HRM Exam 2 Flashcards
Steps for candidate selection
- screen applicants and resumes
- test and review work samples
- interview candidates
- check references and background
- make a selection
aa successful selection method provides:
- reliable Information
- valid information
- includes criteria that are legal
- offers high utility
reliability
- Extent to which measurement is free from random error
- generates consistent results
- Determines whether measurements are accurate
- Ignores whether what is being measured matters
validity
Extent to which performance on measure (test score) relates to what the measure is trying to asses (job performance)
3 ways to measure validity
- Criterion-related
- Content
- Construct
Criterion-related validity shows
a correlation between test scores and job performance scores
content validity
- Consistency between test items and kinds of situations or problems that occur on job
- Experts can evaluate and write valid test items
construct validity
- Used for tests that measure abstract qualities or constructs
- Establishes that test accurately measures the construct
- Shows association between construct and job success
Selection method should be
generalizable, Generalizable methods are valid in other contexts other than the one in which it was developed
Selection method should produce information that is
- actually beneficial to the company
- Methods cost money and should be considered
- Methods that provide economic value greater than the cost of using them are said to have utility
two broad categories for employment tests
aptitude and achievement tests
aptitude tests
Asses how well a person can learn or acquire skills and abilities
achievement tests
Measure a person’s existing knowledge and skills
Physical Ability test
- Strength and endurance essential in many jobs, but not as much as they were in the past
- pro: Assess different aspects of physical ability including power, endurance, flexibility, balance, and coordination
- con: Tend to exclude women and people with disabilities
Cognitive Ability Tests
- designed to measure verbal skills, quantitative skills, and reasoning ability
- pro: Valid and relatively low cost
- con: Pose legal risks, especially when it comes to race
Job Performance Tests and Work Samples
- Specialized skills needed for job may be tested
- May come in form of showing samples of work, completing a project, or an in-basket test
- Tests for selecting managers may take form of assessment center
- pro: Leads applicants to feel that evaluation is fair since they have a chance to showcase skills
Honesty Tests and Drug Tests: Rules
- Test all applicants for the same job
- Use testing for jobs that involve safety hazards
- Send report of results to applicant; include info on how to appeal
- Keep results confidential; respect applicants’ privacy
Personality Inventories: “Big Five” traits often used as basis
Extroversion : Social, gregarious, assertive, talkative, expressive
Adjustment : Emotionally stable, nondepressed, secure, content
Agreeableness: Courteous, trusting, good-natured, tolerant, cooperative, forgiving
*Conscientiousness : Dependable, organized, persevering, thorough, achievement-oriented
Inquisitiveness: Curious, imaginative, artistically sensitive, broad-minded, playful
Nondirective interview
interviewer can choose which questions to ask each candidate
Structured interview
a predetermined set of questions for the interviewer to ask
Situational interview
interviewer describes a situation likely to arise on the job, then asks the candidate what he or she would do in that situation
Behavior description interview (BDI)
interviewer asks the candidate to describe how he or she handled a type of situation in the past
Panel Interview
Multiple interviewers for each candidate
advantages of interviews
- Talking face to face provides evidence of candidates’ skills, personalities, and interpersonal styles
- Interviews provide means to check accuracy of information presented on résumé or application
disadvantages of interviews
- Can be unreliable
- Can be low in validity
- Can be biased against a number of different groups
- They are costly
- They are subjective
advice from experts on interviews: Make them
a) focused; b) structured; c) standardized
Legal Standards for Selection
- Title VII of Civil Rights Acts of 1964
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
- Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991
- Equal employment opportunity laws affect the kinds of info organizations can gather on forms and in interviews
Inappropriate interview questions
- What is your religion? What religious holidays do you observe?
- What is your marital status? Would you like to be address as a Mrs., Ms., or Miss? Do you have any children?
- How old are you? How would you feel about working for someone younger than you?
- What organizations or groups do you belong to?
Appropriate interview questions
- Can you meet the requirements of the work schedule? [Ask all candidates].
- Can you meet the job requirement to travel overnight several times a month?
- If you are hired, can you show proof of age (to meet a legal age requirement)?
