Chapter 11

A popular alternative to graphic rating scales is the

-Behavior Observation Scale (BOS) -requires raters to rate the frequency with which workers perform specific behaviors representative of the job dimensions that are critical to successful job performance

Getting background information

-Conduct criminal record checks -Ask applicants to sign a waiver to check references, run a background check, or contact people with knowledge of work history -Ask applicants if there is anything they want the company to know -Consider hiring a private investigator

Application Forms

-May ask applicants only for job related information -commonly ask applicants for non job related information, such as marital status, maiden name, age, date of high school grad

2 ways to improve performance appraisal measures

-Objective and subject performance measures

Specific Aptitude Test

-Specific ability tests measure the extent to which an applicant possesses the particular kind of ability needed to do a job well. -Specific ability tests are also called aptitude tests because they measure aptitude for doing a particular task well.

Downsizing

-The planned elimination of jobs in a company. -May actually decrease productivity and lead to loss of skilled workers.

Job analysis collects 4 kinds of information

-Work activities -Tools and equipment used to do to the job -Context in which the job is performed (actual working conditions/schedule) -The personnel requirements for performing the job (knowledge, skills, abilities)

Frame of reference training

-a group of trainees learns how to do performance appraisals by watching a video of an employee at work and then evaluating the person's performance -a trainer shares his or her evaluations, and trainees' evaluations are compared with experts' -expert explains his or her evaluation -process repeated until the differences are minimized

An in-basket exercise is

-a paper-and-pencil test in which an applicant is given a manager's in-basket containing memos, phone messages, organizational policies, and other communications normally received by and available to managers

Work sample tests

-also called performance tests, require applicants to perform tasks that are actually done on the job -directly measure job applicants' capability to do the job.

Situational question

-ask applicants how they would respond in a hypothetical situation ("What would you do if . . . ?"). These questions are more appropriate for hiring new graduates, who are unlikely to have encountered real-work situations because of their limited work experience.

Interviews

-companies ask applicants questions to determine if they are qualified for the job -frequently used and relied on

Biographical data (Biodata)

-extensive surveys that ask applicants questions about their personal backgrounds and life experiences -the basic idea is that past behavior (personal background and life experience) is the best predictor of future behavior -Most questionnaires have over 100 items that gather information about habits and attitudes, health, interpersonal relations, money, what it was like growing up in your family (parents, siblings, childhood years, teen years), personal habits, current home (spouse, children), hobbies, education and training, values, preferences, and work. In general, biodata are very good predictors of future job performance, especially in entry-level jobs.

semistructured interviews

-hybrids of structured and unstructured interviews -A major part is based on structured questions, but some time is set aside for unstructured interviewing to allow the interviewer to probe into ambiguous or missing information uncovered during the structured portion of the interview.

disparate treatment

-intentional discrimination -occurs when people, despite being qualified, are intentionally not given the same hiring, promotion, or membership opportunities as other employees because of their race, color, age, sex, ethnic group, national origin, or religious beliefs.

Performance appraisals are used for four broad purposes

-making administrative decisions (e.g., pay increase, promotion, retention) -providing feedback for employee development (e.g., performance feedback, developing career plans) -evaluating human resource programs (e.g., validating selection systems) -documentation purposes (e.g., documenting performance ratings and decisions based on those ratings).

Cognitive Ability Test

-measure the extent to which applicants have abilities in perceptual speed, verbal comprehension, numerical aptitude, general reasoning, and spatial aptitude. -indicate how quickly and how well people understand words, numbers, logic, and spatial dimensions -cognitive ability tests accurately predict job performance in almost all kinds of jobs -if you were allowed to use just one selection test, a cognitive ability test would be the one to use.

E-Learning Disadvantages

-not always the appropriate method -not effective for changing behavior or developing problem- solving skills -require significant investment in technology -many employees find it boring and unengaging

Hostile work environment

-occurs when unwelcome and demeaning sexually related behavior creates an intimidating, hostile, and offensive work environment. -may not result in economic injury but it can lead to psychological injury from a stressful work environment.

