MIE 330 Exam 2: Chapters 5-9

The ___ technique consists of obtaining performance feedback for a manager from his or her boss, direct reports, peers, and internal and external customers.

360- degree appraisal Eliciting performance information from a variety of sources results in a performance management process that is accurate and effective. In fact, one recent popular trend in organizations is called 360-degree appraisals. This technique consists of having multiple raters (boss, peers, subordinates, customers) provide input into a manager's evaluation.

Managers at the Industrial Manufacturing Corporation have their performance evaluated by their direct reports, but also by themselves, their peers, customers, and bosses. What is the system they are using?

360-degree feedback system In 360-degree feedback systems, employees' behaviors or skills are evaluated not only by subordinates but also by themselves and their peers, customers, and bosses. The raters complete a questionnaire asking them to rate the person on a number of dimensions.

The SPX Corporation hires industrial engineering students from the local university to work full time for a semester where the focus is on combining on-the-job training and classroom-based instruction, enhancing the professional development of students. This is an example of

An Apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a work-study training method with both on-the-job training and classroom training. The majority of apprenticeship programs are in the skilled trades, such as plumbing, carpentry, electrical work, and bricklaying.

A situation in which evaluators purposefully distort a rating to achieve personal or company goals is referred to as

Appraisal politics Appraisal politics occur when evaluators purposefully distort a rating to achieve personal or company goals.

___ is a wide variety of specific selection programs that employ multiple selection methods to rate either applicants or job incumbents on their managerial potential.

Assessment center Generically, the term assessment center is used to describe a wide variety of specific selection programs that employ multiple selection methods to rate either applicants or job incumbents on their managerial potential. Someone attending an assessment center would typically experience work-sample tests such as an in-basket test and several tests of more general abilities and personality.

Which of the following is the biggest downside for large job sites?

Because of the sheer size of the website, there is a lack of differentiation between candidates listed on the site. A way for organizations to use the Web is to interact with the large, well-known job sites. These sites attract a vast array of applicants, who submit standardized résumés that can be electronically searched using key terms. The biggest downside to these large sites, however, is their sheer size and lack of differentiation.

______ assess main facets such as verbal comprehension, quantitative ability, and reasoning ability.

Cognitive ability tests Cognitive ability tests differentiate individuals based on their mental rather than physical capacities. The three main facets of cognitive ability tests are verbal comprehension, quantitative ability, and reasoning ability.

Which of the following is true of training and development?

Development is critical for talent management, particularly for those with leadership potential. Development is especially critical for talent management, particularly for senior managers and employees with leadership potential. Companies report that the most important talent management challenges they face include developing existing talent and attracting and retaining existing leadership talent.

Which of the following statements is true about downsizing?

Downsizing efforts often fail because employees who survive the purges often become narrow-minded, self-absorbed, and risk averse. One of the reasons downsizing efforts often fail is that employees who survive the purges often become narrow-minded, self-absorbed, and risk averse. Motivation levels drop off because any hope of future promotions—or even a future—with the company dies out.

Electon Corporation, a video-game developer, informs all new hires that both the employer and the employee have the right to terminate the employment relationship at any time, for any reason. This is referred to as a(n) ________ policy.

Employment-at-will Employment-at-will policies state that either party in an employment relationship can terminate that relationship at any time, regardless of cause. Companies that do not have employment-at-will provisions typically have extensive due process policies.

Melissa Choi, a marketing manager at the Tricor Corporation, documents everything when it comes to her job. She has checklists to keep her work in order. She has developed well thought-out flowcharts and process documents so that if and when she moves on to another job, anyone can be trained to do her job. Melissa has strong

Explicit knowledge Explicit knowledge is knowledge that is well-documented, easily articulated, and easily transferred from person to person. Examples of explicit knowledge include processes, checklists, flowcharts, formulas, and definitions. Explicit knowledge tends to be the primary focus of formal training.

Which of the following statements is true of situational interviews?

Future-oriented interviews are less valid than experience-based interviews. Research suggests that both experience-based and future-oriented items used in situational interviews show validity but that experience-based items often outperform future-oriented items.

_____ is the practice or activity carried on by an organization with the primary purpose of identifying and attracting potential employees.

Human resource recruitment --> is defined as any practice or activity carried on by an organization with the primary purpose of identifying and attracting potential employees.

