Exam 17: Human Resource Policies and Practices

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The unstructured interview-short in duration, casual, and made up of random questions-is not a very effective selection device. The data gathered from such interviews are typically biased and often only modestly related to future job performance. Without structure, a number of biases can distort results. These biases include interviewers tending to favor applicants who share their attitudes, giving unduly high weight to negative information, and allowing the order in which applicants are interviewed to influence evaluations.
Using a standardized set of questions, providing interviewers with a uniform method of recording information, and standardizing the rating of the applicant's qualifications reduce the variability in results across applicants and enhance the validity of the interview as a selection device. The effectiveness of the interview also improves when employers use behavioral structured interviews. This interview technique requires applicants to describe how they handled specific problems and situations in previous jobs. It's built on the assumption that past behavior offers the best predictor of future behavior.

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Work sample tests are hands-on simulations of part or all of the job that must be performed by applicants. By carefully devising work samples based on specific job tasks, management determines the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for each job. Then each work sample element is matched with a corresponding job performance element.
Work samples are widely used in the hiring of skilled workers, such as welders, machinists, carpenters, and electricians. The results from work sample experiments are impressive. Studies almost consistently demonstrate that work samples yield validities superior to written aptitude and personality tests.
A more elaborate set of performance-simulation tests specifically designed to evaluate a candidate's managerial potential is administered in assessment centers. In assessment centers, line executives, supervisors, and/or trained psychologists evaluate candidates as they go through one to several days of exercises that simulate real problems that they would confront on the job. Based on a list of descriptive dimensions that the actual job incumbent has to meet, activities might include interviews, in-basket problem-solving exercises, leaderless group discussions, and business decision games.