- What organizations or groups do you belong to that you consider relevant to being able to perform this job?
two types of discrimination under title VII
- Adverse treatment
- Adverse impact
Adverse treatment:
Treat groups differently– intentional discrimination
Adverse impact:
Treat everyone the same (e.g., same test), but effect (outcome) is different for some protected groups—unintentional discrimination
4/5th Rule
training investment dilemma
- Training makes employees more valuable to both your company and other companies
- “Investment” can walk away, increases cost of turnover, need to combine training and employee retention
- Decide when it is better to “make” (train) versus “buy” (hire) employees
Training
An organization’s planned efforts to help employees acquire job-related knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors, with the goal of applying these on the job.
instructional Design
A process of systematically developing training to meet specified needs
- Effective program teaches skills and behaviors that help organization achieve goals
- HR professionals approach training through instructional design
Needs assessment
The process of evaluating the organization, individual employees, and employees’ tasks to determine what kinds of training, if any, are necessary
needs assessments Answers three questions:
Organization: what is the context in which training will occur?
Person: who needs training?
Task: What subjects should training cover?
organization analysis
Process for determining appropriateness of training by evaluating characteristics of the organization
- The organization’s strategy—growing, changing?
- Resources available for training—budget, time, expertise?
- Management’s support for training activities—convincing managers that training is worth it
person analysis
- Process of determining individuals’ needs and readiness for training by answering three questions:
- Who needs training? [All employees versus only those having performance problems]?
- Do performance deficiencies result from a lack of knowledge, skill, or ability?*
- Are the employees ready for training (i.e., willing and able to learn)?
tasak analysis
“The process of identifying the tasks, knowledge, skills, and behaviors that training should emphasize”
- Usually done in combination with person analysis
- Focus on tasks that are important, frequent, and difficult to perform
how to best implement training
- Employees learn best when training links to current tasks
- Employees need chance to demonstrate and practice what they have learned
- Trainees need to understand whether or not they are succeeding
- Well-designed training helps people remember content
Presentation methods:
trainees receive information provided by others.
Hands-on-methods:
trainees are actively involved in trying out skills.
Group-building methods:
trainees share ideas and experiences, build group identities, learn about interpersonal relationships and the group.
measures of training success
ROI, Performance improvements, new skills/knowledge, trainee satisfaction, and transfer of training
orientation
Training designed to prepare employees to perform their jobs effectively, learn about their organization, and establish work relationships
onboarding
Ongoing process that aims to prepare new employees for full participation in the organization
goals for onboarding success
- compliance: understand company policies
- Culture: understand company value and norms
- Connection: build employee relationships
- Clarification: understand job expectations
performance management
Process through which managers ensure that employee’s activities and outputs contribute to the organizational goals
Performance appraisal is one of the LEAST favorite activities of managers (and employees). Why?
- Managers don’t like giving bad reviews
- Managers don’t have information needed for accurate reviews; bureaucratic; waste of time
- Employees don’t see them as useful or valuable
Administrative Purpose for performance reviews
Provide information for day-to-day HR decisions about people (raise, promote, train, discipline, etc.)
Developmental Purpose for performance reviews
Developing employees’ knowledge and skills. Let employees know how they’re doing, how to improve.
Legal Purpose for performance reviews
Provide legal basis for company to defend admin HR decisions
Strategic Purpose for performance reviews
Directs employee behavior. Helps organization achieve business objectives
Information that is gathered but irrelevant is
contamination
Effective Performance Measures
- Fit with strategy
- Validity
- Reliability
- Acceptability
- Specific feedback
fit with strtagety:
support company’s goals
validity:
measure what it is intended to
reliability:
yield consistent results over time
acceptability:
accepted by those who use it
specific feedback:
give specific expectations and methods to achieve goals
common problems with performance appraisal
- Poorly Defined Performance Metrics: Lack of standards; Irrelevant, subjective, or unrealistic standards
- Poor Measurement: Not accurate and / or measure wrong things, Rater errors
- Poor Feedback: content and Frequency
how to fix performance appraisal problems
- Improve appraisal formats: Appropriate for purpose.