Of the total assistant plant managers employed in 2013, 5 percent were demoted to the position of production manager in 2016. Five percent of the assistant plant managers left the organization in 2016.

In 2016, there were demotions from the ________job category.

Which of the following is an advantage of relying on internal recruitment sources?

It generates a sample of applicants who are well known to the firm. Relying on internal sources offers a company several advantages. One of them is that it generates a sample of applicants who are well known to the firm.

Which of the following is true about task analysis?

It involves identifying the knowledge and skills required for the job. It involves identifying the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other factors (e.g., equipment, working conditions) needed to successfully perform each task.

Which of the following is the definition of a leading indicator?

It is an objective measure that accurately predicts future labor demand.

Which of the following statements best defines the acceptability of a performance measure?

It is the extent to which a performance measure is deemed to be satisfactory or adequate by those who use it. Acceptability is whether the people who use a performance measure accept it. Many elaborate performance measures are extremely valid and reliable, but they consume so much of managers' time that they refuse to use it.

Which of the following practices best helps employees gain an overall appreciation of the company's goals?

Job rotation Job rotation gives employees a series of job assignments in various functional areas of the company or movement among jobs in a single functional area or department. It helps employees gain an overall appreciation of the company's goals, increases their understanding of different company functions, develops a network of contacts, and improves problem-solving and decision making skills.

Gloria Chu, a general manager at the MotoX Corporation, wants all of her team members to receive a raise, so she gives them all a high performance rating, regardless of their actual job performance. Which of the following errors is she falling prey to?

Leniency Leniency is a rater error in which the rater gives high ratings to all employees regardless of their performance. Refer To Table 8.14.

Senior management at Cobra International Corporation is seeking to develop a formal mentoring program. They have hired you as a consultant to advise them on how to design the mentoring program. Based on this situation, what would you recommend to management?

Mentors and protégés should be encouraged to pursue the relationship beyond the formal period. The length of the program is specified. Mentor and protégé are encouraged to pursue the relationship beyond the formal period in a successful formal mentoring program. Refer to Table 9.9.

Which of the following assessments is based on Carl Jung's personality type theory?

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is an assessment based on Carl Jung's personality type theory. This theory emphasizes that each of us has a fundamental personality type that shapes and influences how we understand the world, process information, and socialize.

The _________blank is based on a theory that emphasizes that each individual has a fundamental personality type that shapes and influences how the individual understands the world, processes information, and socializes.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is an assessment based on Carl Jung's personality type theory. This theory emphasizes that each of us has a fundamental personality type that shapes and influences how we understand the world, process information, and socialize.

From which of the following job categories was no employee promoted in 2016?

Of all the clerical employees who were employed in 2013, none were promoted in 2016. Additionally, 30 percent of the clerical workers left the organization.

How many of the production managers employed in 2013 were promoted to the category of assistant plant manager in 2016?

Of the total production managers employed in 2013, 10 percent were promoted to the category of assistant plant manager in 2016, while 75 percent remained in the same position. The remaining 15 percent left the organization.

Which of the following job categories saw the highest percentage of its employees leave the organization in 2013?

Of the total sales representatives in 2013, 35 percent left the organization, the highest of any position. Additionally, 5 percent of the sales representatives were promoted to the position of sales manager.

Which type of analysis is usually conducted first when performing a needs assessment in a training process?

Organizational analysis In practice, organizational analysis, person analysis, and task analysis are usually not conducted in any specific order. However, because organizational analysis is concerned with identifying whether training fits with the company's strategic objectives and whether the company wants to devote time and money to training, it is usually conducted first.

The Star Corporation uses a formal process through which managers assess how well each employee is performing his or her job. This is known as

Performance appraisal i Performance appraisal is the process through which an organization gets information on how well an employee is doing his or her job. The performance appraisal system must tell employees specifically about their performance problems and how they can improve their performance.

______ analysis involves identifying who needs training and determining employees' readiness for training.

Person Person analysis involves identifying who needs training and determining employees' readiness for training.

_____ attempts to emphasize the multidimensional nature of performance and thoroughly familiarize the raters with the actual content of various performance dimensions.

Rater accuracy training Rater accuracy training, also called frame-of-reference training, attempts to emphasize the multidimensional nature of performance and to get raters to understand and use the same idea of high, medium, and low performance when making evaluations.

