Deck 7: Selecting Employees to Fit the Job and the Organization

Question 1

Content validation strategy:

A)is a relatively new approach and is not commonly used
B)can be based on competency modeling
C)works best for jobs that have existed for as long as the organization has existed
D)is based on an description of the ideal job candidate
E)is accurately described by all of the above

Answer 1

B

Question 2

As vice president of HR,you are participating in a top management meeting.Top management realizes that they need to cut costs wherever possible.The vice president of finance eyes you and says,"This fancy assessment center you run costs us $150,000 annually.Surely this is an area which we can easily cut." Your reply should include:

A)criticism of the finance vice president's over staffed department
B)how the cost of the assessment center is outweighed by the positive impact it has on job applicants as an effective recruiting tool
C)a discussion of the economic utility of the assessment center
D)pointing out that your company's major competitors also run assessment centers
E)none of these is a logical argument

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Content validation would be most appropriate for evaluating predictors of future job behaviors for

A)any top management position
B)all positions that have multiple quantifiable features
C)a newly created position
D)contingency workers with long-time relationships with the organization
E)any lower-level or midlevel management position

Answer 3

C

Question 4

More expensive procedures for measuring a job candidate's appropriateness for a position are justified when:

A)labor costs are variable and rise with productivity gains
B)labor markets are tight
C)tenure in the job is expected to be relatively short
D)incremental increases in performance reap large rewards for the organization
E)there are only a few applicants to choose from

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT a consideration in choosing a predictor?

A)Alternative techniques
B)Validity
C)Reliability
D)Legality
E)Variance

Question 6

A private academy that tutors children with learning disabilities wanted to know if empathetic and compassionate teachers would be better able to teach its students.The private academy could use _____ to determine if strong levels of empathy and compassion would positively affect future job behavior.

A)content validation
B)validity generalization
C)criterion-related validation
D)job-analysis-derived validation
E)context validation

Question 7

Why should employees be involved in the selection process?

A)to make sure that organizational culture described to job candidates is as the HR professionals perceive it to be
B)to remove any possibility of competitiveness and job insecurity from the job candidate and those with whom he or she will work
C)to eliminate all stereotyping
D)to support organizational team work efforts
E)to pave the way for eventual job promotions for the job candidates

Question 8

Jessica has applied for a telephone sales position with your organization.She IS qualified,but the interviewer did not like the way she was dressed and rejected her.The consequences of rejecting a qualified candidate include:

A)Current employees benefit from the rejected applicant's performance
B)Applicant may file discrimination suit
C)Search costs are reduced
D)Managers achieve their objectives
E)Organization suffers consequences of poorly performing employee

Question 9

Which of the following statements about the strategies used to ascertain whether predictor scores can be used to infer applicant's future behavior on the job is true?

A)Content validation is an objective strategy.
B)The criterion-related validation strategy is the least expensive of the three strategies used for this purpose.
C)The legal credibility of the validity generalization has not been tested in the courts.
D)The criterion-related validation strategy is a subjective strategy.
E)All of the above statements about the strategies used to ascertain whether inferences about applicant's behavior on the job is based on predictor scores are truE.

Question 10

Which of the following statements about the steps in the selection process is true?

A)The first step is to establish the criteria of interest.
B)Valid predictors are chosen after the selection process has been designed
C)Synthesis of information collected is the first step of the process.
D)The development of the criteria of interest occurs once the employer sees the applicant pool
E)The first step is to establish the predictors to be used for inferring the type of person needed for the open job.

Question 11

_____ replaces judgments about which predictors are most useful with statistical analyses that demonstrate the usefulness of the criteria.

A)content validation
B)context validation
C)validity generalization
D)criterion-related validation
E)job-analysis-derived validation

Question 12

Visualize a large communications company with centralized selection and placement activities.How would such an organizational structure benefit job applicants?

A)The application process is convenient because there is only one place within the organization to apply.
B)The culture in a centralized organization is bureaucratic and does not expect applicant creativity.
C)The centralized organization is flat,and the applicant is able to meet the people with whom he or she would interact if a job offer is accepted.
D)Centralizing the selection and placement activities removes any possibility of discrimination.
E)Centralizing the selection and placement processes reduces the number of tests the applicant has to undergo.

Question 13

The _____ strategy assumes the results of criterion-related validity studies conducted in other companies can be generalized to the situation in your company.

A)context validation
B)job-analysis-derived validation
C)content validation
D)validity resolution
E)validity generalization

Question 14

The term _____ refers to the usefulness of a predictor for correctly inferring the future job behavior of applicants.

A)validity
B)congruency
C)reliability
D)effectiveness
E)credibility

Question 15

The three approaches commonly used for synthesizing the information gained during the applicant-job match process are the:

A)panel interview,work sample,and content validation
B)structured panel interview,cognitive synopsis,and competency criteria
C)structured approach,unstructured approach,and semi-structured approach
D)multiple hurdles approach,compensatory approach,and combined approach
E)selection committee,content validation,and comparative studies

Question 16

The _____ of a predictor (e.g. ,an interview,a mathematical reasoning test,or a work simulation)is the degree to which it yields dependable,consistent results

A)reliability
B)congruency
C)validity
D)credibility
E)constancy

Question 17

Which of the following tasks of the selection and placement process is typically performed by line managers?

