In which of the following decision making approaches do those making the selection decision review all the data on the applicants?

__________ help identify the individual competencies employees need for success—the knowledge, skills, abilities and other factors (KSAOs) that lead to a superior performance. By identifying competencies through job analysis, managers can then use selection methods such as interviews, references, preemployment tests and the like to measure applicant KSAOs against the competencies required for the job.

The steps that typically make up a selection process include the following:

  1. (a)  Submission of ______
  2. (b)  Completion of ______
  3. (c)  _______
  4. (d)  _____ and ______ checks
  5. (e)  ________ tests
  6. (f)  _______ test
  7. (g)  ______ decision.

  1. resumé
  2. application
  3. Interviews
  4. Reference / background
  5. Preemployment
  6. Medical exam/drug
  7. Hiring

The degree to which interviews, tests and other selection procedures yield comparable data over a period of time is known as _________.

_________ refers to what a test or other selection instrument measures and how well it measures it.

HR professionals and hiring managers will often “Google” applicants’ names and check online social networking sites before deciding whether or not to invite them for an actual face-to- face interview. The downside of conducting Internet searches relates to the ______ of applicants. It is also difficult to verify the ________ of information posted online and easy to confuse an applicant with someone else who has the same name.

Employers hope to contain problems of job candidates misrepresenting themselves by asking applicants to transfer specific resumé material onto a standardized ________ form and then sign the form containing a statement that the information is true. The application generally also indicates that the applicant accepts the employer’s right to terminate the candidate’s employment if any of the information is subsequently found to be false.

What information is typically associated with and disclosed on an employment application form?  It is appropriate to require/inquire about and disclose the following items on an application form:

  1. (a)  _____ date
  2. (b)  ______ background—Provide names of grade school, high school, college and post- college attendance—but not the dates attended since it can be connected with age.
  3. (c)  Job _______
  4. (d)  Arrest and _______ convictions—Questions about arrests alone are not permissible and questions about convictions and guilty pleadings can be problematic if they are not related to the job.
  5. (e)  _______ origin—Questions regarding national origin are not permitted. It is allowable to ask if the person is legally prevented from working in the United States. Before beginning work, all employees, including U.S. citizens, must complete an I-9 form for their employers to submit to the government verifying that they are eligible to work in the United States.
  6. (f)  _______
  7. (g)  ________ —Under the most recent EEOC guidelines, employers may now ask if an applicant needs reasonable accommodation—if the disability is obvious or if the applicant has voluntarily disclosed the disability.
  8. (h)  _______ and at-will statements—It is a good idea to state on the application form that the rm does not discriminate and is an EEOC employer. If the employer’s state allows it, the form should indicate that all employees are hired “at will.” This gives both the employer and employee the right to end the employment relationship at any time without reason.
  9. (i)  _______ checks—Language should be included to give the hiring rm the right to contact the applicants’ previous employers listed on their forms and resumés.
  10. (j)  Employment ______—Any tests that applicants may have to take should be listed on the form.
  11. (k)  Information _______ —Employers should disclose to applicants that any falsi cation of the information they provide could result in their disquali cation or termination should they be hired.

  1. Application
  2. Educational
  3. experience
  4. criminal
  5. National
  6. References
  7. Disabilities
  8. EEOC
  9. Reference
  10. testing
  11. falsification

The employment interview appears to be relatively popular as a selection method for several reasons.

It is especially practical when there are only a _______ of applicants.

Second, it serves as a _________ tool as well as a selection device.

Third, interviewers tend to have great faith and confidence in the judgments they make on the basis of these interviews, and this in turn tends to support the popularity of employment interviews. Nevertheless, the interview can be plagued by problems of ______ and ______.

small number

public relations

subjectivity / personal bias

Organizations currently tend to use highly structured interviews in the selection process as a result of _______ requirements and a concern for maximizing validity of selection decisions.

The highly structured interview is more likely to provide the type of information that is needed for making sound decisions. It also helps reduce the possibility of charges of illegal and unfair _______. An interview is inherently quite vulnerable to attack on grounds of _______, bias and plain lack of objectivity, as well as on legal grounds.

