Chapter 6: Selection

Question 1

selection process

Answer 1

deciding who does and does not make it into the company

Question 2

what are the 5 steps in the selection process?

Answer 2

1) screening applications and resumes
2) Testing and reviewing work samples
3) Interviewing candidates
4) checking references and background
5) making a selection

Question 3

what is the goal of the selection process?

Answer 3

the maximize hits!

the two variables here are future job performance and predicted success

miss: inaccurate prediction (person would have succeeded on the job)
miss: inaccurate prediction (person fails on the job)

hit: accurate prediction (person would not have succeeded on the job)
hit: accurate prediction (person succeeds on the job)

Question 4

how do you know when the tools you’re using to select people are effective?

Answer 4

person-organization fit, person-job fit, reliability, and validity tests

Question 5

positive correlation

Answer 5

weak to strong is 0 to +1

as one variable increases, so does the other

Question 6

negative correlation

Answer 6

weak to strong is 0 to -1

as one variables increases, the other decreases

Question 7

no correlation

Answer 7

0 means there is no observable relationship between the two variables

Question 8

reliability/consistency of a test

Answer 8

test-retest reliability: consistency of scores over time using the same metric
inter-rater reliability: consistency of scores across judges

Question 9

validity

Answer 9

degree to which your test measures what it is supposed to measure

Validity in the selection context: degree to which a selection test predicts actual job performance

Question 10

content validity

Answer 10

the extent to which the content on a test is representative of actual job content

Question 11

criterion validity

Answer 11

correlation between selection test and and job performance scores

there are TWO ways of getting this information: concurrent and predictive validity

Question 12

concurrent validity

Answer 12

Extent to which scores on a selection test is RELATED to job performance (both measured at roughly the same time, usually with current employees).

Question 13

predictive validity

Answer 13

Extent to which scores on a selection test correlates with future job performance.

Question 14

what selection tools to company’s use?

Answer 14

Cover Letters and Resumes (normal & video resumes)

Applications

Interviews (phone, computer, in-person, various structures)Interviews (phone, computer, in-person, various structures)

Employment TestsEmployment Tests

Ability, personality, knowledge, work samples & assessment centers, integrity

Background Investigations

Drug tests (May be best for safety-related or high risk or high security positions

Question 15

letters of recommendations and contacting references

Answer 15

generally poor validity

better validity when they are focused on job-related KSA’s

can be risky (there is a chance that the person interviewing could sue and file for defamation of character)

Question 16

application forms

Answer 16

Background – education, job experience, previous employers, and accomplishments

Moderate validity

Companies should avoid asking for religion, age, race, marital status

good applications focus only on job-related information

Question 17

physical ability tests

Answer 17

generally valid

exclude women and those with disabilities

need to be certain that physical requirements that are essential to job performance (business necessity)

Question 18

cognitive ability tests

Answer 18

verbal and math skills, cognitive reasoning

very controversial

valid especially for complex jobs

adverse impact (mainly on the basis of race)

some companies give cognitive ability tests less weight than other predictors

Question 19

personality tests

Answer 19

can be valid depending on the bob and job analysis results

big 5 personality inventory tests agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, extraversion, openness

conscientiousness and extraversion have been linked to job performance in most cases

Question 20

can someone fail a personality test?

Answer 20

High Narcissism

High Neuroticism

Low Agreeableness

Question 21

integrity tests

Answer 21

identify applicants who might steal from the company

theft tolerance, attitudes towards dishonest behavior

moderate validity

Question 22

polygraphs

Answer 22

extremely low validity and reliability

employee polygraph protection act (1988)

Question 23

interviews

Answer 23

unstructured/non-directive have low validity and reliability

structured have better validity and reliability

based on job analysis, consistent questions

Situational questions: Uses critical incidents to assess decision-making in dilemma-type hypothetical situations.

Question 24

what doe an interview uniquely capture?

Answer 24

critical thinking and rationale

interpersonal skills and motivation

detailed behavioral examples

Question 25

challenges of interviewing

Answer 25

We bring in a lot of error into the process of interviewing

Halo and horns (personal biases we bring to interview)

Focusing on negative information

Biases based on race, sex, age, appearance

1st impression error

Faulty memory

And many more!

Question 26

what can help combat errors in the interview process?

Answer 26

interview training

Question 27

assessment centers

Answer 27

highly representative job sample of the job content

simulations (in basket, leaderless group discussion, dimensions to measure important parts of the job like critical thinking and teamwork)

nowadays, they give you an inbox of tasks and watch you tackle it

Question 28

what is unique about assessment centers?

Answer 28

they put real behaviors on display. performance in assessment centers are strongly related to future job performance and has low AI

Question 29

legal issues in selection

Answer 29

any preemployment test can be challenged legally if connection to the job is not obvious

Question 30

negligent hiring

Answer 30

company gets in trouble for hiring someone without a troubled past

if they don’t do their due diligence, this can happen easily

company is responsible for losses if an incident occurs on work time

thorough accurate background checks can help prevent these

discrimination law (ADA, age discrimination act, title VII protect against this)

Question 31

Now that we know several methods that companies use to hire the right people for the job, consider this: Which of the methods that we discussed are: The most expensive or time consuming? Highest validity? How would you decide which method to choose for the job?

Answer 31

use the multiple hurdle selection - applicants go through several stages before getting hired