When making the decision to hire a new employee, which selection method has low reliability and validity?

Reference checks Reference checks have low reliability, especially when they are obtained from letters. These also have low validity.

___ is the degree to which a measure is free from random error.

Reliability One key standard for any measuring device is its reliability. Reliability is the degree to which a measure is free from random error.

Seven people were chosen from a pool of 21 people tested that resulted in an outcome of 33%. This is an example of a ___ ratio

Selection The selection ratio is the percentage of people selected relative to the total number of people tested.

Which step is used by employees to determine their career interests and areas to improve?

Self-assessment The first step in the development planning system is self-assessment. Self-assessment is the use of information by employees to determine their career interests, values, aptitudes, and behavioral tendencies. Refer to Figure 9.1.

____ is the extent to which the performance management system elicits job performance that is consistent with an organization's strategy, goals, and culture.

Strategic congruence Strategic congruence is the extent to which a performance management system elicits job performance that is congruent with the organization's strategy, goals, and culture. Strategic congruence emphasizes the need for the performance management system to guide employees in contributing to the organization's success.

The assessment that measures patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to identify areas where the individuals have the best chance for building on their capabilities to succeed in the future is called

StrengthsFinder StrengthsFinder assessment measures patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to identify areas where individuals have the best chance for building on their strengths.

A female marketing analyst at a major food company felt that her manager and the company in general were discriminating against her in terms of being considered for promotions and merit pay increases. Based on this situation, the female worker could sue for gender discrimination under which law?

The Civil Rights Act of 1991, The Civil Rights Act of 1991, an extension of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, protects individuals from discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, and national origin with respect to hiring as well as compensation and working conditions.

Charlize Moore, an operations manager at a major airline, wants her employees to take a skills-based course on effective customer service. She needs to decide between an online distance course or a face-to-face interactive course. Which one would be ideal for her staff to be successful?

The Hands-on methods Hands-on methods are training methods that require the trainee to be actively involved in learning. These methods are ideal for developing specific skills, understanding how skills and behaviors can be transferred to the job, experiencing all aspects of completing a task, and dealing with interpersonal issues that arise on the job.

The ____ is a measure of the degree to which two sets of numbers are related.

The correlation coefficient The correlation coefficient is a measure of the degree to which two sets of numbers are related. The correlation coefficient expresses the strength of the relationship in numerical form.

Which of the following is a disadvantage of employing temporary workers as a means of eliminating a labor shortage?

The low levels of commitment to the organization and its customers that temporary workers bring with them often reduce the level of customer loyalty. Low levels of commitment to the organization and its customers on the part of temporary employees often spill over and reduce the level of customer loyalty.

Using an employment agency, the GDZ Corporation posted a job announcement for a management trainee. This resulted in 300 people applying for the job. After reviewing the applications, 30 offers for interviews were accepted by applicants. Based on this information, what can you conclude?

The yield ratio for interview offers accepted relative to applications received is 10 percent. Yield ratios express the percentage of applicants who successfully move from one stage of the recruitment and selection process to the next. In this case, the yield ratio for interview offers accepted out of total applicants is 30/300 or 10 percent.

Josh Adams, a pharmaceutical sales representative, wants to practice his new soft skills of customer service. He is an introvert and practicing with a coworker makes him nervous. His manager suggests trying simulations. Why?

They are methods used to represent real-life situations.

Which of the following is true about transitional matrices?

Transitional matrices are extremely useful for charting historic trends in a company's supply of labor. Matrices such as the transitional matrix are extremely useful for charting historic trends in a company's supply of labor. More importantly, if conditions remain somewhat constant, they can also be used to plan for the future.

HR leaders at the TCM Corporation need to understand the proportion of employees in different jobs and how many of them are moving to other positions and out of the company over time. Which tool should be used in this situation?

Transitional matrix Transitional matrices show the proportion (or number) of employees in different job categories at different times.

An example of an expatriate is a

U.S. citizen working for a U.S. firm in Germany.

HR leaders at a cable TV company want to create a selection process that enables them to successfully hire high-performing employees and achieve their diversity goals. Recommended strategies for achieving this goal would include

Using multistage selection batteries that use different methods at different stages of the process will reduce the overall degree to which adverse impact exists in a given selection process.

Both the comparative and the attribute approaches to performance measurement are

Very low on specificity The comparative and the attribute approaches to performance measurement are very low on the performance measure of specificity. Refer To Table 8.12.

