Ch. 2: Preparing for Promotion Flashcards
What established the civil service system within the federal government and provided a model for the civil service systems that were developed by many states and cities in subsequent years?
The Pendleton Act
Where was the process of developing promotional examinations for fire officer positions, based on testing for specific knowledge and skills derived directly from?
The Pendleton Act
Which two documents are used by HR to define the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that are required for every classified position within the municipality?
a narrative job description and a technical class specification
What summarizes the scope of the job and provides examples of the typical tasks a person holding that position would be expected to perform?
A narrative job description
What is used to quantify the KSA components of every classified municipal job?
A technical class specification worksheet
What classification system is a core component of the civil service system and is used to determine the compensation level for a position?
Class specification
What is the origin of the civil service promotional exam?
Prior to the Civil War. most government gobs were awarded according to patronage or spoils system. Congress enacted the Pendleton Civil Service Act in 1883 in response to the corruption at the Tammy Hall in NY City and many other abuses.
These are the promotional processes that can be used by fire dept. to evaluate a candidate:
- Multiple-choice from a reading list
- Assessment centers
- Emergency incident simulations
- Interpersonal Interaction assessments
- Writing of Speaking presentation type exercises
- Technical skills demonstration for evaluation for highly specialized positions
Prior to Civil War, most government jobs were awarded according to the patronage or:
Spoils system
In response to the extensive corruption at Tammany Hall in New York City and the many other publicized abuses of the patronage system, Congress enacted which Reform Act?
The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act in 1883
What established the civil service within the federal government and provided a model for the civil service systems that were developed by many states and cities?
Pendleton Act
The process of developing promotional examinations for fire officer positions, based on testing for specific knowledge and skills, was derived from?
Pendleton Act
The Pendleton Act established the civil service system for the ____________.
Federal, state, and local governments
Examination and testing procedures are in use, with differences in emphasis and on the weights assigned to a particular dimension. Define Dimensions in this context:
Attributes or qualities that can be described and measured during a promotional examination
When the American fire service started with neighbors helping neighbors using buckets brigades and long hooks, how did was the supervisory position filled and what was its name?
During that era the community of firefighters voted for their Company Foreman.
Which are the most complex and detailed exams conducted by a municipality?
Public safety promotional exams.
How do personnel & human resources chart the required knowledge, skills and abilities?
Municipalities use two documents to define the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA) that are required for the position: a narrative job description and a technical class specification.
If the exam is developed within the agency what should be established?
A test committee to establish the content of the exam.
The classification system is a core component of the civil service system and it is used to determine:
The compensation level for a position.
What should promotional examination focus on?
Focus should be on the unique, high importance tasks that distinguish one position from another.
Periodically, a classification specialist from the human resources department survey to the individuals within the rank to rank frequency and importance of job tasks. Why is this survey performed?
This survey is performed to validate and update the job description and KSA technical worksheet.
The decision of which components to use for promotional exam components is influenced by:
It is influenced by time requirements, expense, staff expertise, and past experience. These components can be locally developed or provided by vendor, consultant, or assessment specialist.
Why are multiple-choice written exams widely used in the promotional process because:
They can be structured to focus on very specific subjects and factual information.
Which supervisory examination level has the longest and most diverse reading list?
The first-level supervisor has the longest and most diverse reading list and as much as 70% of this test focuses on technical aspects of a supervising fire officer.
Which level of officer examination usually includes fewer technical questions and more administration questions because the position involves more management responsibilities?
The Captain position involves more management responsibilities
When developing a multiple-choice exam the selection process includes evaluating each question for:
Job-content/criterion-referenced validity and reliability.
- The job requirement is identified through the KSA technical worksheet from the job description and class specification.
- The criterion comes from the appropriate NFPA standard published reference document.
What tends to happen with poor questions, in multiple-choice written exams to high scores?
They tend to answer the items incorrectly more frequently than low scores.
When can a question be challenged and invalidated?
If the wording is not clear, if there is no correct answer, or more than one of the answers provided could be correct.
When did public safety agencies start using the assessment centers?
In the 1970s, it was developed in the officer corps of the German army in the 1920’s.
What is the most common assessment center activity?
The in-basket exercise is the most common. This timed exercise measures the candidates’s ability to organize, prioritize, delegate, and follow up on administrative tasks.
