IO Psych Test 1

Your roommate, a manager for a fast food chain, is not looking forward to conducting performance appraisals on his employees. In frustration he asks you what the purpose of performance appraisal is. What do you tell him?

"Performance appraisals provide information for research into effective organizational practices."

When conducting a "pitch" to new clients that they should hire you for job analysis you should say...

"We will help you hire the best people for the job, avoiding lawsuits for discriminatory employment practices" "We can help you identify ares where training is needed by your employees"

Source of job analysis - learn to do the job yourself

(job analyst is source of information) or spend time observing employees who know how to do the job (trained observer is source of information) and then translate these experiences into a job analysis

Advantages of Objective Measures

-Easy to interpret the meaning in relation to job performance -Easy to compare job performance of different individuals in the same job -Objective measures are often tied to organizational objectives -Often these measures are already collected and available through Human Resource departments.

Disadvantages of Subjective Measures

-Judgment is required to interpret meaning of ratings in some cases. -Potential for bias in judgments.

Advantages of Subjective Measures

-Provide expert opinion on job performance -Provide good estimate of work quality

Disadvantages of Objective Measures

-Sometime these measures are not appropriate for all jobs. -Uncertainty in what number represents satisfactory job performance -Can be contaminated because of errors in record keeping or misreporting. -Focus on specific behaviors can create criterion deficiency. -Objective count might not reflect the worker's output, rather a machine that is broken.

Why are objective measures not as popular as subjective measures?

-they tend to focus of specific behaviors that may be only part of a job criterion -they tend to focus more on quantity than quality -often they are not appropriate measures for all jobs

As the Human Resource manager for New Millennium Enterprises, you hold a face to face meeting with all potential employees in which you ask the applicant a series of preplanned questions. What type of selection method is this?

A structured interview

Step 3 to point method job eval

Add up the Points: The points assigned to each job are summed across the compensable factors to arrive at a total score.

Disadvantages of the Assessment Center as an Assessment Tool

Although the overall scores in an assessment center have been shown to be valid, questions have been raised about the construct validity of the individual dimension scores (suggesting they may not be assessing different dimensions).

Five Criteria

Attendance, Communicating with others, Following directions, Motivating others, & Work quality

Why is it so difficult to implement the use of job evaluation to establish comparable worth?

Costs to raise salaries in predominately female occupations would be expensive

The local car manufacturing plant has asked you to put together a team of SMEs from which to obtain info about tasks necessary for assembly of a car engine. Who should NOT be on the team?

the factory owner

Advantages of using Interviews for Assessment

One the other hand, an interview is advantageous over an application form because the interview allows for longer and more detailed answers to questions that do not have short or simple answers.

Which is not a weakness of objective job performance measures?

Difficult to interpret their meaning in relation to job performance

Step 2 to point method job eval

Each Job is Assigned Points: Each job is assigned points by a compensation committee with respect to the degree that each has these compensable factors.

Personality integrity tests are obvious assessments of honesty and integrity

False

Scores from computerized tests are equivalent to those from paper and pencil tests.

False

Assessment methods of potential candidates for a specific job do NOT include the use of:

Family Information

Disadvantages to Personality Tests as Assessment Tools

Some problems with using personality tests are the person may fake their responses in order to get the job. Another problem is specifying how a particular personality trait such as dominance is related to particular job tasks.

Which job analysis generates scores on dimensions that are applicable to all jobs, enabling a job analyst to make comparisons among all jobs?

Functional Job Analysis

Step 4 to point method job eval

Graph Salaries by Points The scores can be plotted against the current wage for existing jobs to provide a clear picture of whether a job is currently undercompensated (below the line), overcompensated (above the line) or adequately compensated (along the line).

Two types of Subjective Measures

Graphic Rating Forms (Focusing on rating employee traits) Behavior Focused Rating Forms (focusing on rating instances of behavior).

Job analysis info is useful in which way?

Help set criteria for hiring help set criteria for performance appraisal systems help design content of jobs

Use of job performance info - Criteria for Research

I/O psychologists are usually concerned with how to improve job performance. They constantly try to find some new method that will lead to improvements in job performance, such as redesigning a job or a new training method. Whether or not these new methods actually result in improvements is usually quantified through measures of job performance.

Step one to point method job eval

Identify Compensable Factors: Managers or some other group of SMEs use a job analysis to identify the compensable factors such as: a. Consequences of error on the job b. Education required c. Responsibility d. Skill required

Unstructured Interview

the interviewer asks whatever questions come to mind.

How do you know whether an employee is doing a good job or not?

In order to make that judgment you need to know what you are looking for. The criterion provides the standard or rule on which such a judgment or decision can be based.

