Predicting Employee Performance: The Predictor Problem

Question 1

In the context of selecting predictors of job performance, _________________ refers to the extent to which performance on a measure is unaffected by measurement error, while ____________ refers to the degree to which the measure assesses what it was designed to asses.

Answer 1

• Reliability
• Validity

Question 2

There are three types of validity: _______________, __________________, and __________________; the type of greatest concern depends on the nature and purpose of the predictor. In I/O, a predictor’s _____________ validity is usually of particular interest.

Answer 2

• Content
• Construct
• Criterion-related
• Criterion-related

Question 3

There are ___ steps involved in evaluating a predictor’s criterion-related validity.

Answer 3

7.

Question 4

Step 1: ___________________: Identify the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics required for successful job performance.

Answer 4

Conduct a job analysis.

Question 5

Step 2: ________________ - Select/develop a predictor that measures the attributes identified by the job analysis.

Answer 5

Select or develop the predictor.

Question 6

Step 3: ____________________ - Administer the predictor to a sample of job applicants (predictive validity) or current employees (concurrent validity); obtain criterion information for all individuals in the sample.

Answer 6

Administer the predictor and assess the criterion.

Question 7

Step 4: ___________________ - Calculate the criterion-related validity coefficient to determine if there is a statistically significant relationship between predictor and criterion scores.

Answer 7

Correlate the predictor and criterion scores.

Question 8

Step 5: __________________ - Determine if the predictor will have adverse impact - i.e., if use of the predictor will discriminate against a legally protected class of individuals.

Answer 8

Check for adverse impact.

Question 9

Step 6: ____________________ - Determine if use of the predictor will increase the proportion of correct decisions.

Answer 9

Evaluate incremental validity.

Question 10

Step 7: _________________ - Perform steps 3 through 6 with a new sample. Because all of the chance factors that maximized the original validity coefficient are not present in the second sample, the cross-validation coefficient is usually smaller than the original coefficient. This phenomenon is referred to as _______________.

Answer 10

• Cross-validate
• Shrinkage

Question 11

Title ___ of the _______________ Acts of 1964 and other legislation prohibit discrimination in hiring, placement, training, promotion, and retention on the basis of race, religion, gender, national origin, age, or disability. The provision of these laws are enforced by the ____________________ (EEOC), which issued the Unified Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures.

Answer 11

• VII
• Civil Rights
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Question 12

As defined by the Uniform Guidelines, a selection test or other employment procedure is discriminating against members of a legally protected group - i.e., is having an ______________ - when use of that procedure results in a substantially different selection, ____________, or promotion rate for members of that group.

Answer 12

• Adverse impact
• Placement

Question 13

The ________________ is often used to determine if a procedure is having an adverse impact. The hiring rate for the majority group is multiplied by 80% to determine the minimum hiring rate for the minority group. As an example, if use of a test results in a 50% hiring rate for African Americans and 90% rate for whites, the test would be having an adverse impact for African Americans because 90% times 80% is 72%, which is greater than the hiring rate for African Americans.

Answer 13

80% (Four-Fifths) Rule.

Bonus: The 4/5 Rule requires that for a finding of adverse impact, a pattern of discrimination must be established.

Question 14

______________________ occurs when a measure is valid for one group but is not valid (or is significantly less valid) for another group. The characteristic that distinguishes between the two groups - e.g., gender, race, or age - is referred to as a ____________ variable.

Answer 14

• Differential validity
• Moderator

Question 15

_____________ occurs when members of one group consistently obtain lower scores on the predictor than members of another group, but the difference in predictor scores is NOT related to differences in scores on the criterion.

Answer 15

Unfairness.

Question 16

When the plaintiff in a class-action suit demonstrates that an employment procedure is having an adverse impact, the burden of proof has traditionally been on the _______________ to show that use of the procedure _______ discriminatory.

Answer 16

• Employer
• Is not

Question 17

Defense against ruling of adverse impact: _____________ - The employer must not only prove that the measure is job-related, but must also show that its use is required for the safe and efficient operation of the business.

Answer 17

Business necessity.

Question 18

Defense against ruling of adverse impact: _________________ - The employer can show that the characteristic in question is an essential determinant of the genuineness of the job or when a person’s gender, etc., must be taken into consideration to maintain community standards of morality or propriety.

Answer 18

Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ).

Question 19

__________________ refers to the increase in decision-making accuracy an employer will achieve by using the predictor to make selection decisions.

Answer 19

Incremental validity.

Question 20

The _______________ is the ratio of job openings to job applicants. For example, a ratio of 1:50 indicates that there is one job opening for every 50 job applicants. A _____ ratio is preferred since it allows an employer to be more selective when making hiring decisions.