- Select the right raters
- Train raters: Understand why raters make errors
- Improve communication / feedback process
Relative Judgments
Ranking
Forced Distribution
Trait Approach (e.g. “leadership”)
Standards rating scale
Behavioral Approach
BARS: Rater selects statements that best match the employee’s behavior. Different behaviors have different scores
Outcomes Approach
Management by objectives (MBO)
Distributional error:
rater uses only part of rating scale
leniency
distribution error, reviewer rates everyone near the top, one of the most difficult to correct
strictness
distribution error, reviewer favors lower rankings
central tendency
distribution error, reviewer rates everyone in the middle of the scale
Calibration Meeting
Meeting at which man-agers discuss employee performance ratings and provide evidence supporting their ratings with the goal of eliminating the influence of rating errors
performance appraisal can sometimes be
political because Sometimes raters are political; they distort evaluations to advance their own personal goals
Scheduling Performance Feedback
- Should be a regular
- Beneficial when frequently
- Most effective when information does not surprise employee
- Employees motivated when they know if they are on right track
Conducting the Feedback Session
- Focus on specific behaviors and outcomes, not personality
- Build on strengths, not just criticisms
- Use “Problem-solving” approach, ask questions and listen [not “tell & sell”]
voluntary turnover
- Turnover initiated by employees
- Often when organization would prefer to keep them
- Employee retires or moves on to new opportunity
involuntary turnover
- Turnover initiated by employer
- Often when employees would prefer to stay
- Job termination
cost associated with involuntary turnover
- Recruiting, selecting, and training replacements
- Lost productivity
- Lawsuits
- Workplace violence
cost associated with voluntary turnover
- Recruiting, selecting, and training replacements
- Lost productivity
- Loss of talented employees
job dissatisfaction
a problem because it leads to lack of employee engagement and job withdrawal behaviors, including voluntary turnover
4 types of job dissatisfaction
Personal dispositions
Tasks and roles
Supervisors and co-workers
Pay and Benefits
personal dispositions
- Negative affectivity: low level of satisfaction with all aspects of life
- Core self-evaluations: opinion of self impacts job satisfaction
tasks and roles
Role: set of behaviors people expect of a person in particular job:
- Role ambiguity
- Role conflict
- Role overload
supervisors and co-workers
- Negative behavior by managers and peers impacts satisfaction
- Conflict between employees left unaddressed causes stress
pay and benefits
- Financial security important
- Pay also an indicator of status
- Pay and benefits enhance self-worth and satisfaction
job withdrawal
- Set of behaviors with which employees try to avoid the work situation physically, mentally, and emotionally
- Results when circumstances of job lead to dissatisfaction
3 forms of job withdrawal
- Behavior change
- Physical job withdrawal
- Psychological withdrawal
Behavior Change
try to change work situation: Complaints / Form unions
Some employees may whistle-blow or file lawsuits
Physical Job Withdrawal
Tardiness or absenteeism, requesting transfer, resigning
Psychological Withdrawal
- Decrease in job involvement: Degree employee identifies with job (part of self-identity)
- Decrease in organizational commitment: Degree to which employee identifies with organization—put in effort on its behalf
Employment-at-Will Doctrine
Unless otherwise specified in contract, employer and employee may end employment relationship at any time, Exceptions:
- Implied contracts
- Discharge cannot violate law or public policy
- Discrimination (Title VII)
wrongful discharge
May not violate implied agreement:
- Employer promised job security
- Action inconsistent with company rules
May not violate public policy:
- Terminating employee for refusing to do something illegal or unsafe
discrimination
- Discipline decisions must be made without regard to age, sex, race, or other protected status
- Carefully documented discipline can avoid claims of discrimination
Organizations must have a standardize and systematic approach to employee
discipline and discharge:
- Should not be left solely to discretion of individual managers
- Should be based on principles of justice and law— “fairness” principles
open door policy
- Organization’s policy of making managers available to hear about complaints and conflict
- Works to degree that employees trust management to act
peer review
- Process for resolving conflict
- Panel listens to case and works to help parties agree to settlement
- Panel made of representatives from organization at same level as people in dispute
mediation
- Nonbinding process
- Neutral party from outside organization hears case
- Helps parties arrive at settlement
arbitration
- Binding process
- Professional arbitrator (lawyer or judge) hears case and resolves it by making a decision
outcome fairness
- consistent outcomes
- knowledge of outcomes
- outcomes in proportion to behaviors
procedural justice
- consistent procedures
- avoidance of bias
- accurate information
- representation of all interests
- ethical standards
- way to correct mistakes
interactional justice
- explanation of decisions
- respectful treatment
- empathy
- consideration
Just cause criteria
- valid reason for discipline
- appropriate penalty
Valid reason for discipline (just cause criteria)
- Evidence that employee violated reasonable (work related) rule – not just hearsay
- Employee was aware of rule and consequences of violation
- Employees who violate rule are treated consistently
Appropriate penalty (just cause criteria)
Due process followed:
- Know charges against them; able to respond
- Progressive discipline—when appropriate
Mitigating factors considered