You must conduct a a job analysis for a vet's assistant. What would be helpful in completing a job analysis?

Interview the vet Observe the incumbents doing the job Work along side the vet for one week

Method 3 - Using Interviews for assessment

Interviewing job-applicants is another type of assessment method commonly used in the hiring process. Most interviews in the past have been face-to-face, but telephone and internet technology has reduced the number of face-to-face interviews. Some interview methods follow a strict protocol and don't allow interviewers to ask spontaneous questions until after the interview. Others methods give the interviewers control over which questions they ask. One of the advantages to interviewing job-applicants in person is it allows the interviewers to judge the job-applicant's characteristics from their behavior as well as their responses to questions.

The BARS and MSS were originally developed in part to eliminate rating errors. Do they?

It is unclear and more studies are needed to answer this question

When you plot the actual salaries for the jobs against the point totals you find the most jobs fall on a (more or less) straight line. The plot for secretaries, however, is below the line. What does this mean?

It means the secretaries are underpaid

Use of Job Analysis - Selection/Placement of Workers

Once the KSAOs for a job are identified, procedures can be chosen to determine how well job applicants' KSAOs fit the requirements for the job. There is perhaps no area of industrial psychology for which job analysis information is more important that selection and placement of workers

Use of job performance info - Administrative Decisions

Job performance data usually forms the basis for administrative decisions regarding employee promotion and termination. For instance, whether or not an employee is terminated is based on whether the employee's job performance is satisfactory or unsatisfactory. Furthermore, many organizations have merit pay systems that tie raises to the level of job performance.

two categories of job analysis techniques

Job-oriented and person-oriented

For which of the following positions is an organization most likely to use an assessment center when determining whom to hire?

Manager

Central tendency

Occur when a rater rates everyone in the middle of the performance scale.

Leniency errors

Occur when the rater rates everyone at the favorable end of the performance scale.

Severity errors

Occur when the rater rates everyone at the unfavorable end of the performance scale

Use of job performance info - Employee Development and Feedback

Often, the supervisor will review the employee every year and provide them with feedback about how they're doing. Job performance data forms the basis of this feedback which allows employees to know when they are performing well and when they are not so that they can change what they are doing.

Disadvantages of using Interviews for Assessment

One of the disadvantages of an interview is that the interviewer can affect the answers of the interviewee. Differences among interviewers in their ability to conduct an interview and personality could affect the interview process and the interviewee's responses.

Drug Testing

Organizations have turned to drug testing of applicants and employees as a means of controlling drug use at work. An estimated 30 million Americans undergo such tests each year. Such testing is of particular importance in jobs that are safety-sensitive, meaning that impaired performance could lead to accidents or injury

In frustration your friend asks what the purpose of a performance appraisal is. What do you tell him?

Performance appraisals provide info for research into effective organizational practices

Which type of test will most likely have the largest problem with applicants faking responses?

Personality test

The job analysis that job X is at the 85th percentile in terms of required reading skills. What type of job analysis was used?

Position Analysis Questionnaire

The first I/O psychology text, written by Hugo Munsterberg, was entitled:

Psychology and Industrial Efficiency

Research Support for Work Samples as Assessment Tools

Research has shown work samples are good predictors of future job performance. The success of the work sample predicting job performance has to do with the close correspondence between the assessment situation and the job itself. As with most simulation techniques, the work sample has a high degree of job relevance, which increases the likelihood that people will accept their use as predictors of important skills in employee selection

Research Support for Assessment Centers as Assessment Tools

Research on the assessment center has found it to be a valid device for the selection of employees. This means that scores on the assessment center are correlated with job performance. For instance, research has found that assessment center ratings predicted job performance both two and four years later for police officers, with correlations of .30 and .21, respectively

Research Support for Interviews as Assessment Tools

Research supports the use of structured interviews in making employment decisions, but not necessarily the use of unstructured interviews. Ratings of interviewee employment suitability from a structured interview have been shown to predict future job performance across many research studies. However, the unstructured interview has been found to be less valid as a predictor of job performance (meaning it doesn't predict future job performance as well as the results of structured interviews).

Research Support for Personality Tests as Assessment Tools

Researchers have conducted meta-analysis to investigate the relationship between personality and job-performance. Such analysis has shown that personality can predict performance, although the magnitude of the correlation is modest (suggesting personality has only a small effect on job-performance. This suggests there are many other things that affect job-performance and personality is only a modest part of it). However, researchers suggest that choosing specific personality traits known to be relevant to job-performance on particular tasks will do a better job of predicting job-performance.

