Deck 2: Foundations of Recruitment and Selection I

Question 1

The Winnipeg Police Department uses a written exam based on grade 12 knowledge, language, mathematics, and comprehension as part of its hiring process. What would the exam be classified as?

A) a selection criterion
B) a screening method
C) a performance dimension
D) a minimum qualification

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT a statement about reliability?

A) Reliability is an indication of the stability of measurements.
B) Reliability is the degree that observed scores are free from random errors.
C) Reliability is the amount of systemic errors relative to their true score.
D) Reliability is the consistency of a set of measurements over time.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

For what is job analysis information used?

A) to ensure reliability throughout the selection process
B) to identify both the performance domain and the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other attributes linked to job performance
C) to ensure the selection process is fair, equitable, and unbiased
D) to ensure utility throughout the recruitment and selection process

Answer 3

B

Question 4

What do you get when you square the reliability coefficient?

A) the proportion of consistency in the true scores attributed to true differences on the measured characteristic
B) the proportion of error in the error scores attributed to true differences on the measured characteristic
C) the proportion of measurement error in the observed scores attributed to true differences on the measured characteristic
D) the proportion of variance in the observed scores attributed to true differences on the measured characteristic

Question 5

An HRM used the identical measurement procedure to assess the same characteristic over the same group of people on different occasions. What method of estimating reliability was used?

A) test and retest
B) alternate forms
C) internal consistency
D) inter-rater reliability

Question 6

What did the Supreme Court of Canada decision in the Meiorin case illustrate?

A) Employment testing can be inaccurate and unfair.
B) A completed job analysis will ensure that legal standards are met.
C) Selection procedures have been checked for validity.
D) There are physical differences between men and women.

Question 7

What is the first step in an organization's selection process?

A) reviewing the candidate pool for the job position
B) identifying knowledge, skills, abilities, and other attributes constructs for the job position
C) acquiring job analysis information for the job position
D) developing performance indicators and job dimension for the job position

Question 8

From the Meiorin case, what new selection issue was identified for human resources managers?

A) the need to understand test validity
B) the need to understand test measurement
C) the need to understand test reliability
D) the need to understand test coefficients

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT a reason to use practice-based selection approaches?

A) fits organizational culture
B) comfort with the process
C) consistent process
D) flexibility and speed

Question 10

What is a potential outcome of a science-based selection process?

A) a significant number of qualified applicants
B) a defensible system with effective employees
C) a flexible, quick process that fits the organization's culture
D) a process that is comfortable and flexible for all employees

Question 11

What is a defining characteristic of a science-based selection process?

A) It is flexible.
B) It is intuitive.
C) It is rational.
D) It is subjective.

Question 12

What is the final step in the selection process?

A) developing performance indicators for the individuals who were hired with the process
B) gathering feedback from the individuals who were hired with the process
C) demonstrating that hiring decisions based on the selection system have utility
D) demonstrating that hiring decisions based on the selection system are reliable

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT a selection criterion for the Winnipeg Police Department?

A) The applicant must meet the vision standard for the Winnipeg Police Service.
B) The applicant must successfully pass the physical abilities test within 10 minutes.
C) The applicant must be a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant.
D) The applicant must not have a criminal record for which a pardon has not been granted.

Question 14

What is a potential outcome of a practice-based selection process?

A) the effective use of structured and consistent procedures
B) a defensible system with effective employees
C) increased productivity and competitiveness
D) human rights litigation and marginal employees

Question 15

What is the term that explains relationships between observations?

A) a variance
B) a construct
C) a concept
D) a validation

Question 16

What concept is defined as the degree to which observed scores are free from random measurement errors?

A) validity
B) fairness
C) error score
D) reliability

Question 17

What is a defining characteristic of a practice-based selection process?

A) It is defensible.
B) It is intuitive.
C) It is system-wide.
D) It is structured.