A simulation is a training method that represents

a real-life situation, with trainees' decisions resulting in outcomes that mirror what would happen if the trainee were on the job. Simulations, which allow trainees to see the impact of their decisions in an artificial, risk-free environment, are used to teach production and process skills as well as management and interpersonal skills.

The three main facets of cognitive ability tests

are verbal comprehension, quantitative ability, and reasoning ability. Quantitative ability is the speed and accuracy with which one can solve arithmetic problems of all kinds.

The ___ approach to performance management focuses on the extent to which individuals have certain characteristics or traits believed desirable for the company's success.

attribute The attribute approach to performance management focuses on the extent to which individuals have certain attributes (characteristics or traits) believed desirable for the company's success. The techniques that use the attribute approach define a set of traits—such as initiative, leadership, and competitiveness—and evaluate individuals on them.

Instructional designers at a mass merchandise retail company want to create a training program that will enhance the interpersonal skills of sales associates. Which training method would be most appropriate for this training program?

behavioral modeling Research suggests that behavior modeling is one of the most effective techniques for teaching interpersonal skills. Each training session, which typically lasts four hours, focuses on one interpersonal skill, such as coaching or communicating ideas.

Katrina Schultz, a customer service manager at the Orbit Corporation, would like to terminate Sean Adams, one of her direct reports. She claims that the employee is always on his cell phone and not focusing on his work. You recommend she use a(n) _________blank to track the frequency of the behavior, so she can share that information with the employee.

behavioral observation scale A behavioral observation scale (BOS) is a variation of a behaviorally anchored rating scale. Rather than discarding a large number of the behaviors that exemplify effective or ineffective performance, a BOS uses many of them to more specifically define all the behaviors that are necessary for effective performance.

Which performance management technique initially involves the identification of a large number of critical incidents, followed by the classification of these incidents into performance dimensions, and finally ranking these incidents into levels of performance?

behaviorally anchored rating scale A behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS) is designed to specifically define performance dimensions by developing behavioral anchors associated with different levels of performance. To develop a BARS, we first gather a large number of critical incidents that represent effective and ineffective performance on the job. These incidents are classified into performance dimensions, and the ones that experts agree clearly represent a particular level of performance are used as behavioral examples (or anchors) to guide the rater.

If there is a substantial correlation between test scores and job-performance scores, _________ validity has been established.

c One way of establishing the validity of a selection method is to show that there is an empirical association between scores on the selection measure and scores for job performance. If there is a substantial correlation between test scores and job-performance scores, criterion-related validity has been established.

The number of customers at a large department store has decreased, so store management needs to reduce its headcount. Which option should management choose to reduce the number of employees as quickly as possible?

demotions The second step in human resource planning is goal-setting and strategic planning. As part of this step, many organizations determine that they might have surplus staff in the future. One of the options for reducing an expected labor surplus is demotions, which is a fast option to reduce surplus staff, but it typically results in high human suffering.

Elektra Scientific is a high-tech firm in the artificial intelligence industry. Given the dynamic and complex nature of AI, the company is strongly committed to implementing programs to support the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and behaviors that improve an employee's ability to meet changes in job requirements and in client and customer demands. This is called

development The acquisition of knowledge, skills, and behaviors that improve an employee's ability to meet changes in job requirements and in client and customer demands is called development. It involves formal education, job experiences, relationships, and the assessment of personality and abilities that help employees prepare for the future.

Training is different from development in that

development aims to prepare employees for changes, while training prepares them for current jobs. Development prepares employees for other positions in the company and increases their ability to move into jobs that may not yet exist. Development also helps employees prepare for changes in their current jobs that may result from new technology, work designs, new customers, or new product markets. Training focuses on helping employees' performance in their current jobs. Refer to Table 9.1.

The _________blank system is used to retain and motivate employees by identifying and meeting their developmental needs.

development planning To retain and motivate employees, companies need to provide a system to identify and meet employees' developmental needs. This is especially important to retaining good performers and employees who have the potential for managerial positions. This system is known as a development planning or career management system.

While evaluating training programs, return on investment can be used to measure

economic value of training While evaluating training programs, return on investment can be used to measure economic value of training. Refer To Table 7.7.

An expatriate is an

employee sent by his or her company to manage operations in a different country. A U.S. citizen working for a U.S. firm in Germany would be considered an expatriate.

