Deck 7: Personnel Selection

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT one of the three primary goals of recruitment?

A) Increase the diversity of the applicant pool
B) Increase the quality of the applicant pool
C) Increase the quantity of the applicant pool
D) Increase the geographic make-up of the applicant pool

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The _____ method is used to set cut-off scores using a panel of SMEs.

A) Angoff
B) decision-based
C) content validity
D) criterion-referenced

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Accumulated evidence indicates that, around the world, applicants generally react more positively to ______.

A) personality tests
B) work samples
C) graphology
D) integrity tests

Answer 3

B

Question 4

One option for improving applicant reactions is to ______.

A) explain the selection procedures to applicants
B) use methods applicants like the most such as cognitive ability tests
C) use integrity tests to show that the organization is ethical
D) all of the above

Question 5

A recent study (Harold et al., 2016) showed that applicants' perceptions of how fairly they were treated can affect ______.

A) whether applicants sue the organization
B) later job satisfaction on the job
C) later job performance one year later
D) whether applicants accept a position that is offered to them

Question 6

When a test's criterion-related validity is very high, there will be virtually zero ______ and ______.

A) true positives; true negatives
B) false positives; true negatives
C) true positives; false negatives
D) false negatives; false positives

Question 7

To fill open sales positions, a company chooses from an applicant pool of 300 applicants. 60 applicants were hired into the position. What is the selection ratio?

A) 0.60
B) 0.30
C) 0.20
D) This cannot be determined from this information.

Question 8

The selection ratio is ____.

A) the number of applicants tested versus the number who applied for the job
B) the adverse impact against protected groups
C) the number of applicants who make it to the final round of testing
D) the number of applicants hired versus the number who applied for the job

Question 9

To fill open sales positions, a company from an applicant pool of 300 applicants. In the applicant pool, there was a total of 100 Black applicants and 200 White applicants. Of those selected for the positions, 35 were Black and 70 were White. In this case, there would be _____.

A) adverse impact against Black applicants
B) adverse impact against White applicants
C) zero adverse impact against either group
D) disparate treatment

Question 10

In the U.S., executive orders govern the employment practices of _____.

A) private companies
B) state contractors
C) all organizations
D) federal contractors

Question 11

Company X uses a test to select employees. The proportion of Black candidates who pass the test, however, is unusually small in comparison to the proportion of White candidates who pass the test. This situation appears to be an example of:

A) racial discrimination
B) quid pro quo
C) adverse impact
D) disparate treatment

Question 12

The goal of __________ is to provide an organization with a large, diverse pool of qualified potential job candidates.

A) job analysis
B) job design
C) recruitment
D) selection

Question 13

Content validity ___________.

A) relies on expert judgment
B) is based on statistical correlations between two measures
C) refers to the process of correlating a measure with some criterion
D) assesses the consistency with which test items measure a single concept

Question 14

Carmen develops a structured interview to be used for hiring baristas. Throughout the process, she gets input from SMEs and asks them to review the interview questions and scoring key. In this case, Carmen is using a _____.

A) content validity approach
B) construct validity approach
C) concurrent validity approach
D) validity generalization approach

Question 15

As an HRM consultant, you have been asked to determine whether there is evidence of disparate (adverse) impact based on a company's selection data. The prior year's selection data indicate that of the 100 male applicants who applied, 80 were selected; comparatively, of the 10 female applicants who applied, 6 were selected. Based on these data ____.

A) there is adverse impact against women
B) there is no adverse impact against women
C) it is not possible to determine whether there is adverse impact given the information provided
D) there is no adverse impact, but there clearly is disparate treatment

Question 16

A selection test can be said to have _____ validity if the test items represent a comprehensive sampling of the job.

A) construct
B) concurrent
C) convergent
D) content

Question 17

When completing a test as part of a selection battery, Juan can tell that one of the tests is definitely designed to assess his integrity. To Juan, this makes sense given that the job involves regularly handling large sums of money. For Juan, this test demonstrates high ______.

A) face validity
B) concurrent validity
C) criterion-related validity
D) construct validity

Question 18

A coffee chain is assessing the validity of its test used to hire baristas. It gives the test to 200 baristas in the company and finds that the test is significantly correlated with the baristas' job performance. This is an example of _____ validation.

A) predictive
B) concurrent
C) content
D) construct

Question 19

A department store is assessing the validity of its test used to hire salespeople. It gives the test to 200 job applicants applying for sales jobs. It hires 100 of these applicants. It then finds that the test is significantly correlated with the employees' job performance 6 months later. This is an example of _____ validation.

A) predictive
B) concurrent
C) content
D) construct

Question 20

The ____ approach assumes that tests will need to be re-validated when used in different contexts, while the ____ approach assumes that the validity of tests holds up across different contexts.

A) validity generalization; Angoff
B) situational specificity; multiple hurdle
C) Angoff; validity generalization
D) situational specificity; validity generalization

Question 21

Carolina is working to show the validity of a series of tests her company is using to hire employees. She is using a criterion-related validity approach. During the process, she checks the regression weights found in her first validation sample of people against a second sample. This process is referred to as _____.

A) cross-validation
B) validity generalization
C) construct validity
D) regression weighting

Question 22

For recruitment success, an organization should _____.

A) focus primarily on online recruitment
B) use online recruitment to get a larger pool but also add the personal touch
C) show applicants how much salary they will make early on in the process
D) focus on word-of-mouth from current employees

Question 23

Increasing the number of applicants recruited into the "selection funnel" _____.

A) should be avoided because it causes adverse impact
B) should be used if disparate treatment is a concern in the applicant pool
C) will negatively affect applicant reactions
D) allows the organization to be more selective when making hiring decisions

Question 24

The dollar value of using a particular selection procedure is referred to as _____.