Answer 20

• Selection ratio
• Low

Question 21

The ______________ is the percent of employees who are performing satisfactorily without use of the proposed predictor and ranges in value from 0 to 1.0. ______________ rates (rates close to .50) are associated with the greatest incremental validity.

Answer 21

• Base rate
• Moderate

Question 22

The _________________ can be used to estimate the percent of new hires that will be successful as employees given various combinations of validity coefficients, selection ratios, and base rates.

Answer 22

Taylor-Russel Tables.

Question 23

When using _______________, predictor scores are weighted and summed to yield an estimated criterion score, with each predictor’s weight being determined by its correlation with criterion and with the other predictors. This strategy is compensatory, since exceptional performance on one predictor can offset poor performance on another predictor.

Answer 23

Multiple regression.

Question 24

In contrast to multiple regression, the _________________ method is noncompensatory, which means that a minimum score on each predictor must be obtained before a job applicant will be considered for selection. This technique can be used in conjunction with multiple regression by first selecting only those people who score above the minimum score on all predictors and then using the multiple regression equation to predict each selected person’s criterion score.

Answer 24

Multiple cutoff.

Question 25

__________________: When using this technique, predictors are administered one at a time in a predetermined order, with each predictor being administered only if the previous one has been successfully passed or completed. An advantage of this is that it saves time and money since all of the predictors are not administered to all individuals.

Answer 25

Multiple (Successive) Hurdles.

Question 26

________________________: These consistently produce the highest validity coefficients across jobs and job settings. However, validity coefficients for these measures vary somewhat, depending on the objectivity of the criterion.

Answer 26

General Mental (Cognitive) Ability Tests.

Question 27

___________________: These are good predictors of job performance, with reported validity coefficients being similar to or even larger than those for measures of GMA. However, these are job specific and are useful only when applicants have had previous job training or experience.

Answer 27

Job Knowledge Tests.

Question 28

__________________: These can be useful predictors in organizational settings, although the studies are not entirely consistent with regard to the relative validities of global and specific personality traits. In terms of global traits, of the “______________” personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness), _______________ has been found to be the best predictor of job performance across different jobs, job settings, and criterion measures.

Answer 28

• Personality Tests
• “Big 5”
• Conscientiousness

Question 29

_________________: The use of these in organizations is based on the premise that applicants whose interest profiles resemble those of successful employees will perform best on the job. However, usefulness of these as selection tools is limited because they are susceptible to faking and because they have been found to be more valid for predicting job choice, satisfaction, and persistence than job success.

Answer 29

Interest tests.

Question 30

__________________: The use of this as a selection tool is based on the assumption that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. The validity of this is maximized when items are derived empirically.

Answer 30

Biodata (Biographical Data).

Question 31

The _________________, a type of empirically derived form, contains multiple-choice questions that not only assess an applicant’s job history but also his/her family background, economic history, health, attitudes, values, etc. One disadvantage of this and other empirically derived forms is that they often contain items that lack face validity because they do not “look like” they are related to job performance. As a consequence, applicants may resist answering items because they perceive them to be an invasion of privacy.

Answer 31

Biographical Information Blank (BIB).

Question 32

________________: These are, by far, the most commonly used method for obtaining information about job applicants, although they generally have lower levels of reliability and validity than many other selection techniques.

Answer 32

Interviews.

Question 33

________________ require an individual to perform tasks similar or identical to those actually performed on the job and are most commonly used to select applicants for jobs requiring clerical, mechanical, or technical skills.

Answer 33

Work samples.

Question 34

When used to evaluate applicants who do not have previous experience in order to evaluate their capacity to benefit from training, work samples include a structured period of learning and evaluation and are referred to as _________________.

Answer 34

Trainability tests.

Question 35

Work samples are also sometimes used as part of a ____________________(RJP), which may include a written description of the job, a video, discussion with current workers, and other strategies. An assumption underlying the use of RJPs is that disillusionment with the job is a primary cause of turnover, and that reducing unrealistic job expectations will increase job satisfaction and commitment and lower turn over rates.

Answer 35

Realistic Job Preview (RJP).

Question 36

____________________ are used to evaluate managerial-level personnel, most often to determine if lower-level managers should be promoted to higher-level psoitions or to identify a manager’s needs for training and personal development. Participants are evaluated by a team on a number of dimensions and with a variety of techniques.

Answer 36

Assessment centers.

Question 37

The _____________________ is probably the best known of the situational tests; it requires participants to take action on letters, memos, brief reports, etc., that are typical of those those actually encountered by managers.

Answer 37

In-basket test.

Question 38

Another commonly used situational test is ____________________, which involves having five or six participants work together without an assigned leader to solve a job-related problem or discuss a job-related issue.

Answer 38

Leaderless group discussion.