Method 1 - Using Psychological Tests for Assessment

Some psychological tests are more like personality inventories because they are meant to assess the job-applicants traits, such as conscientiousness. Other tests would assess things like verbal or mathematical abilities. Lastly, some tests assess things like dexterity. In these cases, psychological tests were used to try to assess an underlying or basic ability in job-applicants which in turn should predict job-performance

Bias is less of a concern in a(n) _________ then in a(n) ____________.

Structured interview; unstructured interview

Error-resistant forms to assess performance

The behavior focused rating scales (BARS, MSS) were developed to eliminate rating errors. The idea is that raters will be able to make more accurate ratings if they focus on specific behaviors rather than traits.

In the future the biggest changes in the area of assessment will involve

The use of the computer as an assessment tool

In the Research in Detail feature of the text, the author describes a study by Borman, Dorsey and Ackerman (1992), in which they asked stockbrokers to describe their jobs. Which of the following statements is true?

There can be differences in time spent doing tasks among people in the same job.

As the Human Resources director of New Millennium Enterprises you are asked to justify your use of integrity tests. What can you tell your boss?

They predict both counterproductive behavior and job performance

One strength of biographical inventories is that

They predict performance

Job Components Inventory (JCI)

This hybrid method compares different jobs across several common dimensions (i.e. Use of tools, Perceptual and physical requirements, Mathematics, etc.). It allows for the simultaneous assessment of the job requirements and a person's KSAOs (which is why is it known as a hybrid approach because it focuses on both the job and person).

Method 5 - Assessment Centers for assessment

Using an assessment center is supposed to allow for selecting the best job-applicant in white color managerial jobs. Applicants could participate in a simulation exercise in which they pretend to deal with problems that managers typically face, such as dealing with subordinates. In addition to different role-playing exercises, the assessment center may also have applicants take tests designed to reveal personality traits or other psychological tests.

Method 4 - Work Samples for assessment

When job-applicants are asked to perform a simulated job under carefully controlled conditions, this is called a work sample. This method is supposed to work best because it allows judges to observe a job-applicant while they are doing a sample task that approximates tasks on the job. This method is used on American Idol where job-applicants or contestants are asked to provide work samples in front of judges and audiences. Based on these work-samples, the voters and judges select the American Idol. One of the disadvantages to this method is it can be costly to set up a simulation of a job and have job-applicants perform tasks while judges make ratings.

Contextual Performance

extra voluntary things employees do to benefit their coworkers and organizations

Rater training to reduce errors

familiarizes raters with rater errors and teaches them to avoid these rating patterns.

Emotional Intelligence Tests

a characteristic that falls between a personality trait and cognitive ability. It can be defined as the ability to control and recognize emotions in oneself and in others. In theory this ability makes people more socially skilled, enabling them to be aware of and to control their impact on others. In a work setting this means being able to work smoothly with colleagues and in supervisory positions, the ability to exert leadership.

Most jobs involve many different functions and tasks, thus administrative decisions often depend on

a composite criterion

Assume your next exam in this class contains 300 multiple choice questions, and that you have only 30 minutes to complete it. What type of test is this?

a group speed test

Daiymo car company has 100,000 applicants for 3,000 jobs. What types of tests can it use to cut down the number of applicants quickly and inexpensively?

a group test

Functional Job Analysis (FJA)

a highly structured job-oriented approach in which data are obtained about what tasks a worker does and how those tasks are performed. Specifically, a series of task statements are developed that are believed to be relevant for the job in question. SMEs (Job incumbents & Supervisors) rate each of these statements on a series of dimensions. This method provides a description of a job and scores on several dimensions concerning the job and potential workers. The dimensions are applicable to all jobs, so that the procedure can be used to make comparisons among jobs

You have been hired to conduct a job analysis at a local fast food chain. After completing the analysis you conclude that the job requires the job incumbent to cook hamburgers. What type of job analysis have you performed?

a job-oriented job analysis

Dictionary od Occupational Titles (DOT)

a large document that contains job analysis information for many jobs. It consists of narrative descriptions of tasks, duties and working conditions for many jobs that can help match people with jobs. FJA was the job analysis method used to produce the DOT

Interview

a meeting between the job applicant and someone at the employing organization who will have input into the hiring decision. This can be done face-to-face or done via technology, such as a telephone or videophone. Interviews can be used as an alternative to an application form or a written questionnaire to collect information

Job analysis

a method for describing jobs and the human characteristics that contribute to successful job performance jobs are described in terms of component tasks or duties and the knowledge or skills required to perform them

EI Assessment - Information Processing Test

a multiple choice format with one right answer per question. It is based on the assumption that people cannot directly report their EI because it is not accessible to their awareness. Instead, individuals reveal their EI by choosing the correct answers on the test, just as they would indicate cognitive ability with a general intelligence test.