A) utility
B) ROI score
C) results criteria
D) payout

Question 25

All things being equal, having a larger applicant pool relative to the number of vacancies _____.

A) reduces a test's utility
B) increases a test's utility
C) has no effect on a test's utility
D) increases utility but is illegal

Question 26

In legal terms, in the U.S. the Uniform Guidelines are _____.

A) not technically law but treated as law by the courts
B) the law regarding hiring in the U.S.
C) the law except where they differ from the SIOP Principles
D) primarily used to explain to job applicants what their rights are

Question 27

Jim is making hiring decisions for his company. He is treating all test scores within a 5-point range as statistically equal. This approach is referred to as ____.

A) disparate treatment
B) standard deviation
C) compensatory method
D) banding

Question 28

Gina is using Test A and Test B to predict job performance. She has developed a regression equation to determine the best weight for each test. The regression equation is Y=3(Test A) + 2(Test B) + 1. A job candidate gets a 10 on Test A and a 10 on Test B. What is their predicted job performance score?

A) 51
B) 50
C) 501
D) This cannot be determined from this information.

Question 29

The correlation between a selection test and the criterion is referred to as the test's _____.

A) content validity
B) construct validity
C) validity generalization
D) validity coefficient

Question 30

One factor to consider when using artificial intelligence (AI) to make hiring decisions is that _____.

A) AI is more bias-free than human decision-makers
B) AI may, unfortunately, be "trained" to reflect the current biases in the organization
C) the use of AI is not acceptable according to the Uniform Guidelines
D) AI has become the main way hiring decisions are made today

Question 31

When choosing among selection procedures to predict job performance, it is best to choose predictors that are _____.

A) highly correlated with each other but not with the criterion
B) highly correlated with each other and highly correlated with the criterion
C) not correlated with each other and highly correlated with the criterion
D) not correlated with each other and not correlated with the criterion

Question 32

In comparing adverse impact and disparate treatment, _____.

A) adverse impact does not imply discriminatory intent on the part of the employer
B) adverse impact implies discriminatory intent on the part of the employer
C) neither adverse impact nor disparate treatment imply discriminatory intent
D) both adverse impact and disparate treatment imply discriminatory intent

Question 33

Under US law, if a job applicant can show that an employer is using a test that causes adverse impact, the employer _____.

A) is required to pay a fine to the government
B) must immediately stop using the test
C) can defend themselves by showing that the test is a valid selection procedure
D) must pay a fine to all applicants who were not hired as a result of the test

Question 34

In the US, the federal agency charged with monitoring discrimination in employment is the _____.

A) Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
B) Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP)
C) Supreme Court
D) Executive Orders Administration (EOA)

Question 35

In the personnel selection context, content validity can be demonstrated by the fact that a test score has a statistical correlation with a measure of job performance.

Question 36

When choosing selection procedures, it is best to focus on selection procedures that are highly correlated with each other.

Question 37

Validating a selection test on a sample of people who are employees of the organization is called concurrent validation.

Question 38

Validity generalization is the assumption that a test that is valid for one job will be valid for other, similar jobs.

Question 39

Legally, adverse impact does not imply intentional discrimination on the part of the employer.

Question 40

An advantage of the multiple hurdle approach is that all of the selection procedures can be given at the same time.

Question 41

A band is a range of predictor scores within which all scores are considered statistically equal.

Question 42

Applicants who failed the selection procedure but who would have been good employees if they had been hired are called false negatives.

Question 43

The number of job vacancies relative to the number of job applicants is the selection ratio.

Question 44

The preferred selection procedure of most applicants is graphology.

Question 45

______ is an organizational activity focused on increasing the number of job applicants, their diversity, quality and fit with the job openings.

Question 46

_____ is the degree to which a test appears to be job-related to a job applicant.

Question 47

Legally, a type of discrimination which involves intentional discrimination on the part of the employer is called _____.

Question 48

_____ is the degree to which the R2 on a cross-validation sample does not match the R2 on the original validation sample.

Question 49

_____ is a way of showing criterion-related validity where a test is given to a group of applicants and correlated with their later job performance (i.e., after they are hired).

Question 50

The belief that even though a test has been shown to be valid in one setting, one cannot assume that it will be valid in other settings is called _____.

Question 51

_____ is the US government agency charged with monitoring employers' activities in relation to providing equal opportunity to all groups, such as through selection procedures and pay.

Question 52

A selection system in which there is a minimum score on each predictor and an applicant must pass one predictor before moving on to take the next predictor is called _____.

Question 53

Applicants who passed a selection test but did not turn out to be good employees are called _____.

Question 54

The monetary value of using a personnel selection procedure is called _____.

Question 55

What is the difference versus situational specificity and validity generalization?

Question 56

What are the advantages and disadvantages of predictive and concurrent designs?

Question 57

What are two common ways to recruit potential applicants?

Question 58

What are two factors that affect potential applicants' attraction to an organization?

Question 59

Describe one potential benefit of using a multiple cutoff approach and one potential benefit of using a multiple hurdle approach.

Question 60

What are the three steps in an adverse impact case? If the employer is able to show that the selection procedure is valid, what is the last recourse for the plaintiff?

Question 61

How are content validity and criterion-related validity shown in selection?

Question 62

What are two ways to weight predictors in selection?

Question 63

Describe the variables that affect the utility of selection procedures.

Question 64

How can you improve applicant reactions?

Question 65

What is the Angoff method and how is it used?

Question 66

What is banding and why is it used?

Question 67

What are the Uniform Guidelines?

Question 68

Describe how a criterion-related validity study is carried out.

Question 69

What is disparate treatment versus adverse impact?