Selection

1. Selection Criteria and Job Analysis

2. Selection • What is selection? • Using scientific methodology to choose one alternative (job candidate) over another. • Job Analysis • Measurement • Statistics • Why is selection important? • Decreases the likelihood of hiring “bad” employees • Increases the likelihood that people will be treated fairly when hiring decisions are made • Reduces discrimination • Reduces likelihood of discrimination lawsuits • What do I/O psychologists need to know about selection? • How to select predictors of job performance (criteria problem) • How to accurately indentify and validate predictors for specific jobs (job analysis) • Rely on cognitive and personality variables • How to reliably and validly measure these predictors • How to use these predictors to make selection decisions

3. Criteria Abstract concept or idea Conceptual Criterion • Criteria - standards used to judge the quality of (discriminate among) alternatives. • For I/O psychologists, this means judging the quality of employees, programs, and units in the organization. Criterion deficiency Actual Criterion Criterion relevance Criterion contamination Measures that act as “proxies”

4. I/O Psychologists try to choose criteria that assess performance excellence. Criteria are typically classified in one of two ways Objective Subjective More easily quantifiable Production Number of touchdowns Number of units produced Sales Tenure/Turnover voluntariness functionality Absenteeism Accidents Theft Classification of Criteria • Judgements made about employees performance • general factor (effectiveness) • specific factors • quantity of work • quality of work • Note: More complex jobs require more criteria for effective evaluation

5. Illegal Criteria • Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits using selection practices that have an unequal impact on members of a different: • Race • Color • Sex • Religion • National Origin

6. Types of Illegal Discrimination • Disparate Treatment (Opportunities) • Discrimination decisions based on one of five prohibited categories • Disparate Impact (Outcomes) • Illegal discrimination is any practice (without a business justification) that has unequal consequences for members of protected groups. • Roger Parloff, Fortune senior editor: • Though disparate treatment and disparate impact cases are both aimed at eradicating the same thing, there is potential tension between them. • The goal of disparate treatment cases is to guarantee every worker equal opportunity, but not equal outcomes. • The focus of disparate impact cases is on equal outcomes. • If one pursues equal outcomes too single-mindedly, one can compromise the principle of equal opportunity by inducing the use of quotas.

7. Determining Disparate Impact • The 4/5ths Rule • Disparate impact occurs if the selection ratio for any minority group is less than 4/5ths of the selection ratio of the majority group 100 male applicants 50 female applicants 20 males selected 50 * .16 = 8 20/100 = .20 At least 8 females should be selected .20 * 4/5ths(.80) = .16 At least 16% of people from minority group should be selected using a given procedure.

8. Summary • Criteria • Reliable and valid predictors of job performance. • All criteria suffer from: • Deficiency • Contamination • Criteria typically classified as: • Objective • Subjective • These labels can be misleading • There are several illegal criteria • There are two types of illegal discrimination • Disparate treatment • Disparate impact

9. Choosing Predictors of Job Performance • When selecting new employees, I/O psychologists use criteria that will identify effective on-the-job performance • Performance is a function of the following: • Knowledge • Skills • Abilities • Motivation • Situational Constraints Performance = (KSA)*Motivation – Situational Constraints

10. Job Analysis • Describes: • the tasks that are performed • type of work • tools used • working conditions • human qualities (KSAOs or competencies) needed to perform the work • Tells us what tasks people do and the knowledge, skills and abilities they need to accomplish those tasks.

11. Purposes of Job Analysis • Recruiting • Career development • What does it take to move up? • Legal defense • Essential functions: What tasks must be done? • Performance appraisal • Selection • What sorts of people should we hire? • Training • What knowledge and skills are needed? • Research

12. Job-Oriented Job Analysis • Job components (for a carpenter) • Duty: construct houses • Task: build kitchen cabinets • Activity: assemble cabinets • Element: drill holes

13. Person-Oriented Job Analysis • KSAO’s (for a carpenter) • Knowledge: Have information to do a task • Skill: Practiced act or behavior. • Ability: Stable capacity to do task. • Other personal characteristics: personality, interests, etc.

14. Job Knowledge Skill Ability Other Personal Characteristics Lawyer Constitutional rights Writing clearly Communica-tion Willingness to work long hours Nurse Surgical procedures Drawing blood Remain calm in a crisis Lack of squeamishness in the sight of blood Plumber Pipe design Soldering joints Hand-eye coordination Willingness to get dirty Police Officer Knowledge of legal arrest procedures Writing clearly Vigilence Willingness to risk personal safety Examples Of KSAOs For Different Occupations

15. Hiring the Best • Job: College Professor • What are the major duties of a college professor? • What tasks are performed to complete each duty • Develop a set of KSAO’s necessary for these tasks. • should be useable for recruiting and evaluating • Challenges? • What other information would you want? How would you get it?

16. Data Collection Approaches • Questionnaire • diaries • Interview • critical incidents • Observation • Analyst does work Who do you collect data from? • Subject Matter Experts • -incumbent • -supervisor • -co-worker

17. Occasions for Formal Job Analysis • Major Restructuring • after dramatic growth • downsizing • new positions • Large Selection Procedure • Dramatic changes in technology • Passage of Time