Instructional designers at the Tectron Corporation are developing a presentation skills training program for managers. They started by conducting a needs assessment to determine training objectives. Which of the following would be the next stage in the training design process?

ensuring employees' readiness for training The first stage in the training design process is to assess needs to determine if training is needed. It involves organizational, person, and task analysis. The next stage of the process is to ensure employee readiness for training. Refer To Figure 7.2.

Job _________blank are the relationships, problems, demands, tasks, and other features that employees face in their jobs.

experiences Most employee development occurs through job experiences: relationships, problems, demands, tasks, or other features that employees face in their jobs.

Explicit knowledge is different from tacit knowledge in that

explicit knowledge can be easily articulated. Explicit knowledge is knowledge that is well documented, easily articulated, and easily transferred from person to person. Tacit knowledge is personal knowledge based on individual experiences that make it difficult to codify.

Managers at the Star Corporation are given targets for categorizing their employees' performance ratings at the end of the year. The managers are allowed to give the top 5 percent of direct reports the highest performance rating, the next 80 percent of direct reports the middle rating, and the bottom 15 percent of direct reports the lowest rating. Which performance management method is being used in this situation?

forced distribution The forced distribution method also uses a ranking format, but employees are ranked in groups. This technique requires the manager to put certain percentages of employees into predetermined categories.

Affirmative action plans

forecast and monitor the proportion of various protected group members, such as women and minorities, that are in various job categories and career tracks. Human resource planning is an important function that should be applied to an organization's entire labor force. It is also important to plan for various subgroups within the labor force. For example, affirmative action plans forecast and monitor the proportion of various protected group members, such as women and minorities, that are in various job categories and career tracks.

The Electron Corporation initiated its HR planning process by assessing the supply and demand for labor in its relevant labor markets. This is an example of

forecasting In personnel forecasting, an HR manager attempts to ascertain the supply of and demand for various types of human resources.

Reality check is the information employees receive about

how the company evaluates their abilities and where they fit into the company's plans. Reality check is the information employees receive about how the company evaluates their skills and knowledge and where they fit into the company's plans (potential promotion opportunities, lateral moves). Usually, this information is provided by the employee's manager as part of performance appraisal.

During the self-assessment step in the career management process, an employee

identifies the opportunities and needs to improve. During self-assessment, an employee identifies the opportunities and needs to improve. The company has a responsibility to provide assessment information that will help the employee identify his strengths, weaknesses, interests, and values. Refer to Figure 9.1.

The first step in task analysis is to

identify the jobs to be examined.

Asher King, the accounting manager at the River Enterprises, is writing performance goals for his team for the next year. Based on the performance management process, the first step that needs to be taken is

identifying performance outcomes for company divisions and departments. The first step in the performance management process starts with understanding and identifying important performance outcomes or results. Typically, these outcomes or results benefit customers, the employees' peers or team, and the organization itself.

The four steps in a task analysis are

identifying the job(s) to be analyzed or examined, developing a list of tasks performed on the job, validating or confirming the tasks, and identifying the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other factors (e.g., equipment, working conditions) needed to successfully perform each task.

As a team lead at the Jacksonville Corporation, Emilio Sanchez has convened a group of five team members to solve an issue with the company's new digital marketing campaign. This is an example of a(n)

leaderless group discussion In a leaderless group discussion, a team of five to seven employees is given a problem and must work together to solve it within a certain time period. The problem may involve buying and selling supplies, nominating a subordinate for an award, or assembling a product.

_________blank is an interpersonal relationship that is used to develop employees.

mentoring Employees can develop skills and increase their knowledge about the company and its customers by interacting with a more experienced organization member. Mentoring and coaching are two types of interpersonal relationships that are used to develop employees.

Which of the following tests is used to determine if employees can get along with others and their tolerance for ambiguity?

personality test The assessment center might include interest and aptitude tests to evaluate an employee's vocabulary, general mental ability, and reasoning skills. Personality tests are used to determine if employees can get along with others, their tolerance for ambiguity, and other traits related to success as a manager.

When an employee is in the self-assessment step, the company's responsibility is to

provide appraisal information to identify the employee's strengths and weaknesses. When an employee is in the self-assessment step, the company's responsibility is to provide assessment information to help the employee identify her strengths, weaknesses, interests, and values. Refer to Figure 9.1.