A)Line managers identify the jobs to be filled
B)Line managers help to identify the qualifications employees must have to perform current and future jobs.
C)Line managers' evaluations of employee performance may serve as a basis for the decision about who should be asked to leave the organization.
D)The involvement of line managers in the selection and placement processes helps to ensure selection and placement is congruent with the internal and external environments of the organization.
E)All of the above statements about the tasks of the line managers during the selection and placement processes are truE.

Question 18

_____ is the process of obtaining and using information about job applicants in order to determine who should be hired for long- or short-term positions.

A)Placement
B)Selection
C)Prospecting
D)Hiring
E)Qualifying

Question 19

The role of the human resource (HR)professionals in the selection process is to:

A)make sure the organization has the information it needs to identify the best candidate
B)administer test of competence and personality
C)monitor legal compliance
D)manage relations with external vendors who provide selection services
E)do all of the above

Question 20

Visualize a large communications company with centralized selection activities.How would such an organizational structure benefit the employer?

A)Operating managers would have the ability to provide a significant amount of time to the decision process.
B)The possibility of hiring an inappropriate job candidate would be eliminated.
C)The organization can consider each job applicant for a variety of jobs,which is a very efficient way to handle placement and selection activities.
D)Testing for job applicants is expensive,and using centralized selection activities reduces the needs for such testing.
E)With centralized selection,hiring always becomes a year-round activity rather than intermittent.

Question 21

Application blanks:

A)allow the employer to determine if the applicant meets the minimum job requirements
B)often ask for details of educational achievements
C)may be used simply as an additional document that's useful for keeping track of applicants
D)may ask applicants if they are willing to work split shifts,weekends,or overtime
E)are accurately described by all of the above

Question 22

Joni has applied for a job working in a store that rents scuba diving equipment.One of the measures used to determine whether to hire her was an underwater test of how well she could scuba dive herself.The owner of the store used a(n):

A)biodata test
B)ability test
C)cognitive test
D)perceptual test
E)off-site interview

Question 23

What kind of a test would a real estate company give a newly licensed real estate agent if the company was concerned about the personal integrity of the job applicant?

A)ability test
B)knowledge test
C)personality test
D)biodata test
E)interest and preference inventories

Question 24

You are the owner of Webb's Greenhouse.All of your employees must have a valid drivers license because they may be called upon to deliver plants purchased by customers.Which of the following is NOT a good choice to ask applicants on a job application?

A)Ask about skills to do the job
B)Ask for drivers license
C)Ask about preferred hours of work
D)Ask about personal financial credit
E)Ask if there is anything that would keep applicant from performing the job

Question 25

Previous employers sometimes do not give references on past employees because they fear a(n)_____.

A)EEOC lawsuit
B)ADA lawsuit
C)class action lawsuit
D)involuntary self-disclosure lawsuit
E)defamation of character lawsuit

Question 26

After their interviews,Tom and Jerry met to compare experiences.They were fascinated by the fact that the interviewer asked them identical questions.They found it even more interesting that the questions asked were in the same order.As they ate lunch together,Tom looked at Jerry and said,"I didn't get to tell the interviewer that I plan to work for two years before I return to college.He didn't want to listen to anything except me responding to his questions." Tom and Jerry have both experienced a(n)_____ interview.

A)unstructured
B)formalized
C)structured
D)inter-related
E)semistructured

Question 27

Leon has applied for a mechanic's job at a trucking company.As part of the selection process,he was given three hours to repair a truck's engine that was running unevenly using parts available at the plant.The trucking company gave Leon a(n)_____ test.

A)knowledge
B)interest and preference
C)work simulation
D)biodata
E)unstructured

Question 28

When Tyler applied for the job of salesperson for a leading toy manufacturer,he participated in all the testing the organization used in its selection process.He was not hired because his score on the personality test indicated his people skills were lower than the levels of proficiency the company required of its employees.Even though Tyler ranked above the fixed level of proficiency on his other tests,he was not hired because the toy manufacturer uses a(n)_____ approach to synthesizing applicant test results and choosing its new employees.

A)compensatory
B)multiple-hurdles
C)structured
D)semistructured
E)combined

Question 29

In a(n)_____,assessment center participants may be asked to give a five-minute talk on why their company should expand its market to a particular Eastern Europe country.They must defend their selection to the rest of the members of a group.Participants are rated on their selling abilities,self-confidence,aggressiveness,and oral communication skills.

A)in-basket exercise
B)leaderless group discussion
C)unstructured business simulation
D)knowledge application test
E)leadership development exercise

Question 30

Personal history assessments are based on the fact that:

A)A picture is worth a thousand words
B)The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior
C)You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink
D)You can't teach an old dog new tricks
E)None of thesE.They are all just adages.