As a new IO psychologist, your first assignment is to conduct a job analysis in which you describe the characteristics, attributes and knowledge necessary for a person to perform the job. This type of analysis is known as

a person-oriented approach

What type of approach is a PAQ and why?

a person-oriented approach to job analysis because it focuses on identifying the worker characteristics required for jobs

After competing a job analysis, you conclude that incumbents are most likely to perform well if they are mechanically inclined. What type of job analysis have you performed?

a person-oriented job analysis

You have applied for a job as Public Relations spokesperson for New Millennium Enterprises. As part of the hiring process you are required to take a test designed to measure your tendency to behave in an extroverted way. What type of test is this?

a personality test

ex of job analysis

a police officer's job can be described in terms of different component tasks or duties (i.e. patrol duties, paperwork tasks, and apprehending criminals) as well as the human characteristics that contribute to successful job performance (i.e. knowledge of legal arrest procedures, skill in using a firearm)

Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)

a standardized questionnaire that focuses on general work behaviors and is useful in describing many types of jobs. The PAQ consists of 189 standard items (organized along 6 dimensions) that describe general work behaviors, work conditions and job characteristics. The incumbent employee or SME decides whether each item pertains to the job in question. Those that do are evaluated in terms of the extent to which it is used on the job and its importance to the job. These responses can be translated into a profile of KSAOs for any job and compared to all jobs in the PAQ database

Psychological Test

a standardized series of problems or questions that assess a particular individual characteristic. For instance, KSAO's, attitude assessment, interests and personality assessments are commonly used to determine differences between job-applicants

Job Evaluation

a technique based on job analysis that attempts to determine the value or worth of particular jobs to organizations so that salaries can be set accordingly. Most of us would agree that the clerk who works in the hospital restaurant makes a less important contribution to the organization that the chief surgeon. Job evaluation is about trying to quantify differences of this sort so that salaries can be set in a fair manner based on the value or contribution of jobs.

Work Sample

a test that asks a person to perform a simulated job. The person is given the necessary materials and tools and must perform a particular task, such as assembling a motor, under controlled conditions. Perhaps the most familiar work sample is the driving test required of applicants for a driver's license. The applicant is asked to complete a series of maneuvers with the automobile. A work sample in an organizational setting might be used the same way to determine if a person is suitable for a particular job.

You have applied for a position as a proofreader at PDQ Publishing. Before being hired you are given a manuscript and asked to indicate any errors. This type of assessment is an example of

a work sample

Assume your next exam in this class contains two essay questions, and that you have three hours to complete it. What type of test is this?

an open-ended power test

KSAO - Other personal characteristics

are every other human attribute not covered by the first three. Other personal characteristics could be assessed from performance appraisal forms.

Close-Ended Tests

are like multiple choice tests. The test assesses characteristics such as knowledge by recognizing a correct response from a number of incorrect responses

Biographical Information Forms

ask about relevant prior experiences, such as level of education and work experience. It asks much more detailed background questions than a typical application form. Whereas application forms ask about level of education and work experience, the biographical inventory asks about specific experiences at school and work, or even other areas of life. Biographical inventories contain some questions that ask about objective, verifiable facts such as your college GPA. Other questions ask about opinions or subjective experiences such as, "Did you enjoy college"?

In-Basket Exercise

asks person to pretend that it's the first day of a new job and have found a series of items in their in-basket (i.e. emails, letters, memos, phone messages). The person's task is to deal with each item in an appropriate manner, deciding what action if any to take by making notes on each item.

Occupational Information Network (O*NET)

aspires to identify and describe the key components of modern occupations. This computer-based resource (www.online.onetcenter.org) provides a tremendous amount of information about the content of jobs and KSAOs needed by individuals in those jobs. With O*NET it is possible to lookup a particular job and get a description and detailed information about the KSAO's and characteristics of jobs. It is categorized as a hybrid approach because it focuses simultaneously on the job tasks and the worker characteristics

Psychomotor Ability Tests

assess such things as ability to manipulate objects and use tools. The text lists two psychomotor ability tests: The Hand-tool Dexterity test and the Stromberg Dexterity Test, which assesses arm and hand movement accuracy and speed. Psychomotor test are examples of performance tests, while cognitive ability tests are usually paper-and-pencil.

EI Assessment - Trait Test

assesses emotional intelligence as a personality characteristic accessible to the person's awareness. The test looks like a personality scale with people responding how well each item describes them on a rating scale (i.e. from 1 to 10).