Thus, highly structured interviews are used in an endeavor to avoid the problems that can occur because of these attendant factors.

equal employment opportunity

discrimination

subjectivity

Explain two variations of the situational interview that are used in selection processes

One variation of the structured interview is the situational interview wherein an applicant is given a _______ incident and asked how he or she would respond to it. The response of an applicant is evaluated relative to predetermined benchmark standards. Many organizations use the situational interview to select new college graduates.

A behavioral description interview (BDI) is similar to a situational interview. However, it focuses on ______ incidents wherein a job applicant is asked what he or she actually did in a given situation. This approach is based on a critical incidents job analysis and assumes that ________ is the best predictor of future performance. It also may be somewhat less susceptible to applicant _______.

hypothetical

real work

past performance

faking

A ______ interview involves a group of interviewers who question and observe a single candidate simultaneously. Typically, a candidate would meet with three to five interviewers who take turns asking questions. Following the interview, the panel members pool their observations and their rating scores if the interview is structured to reach a consensus about the suitability of the candidate. Some believe that panel interviews provide several significant advantages over traditional one-to-one interviews. Among the advantages are higher ________ because of multiple inputs, ______ decision-making times, applicants are more likely to accept a panel’s decision and hiring ________ is minimized if the panel is a diverse group.

panel

reliability

shorter

discrimination

Typically, a computer interview requires candidates to answer a series (75 to 125) of multiple- choice questions tailored to the job. These answers are compared either with an ideal profile or with profiles developed on the basis of other candidates’ responses.

Often, the computer interview is used as a ______ device to assist in filtering out unqualified applicants. A computer interview conducted in conjunction with online tests can measure everything from contradictory responses and latent responses (time delays related to answering a question) to the applicant’s typing speed and ability to use different kinds of software.

Companies are also using videoconference technologies to evaluate job candidates. Called _______, they have several potential advantages related to flexibility, speed and cost. Employers can use them as a prescreening tool to make preliminary applicant assessments before incurring the costs of face-to-face meetings.

screening

virtual interviews

The following are general rules for employment interviews that are commonly accepted and supported by research ndings:

(a)  ________ the job. It is critical that the interviewer _______ the job and its requirements.

(b)  Establish an interview _____. Examine the purposes of the interview and determine the areas and speci c questions to be covered.

(c)  Establish and maintain _______ and listen actively. Try to understand what the candidate is not saying but implying. Keep non-job-related conversation to a minimum to prevent any biases you might have.

(d)  Pay attention to ______ clues.

(e)  Provide _____  as freely and honestly as possible.

(f)  Use ______ effectively. Ask open-ended questions rather than questions that can be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.”

(g)  Separate facts from inferences.

(h)  Recognize stereotypes and biases. That is, evaluate candidates based on the characteristics of the job and not, for example, the fact that they went to the same college as you did.

(i)  Avoid the “_______,” or judging an individual favorably or unfavorably overall on the basis of one strong point (or weak point) on which you place high value.

(j)  Control the course of the interview.

(k)  Standardize the questions asked.

Understand

plan

rapport

nonverbal

questions

halo error

Based on the Privacy Act of _______, individuals have a legal right to examine letters of reference about them (unless they waive the right to do so). Although the Privacy Act applies only to the records maintained by federal government agencies, other forms of privacy legislation in most states have in uenced employers to “clean up” their human resources les and subject them to review and challenge by the employees concerned.

As a result, many employers prefer using the telephone to obtain _______ information. Generally, this saves time and can provide for greater candor. Former supervisors often will make comments over the telephone that they would not provide in a written and permanent form.

Many employers will only verify former employees’ employment dates and positions. Nonetheless, even firms that have failed to give an employee a recommendation have found themselves sued for _____ hiring—knowing a former employee posed a danger to others but failing to disclose the fact. Recognizing this predicament, a number of states have enacted statutes offering protection from liability for employers that give references in good faith.

1974

prior employment

negligent

To rely on a credit report for hiring decisions,

  1. first, the organization must check _____ laws to see if credit reports can be used legally.
  2. Second, organizations must advise and receive _______ from applicants if such a report will be requested.
  3. Third, the organization must provide a written _______ to the consumer reporting agency about the purpose of the report and must assure them that it will not be used for any other purpose.
  4. Fourth, before taking any _____ action because of information in the report, organizations must provide applicants with a copy of the consumer report as well as a summary of their rights.
  5. Fifth, if the organization decides not to hire the applicant based on the report, it must provide an _______ notice to that person.