Francine was asked to share how she would conduct a product launch with a limited budget and only three weeks. The interviewer was testing her _________ ability.

reasoning The three main facets of cognitive ability tests are verbal comprehension, quantitative ability, and reasoning ability. Reasoning ability, a broader concept, is a person's capacity to invent solutions to many diverse problems.

Sweetwater College is experiencing difficulty filling vacant instructor positions with new full-time faculty. Given this, the college could _________to address this problem.

recruit temporary employees

The _________approach assumes that subjectivity can be eliminated from the measurement process and that outcomes are the closest indicators of one's contribution to organizational effectiveness.

results The results approach focuses on managing the objective, measurable results of a job or work group. This approach assumes that subjectivity can be eliminated from the measurement process and that results are the closest indicator of one's contribution to organizational effectiveness.

The items in the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator that focus on individuals' preferences for information gathering will score the individuals based on

sensing versus intuition The assessment tool identifies individuals' preferences for energy (introversion versus extroversion), information gathering (sensing versus intuition), decision making (thinking versus feeling), and lifestyle (judging versus perceiving).

The items in the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator that focus on individuals' preferences for information gathering will score the individuals based on

sensing vs intuition The assessment tool identifies individuals' preferences for energy (introversion versus extroversion), information gathering (sensing versus intuition), decision making (thinking versus feeling), and lifestyle (judging versus perceiving).

As per the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, if any neutral-appearing practice happens to have an adverse impact on those over age 40, the employer must

show business necessity to avoid a guilty verdict. Court interpretations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act mirror those of the Civil Rights Act, in the sense that if any neutral-appearing practice happens to have an adverse impact on those over 40, the burden of proof shifts to the employer, who must show business necessity to avoid a guilty verdict. The act does not protect younger workers (thus, there is never a case for "reverse discrimination" here), and like the most recent civil rights act, it allows for jury trials and punitive damages.

The performance management method used by the Sting Ray Corporation uses a set of performance criteria that clarify the performance expectations for various jobs in the company. This is an example of a performance management method that possesses

specificity Specificity is the extent to which a performance measure tells employees what is expected of them and how they can meet these expectations. Specificity is relevant to both the strategic and developmental purposes of performance management.

As the CEO of Ramdon Incorporated, Lexi Bishop makes it a point to meet new hires at all levels of the organization. She explains the goals of the company and emphasizes the importance of how each individual employee's job contributes to the success of the overall company. This is an example of the _________blank purpose of a performance management system.

strategic Ramdon's initiative focuses on the strategic purpose of performance management. A performance management system should link employee activities with the organization's goals. One of the primary ways strategies are implemented is through defining the results, behaviors, and, to some extent, employee characteristics that are necessary for carrying out those strategies.

Allison James is a new HR career specialist at the EVX Corporation. She wants to conduct an organization-wide assessment of worker preferences to identify the jobs that may best match them. Which psychological test should she use?

strong interest inventory Self-assessment involves psychological tests such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the Strong Interest Inventory, and the Self-Directed Search. The Strong Interest Inventory helps employees identify their occupational and job interests.

A fitness company administers a series of physical ability tests as part of its hiring process for personal trainers. Because it wants to make sure that it gets good data from each applicant, it administers the tests at the beginning of an interview and then one hour later, comparing the scores on the tests to see if they are consistent with each other. This is an example of the assessment of:

test-retest reliability When assessing the reliability of a measure, one might be interested in knowing how scores on the measure at one time relate to scores on the same measure at another time. If the characteristic being measured is supposedly stable (such as intelligence or integrity) and the time lapse is short, this relationship should be strong. If it were weak, then the measure would be inconsistent—hence, unreliable. This is called assessing test-retest reliability.

Which of the following is an example of an intrinsic reward?

the U.S. Army appealing to the patriotism in people to get more new recruits The U.S. Army has to rely on more intrinsic rewards related to patriotism and personal growth opportunities that people associate with military service rather than extrinsic rewards such as monetary and material benefits.

Which of the following approaches to performance measurement minimizes contamination and deficiency?

the behavioral approach The behavioral approach to performance measurement has usually high validity and minimizes contamination and deficiency. Refer To Table 8.12.

