Industrial/Organizational Flashcards
Adverse Impact vs. Unfairness vs. Differential Validity
Adverse impact is based on the 80% or 4/5th rule, which states that the percentage of minorities selected must be at leat 4/5th of the percentage of non-minorities selected.
Unfairness occurs when minorities and non-minorities score differently on the predictor test yet perform similarly on the criterion. Graphically, unfairness is depicted as 2 parallel lines. Example, whites and blacks scores differently on the MCAT, but both graduate medical school and practice medicine.
Differential validity occurs when there are significantly different criterion-related validity coefficients for different groups on the same test. Example, the MCAT and white vs. black performance
Job Analysis vs. Job Evaluation
Job analysis describes in specific terms of the component tasks performed by workers on a particular job.
Job evaluation is a formal process that determines the financial worth of a specific job to an organization.
Biodata
Biographical Information (Biodata) a the forms that are used to collect information on potential employee. There are 3 major types: standard application blank, the weighted applications blank, and the biographical inventory.
Holland’s Occupational Themes, Personality-Job fit theory
Holland’s Occupatonal Themes:
- realistic- perfers physical activities that require skill, strength, and coordination
- investigative-perfers activities that involve thinking, organizing, and understanding.
- artistic- prefers ambiguous and unsystematic activities that allow creative expression.
- social-perfers activities that involve helping and developing others.
- enterprising- prefers activities with opportunity to influence others and obtain power.
- conventional-prefers rule-regulated, orderly, and unambiguous activities.
Assessment Center; in-basket techniques
An assessment center is a method of selection that places new job applicants and candidates for promotions in a simulated job situation so that their behavior under stresscan be observed or evacuated.
Assessment center utilize in-basket technique or the leaderless group discussion activities.
The in-basket technigew presents applicants with typical problems and questions that managers would expect to find when they return from a vaction. Applicants process this information in a fixed period of time, and after the exercise they may be required to justifiy their decisions.
In the leaderless group discussion, applicants meet as a group to discuss an actural business problem. As the candidates interact with each other, their leaderhsip qualities and communication styles are observed.
Contrast vs. Halo Effect
Interviewer biases
Interviews have the worst criterion-related validity (.01 -.19) they are better if structured, use multiple interviewres who have been trained.
There are several interviewer biases:
- First impressions
- Negative information
- Interviewer prejudices
- Contrast effect- occurs when an interviewer’s ratings of a candidate are affected by the performance of the previous candidate.
- . Halo effect- involves generalizing from one characteristics to the entire candidate in either a positive or negative direction. For example, if he is handsome, he must be smart
Cognitive Ability vs. Interest vs. Personality Tests related to job performance
Test of cognitive abilities and aptitude are a good predictor of job success.
Interest teas are a poor predictors of job success/performance but they do correlate with job satisfaction.
Personality tests are poor predictors of job performance.
Comparative vs. Individual or Absolute Methods of Appraisal
Sujective methods of evaluating others via ratings tools, fall into 2 categories either comparative or individual/absolute.
The comparative methods are based on comparing one employee performance with other employees. There are 3 types:
- Straight rakings- involve listing workers from best to worst.
- Forced distribution- people are ranked to fit a distribution (a bell-curve)
- Paired comparison- each employee is compare to every other employee in pairs
The individual or absolute method consist of 5 types:
- Graphic rating scale- involves ratings on several aspects of a job.
- BARS (Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales)- are based on critical incidents, there are expensive and time-consuling to develop, and relate to hypicalthical situations rather than day-to-day activities.
- BOS (Behavioral Observation Scale)- involves rating the extent to which a person engages in every behavior.
- Forced choice- the rater must choose between two seemingly equally desirable or undesirable choices. This method controllers for the helo effect, as weel as biases due to leniency and strictness.
- Behavioral checklist- a rater uses a behavioral checklist and check off all the adjective or descriptors that apply to the employee being rated.
Transcanctional vs. Transformational Leader
Transactional leader is the more traditional leader who influences subordinates through daily, fairly emotionless exchanges., aims to secure the agreed upon level of performance from subordinates, and may sue rewards, management by objectives and other conventional means.
Transformational leaders aims to broaden and elevate the goals of the subordinates, utilize charisma, inspiration, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration
Forced Choice vs. Paired Comparisons vs. Forced Distribution
Subjective Methods of rating others
Forced choice- the rater must choose between two seemingly equally desirable or undesirable choices. This method controllers for the helo effect, as weel as biases due to leniency and strictness.
Paired comparison- each employee is compared to every other employee in pairs
Forced distribution- people are ranked to fit a distribution (a bell-curve).
Effects of Training
Training is best when trainees have high motivation, are actively engaged, the training is delivered in a spaced manner, in smaller units, provides for application, and the learner is given feedback and continuous reinforcement initially and then is thinned as the content is mastered
Job Rotation and Japanese Management
Methods used by most Japanese companies
Job rotation involves exposing trainees (usually managers) to different jobs and departments to acquaint them with all facets of the organization.
The Theory Z describes 3 critical Japanese management strategies: (1) life-long employment with an emphasis on loyalty (2) slow promotion with an emphasis on non-specalized career paths, and (3) high levels of group decision making.