In response to each item, the rated indicated the amount of time the rater engaged in that behavior. This describes a:

behavior observation scale

The performance measure contains a scale that measures dependability. The rater selects the behavior that best describes the ratee. This performance measure is a ...

behaviorally anchored rating scale

"During high school, what grades did you get in your chemistry class?" This question is most likely to appear on what kind of assessment device?

biographical inventory

A grocery store manager measures good performance by throwing a ball at each employee and seeing if they catch it or not. Therefore, the person who most catches the ball is considered the best performing employee. This measure is high in:

both criterion deficiency and criterion contamination

job-oriented approach

focuses on describing the various tasks that are performed on the job. For instance, for the job of Police officer, the job-oriented job analysis produces a detailed description of the tasks specific to this job such as, "Completes report after arresting suspect"

Assessment Center

can contain many different activities and exercises. For instance, the person (i.e. assesse) might be interviewed and take a battery of psychological tests, in addition to completing several simulation exercises (i.e. in-basket exercise, a leaderless-group exercise, a problem solving simulation, and role plays).

Group Test

can involve testing hundreds of job-applicants at once using paper and pencil tests. For instance, the SAT test is group administered.

You are given a test that measures your mathematical ability. This is one type of

cognitive ability test

Behavior-Focused Rating Forms

concentrates on specific instances of behavior that the person has done or could be expected to do. Behaviors are chosen to represent different levels of performance. The rater indicates which behaviors are characteristic of the person being rated. Three different behavior focused rating forms are BARS, MSS and BOS

The first step in selecting personnel is

conducting a job analysis of the position

use of job analysis - career development

contributes by providing a picture of the KSAO requirements for jobs at each level of the career ladder, and by identifying the key competencies. Employees can then focus on the skills necessary for career advancement because they are told exactly what additional abilities, skills or knowledge they need to be eligible for promotion

Objective Performance Measures

counts of various behaviors (e.g. number of days absent from work) or the results of job behaviors (e.g. total monthly sales). Other examples of objective measures include: number of accidents, incidents, and lateness

The part of the actual criterion that reflects something other than it was designed to measure is called:

criterion contamination

In an MSS the statements for the various dimensions are presented in random order. This serves to:

decrease the bias of the rater

Theoretical Criterion

definition of what good performance is rather than how it is measured. This is a theoretical construct. It is the idea of what good performance is.

Knowledge and Skill Test aka Achievement Test

designed to asses a person's present level of proficiency in either what one knows (i.e. a knowledge test) or what one is able to do (i.e. a skill test).

A job-oriented job analysis provides information about the tasks that must be completed if the job is to be performed well. This type of job analysis is MOST helpful for

designing performance appraisal systems

You are preparing to conduct a job evaluation for Spectrocorp Inc., a manufacture of virtual pets. You have chosen to use the point method. What is the first step you should take?

determine the compensable factors for the job

A main issue in performance appraisal

determining which criteria to use as the basis for evaluating employees

Empirical Biographic Inventory

developed by administering a large number of potential items to a group of employees in a particular job. Those items related to job performance are retained for the scale. This is considered empirical because the items that are used for the scale have been observed to correlate with job performance. Empirical means "to know by observing", so in this case the items are based on "what works" and has been observed to predict job performance in the past.

Rational Biographical Inventory

developed by beginning with an analysis of KSAO requirements and then devising items that reflect them. This is consider "rational" because items were developed and based on theory. So, an "empirical approach" to developing inventory items/questions would require observing which items/questions are good at predicting job performance and then using only those items/questions on the inventory scale. However, the "rational approach" to developing inventory items/questions is based on logical argument and theory about which items should (in theory) predict job performance.

Your professor tends to rate everyone's presentation the same. We would say that these ratings contain:

distributional errors

Multidimensional Approach

does not combine the individual criterion measures. In this case, employees receive feedback scores for each criteria rather than an overall composite score. This approach is preferred for giving employees specific feedback about where their strengths and weaknesses are

Consider the job of "student". Which of the following is a theoretical criterion for this job?

engage in scholarly activities

Actions that must be done on a job are called:

essential functions

Person-Oriented Approach

focuses on identifying the broad human characteristics that contribute to successful job performance. For instance, one of the tasks involved in being a police officer is to "Mediate a dispute between two people to prevent a violent incident" collects information about broad human characteristics (KSAOs) associated with success at this task including, "Ability to communicate with others."

Disadvantages to Using Work Samples as Assessment Tools

for many work samples, the applicant must already have experience with the task, work samples can be costly to develop, and the work sample is specific to a particular type of job.

You have been assigned to collect job analysis information for your first job analysis. Which method is the most efficient method for you to use?

give questionnaires to SMEs

Power Tests

give the test taker almost unlimited time to complete the test

Work samples have been found to be _______ predictors of future job performance.

good

Professor Smith is a very organized lecturer, but because he is rude and short with students he received negative ratings in all dimensions. This is an example of a:

halo error

Speed Tests

have a strict time limit. Speed tests are good for distinguishing applicants in terms of their speed to do some task.

