Human resource management gaining a competitive advantage 2014 chapter 6

Human Resource Management:
Gaining a Competitive Advantage

Chapter 06
Selection and Placement

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Copyright © 2013 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.


5 Evaluation Selection Method
Standards
1. Reliability
2. Validity
3. Generalizabil
ity
4. Utility
5. Legality
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Reliability
 Reliability is the degree to which a measure
of physical or cognitive abilities or traits is
free from random error.

The correlation coefficient is a measure of
the degree to which two sets of numbers are
related.
 A perfect positive relationship equals +1.0

 A perfect negative relationship equals - 1.0

 Test-retest reliability is knowing how

scores on the measure at one time relate to
scores on the same measure at another time.

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Validity
 Validity is the extent to which a

performance measure assesses all the
relevant—and only the relevant—aspects
of job performance.

 Criterion-related validation is a method
of establishing the validity of a personnel
selection method by showing a substantial
correlation between test scores and jobperformance scores. The types include:
 Predictive validation
 Concurrent validation

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Criterion-Related Validity

Predictive

Test
Applicant
s

Measure
Performanc
e
of Those
Hired

TIME

Concurrent
Test
Existing
Employees

Measure
Their
Performance

TIME

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Concurrent Validation

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Predictive Validation

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Content Validation
Content validation is a test-validation
strategy performed by demonstrating
that the items, questions, or problems
posed by a test are a representative
sample of the kinds of situations or
problems that occur on the job.
 Best for small samples
 Achieved primarily through expert judgment

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Legality
 All selection methods must conform to
existing laws and legal precedents.

 Three acts have formed the basis for a
majority of the suits filed by job
applicants:
 Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 1991
 Age Discrimination in Employment Act of
1967
 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991

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Civil Rights Act of 1991
 Protects individuals from discrimination based
on race, color, sex, religion and national
origin.

 Differs from the 1964 act in three areas:
1. Establishes employers' explicit obligation
to establish neutral-appearing selection
method.
2. Allows a jury to decide punitive damages.
3. Explicitly prohibits granting preferential
treatment to minority groups.

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Age Discrimination in
Employment Act of 1967
 Covers over age 40 individuals.
 No protection for younger workers.
 Outlaws almost all “mandatory
retirement” programs.

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Americans with Disabilities
Act
 Protects individuals with physical or mental
disabilities (or with a history of the same).

 Reasonable accommodations are

required by the organization to allow the
disabled to perform essential functions of
the job.
 An employer need not make accommodations
that cause undue hardship.

 Restrictions on pre-employment
inquiries.

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Types of Selection Methods

JOBS

6-13


Interviews
 Selection interviews-a dialogue initiated by one
or more persons to gather information and
evaluate the applicant’s qualifications for

employment.

 To increase an interview’s utility:
 Interviews should be structured, standardized, and
focused on goals oriented to skills and observable
behaviors.

 Interviewers should be able to quantitatively rate
each interview.

 Interviewers should have a structured note-taking
system that will aid recall to satisfying ratings.
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Situational Interview
 A situational interview confronts
applicants on specific issues, questions, or
problems likely to arise on the job.

 Situational interviews consist of:
 experience-based questions
 future-oriented questions

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Other Selection Methods
 Individuals should manage their digital identity the
same way they manage their résumé.

 References, biographical data, and applications
gather background information on candidates.

 Physical ability tests are relevant for predicting job
performance, occupational injuries and disabilities.

 Physical ability tests include:
 muscular tension, power, and endurance
 cardiovascular endurance
 flexibility
 balance
 coordination
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Other Selection Methods
 A cognitive ability test differentiates individuals
based on mental rather than physical capacities.

 Commonly assessed abilities:
 verbal comprehension
 quantitative ability
 reasoning ability
 Personality inventories categorize individuals by
personality characteristics.

 Work samples simulate a job in miniaturized form.

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Cognitive Ability Tests
 3 Dimensions Cognitive Ability Tests:
 Verbal Comprehension -a person’s capacity
to understand and use written and spoken
language.
 Quantitative Ability - speed and accuracy
with which one can solve arithmetic problems.
 Reasoning Ability - a person’s capacity to
invent solutions to diverse problems.

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Physical Ability Tests
 Two Questions to Ask:
1. Is physical ability essential to perform the job?
2. Is it mentioned prominently enough in the job
description?
Tests Measure:
 muscular power and endurance
 cardiovascular endurance
 flexibility
 balance
 coordination

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Personality Inventories
Big 5 Dimensions of
Personality

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Emotional Intelligence

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Work-Sample Tests
 Work-sample tests attempt to
simulate the job in a pre-hiring context
to observe how the applicant performs.

 Assessment center-is a process in
which multiple raters evaluate
employees’ performance on exercises.

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Honesty Tests
 Polygraph Act of 1988 banned the

use of polygraph tests for private
companies except pharmaceutical and
security guard suppliers.

 Paper-and-pencil honesty testing

attempts to assess the likelihood that
employees will steal.

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Drug Tests
 Drug-use tests tend to be reliable and valid.
 Major controversies about drug tests include:
 Is it an invasion of privacy?
 Is it an unreasonable search and seizure?
 Is it a violation of due process?

 Tests should be administered systematically to all
applicants applying for the same job.

 Testing is likely to be more defensible with safety
hazards associated with failure to perform.

 Test results should be reported to applicants,
who should have an avenue to appeal.

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Summary of Selection Methods

JOBS

6-25