HRM gaining a competitive advantage noe ch006

Learning Objectives Establish the basic scientific properties of personnel selection methods, including reliability, validity and generalizability..  List the common methods used in

Human Resource Management:

Gaining a Competitive Advantage

Chapter 6 Selection and Placement

Learning Objectives

 Establish the basic scientific properties of personnel

selection methods, including reliability, validity and

generalizability.

 Discuss how the particular characteristics of a job,

organization, or applicant affect the utility of any test.

 Describe the government’s role in personnel selection

decisions, particularly in the areas of constitutional law,

federal laws, executive orders and judicial precedent.

 List the common methods used in selecting human

resources.

 Describe the degree to which each of the common

methods used in selecting human resources meets the

demands of reliability, validity, generalizability, utility and

Selection Method Standards

for Evaluation Purposes

 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- knowing how scores on

the measure at one time relate to scores on the

same measure at another time.

 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

job-performance scores The types include:

– Predictive validation

– Concurrent validation

Of Those Hired

Measure their Performance

Test Existing Employees

Concurrent

TIME

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

 Generalizability is the degree to which

the validity of a selection method

established in one context extends to

other contexts.

 3 Contexts include:

1 different situations (jobs or organizations)

2 different samples of people

3 different time periods

 Utility is the degree to which

information provided by selection

methods enhances the effectiveness of

selecting personnel.

-Utility is impacted by reliability,

validity and generalizability

 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

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.

1 Allows a jury to decide punitive damages.

2 Explicitly prohibits the granting

preferential treatment to minority groups.

Age Discrimination in Employment Act

of 1967

 Covers over age 40 individuals.

 No protection for younger workers.

• Outlaws almost all “mandatory

retirement” programs.

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.

Executive Orders

 Executive Order 11246 parallels the Civil

Rights Act of 1964 and goes beyond by:

 requiring affirmative action to hire qualified

protected group applicants and

 allowing the government to suspend all business

with a contractor during an investigation.

 The Office of Federal Contract Compliance

and Procedures (OFCCP) issues guidelines

Types of Selection Methods

Interviews

JOBS

HR

 Selection interviews-a dialogue initiated by one

or more persons to gather information and

evaluate the an applicant’s qualifications for

employment.

 To increase an interview’s utility:

 Interviews should be structured, standardized,

and focused on goals oriented to skills and

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.

Other Selection Methods

 An individual 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

Other Selection Methods

 A cognitive ability test differentiates individuals

based on their mental rather than physical

 Personality inventories categorize individuals

by their personality characteristics.

 Work samples simulate a job in miniaturized

form.

Cognitive Ability Tests

 3 Dimensions Cognitive Ability Tests:

1 Verbal Comprehension

2 Quantitative Ability

3 Reasoning Ability

 Verbal Comprehension -a person’s capacity to

understand and use written and spoken

language.

 Quantitative Ability - the speed and accuracy

with which one can solve arithmetic problems.

 Reasoning Ability - a person’s capacity to

Work Sample Tests

 Work-sample tests attempt to simulate the

job in a pre-hiring context to observe how the

applicant performs in the simulated job

 Assessment Center- a process in which

multiple raters evaluate employees’

performance on a number of exercises.

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

– Since these tests are new, there is little

evidence on their effectiveness

Drug Tests

 Drug-use tests tend to be reliable and valid.

 Major controversies of 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 when there

are safety hazards associated with the failure to

perform

 Test results should be reported to the applicant,

who should have an avenue to appeal.

 Job applicants and an organization’s viability

are strongly affected by decisions regarding

who is accepted and rejected for positions.

 There are numerous alternatives to this for

making such decisions, many of which have

been validated and supported by years of

research.