Job analysis info on the job of a nuclear power engineer should not be gathered by

having the job analysis perform the job

Use of Job Analysis - Legal Issues

help identify essential functions that must be done on a job and corresponding KSAOs. Using a list of relevant KSAOs as the basis for hiring rather than irrelevant personal characteristics is important from a legal standpoint. This can help ensure that decisions about actions that affect people (i.e. hiring, promotion) are based on personal factors that are job relevant (KSAOs) and hence legally defensible

Your psychology professor has decided to appraise your course performance using only objective measures. Which of the following CANNOT be used?

his rating of you as an outstanding student

Use of Job Analysis - Training

identify areas in which training programs need to be developed. An effective training program in an organization should be based on a thorough analysis of the KSAO requirements for a job. The KSAO requirements can be compared to the KSAOs of applicants or employees. Deficiencies on the part of applicants or employees are the areas in which training efforts should be directed

Source of job analysis - ask subject matter experts (SME) for info

in interviews or by completing job analysis questionnaires. In this case, the Supervisor and/or Job incumbent serve as the source of information about the job

Cognitive Ability Tests

include intelligence, or IQ tests of general cognitive ability (which is the best known cognitive ability test). Individual tests of mathematical or verbal ability are also examples of cognitive ability tests. Research has consistently shown that cognitive ability tests are valid predictors of job performance across a large number of different kinds of jobs. In other words, people who score well on cognitive-ability tests tend to perform better on many jobs (but not always, suggesting there are other factors besides general-cognitive-ability that affect job-performance). However, cognitive ability tests have a long history of use by large organizations for employee selection because of their efficiency and validity.

Job analysis can provide

info for vocational counseling a method for evaluating monetary worth of jobs info for designing jobs for efficiency and safety

Performance Tests

involve the manipulation of apparatus, equipment, materials or tools. An example is a typing test in which speed and accuracy of performance are assessed under controlled conditions

Paper and Pencil Test

involve writing a response on a test printed on paper (or responding on a computer keyboard to a virtual-paper-and-pencil test).

Composite Approach

involves combining individual criteria into a single score This approach is preferred for administrative purposes such as determining who gets a promotion.

Point Method

involves estimating the value of jobs based on points assigned to various predetermined dimensions called Compensable Factors (to indicate that employees are compensated based on them). The idea is that jobs requiring greater amounts of compensable factors should be more highly compensated.

Skill

is something that a job-applicant is able to do, such as computer programing or speed-typing. Skill level should determine Job-performance in many jobs. A job-applicants skills could be assessed in skill-demonstrations that are timed, such as a typist rate per minute.

Ability

is the capability to learn something, such as the ability to learn to use a cash register or computer-software. Job performance is in part determined by a job-applicant's ability level, since this would determine the applicant's ability to learn job-relevant skills. Abilities could be assessed using paper-and-pencil basic ability tests

The DOT has not been revised since 1977. Why has the department of labor not updated it?

it was replaced by the O*NET

Jobs require individuals with specific knowledge, skills, abilities and other personal characteristics. These KSAOs are identified by a detailed study called a

job analysis

Use of Job Analysis - Vocational Counseling

job analysis can be used to determine the KSAO requirements for specific occupations. Ability tests can be used to determine an individual's KSAOs. Scores of how well the individual's KSAOs match job requirements can be computed to demonstrate the best and worst fitting occupation for each person

Whether two positions have comparable worth is best determined by a ...

job evaluation

Disadvantages of Using Biographical Inventories for assessment

job-applicants may not answers questions truthfully in order to fit in with expected standards. biggest criticism of biographical inventories is limited to the empirical variety. It raises the point that items are chosen based entirely on their ability to predict job performance rather than on an apparent link to job requirements. Sometimes an item can predict performance even though it cannot be linked to a KSAO necessary for job performance. These items are combined into scores that predict performance but not reflect job-related KSAOs. Many questions in such inventories can appear completely unrelated to the job or job performance. Applicants may consider some questions as an invasion of privacy, such as questions about high school dating behavior. They may also believe that the assessment's use is unfair, which can lead to increased legal challenges to the selection system. Finally, such inventories have limited generalizability and may only be useful for the job and location where they were developed. On the other hand, rational inventories can often be used for many jobs and locations.

Comparable Worth

jobs of equal (or comparable) worth to the organization should be compensated equally. This issue has been linked quite closely to gender differences in compensation. If jobs that are held predominantly by women contribute as much to the organization as jobs held primarily by men, the jobs should be paid the same. A job evaluation method can help estimate the comparable worth of jobs. For instance, using the point method, jobs held by men can be compared to jobs held by women in terms of compensable factors. If comparable worth has been achieved, then current salary levels for men and women should correspond to the compensable factors.

