Assignments
(#1
& 2) Multiple-Choice Questions
1. You are
part of a team selecting employees at XYZ organization. All
participants will take a cognitive test and take part in a structured interview. To make the process more efficient, you suggest
that:
a)
the applicants with the best cognitive test scores be hired.
b)
the team establishes a “cut score” for the cognitive test.
c)
the team eliminates the structured interview.
d)
the team seek to employ nontraditional laborers.
2. Under
the best circumstances, selection decisions should include:
a)
the HR department
b)
line managers
c)
the applicant’s future co-workers
d)
all of the above
3. The most
important way to establish essential characteristics needed to perform a job well is:
a)
the organization’s culture
b)
the applicant’s knowledge of the job.
c)
the job itself.
d)
the job analysis.
4. The most
valid measures used in hiring decisions focus on:
a)
ability
b)
motivation
c)
personality
d)
ability and motivation
5. Juan is
reviewing the results of an employment test his organization has been using. It seems that the scores do not related well to
applicants’ actual job performance once hired. This
test seems to suffer from:
a)
a reliability error.
b)
a validity error.
c)
a quantification error.
d)
a content reliability error.
6. Which of
the following is important for an employer to remember when reading letters of
recommendation of job applicants:
a)
The more positive a letter is, the better.
b)
A poor letter of recommendation should be ignored.
c)
The content of the letter is more important than the positivity of the letter.
d)
Letters of recommendation are highly related to job performance.
7. Assessment
centers are useful in evaluating a candidate’s:
a)
interpersonal, writing and problem-solving skills.
b)
quantitative skills.
c)
“fit” in the organization’s culture and with the management team.
d)
organizing, planning, decision-making and leadership abilities.
8. A study
conducted by the U.S. Postal Service regarding drug testing:
a)
showed that drug testing is a valid predictor of job performance.
b)
showed that drug testing does not correlate with on-job performance.
c)
revealed that most job candidates can “beat” a drug test.
d)
has been struck down by the Supreme Court.
(#3)
Management of Human Resources in Organizations – Selection Case
About
a year ago, Smith Printing was looking for a new managing editor of a specialty line of
magazines. The previous editor retired after
25 years in the job. The editors and the Human
Resource department debated about what was the most important quality to seek in a new
managing editor. Some felt it was knowledge of
the project/programme purpose. Others thought it was
interpersonal skills to get along with the staff. A
few others believed it was the ability to attract writing talent and subscribers. Finally, it was decided that the Human Resource
director would make the final choice to avoid competition among editors.
A
number of candidates were tested and interviewed by the HR manager, and references were
checked. After a long search, a new managing
editor was hired and he was a disaster. Though
he was completely competent as an editor and fit well into the organization’s culture, he
tended to run roughshod over his staff, driving a couple of talented, up-and-coming
editors to leave for jobs with competitors. He
liked being an editor – being the boss – but he did not want to solicit writers
or subscribers. He offered no ideas or
direction as to how to increase circulation. After
10 months, the publishers terminated his employment and began looking for a new managing
editor.
This
time you want to find someone who wants the job and has the right skill and personality
mix. You want someone who can start quickly
and doesn’t need to be trained into the organization.
The ability to innovate is not critical, just the ability to work hard. Due to the expensive fiasco, money for recruiting
and selecting is now tight. You also want to
be certain you don’t make the same mistake a second time.
Source:
Amy K. Jones and Patricia Taylor, Managing Human Resources: Test Item File ©2001
Prentice-Hall Inc
#3 – Multiple Choice (related to the Smith
Printing case above)
1.
Given the problems that the new managing
editor had:
a)
HR should have administered a personality test as part of the selection process.
b)
Line personnel should have made the final decision, not HR.
c)
It is apparent that HR did not correctly identify appropriate job characteristics.
d)
HR did not ask the correct questions when checking references.
2. Based on the new managing editor’s
performance, it is clear that both Human Resource management and the publisher failed to
properly:
a)
assess his abilities.
b)
test his cognitive skills.
c)
assess his general knowledge of the publishing project/programme purpose.
d)
assess his motivation for the job.
3. The best selection tool for helping Smith Printing
identify the “fit” between applicants and the organization, as well as job skill and
knowledge, would have been:
a)
ability testing
b)
personality testing
c)
structured interviews
d)
an assessment center
4. Given the tight budget, the best way to
combine predictors used in the selection process would be:
a)
a clinical strategy
b)
a multiple hurdle strategy
c)
a single hurdle strategy
d)
a generic strategy
Summary
§
The
employment interview is the most common selection tool, but research shows it suffers from
significant reliability and validity problems.
To avoid problems caused by the traditional job interview, an increasing number of
organizations have adopted an approach called the structured interview.
§
Tests
of general cognitive ability evaluate verbal and quantitative abilities, measure a
person’s potential. Cognitive ability tests are valid predictors of job
performance.
§
To
cull valuable information from letters of reference, focus on the content of the letters
rather than the positive tone.
§
Behavioral
work samples evaluate samples of an applicant’s behavior while performing vital tasks
for a job. An assessment center asks candidates for managerial
or higher-level positions to perform a set of simulated tasks or exercises and appears to
be a valid predictor of job performance.
Module Test
1.) Selection tools
should be valid. By valid, we mean that the
tool corresponds to actual job performance.
True False
2.) Letters of
recommendation are among the best predictors of future job performance.
True
False
3.) In an interview,
worker-requirement questions assess a candidate’s response to a particular work
situation.
True
False
4.) John is
subjectively evaluating all of the applicant information before making a hiring decision. He is using a clinical approach in the selection
process.
True
False
5.) It is
inappropriate to ask an applicant during a job interview, “What is the origin of your
name?”
True
False
6.). Traditional interviews
have been criticized for their rigidity.
True
False
7.) Peter wants to
assess an applicant’s ability to learn, adapt and use quantitative tools. The best selection tool for assessing this would be
a cognitive ability test.
True
False
8.) Personality
and interest inventories appear to be valid predictors of job performance.
True
False
9.) Research
indicates that specific characteristics of rejection letters make a difference. Statements leave a positive impression when they
are friendly, thank the person for applying and wish him or her luck in the future.
True
False
10.) Research indicates that
distortions occur infrequently on applications.
True
False
Bibliography
Luis
R. Gómez-Mejía, “Chapter 5: Recruiting and Selecting Employees,” Managing Human Resources, ©2001 (ISBN
0-13-011333-6)
Herbert
G. Heneman III et al, “Chapter 11: External Staffing Processes,” Personnel/Human Resource Management, ©1989
(ISBN 0-256-06929-8)
Randall
S. Schuler and Vandra L. Huber, “Chapter 5: Selection and Placement,” Personnel and Human Resource Management, ©1990.
(ISBN 0-314-56277-X)
Glossary
Ability:
Competence in performing a job.