1. Chapter 06 Selection and Placement
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.

2. Learning Objectives
Establish the basic scientific properties of personnel selection methods, including reliability, validity and generalizability.
Discuss how particular characteristics of job, organization or applicant affect the utility of any test.
Describe the government’s role in personnel selection decisions, particularly in areas of constitutional law, federal laws, executive orders and judicial precedent.
List common methods used in selecting HR.
Describe the degree to which common methods used in selecting HR meet the demands of reliability, validity, generalizability, utility and legality.
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3. 5 Evaluation Selection Method Standards
Reliability
Validity
Generalizability
Utility
Legality
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4. 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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5. 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 job- performance scores. The types include:
Predictive validation
Concurrent validation
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6. Criterion-Related Validity
Predictive
Concurrent
Measure
Performance
of Those Hired
Test
Existing
Employees
Measure
Their
Performance
Test
Applicants
TIME
TIME
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7. Concurrent Validation
Measure all current job incumbents on attribute
Measure all current job incumbents’ performance
Obtain correlation between these two sets of numbers
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8. Predictive Validation
Obtain correlation between
measurements. 2.
Hire applicants and reject others. 3.
Wait. 4.
Measure all newly hired job incumbents’ performance. 1.
Measure all job applicants on attribute.
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9. 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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10. Generalizability
Generalizability is the degree to which the validity of a selection method established in one context extends to other contexts.
3 Contexts include:
different situations (jobs or organizations)
different samples of people
different time periods
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11. Utility
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.
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12. 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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13. 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:
Establishes employers' explicit obligation
to establish neutral-appearing selection method.
2. Allows a jury to decide punitive damages.
Explicitly prohibits granting preferential
treatment to minority groups.
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14. 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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15. 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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16. Executive Orders
Executive Order 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.
Office of Federal Contract Compliance and Procedures (OFCCP) issues guidelines and helps companies comply.
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17. Types of Selection Methods
Interviews
Honesty &
Drug Tests
References &
Biographical
Data
Work Samples HR
JOBS
Physical Ability
Tests
Personality
Inventories
Cognitive Ability
Tests
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18. 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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19. 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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20. 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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21. 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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22. 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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23. Physical Ability Tests
Two Questions to Ask:
Is physical ability essential to perform the job?
Is it mentioned prominently enough in the job description?
Tests Measure:
muscular power and endurance
cardiovascular endurance
flexibility
balance
coordination
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24. Personality Inventories Big 5 Dimensions of Personality
Inquisitiveness
Extroversion 5
Adjustment
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
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25. Emotional Intelligence
Self-regulation
Self-awareness
Self-motivation
Empathy
Social Skills
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26. 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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27. 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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28. 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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29. Summary of Selection Methods
Interviews
Honesty &
Drug Tests
References &
Biographical
Data
Work Samples HR
JOBS
Physical Ability
Tests
Cognitive Ability
Tests
Personality
Inventories
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30. Summary
Job applicants and an organization’s viability are affected by decisions regarding who is accepted and rejected for positions.
Five standards should conform: reliability, validity, generalizability, utility and legality.
Managerial assessment centers use many different forms of tests over a two or three day period to learn as much as possible about candidates for important executive positions.
Validity associated with judicious use of multiple tests is higher than for tests used in isolation.
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