Scientific Management vs. Human Relations Approach
Leadership Theories and Approaches
Scientific Management (proposed by Frederick Taylor) view workers as extension of machines, who are lazy, dishonest, and have low levels of interrigence. It is the foreman’s job to use autocratic behavior, aggressiveness, and physical intimidation to force workers to produce. This method is also referred to as Theory X as described by McGregor (1960)
The human relations appraoch rose out of the Hawthorne studies that focused on worker needs rather than production. These studies examined the effects on environment factors (light, temp. and rest periods) on productivity. They also found that if leaders allowed workers to have input and socialize work performance improved. In fact psychological factors were more important than environmental factors in improving productivity. This method is also referred to as the Theory Y as describe by McGregor (1960).
Theory X vs. Theory Y vs. Theory Z
McGregor vs. Ouchi Leardership Theories
Theory X assumes workere are lazy and must be coerced and directed since they have no ambition and no sense of responsibility. It theory underlies typical bureaucracies. (McGregor 1960)
Theory Y assumes that people find satisfaction with their work, and that control and punishment are not necessary to bring about good performance. This theory proposes that people are industrious and creative, seek challenge and responsibility, and function best under a leadership style that is participative. (McGregor 1960)
Theory Z describes 3 critical Japanese management strategies: (1) life-long employment with an emphasis on loyalty (2) slow promotion with an emphasis on non-specalized career paths, and (3) high levels of group decision making. (Ouchi 1981)
Authoritarian vs. Democratic vs. Laissez Faire
Authoritarian leaders use power, rewards and punishment to lead and workers have no input.
Democratic leader get staff input and allow workers work independently
Laissez Faire leaders let the worker run the show.
Most workers do best in a democratic leaders.
Job Satisfaction: correlations with age, race, occupational level, productivity, turnover
Age: in genral job satisfaction increase with age, regardless of type of work or gender
Gender: no clear patterns of gender difference
Race: whites report more job satisfaction; these difference are most significant among managers
Occupational level: the higher the overall occupational level, the higher job satisfaction is
Health: there is a correlation between job dissatisfaction and physical and mental health
Productivity: there is a weak positive correlation
between satisfaction and productivity (.17)
Turnover: job satisfaction has a moderate negative correlation (about 0.4) with absenteeism and turnover
Productivity: there is not evidence of a relationship between productivity and turover
Risky Shift vs. Response Polarization vs. Group Think
Risky shift- is the tendency for people in groups to make riskier decision than they would if they were deciding as individuals.
Response polarization - also known as group polorization- is the tendency for people in groups to become more extreme in their views.
Group think- occurs in highly conhesive groups when group member seek concurrence, consensus, and unanimity more than they seek the best possible alternative/soultion.
Two-factor Theory of Motivation: hygiene, motivators, satisfiers, dissatisfiers, content, context
Herzberg’s Two-Facto theroy aka Motivator-Hygiene Therory, is based on Maslow’s Need Hierarch, found that different factors account to job satisfaction as opposed to job dissatisfaction. This theory divides needs into lower and upper level needs.
Lower level needs also called hygiene factors or dissatisfied, related to job content (pay, work conditions, supervision). Dissatisfaction results when lower level needs are not meet, but meeting them does not produce satisfaction.
Upper level needs called motivators or satisficers related to job content (need for achievement, responsibility and opportunity. Meeting upper level needs can increase satisfaction and motivation. However, when these needs are not met, dissatisfaction does not result.
Job Enrichment vs. Enlargement
Job enrichment involves espanding jobs to give employees a greater role in planning, and performing their work, thus providing and opportunity to build satisfies into job content; They result in increased satisfaction and performance, decreased turnover and absenteeism. It is also known as “vertical loading”
Job enlargement involves expanding the variety of tasks the employee performs without increasing responsibility or autonomy. It increase satisfaction, and only slightly affects job performance. It is a also known as “horizontal loading”.
Goals and Feedback
Inorder for one to meet a goal(s) they need feedback.
Locke’s Goal Setting Approach has 5 principles:
- goals should be specific
- goals should be of intermediate to high level of difficulity
- workers must receive feedback
- a sense of self-efficacy will increase performance
- employees must accept the goal
VIE Theory va. Equity Theory
Valence-Instrumentality- Expetancy (VIE) aka Genral Expectancey Theory states that people behave in ways that are based on their perceived expectancy that centainrewards will follow, and the employee performs at a level that results in the greatest payoff. There are 3 components of this theory: expectancy, instrumentality, and valance.
- Expectancy- refers to expectancy of success on the task.
- Instrumentaliity- referees to anticipation of rewards
- Valance- referees to the value the rewards have for the employee
Equity theory looks at the ratio of self-input and outputs verse other’s inputs and outputs. Becasue of social comparison Adams believes that inquiry is a motivating state and that we adjust our performance based on things appearing fair or unfair.
Human Factors vs. Psychological Approach
The human factors approach is concerned with physical aspects of the job. The focus is on the how human and machines work together to accomplish a job (aka operator-machine-system).
The psychological approach is job design assumes that efficiency and effectiveness are correlated with satisfaction and that satisfaction allows people to meet self-actualizations needs. This approach includes job enlargement (horizontal loading) in which the number of tasks is increased without increasing the responsibility level. Job enlargement increases satisfaction.
Most stressed workers
Workers who work environments that are painted grey, hot, humid; have inadequate lighting and intermittent noise that are pervised that one is not able to control result in more stressed workers. Working hight shifs or rating shifts lead to health problems.
Giggs vs. Duke Power Company
This I/O case affected the issue of testing at the workplace. The court ruled that tests that measure board abilities, that minorites tend to perform lower than whites on were unfair to use when making hiring or promotion decisions.