Workers who completed a classroom-based training program on team building learned many concepts and principles for effective teamwork, but they did not apply any of what they learned in performing their jobs after the training. This is a problem with

transfer of training Transfer of training is on-the-job use of knowledge, skills, and behaviors learned in training. Transfer of training is influenced by manager support, peer support, opportunity to use learned capabilities, technology support, and self-management skills.

A investment banking firm found that an analytical skills selection test it had been using to hire financial associates actually helped the firm to obtain more major clients and to increase the revenue and profitability of the firm. This is an example of a selection test that possesses

utility Utility is the degree to which the information provided by selection methods enhances the bottom-line effectiveness of the organization. In general, the more reliable, valid, and generalizable the selection method is, the more utility it will have. In this case, the selection test helped the firm to enhance its effectiveness and bottom-line performance so the test possesses utility.

A financial services firm administers a logical-reasoning skills test for all applicants to fill business analyst positions. Based on an evaluation of this test, it was found that the logical-reasoning test does an excellent job of predicting the future job performance of business analysts. This result shows that the logical-reasoning skills test possesses:

validity

The performance management system at the Proton Corporation has been carefully designed to assess all of the relevant dimensions of performance for jobs in the company. Based on this, it can be said that this performance management system possesses

validity Validity is the extent to which a performance measure assesses all the relevant—and only the relevant—aspects of performance. This is often referred to as "content validity."

How many of the total sales representatives employed in 2013 were promoted to the sales manager position in 2016?

5 percent As per the figure, only 5 percent of the sales representatives were promoted to the position of sales manager. At the same time, 60 percent remained in the same role, and 35 percent of the sales representatives left the organization.

_____ is the planned elimination of large numbers of personnel designed to enhance organizational effectiveness.

Downsizing Downsizing is the planned elimination of large numbers of personnel designed to enhance organizational effectiveness.

Which of the following is the most accurate definition of concurrent validity?

It assesses the validity of a test by administering it to people already on the job and then correlating test scores with existing measures of each person's performance.

Which of the following is an example of an experience-based situational interview?

Ming was asked to describe a situation where her creativity led to effective problem solving.

_____________ability is the speed and accuracy with which one can solve arithmetic problems of all kinds.

Quantitative

A situational interview is an interview procedure in which

applicants are confronted with specific issues, questions, or problems that are likely to arise on the job. Situational judgment items come in two varieties: experience-based and future-oriented. Experience-based items require the applicant to reveal an actual experience he or she had in the past when confronting the situation.

Reliability and validity

are related in that for a measure to be valid, it must be reliable. A measure must be reliable if it is to have any validity. Reliability is a necessary but insufficient condition for validity.

Which of the following approaches to measuring performance uses some overall assessment of an individual's performance or worth and seeks to develop a ranking of the individuals within a work group?

comparative approach The comparative approach to performance measurement requires the rater to compare an individual's performance with that of others. This approach usually uses some overall assessment of an individual's performance or worth and seeks to develop a ranking of the individuals within a work group.

AZTEK Communications Corporation assesses its software development engineers based primarily on their interpersonal skills and attitudes toward work. Which of the following would best describe this company's performance management process?

contaminated A contaminated measure evaluates irrelevant aspects of performance or aspects that are not job related. The performance measure should seek to minimize contamination, but its complete elimination is seldom possible. In this scenario, the software company should assess its developers on their software development skills more than their client support skills.

When sample sizes are small, ________becomes relatively more attractive.

content validation When sample sizes are small, an alternative test validation strategy, content validation, can be used. Content validation is performed by demonstrating that the questions or problems posed by a test are a representative sample of the kinds of situations or problems that occur on the job.

Roger Williams, a competent business analyst, receives lower-than-deserved ratings because of a few outstanding colleagues, rated just before Roger, who set very high performance standards. This is an example of a _________ rater error.

contrast Contrast error occurs when the rater compares individuals with one another instead of against an objective standard. Refer To Table 8.14.

Jacob is open to experiences if he is

curious and imaginative A person who is open to experiences is curious, imaginative, artistically sensitive, broad-minded, and playful.

The key to a successful foreign assignment is a combination of training and career management for the employee and the

employee's family. Cross-cultural training may be effective only when expatriates' personalities predispose them to be successful in assignments in other cultures. The key to a successful foreign assignment is a combination of training and career management for the employee and family.