Question 18

The Meiorin case became a precedent setting case in British Columbia in the 1990s. What was the main thesis of the case?

A) Male and female firefighters run at different speeds.
B) Bona fide occupational requirements are discriminatory.
C) Women should not be hired as firefighters if they cannot pass the fitness tests.
D) The maximal oxygen uptake can be expanded with increased fitness.

Question 19

What is the concept that is defined as "systematic errors in measurement, or inferences made from those measurements, that are related to different identifiable group membership characteristics such as age, sex, or race?"

A) discrimination
B) unfairness
C) bias
D) validity

Question 20

What is the concept that defines the hypothetical difference between an individual's observed score on any particular measurement and the individual's true score?

A) measurement error
B) standard deviation
C) lack of standardization
D) test and retest

Question 21

Refer to Figure 2.1. What relationship does Line A represent?

A) the relationship among job analysis, knowledge, skills, abilities, and other attributes and performance management
B) the relationship between the performance domain and the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other attributes that contribute to the performance of job tasks and behaviours
C) the relationship between the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other attributes constructs and performance competencies
D) the relationship among job analysis, knowledge, skills, abilities, and other attributes, and performance criteria and dimensions

Question 22

What two strategies are typical methods used given that the researcher requires evidence for test-criterion relationships?

A) criterion-related and correlation
B) inference and intuition
C) differential and selective
D) predictive and concurrent

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT a technical quality of a testing procedure?

A) standardized test administration
B) test reliability
C) validity evidence
D) careful test development

Question 24

How many attempts did Ms. Meiorin make to reach the aerobic standard before she was fired from the British Columbia Ministry of Forests?

A) one
B) two
C) three
D) four

Question 25

What concept uses different selection rules for different identifiable subgroups?

A) subgroup differential
B) subgroup bias
C) subgroup norming
D) subgroup fairness

Question 26

What is the concept that is defined as the predicted average performance score of a subgroup?

A) subgroup prediction
B) differential prediction
C) systematic prediction
D) performance prediction

Question 27

In order to estimate reliability, it is important to adopt a strategy to develop approximations of parallel measures. Which of the following is NOT such a strategy?

A) internal consistency
B) test and retest
C) intra-rater agreement
D) alternate forms

Question 28

Which employment test has been identified as being biased toward males?

A) Bennett Mechanical Comprehension test
B) Wonderlic Personnel test
C) Winnipeg Police Service physical abilities test
D) cognitive ability test

Question 29

What is the concept that is defined as the decrease in magnitude of the validity coefficient associated with measurement error of the predictor, the criterion, or both?

A) sampling error
B) regression
C) attenuation
D) differential prediction

Question 30

According to the American Educational Research Association, what is the definition of the concept of fairness that is typically applied to the selection process?

A) The applicant can expect a lack of bias.
B) The applicant can expect every test to be assessed in an equitable manner.
C) The applicant can expect an equal opportunity to learn.
D) The applicant can expect equality of outcomes in the selection process.

Question 31

Refer to Figure 2.1. What occurs if the selection system does not have utility?

A) The job should be reanalyzed.
B) The selection system should be reviewed.
C) The selection system should be implemented.
D) The selection system should be validated.

Question 32

Which of the following is NOT a broad category of factors affecting reliability?

A) lack of standardization
B) temporary individual characteristics
C) seasonality
D) chance

Question 33

The employer's goal in selection is to hire an applicant who possesses the necessary knowledge, skills, abilities, and other attributes to perform the job being filled.

Question 34

Refer to Figure 2.1. What process does Line C represent?

A) validating the job analysis, knowledge, skills, abilities, and other attributes, and performance domain
B) utilizing the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other attributes' constructs to clarify the performance dimensions
C) translating the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other attributes' constructs into valid measurable predictors
D) establishing criterion-related validity

Question 35

In order to test validity, a content sampling strategy is often applied to the selection process. Which of the following is NOT a step in this content sampling strategy?