To comply with different state laws regarding privacy and treat all applicants fairly and consistently, many firms used the Department of Homeland Security’s free _______ system to conduct their background checks. It is being more widely used because employers are under increasing pressure by the federal and state governments to verify that their workers are eligible to work in the United States. Other companies outsource some or all of the checks to third-party screeners.

  1. state
  2. written consent
  3. certification
  4. adverse
  5. adverse- action

A ________ is an objective and standardized measure of a sample of the behavior that is used to measure the KSAOs of a person in relation to other individuals.

There are various types of such tests. _______ tests are a measure of one’s capabilities, such as general intelligence, verbal fluency, numerical ability and reasoning ability.

Other tests can be used to test dexterity, clerical aptitude or one’s mechanical aptitude. _________ tests measure a range of factors about an individual such as extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness to experience. Other tests that are used in the selection process include job knowledge, work sample, assessment center and physical ability tests.

preemployment test

Personality

cognitive ability

______ tests collect biographical information about candidates that has been shown to correlate with on-the-job success. Candidates are questioned about events and behaviors that reflect attitudes, experiences, interests, skills and abilities. Typically, the questions relate to events that have occurred in a person’s life and ask what the person typically did in those situations. The idea is that past behavior is a strong predictor of future behavior.

What was the impact of the Employee Polygraphs Protection Act of ______ on employers?

The Employee Polygraphs Protection Act generally prohibits the use of a ________ for prehire screening and random testing and applies to all private employers except ________ companies and companies that supply ________ for health and safety operations as well as government agencies. The act sets qualification standards for polygraph examiners, conditions for examinations and disclosure of information where the use of the polygraph is authorized. Because of the law, employers have had to rely on such alternatives as written tests of honesty and background checks of applicants. Polygraphs are used by only a small percentage of firms in the general population, although their use is prevalent among ______ agencies.

lie detector

pharmaceutical

security guards

law enforcement

1988

Medical examinations are given to ensure that the health of applicants is adequate to meet the requirements of a job. The ______ severely limits the types of medical inquiries and examinations that employers may use. The law explicitly states that all exams must be directly related to the requirements of the job and that a medical exam cannot be given until an _____ of employment has been extended. In addition, the examinations must be required of all candidates offered the job.

As for drug testing, many firms use drug tests to screen applicants and current employees for drug use. Federal agency regulations and legislation require firms in specific industries to test job applicants and employees for drugs and other illegal substances. Some companies no longer conduct drug tests and some studies have failed to show that drug testing makes the workplace safer or leads to improvements in the performance of workers. _______ use, in fact, appears to create more problems than illegal drugs in the workplace.

________ validity, as the term applies to selection instruments, means that the instrument adequately measures the knowledge and skills needed to perform the particular job for which it is used.

______ validity, on the other hand, refers to the extent to which a selection instrument measures a theoretical construct or trait. Theoretical constructs are intelligence, mechanical comprehension and anxiety. They are in effect broad, general categories of human functions that are based upon the measurement of many discrete ______.

Developing valid selection procedures, especially selection tests, can be complicated and requires expertise. Because valid ______ tests are more defensible in court if challenged, many large organizations that subject applicants to multiple tests hire outside vendors with industrial-organizational psychologists on staff to help them develop selection procedures.

Content

Construct

behaviors

custom

There are two basic approaches to making selection decisions, the _______ approach (personal judgment) and the ________ approach.

Under the clinical approach, several people are involved in the selection decision. They review all the facts and data on applicants as individuals. Then, on the basis of their understanding of the job and the applicants, they make a decision. This has the appearance of a ______ approach. However, the process can be clouded by ______  and differing perspectives among the evaluators.

The statistical approach is, on the other hand, more _______. It involves identifying the most valid predictors and weighing them through sophisticated statistical methods. However, despite this, the ______ approach continues to be the most commonly used method.

Under a strictly statistical approach, a candidate’s high score on one predictor will make up for a low score on another predictor, thus making it a _______ model. However, when it is important to have some minimum level of proficiency on all section dimensions, multiple cutoff models and/or multiple hurdle models are used as variations of the strict statistical approach.

rational

personal bias

objective

clinical

compensatory

The _________ typically is made by the manager or supervisor of the department where the job opening exists. The role of the human resources department is to identify qualified applicants and refer them to the line managers for the ultimate decision.