Vocational Interest Tests

match either the interests or the personality of the test taker to those of people in a variety of different occupations and occupational categories. Interests are assessed by asking the test taker to indicate preferences for engaging in various activities, such as attending a sporting event or visiting a museum. Personality is relevant because specific traits may drive people's interests: for example, people who are outgoing and extraverted might prefer activities that involve contact with other people. Data from vocational interest tests are available about the answers of people in many different occupations. The test taker's answers are matched to those of people in different occupations to see how well they fit each occupation. Interest and personality profiles vary considerably from occupation to occupation. Therefore, any individual test taker will match some occupations and not others. The match between a person's vocational interests and those of people in occupations is presumed to predict satisfaction with the occupation. The idea behind the tests is to encourage people to select careers that match their interests.

The biggest criticism of biographical inventories is that they:

may not link items to job performance and KSAOs

Advantages of Using Biographical Inventories for assessment

methods include using a standardized set and order of questions for all job-applicants to answer, and because it is like a survey, the cost is relatively inexpensive compared to other methods such as psychological testing or work-samples

Graphic Rating Forms

most popular type of subjective measure which is used to assess individuals on several dimensions of performance. The scale represents a continuum of performance from low to high and usually contains from four to seven values.

Your friend uses records on the number of absences, the number of teddy bears produced and the number of defective bears per employee. She then bases her employees' pay raises on these measures. What type of measure did she use?

objective

Halo Errors

occur when a rater gives an individual the same rating across all rating dimensions despite differences in performance across dimensions. it is possible that this is not an error if Employee A is actually performing outstanding in each of these areas (called a true halo).

Distributional Errors

occur when a rater tends to rate everyone the same. Three types of distributional error patterns are Leniency errors, Severity errors, Central tendency These rating patterns only suggest an error has been made, and in some cases these distributional error patterns do not reflect errors, rather all employees might have performed the same, leading to similar ratings.

Use of Job Analysis - Performance Appraisal

one of the most frequent uses of job analysis data. To conduct a useful and fair performance appraisal, organizations must have clearly stipulated goals, objectives and criteria on which employees can be evaluated. The job analysis identifies the important elements of the job that employees will be evaluated on

Personality Tests

personality tests are designed to assess a single personality trait; personality inventories access multiple dimensions and are sometimes used to provide profiles of individuals across several personality traits. For example, the extroverted type of person tends to be high on the traits of activity, optimism, sociability, and talkativeness, whereas the introverted type tends to be high on carefulness, quietness, passivity, and unsociability.

Mixed Standard Scale (MSS)

provides the rater with a list of behaviors that vary in their effectiveness. For each statement, the rater is asked to indicate whether the employee is better or worse than the statement or whether the statement fits the employee.

A standardized series of problems or questions that assesses a particular individual characteristic is a(n)

psychological test

Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS)

rating scale in which the response choices are defined in behavioral terms instead of the graphic rating forms that asks for a rating of how well the person performs along the dimension in question. The BARS asks the rater to choose the behavior that comes closest to describing the performance of the person in question.

Subjective Measures

ratings by people who should be knowledgeable about the person's job performance. Usually supervisors provide job performance ratings of their subordinates. Subjective measures are the most frequently used means of assessing the job performance of employees. Most organizations require that supervisors complete annual performance appraisal rating forms on each of their subordinates.

Knowledge

refers to what a job-applicant knows about a job, such as legal knowledge for an attorney. Job performance is in part determined by job-relevant knowledge. Knowledge could be assessed with a paper and pencil test.

Role-Play Exercise

requires the person pretend to be a particular person in a specific organizational role, such as the manager of human resources. The task is to handle a problem or situation, such as counseling a troubled employee or dealing with an irate customer

Open-Ended Tests

responses are generating by the test taker rather than choosing from alternatives. Open-ended tests are good for assessing expressive characteristics such as writing and communicating abilities

Research evidence suggests that job performance is static in nature.

results are inconclusive at this point

Which is not a use of performance appraisal information?

selection of appropriate job applicants

Leaderless Group Exercise

several people are given a problem to solve together. The problem might be a competitive one, such as role playing a managerial position and you must decide which department gets a new piece of equipment. Or, the problem could be a cooperative one, such as deciding whether or not to make a new product. In this cooperative exercise, all group members must generate a solution to an organizational problem.

Research Support for Biographical Inventories as Assessment Tools

shown that biographical inventories can predict job performance. In a direct comparison, researchers found Empirical and Rational types of inventories had similar predictive power to predict job performance. Biographical inventories have been found to add predictability over and above personality tests, suggesting they don't just assess the same thing.

