (e.g. extraversion) to job success
Strategic Business Analysis – Aligns jobs with organizational goals
Competency Models – Defines broad, transferable competencies (e.g., leadership)
Work Analysis for Star Performers – Focuses on top-performers’ behaviors
Cognitive Task Analysis – Breaks down mental processes for complex jobs
Pros: Tailored to strategic and future-focused roles
Cons: Complex, time- and resource-intensive
