Ch. 5 - Personnel Decisions

Question 1

nepotism

Answer 1

an approach to personnel staffing whereby family members receive preferential treatment because of birth or marriage

Question 2

protected group

Answer 2

a designation for members of society who are granted legal status by virtue of a demographic characteristic, such as race, sex, national origin, color, religion, age, and disability

Question 3

adverse impact

Answer 3

a type of unfair discrimination in which the result of using a particular personnel selection method has a negative effect on protected group members compared with majority group members;
often contrasted with disparate treatment

Question 4

disparate treatment

Answer 4

a type of unfair discrimination in which protected group members are afforded differential employment procedures compared to members of other groups;
often contrasted with adverse impact

Question 5

diversity

Answer 5

a goal or staffing whereby demographic differences in society are reflected in the workforce

Question 6

diversity-validity dilemma

Answer 6

the paradox of organizations being unable to simultaneously hire the most qualified applicants and members of the full range of demographic groups that populate society

Question 7

affirmative action

Answer 7

a social policy that advocates members of protected groups will be actively recruited and considered for selection

Question 8

recruitment

Answer 8

the process by which individuals are solicited to apply for jobs

Question 9

regression analysis

Answer 9

a statistical procedure used to predict variables on the basis of another variable

Question 10

multiple correlation

Answer 10

the degree of predictability (ranging from 0 to 1.00) in forecasting one variable on the basis of two or more other variables;
often expressed in conjunction with multiple regression analysis

Question 11

multiple regression analysis

Answer 11

a statistical procedure used to predict one variable on the basis of two or more other variables

Question 12

validity generalization

Answer 12

a concept that reflects the degree to which a predictive relationship empirically established in one context spreads to other populations or contexts

Question 13

personnel selection

Answer 13

the process of determining those applicants who are selected for hire versus those who are rejected

Question 14

predictor cutoff

Answer 14

a score on a test that differentiates those who passed the test from those who failed;
often equated with the passing score on a test

Question 15

selection ratio

Answer 15

a numeric index ranging between 0 and 1 that reflects the selectivity of the hiring organization in filling jobs; the number of job openings divided by the number of job applicants

Question 16

base rate

Answer 16

the percentage of current employees in a job who are judged to be performing their jobs satisfactorily

Question 17

criterion cutoff

Answer 17

a standard that separates successful from unsuccessful job performance

Question 18

true positives

Answer 18

a term to describe individuals who were CORRECTLY SELECTED for hire because they became successful employees

Question 19

true negatives

Answer 19

individuals who were CORRECTLY REJECTED for employment because they would have been unsuccessful employees

Question 20

false negatives

Answer 20

individuals who were INCORRECTLY REJECTED for employment because they would have been successful employees

Question 21

false positives

Answer 21

a term to describe individuals who were INCORRECTLY SELECTED for hire because they became unsuccessful employees

Question 22

utility

Answer 22

a concept reflecting the economic value (expressed in monetary terms) of making personnel decisions

Question 23

benchmarking

Answer 23

the process of comparing a company’s products or procedures with those of the leading companies in an industry

Question 24

placement

Answer 24

the process of assigning individuals to jobs based on one test score

Question 25

classification

Answer 25

the process of assigning individuals based on two or more test scores

Question 26

leads

Answer 26

all of the people that respond to a job posting

Question 27

yield ratio

Answer 27

ratios of ...
• leads to invitees
• invites to interviews
• interviews to offers
• offers to hires

Question 28

time lapse data

Answer 28

• time needed for each recruitment stage

* average interval between stages

Question 29

realistic job preview

Answer 29

• the presentation of both favorable and unfavorable job-related information to job candidates
• applicants must be to that they are participating in an RJP

Question 30

When expectations of applicants match reality…

Answer 30

• job acceptance rates may be lower & performance is unaffected
• job satisfaction and job survival are higher for those who receive RJPs
• turnover decreases by 9% - moderated by job complexity

Question 31

applicant reactions

Answer 31

• recommend (or not) employer to others

* withdrawal of application

Question 32

linear regression model

Answer 32

• general linear model
• y = a + bx
• x = predictor
• y = criterion
• x sub c = criterion cutoff
• x sub p = predictor cutoff

Question 33

factors affecting the quality of employees

Answer 33

• validity of predictor (related to correlation coefficient)
• the selection ratio (related to predictor cutoff)
• the base rate (related to criterion cutoff)

Question 34

regression formula?

Answer 34

R = a + b1x1 + b2x2 + b3x3