Workplace sociology Gerhard Ohrband 4 th lecture Personnel selection

Course structure Part I Introduction 1Managing diversity 2History and context for Work and Organizational Psychology / Roles and methods Part II People at work 3 Job Analysis and Design 4Personal Selection 5 Training

Course structure 6Performance Appraisal: Assessing and Developing Performance and Potential 7 Job Stress and Health Part III Human Factors at Work 8Workload and Task Allocation 9Work Environments and Performance 10The Design and Use of Work Technology 11 Safety at Work

Course structure Part IV Organizations at Work 12Leadership and management 13Work motivation 14Teams: the challenges of cooperative work 15Organizational development (OD)

Part II – People at work 4Personnel Selection Outline: 1. Perspectives on Selection 2. The Recruitment and Selection Process 3. Selection Methods and Techniques 4. The Candidate’s Perspective in Selection

1. Perspectives on Selection The predictivist perspective: Person-job fit: finding the most suitable candidate Steps: 1Job analysis 2Person specification 3Selection criteria 4Recruitment 5Selection

The constructivist perspective  Candidates make decisions as well!  Not only person-job fit but also  1person-organization fit: the fit between the applicant’s values and organizational culture  2person-team fit: the fit between the applicant’s skills and attitudes and the climate of the immediate working group  Several encounters between the individual and the organization  Socialization impact of selection (Anderson and Ostroff)

Key elements of the predictivist and constructivist perspectives Predictivist perspectiveConstructivist perspective Primary focusOrganizational decision-making between numerous candidates Person-job fit Organizational and candidate decision-making Construction of a viable psychological contract Person-team and person- organization fit Selection methodsAs “predictors” of future job performance As information elicitation techniques applied to applicants As representative samples of behaviour As social episodes As opportunities for information exchange As “socialization impact” upon applicants Selection decisionUnilateral, made by the organization upon candidates Primarily as (numeric) predictors of subsequent job performance Socially negotiated, each party deciding whether to continue the relationship further The “tip of the iceberg” concealing complex social and psychological processes “under the surface”

2. The Recruitment and Selection Process  Contingency tables: Valid positives Valid negatives False positives False negatives  Correlation coefficients  Criterion-related validity  Meta-analysis and validity generalizations  The criterion problem, criterion contamination

Types of validity and reliability  Predictive validity  Concurrent validity  Construct validity  Content validity  Face validity  Parallel reliability  Test-retest reliability  Split-half reliability

3. Selection Methods and Techniques  Application forms  Curriculae vitae  Biodata  Realistic job previews (RJP)  Interviews  Cognitive ability tests  Personality tests  Integrity and honesty tests  Work samples  Assessment centres (AC s)  References  Self-assessment (SA)  Alternative methods: graphology and astrology

Predictive accuracy  Assessment centres promotion (0.68)  Work samples (0.54)  Ability tests (0.54)  Structured interviews (0.44)  Integrity tests (0.41)  Assessment centres performance (0.41)  Personality tests (0.38)  Biodata (0.37)  Unstructured interviews (0.33)  Self-assessment (0.15)  Reference (0.13)  Astrology (0.0)  Graphology (0.0)

Popularity  Interviews (97%)  References (96%)  Application forms (93%)  Ability tests (91%)  Personality tests (80%)  Assessment centres (59%)  Biodata (19%)  Graphology (2.6%)  Astrology (0.0%)

4. The Candidate’s Perspective in Selection  Two-sided decision-making process  Social issues  Organizational justice theory (Gilliland):  1procedural justice: fairness in the selection process  2distributive justice: fairness of the hiring decision  Important issues to increase perceived justice:  - job-relatedness and consistency of selection methods  - opportunity to perform  - honesty in communication with the candidate  - interpersonal effectiveness of the recruiter  - two-way communication  - propriety of questions

Selection justice Candidate’s reactions to selection justice can have an impact on (Gilliland, 1993): 1applicant’s reactions and decisions during hiring. E.g.: the extent to which the candidate will recommend the organization to others; the decision on whether to pursue discrimination cases 2attitude’s attitudes and behaviours after hiring. E.g.: organizational commitment, intention to leave and work performance 3applicant’s self-perceptions. E.g.: self-esteem and self-efficacy

Literature  Personnel Psychology (1990) 43 (2), Special issue. Project A, The US Army Selection and Classification Project.  Borman, W., Hanson, M. and Hedge, J. (1997). Personnel selection. Annual Review of Psychology, 48,  Gilliland, S.W. (1993). The perceived fairness of selection systems: an organizational justice perspective. Academy of Management Review, 18,  Gilliland, S.W. (1994). Effects of procedural and distributive justice on reactions to a selection system. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79,