A) A scoring scheme is developed for the selection assessments.
B) Tasks of the target position are identified by job experts.
C) Job experts independently rate the reliability of each task.
D) Job experts evaluate the relationship between performance and job success.

Question 36

In the selection process for the Winnipeg Police Service, which of the following is NOT a competency adopted by the City of Winnipeg?

A) loyalty and commitment
B) respecting diversity
C) ethics and values
D) integrity and trust

Question 37

What does a regression line mean?

A) The predictable variable X predicts the dependent variable Y.
B) The predictable variable Y predicts the dependent variable X.
C) The dependent variable X correlates to the predictable variable Y.
D) The dependent variable Y correlates to the predictable variable X.

Question 38

Refer to Figure 2.1. What process does Line D represent?

A) validating the job analysis and identifying performance criteria
B) clarifying the performance domain and utilizing the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other attributes constructs
C) defining the performance domain and developing related criterion measurements
D) validating the selection system

Question 39

Refer to Figure 2.1. What process does Line E represent?

A) validating the job analysis, knowledge, skills, abilities, and other attributes and performance domain
B) predicting which applicants will be successful in their position
C) utilizing the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other attributes constructs to clarify the performance dimensions
D) translating the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other attributes constructs into valid measurable predictors

Question 40

In their research in the mid-1970s, what procedure did researchers Schmidt and Hunter use to challenge the idea that a validity coefficient was specific to the context in which it was measured?

A) validity generalization
B) meta-analysis
C) range restriction
D) attenuation

Question 41

The goal of selection is to identify job candidates who have those attributes required for success on the job.

Question 42

An employer's employment decisions must be rational and intuitive.

Question 43

Issues of fairness need to be determined statistically.

Question 44

The principle that every test taker should be assessed in an equitable manner is known as equity.

Question 45

When candidates are asked different questions from one interview to the other, validity is reduced.

Question 46

Validity is the degree to which observed scores are free from random measurement errors.

Question 47

Measurement error can be thought of as the hypothetical difference between an individual's observed score on any particular measurement and the individual's true score.

Question 48

Employers must know the legal and professional standards in order to ensure their selection processes are compliant.

Question 49

An employer's recruitment and selection process goal is to attract and hire an applicant who possesses the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other attributes to successfully perform the job.

Question 50

Since TS Inc. is a small growing aviation company, the CEO makes the hiring decisions based on his years of experience as well as his gut feeling. He started the business 10 years ago with 10 employees and has grown to over 30 employees. The CEO has asked you, the HRM, to explain some of the differences between using his practice-based selection approach and an empirical-based process. Also explain what challenges you anticipate in using validation techniques.

Question 51

Achieving fairness often requires compromise between conflicting interests.

Question 52

Hiring decisions must be defensible; they must meet legal requirements and professional standards of reliability and validity.

Question 53

How does science affect the selection process?

Question 54

If an employer does not have a reliable and valid selection process, it can still make a correct guess about an applicant that will have positive benefits for the organization.

Question 55

Describe the process and components of selection model Figure 2.1.

Question 56

Scribe Engineering, a medium-sized information technology company, is having difficulties recruiting and retaining several of its administrative assistant positions. Traditionally, Scribe has used a practice-based selection process. As the new HRM, what would you suggest to the CEO?

Question 57

The reliability coefficient is the degree that true scores correlate with one another.

Question 58

What is reliability? Identify three factors affecting reliability.

Question 59

Choose a specific job you are familiar with and choose one characteristic that you think is critical to successfully performing that job. If you were the HRM hiring for this position, what would you consider in measuring the characteristic and job performance to ensure reliability and validity?

Question 60

The HR manager focuses on one variable, usually job performance, in the selection process.

Question 61

What is fairness? Why is it an important concept in selection?

Question 62

What is validity in selection? Describe four validation strategies.

Question 63

What is bias in selection?