Training can be evaluated in four ways

-on reactions (how satisfied trainees were with the program) -on learning (how much employees improved their knowledge or skills) -on behavior (how much employees actually changed their on-the-job behavior because of training) -on results (how much training improved job performance, such as increased sales or quality, or decreased costs).

Resumes

-pose a problem because of false data -managers should verify all information in resumes

outplacement services

-provide employment counseling for people faced with downsizing -services often include advice and training in preparing résumés, getting ready for job interviews, and even identifying job opportunities in other companies

Applicants have a limited time to

-read through the in-basket, prioritize the items, and decide how to deal with each item -Experienced managers then score the applicants' decisions and recommendations

Computer Based Learning (E-Learning) Advantages

-reduce travel costs -increase productivity -decrease employee stress -can be faster than traditional training methods

companies use ERIPs to

-reduces number of employees, lowers costs, create new openings

If companies do find themselves in financial or strategic situations where downsizing is required for survival

-they should train managers in how to break the news to downsized employees -have senior managers explain in detail why downsizing is necessary -time the announcement so that employees hear it from the company and not from other sources, such as TV or newspaper reports -companies should do everything they can to help downsized employees find other jobs.

adverse impact

-unintentional discrimination -occurs when members of a particular race, sex, or ethnic group are unintentionally harmed or disadvantaged because they are hired, promoted, or trained (or any other employment decision) at substantially lower rates than others.

Assessment Centers

-use a series of job-specific simulations that are graded by multiple trained observers to determine applicants' ability to perform managerial work -most often used to select applicants who have high potential to be good managers

A ____ is a performance appraisal process in which feedback is obtained from the boss, subordinates, peers, and co-workers as well as the employees themselves.

360 degree feedback

Employee Separation

A broad term covering the loss of an employee for any reason.

sexual harassment

A form of discrimination in which unwelcome sexual advances, request for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conducts of a sexual nature occurs.

Job analysis

A purposeful, systematic process for collecting information on the important work-related aspects of a job.

Topics to avoid in an interview

Children Age Disabilities Physical characteristics Name Citizenship Lawsuits Arrest records Smoking AIDS/HIV

Pay-structure decisions

Concerned with internal pay distribution, meaning the extent to which people in the company receive very different levels of pay

Pay-level decisions

Decisions about whether to pay workers at a level above, below, or at current market wages.

Managers can do three different things to make performance reviews as comfortable and productive as possible.

First, managers should separate developmental feedback, which is designed to improve future performance, from administrative feedback, which is used to evaluate past performance, often for determining rewards such as raises. Second, Meyer suggests that performance appraisal feedback sessions be based on self-appraisals, in which employees carefully assess their own strengths, weaknesses, successes, and failures in writing. Because employees play an active role in the review of their performance, managers can be coaches rather than judges. Finally, what people do with the performance feedback they receive really matters

Which of the following statements about employee turnover is true?

One of the best ways to discourage turnover is to link pay directly to performance.

External recruiting

Process of developing a pool of qualified job applicants from outside the company. Advertising Employee referrals Walk-ins Outside organizations Employment services Special events Internet job sites

Pay-variability decisions

The extent to which employees' pay varies with individual and company performance

Employee turnover

The loss of employees who choose to leave the company.

Internal Recruiting

The process of developing a pool of qualified job applicants from people who already work within the company

When managers give developmental feedback, they're acting as coaches, but when they give administrative feedback, they're acting as judges.

These roles, coaches and judges, are clearly incompatible. As coaches, managers are encouraging, pointing out opportunities for growth and improvement, and employees are typically open and receptive to feedback. But as judges, managers are evaluative, and employees are typically defensive and closed to feedback.

Career path

a planned sequence of jobs through which employees may advance within an organization. For example, a person who starts as a sales representative may move up to sales manager and then to district or regional sales manager

Job posting

a procedure for advertising job openings within the company to existing employees.

Job specification

a summary of the qualifications needed to successfully perform a job

Job description

a written description of the basic tasks, duties, and responsibilities required of an employee holding a particular job

Four-fifths rule

adverse impact occurs if the decision rate for a protected group of people is less than 80% of the decision rate for a nonprotected group.