Research support for Personality Tests as Assessment Tools

shown they can predict both counterproductive behavior and job performance. Interestingly, research has shown that integrity tests may do a better job of predicting absence, general counterproductive behavior, and job-performance than theft. So, it seems integrity tests can predict useful behaviors at work besides theft, so using integrity tests for selection can have benefits beyond control of theft.

Method 2 - Using Biographical Inventories for assessment

similar to filling out an application form with additional questions designed to assess characteristics in job-applicants that can predict job-performance. This application-based method of assessment is referred to as the "Biographical Inventory". Biographical inventories collect information that describe job-relevant characteristics in the job-applicants

Behavior Observation Scale (BOS)

similar to the MSS in that lists of behaviors (called critical incidents) are used in the scale, however, instead of asking raters to indicate whether the employee is better, worse or fits the description, the rater indicates the amount of time the employee does each behavior. A critical incident is an event reflecting effective or ineffective behavior by an employee. In theory, this scale should indicate how often employees engage in performance-relevant behavior.

Applicants for secretarial positions at ABC Publishing Co. must take a typing test. This typing test measures the applicant's

skill

Use of Job Analysis - Research

studies that try to relate the characteristics of jobs (as determined by job analysis) to organizational phenomenon. For instance, research into job stress has investigated the role of job complexity (Higher vs. Lower complexity in jobs as determined by job analysis) on the amount of emotional strain at work

The Task Inventory Approach

task statements are generated by experts who are familiar with the jobs (SMEs). Once a list of task statements has been generated, this list which can include hundreds of task statements is usually administered to incumbents who put a check next to those statements that describe a task that they do on their job. These task statements are checked as being done on the job and are also rated as to the importance of the task to the job and the relative time spent on the job doing each task. Together, these pieces of information can provide a thorough analysis or picture of the job.

Candidates who are given a __________ interview are likely to have an advantage during a job search.

telephone

Criterion Relevance refers to ...

that part of the theoretical criterion that is assessed by the actual criterion

Criterion Contamination

the actual criterion can be biased and can assess something other than the theoretical criterion can arise from biases in the criterion and from unreliability. Unreliability in the actual criterion refers to errors in measurement that occur any time we try to assess something.

Criterion Deficiency

the actual criterion does not adequately cover the entire theoretical criterion. In other words, the actual criterion is an incomplete representation of what we are trying to assess.

Criterion Relevance

the actual criterion often provides only a rough estimate of the theoretical criterion it is supposed to assess; the closer the correspondence between the actual and theoretical criteria, the greater the relevance of the actual criterion.

Task inventories are likely to ask job incumbents to rate

the amount of time spent doing each task the importance of each task the difficulty of learning each task

Structured Interview

the interviewer has a preplanned series of questions that are asked of every person who is interviewed. This makes the interviewer use a relatively standard set of questions that allows the interviewer to collect the same information about each interviewee. Some interviews are moderately structured in that the questions to be asked or just the topics to be covered are specified and standardized. Others have strict requirements that questions be asked in a set order, that the same phrasing be used, and that interviewees not ask questions themselves until the end. Research has suggested that the more highly structured approaches are probably the most valid, and therefore as much structure as possible should be introduced into the interview

KSAOs

the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics required of the person to do a particular task. KSAO's describe the sort of person needed

Which assessment center exercise would provide the most information about an applicant's ability to cooperate with others?

the leaderless group exercise

The manager wants to provide feedback in order to give specific inf about various dimensions of performance. What approach would you recommend?

the multidimensional approach

Problem-Solving Stimulation

the person is given a problem and asked to come up with a solution, perhaps by producing a report. The problem provides sufficient background information from which to write the report. For example, the person could be given information about the costs and projected income for opening a new assembly plant. The task would be to produce a feasibility report for opening the plant

Actual Criterion

the way in which the theoretical construct is assessed or operationalized. It is the performance appraisal technique that is used.

The abstract definition of good performance is referred to as ...

theoretical criterion

Why was JCI developed?

to address the need to match job requirements to worker characteristics and is particularly useful for vocational guidance offered in schools. The degree to which a person's KSAOs match different job requirements can help identify if an individual is suited to a particular job or needs additional training in order to perform the job adequately.

The JCI was developed for which of the following reasons

to match job requirements to worker characteristics

George received negative ratings on all 5 performance dimensions because he really is quite poor on all dimensions. This is an example of a:

true halo

Dynamic Criteria

variability of job performance over time. Research studies have suggested that job performance can be variable and that people differ in their patterns of performance variability.

A job analysis can provide information on

worker characteristics required to successfully perform the job; tasks done on the job