The second step in human resource planning is

goal-setting and strategic planning. As part of this step, many organizations determine that they might have a labor shortage. One of the options for avoiding an expected labor shortage is hiring temporary employees, which is a fast solution to the problem and is easily revocable.

Which of the following attribute approaches to performance management is most commonly used?

graphic rating scales The most common form that the attribute approach to performance management takes is the graphic rating scale.

Personality inventories have

high reliability, low to moderate criterion-related validity for most traits, low generalizability, low utility, and low legality.

Carlos Cantu, a food scientist at the International Kitchens Corporation, received negative performance ratings on all dimensions because his manager had a negative overall impression of him. This is an example of which rater bias?

horns The horns rater error occurs when the rater assigns low ratings to all aspects of performance because of an overall negative impression of the ratee. Refer To Table 8.14.

Davis Holmes and Kenisha Watkins, sales managers at the Revolution Corporation, both conduct independent performance evaluations of all employees on the sales team. If their ratings are consistent with each other, then it can be said that this performance management system possesses _________blank reliability.

interrater A performance measure has interrater reliability if two individuals give the same (or close to the same) evaluations of a person's job performance.

A performance measure is said to be contaminated when

it evaluates irrelevant aspects of performance. A contaminated measure evaluates irrelevant aspects of performance or aspects that are not job related. The performance measure should seek to minimize contamination, but its complete elimination is seldom possible.

The TRX Corporation implements a policy where all employees and new hires are paid 20 percent above the pay at competing firms. This policy is called a

lead-the-market approach. Because pay is an important job characteristic for almost all applicants, companies that take a "lead-the-market" approach to pay—that is, a policy of paying higher-than-current-market wages—have a distinct advantage in recruiting.

The _________blank method requires managers to compare every employee with every other employee in a work group, giving an employee a score of 1 every time he or she is considered the higher performer.

paired comparison The paired comparison method requires managers to compare every employee with every other employee in a work group, giving an employee a score of 1 every time he or she is considered the higher performer.

A major pressure point for training is

poor or substandard job performance. Poor job performance is a major indicator of the need for some type of training.

Wong took a test assessing his editing skills as part of the interview process for an executive assistant position. Depending on Wong's score, the recruiter can assume how successful he will be in the job, based on _________ validity.

predictive Criterion-related validity studies come in two varieties: predictive validity and concurrent validity. Predictive validation seeks to establish an empirical relationship between test scores taken prior to being hired and eventual performance on the job.

Criterion-related validity studies come in two varieties:

predictive validity and concurrent validity. Concurrent validation assesses the validity of a test by administering it to people already on the job and then correlating test scores with existing measures of each person's performance.

As a manager, Marisa Lopez wants to analyze the impact of her company's behavior-modeling training program on her employees' communications skills. The _________ evaluation design would be most appropriate for this purpose.

pretest/posttest with a comparison group If a manager is interested in determining how much employees' communications skills have changed as a result of a behavior-modeling training program, a pretest/posttest comparison group design is necessary.

The final step in the HR planning process is

program implementation and evaluation. The final step in the HR planning process is program implementation and evaluation

Validity is

the extent to which performance on a measure is related to performance on the job. In this case, the selection test showed that it was able predict future job performance; therefore, it is valid.

In the context of factors that influence the motivation to learn, when an organization seeks to convince employees that they can successfully learn the content of a training program, the organization is primarily focusing on improving

the self-efficacy of the employees. When an organization aims to make employees believe they can successfully learn the content of a training program, the organization is primarily focusing on improving the self-efficacy of the employees. Refer To Table 7.3.

American Foods Corporation, a consumer products company, wants to create a formal diversity program to enhance its reputation as an employer of choice and to better serve its customers. For the diversity program to be successful in the long term, it is critical that there is _________ for the program.

top management support As a component of effective managing diversity programs, top management support deals with including diversity as part of the business strategy and corporate goal. Refer To Table 7.9.

Which of the following stages in the training design process involves self-management strategies and peer and manager support?

transfer of training In a training design process, ensuring transfer of training is the fourth stage. It involves self-management strategies and peer and manager support. Refer To Figure 7.2.

A ____ test attempts to simulate the job in a pre-hiring context to observe how the applicant performs in the simulated job.

work-sample Work-sample tests attempt to simulate the job in a pre-hiring context to observe how the applicant performs in the simulated job. The degree of fidelity in work samples varies greatly.