What is the primary advantage of the structured interview?

all applicants are asked the same questions

leaderless group discussion,

another common assessment center exercise, a group of six applicants is given approximately two hours to solve a problem, but no one is put in charge (hence the name "leaderless" group discussion)

Background questions

ask applicants about their work experience, education, and other qualifications ("Tell me about the training you received at . . .").

Job-knowledge questions

ask applicants to demonstrate their job knowledge (e.g., nurses might be asked, "Give me an example of a time when one of your patients had a severe reaction to a medication. How did you handle it?").

Behavioral questions

ask applicants what they did in previous jobs that were similar to the job for which they are applying ("In your previous jobs, tell me about . . ."). These questions are more appropriate for hiring experienced individuals

A study in the construction industry found that when equipment is stolen from building sites, workers are the culprits 82 percent of the time. Which type of selection information would employers in the construction industry receive the greatest benefit from if their goal is to stop employee theft?

background checks

Compensation includes

both the financial and the nonfinancial rewards that organizations give employees in exchange for their work.

According to the text, if an employer were to use only one type of selection test, ____ would be the one to use.

cognitive ability tests

Which of the following types of tests accurately predicts job performance in almost all kinds of jobs?

cognitive ability tests

Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs)

compensate employees by awarding them shares of company stock in addition to their regular compensation

The term ____ refers to both the financial and nonfinancial rewards organizations give employees in exchange for their work.

compensation

Before beginning to recruit, organizations must ____.

conduct a job analysis

Job evaluation

determines the worth of each job by determining market value of skills required to perform it

About half of the companies using 360-degree feedback for performance appraisal now use the feedback only for

developmental purposes.

Darlene Jespersen worked in a sports bar. She was an outstanding employee, but she didn't wear makeup because she felt it "took away her credibility" and interfered with her ability to be an effective bartender, which sometimes required her to deal with unruly, intoxicated guests. This changed when the sports bar implemented a "beverage department image transformation" program. Female employees were told they would be fired if they did not wear makeup. Jespersen contended that it was an example of ____ because male employees did not have to wear makeup.

disparate treatment

An ESOP is an ____

employee stock ownership plan

piecework pay plans

employees are paid a set rate for each item produced up to some standard (e.g., 35 cents per item produced for output up to 100 units per day). Once productivity exceeds the standard, employees are paid a set amount for each unit of output over the standard (e.g., 45 cents for each unit above 100 units).

profit sharing

employees receive a portion of the organization's profits over and above their regular compensation. The more profitable the company, the more profit is shared

Phased retirement

employees transition to retirement by working reduced hours before completely retiring -have more free time but continue to ear salaries

General effect of the laws

employers may not discriminate in employment decisions based on sex, age, religion, color, national origin, race, disability.

360-degree feedback

feedback comes from four sources: the boss, subordinates, peers and coworkers, and the employees themselves. The data, which are obtained anonymously (except for the boss's), are compiled into a feedback report comparing the employee's self-ratings with those of the boss, subordinates, and peers and coworkers. Usually, a consultant or human resource specialist discusses the results with the employee. The advantage of 360-degree programs is that negative feedback ("You don't listen") is often more credible when it comes from several people.

Stock options

give employees the right to purchase shares of stock at a set price

Which of the following is an example of an objective performance measure?

input/output measures

unstructured interviews

interviewers are free to ask applicants anything they want, and studies show that they do.

Hierarchical pay structures

involve big differences from one pay level to another. The highest pay levels are for people near the top of the pay distribution.

Linking pay to performance

is intended to increase employee motivation, effort, and job performance

Performance appraisal

is the process of assessing how well employees are doing their jobs.

Two of the most important results of a job analysis are ____.

job descriptions and job specifications

Which of the following is an internal recruiting method?

job posting

Bona fide occupational qualifications would be most likely included in a(n) ____.

job specification

Trends in Hiring Practices Zachary Schneider saw a sign in the window of an Amy's Ice Creams franchise operation. The sign said the company was looking for new employees. When he went in to ask for a job application, he was given a paper bag and told to do "something creative with it." The test was to see whether the job applicant was suited to carrying out the chain's mission: "To make people's day." This type of pre-employment assessment is not unusual. Gourmet grocery chain Central Market uses a four-page application form which includes essay questions such as "Tell us about your favorite food experience." If it seems an applicant is a good match for the company, he or she is asked to make a statement about himself or herself using items found in the grocery store and to participate with other applicants in a roundtable discussion. Refer to Trends in Hiring Practices. The need for creative skills in order to work at Amy's would be listed as a ____ that the company's HR department would have developed for franchisees.

job specification

Bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ)

legal to hire someone on basis of sex, religion or national origin when it is reasonably necessary to the normal operation of that particular business

Functional turnover

loss of poor-performing employees who choose to leave the organization

Disadvantage of ERIP

may fail to predict if good or bad employees will retire and how many will retire

Objective performance measures

measures that are easily and directly counted or quantified -include output, scrap, waste, sales

Voluntary separation

occurs when employees decide to quit or retire

Involuntary separation

occurs when employers decide to terminate or lay off employees

Quid pro quo sexual harassment

occurs when employment outcomes, such as hiring, promotion, or simply keeping one's job, depend on whether an individual submits to being sexually harassed. -economic injury

Early retirement incentive program (ERIP)

offer financial benefits to employees to encourage them to retire early.

One of the reasons items manufactured in Southeast Asia are imported into the United States less expensively is that workers are paid a small amount of money for each item produced. The manufacturers operating in Southeast Asia use what type of pay plan?

piecework

recruiting

process of developing a qualified pool of job applicants

Training

providing opportunities for employees to develop the job-specific skills, experience, and knowledge they need to do their jobs or improve their performance

Central Tendency Error

rate all workers as average or in the middle of scale

Halo errors

rate all workers as performing at the same level in all parts of their jobs

Leniency errors

rate all workers as performing particularly well

Subjective performance measures

require someone judge or assess a worker's performance -graphic rating scale most widely used because it is easy to construct and susceptible to errors

sales commission plan

salespeople are paid a percentage of the purchase price of items they sell. The more they sell, the more they earn

What type of job interview might be used after a background question revealed the applicant had spent three years working in Africa convincing parents to allow their children to take polio vaccine?

semistructured

Employment references

sources such as previous employers/coworkers who can provide job related information about candidates

Aptitude tests are also called ____.

specific ability tests

structured interviews

standardized interview questions are prepared ahead of time so that all applicants are asked the same job-related questions

The basic idea behind hierarchical pay structures is

that large differences in pay between jobs or organizational levels should motivate people to work harder to obtain those higher-paying jobs.

The basic idea behind compressed pay structures is

that similar pay levels should lead to higher levels of cooperation, feelings of fairness and a common purpose, and better group and team performance.

In a leaderless group discussion, trained observers watch and score each participant on

the extent to which he or she facilitates discussion, listens, leads, persuades, and works well with others

dysfunctional turnover

the loss of high performers who choose to leave, is a costly loss to the organization.

Validation

the process of determining how well a selection test or procedures predict future job performance

Selection

the process of gathering information about job applicants to decide who should be offered a job

Needs assessment

the process of identifying and prioritizing the learning needs of employees -training should never be done without conducting this first

Rater training

training performance appraisal raters in how to avoid rating errors and increase rating accuracy

Assessment centers often last

two to five days and require participants to complete a number of tests and exercises that simulate managerial work.

compressed pay structures

typically have fewer pay levels and smaller differences in pay between levels Pay is less dispersed and more similar across jobs in the company

Background checks

used to verify accuracy of information that applicants provide about themselves

Sharron Grant-Burton was a marketing director for Covenant Care, owner of skilled-nursing and assisted-living facilities. During a discussion of the fairness of the company's bonus structure with other marketing directors, Grant-Burton said she did not receive a bonus because her executive director "did not believe in them." Several days later, Grant-Burton was fired and told she had been terminated for a number of unspecified reasons, including her comments about bonuses. This is an example of a ____.

wrongful discharge