Question 31

When Willa applied for the job of marketing research analyst with a large consumer products manufacturer,she participated in all the testing the organization used in its selection process.Even though she scored low in her personal interview,she scored high on her mathematical abilities and her cognitive reasoning tests.She was hired by the consumer products manufacturer even though she did poorly in one of its selection processes because the company used a _____ approach to synthesizing applicant test results and choosing its new employees.

A)compensatory
B)multiple-hurdles
C)structured
D)semistructured
E)combined

Question 32

Job analysis has shown you that competencies that are predictive for job success in supervisory positions at your organization are communication skills,conflict management skills,and technical skills.Which of the following behavioral questions will help you select the best candidate with respect to competency?

A)Can you give me an example when you had more to do than you had time to do it?
B)What is your leadership style?
C)Can you give me an example of a time when you had to resolve a conflict?
D)If your organization were a tree,what type of tree would it be?
E)None of these questions are about competencies.

Question 33

Two commonly used methods of assessing a job applicant's personal history are:

A)panel and structured interviews
B)reference checks and background verifications
C)application blanks and biodata tests
D)cognitive tests and resumes
E)resumes and structured interviews

Question 34

In the feature "Managing Ethics: Assessment of the Twenty-First-Century Workforce,when asked whether the importance of ethical and social responsibly is expected to increase in importance over the next five years,_____% of employers said yes.

A)100
B)82
C)75
D)64
E)50

Question 35

You will be working as the manager of a souvenir shop this summer.You have received several applications from people who want to work in the shop.As you look at the applications,you should know that most distortions and inaccuracies on the forms have to do with the job applicants':

A)educational achievements
B)physical health
C)date of birth
D)willingness to work overtime
E)length of previous employment and previous salary

Question 36

Which of the following statements about assessment centers is true?

A)Assessment centers evaluate how well a job applicant will fit into the culture of the organization to which he or she has applied.
B)Assessment centers are typically run at the job site and include ability tests and work simulation.
C)Assessment centers seldom,if ever,involve more than five people at any given time.
D)Assessment centers are expensive to operate.
E)All of the above statements about assessment centers are truE.

Question 37

Jillian is waiting for her interview with the human resource director for a large hospital.As the interviewer comes into the office,he drops a piece of paper.Jillian sees that written on the piece of paper are "education,past job experience as it relates to job,competencies,overtime,and hospital budget." During the interview,Jillian and the interviewer talk about her years at Western Kentucky University and her favorite professors there,Kentucky basketball,Jillian's past job as a bookkeeper for an NBA basketball team,and the hospital budget.As she leaves Jillian feels frustrated because she did not get to express how much she wanted this job.Jillian has just undergone a(n):

A)unstructured interview
B)inter-related interview
C)semistructured interview
D)personality test
E)structured interview

Question 38

Research has shown that most aspects of the personality can be captured using only a few basic dimensions.Which one of the following is NOT one of those dimensions?

A)emotional stability
B)creativity
C)extraversion
D)conscientiousness
E)openness to experience

Question 39

In a(n)_____,assessment center participants are given a wide variety of tasks that a manager may have to perform in any given day.Participants are given a limited amount of time to prioritize these tasks and note any actions that should be taken.

A)in-basket exercise
B)"you're the leader" exercise
C)commonplace ability test
D)business game
E)knowledge application test

Question 40

Assessment centers:

A)customarily have six to twelve attendees
B)use in-basket exercises,business games,and leaderless group discussion
C)provide participants with feedback that can be used in their career planning
D)tend to be used in managerial selection
E)are accurately described by all of the above

Question 41

An organization accused of illegal discrimination may be able to successfully defend its employment practices by showing that the demonstrated discrimination is legally justified by:

A)job relatedness
B)a bona fide occupational qualification
C)a bona fide seniority system
D)a business necessity
E)all of the above

Question 42

Current employees should never be involved in any organization's employee selection process.

Question 43

As the manager of a slate mining company,you need to hire the best auditor available for the job.You and your executive team are very pressed for time and scheduling interviews with each candidate with each executive would be very time consuming.Personally,you know little about the technical aspects of the auditing function,although your financial executive does.You will be bringing in a diverse group of applicants.Your executive team is composed of two white males,an Asian male and a white female.Which selection process should you use?

A)Use a panel interview.
B)Go with your instincts and pick the person that seems to suit your personality.
C)Do not use the interview process at all.
D)Hire headhunters to find the assistant.
E)There is no way to avoid this problem.Interviewing is intrinsically time consuming.

Question 44

Wild Winds,Inc. ,of New Iberia has decided to open a branch office in Italy and is seeking a manager to open the branch.Italy is quite similar in culture to New Iberia.Italy does not require by law that an HCN be hired.Wild Winds wishes to hold the costs down because the new branch is a startup.It is important to quickly build relationships in Italy.All things considered,what is the best choice for manager of the new site?

A)Parent Country National
B)Host Country National
C)Third Country National
D)It won't matter,given your criteria hire any of them
E)None of these will do

Question 45

A dental office in a small Nebraska town had two applicants for the job of receptionist,Abner and Homer.Part of this job is the scheduling of appointments.Both Abner and Homer had similar work experiences and educational achievements,but Abner failed to grasp the logistics of using the office's computerized database for locating patient information.Homer,who was comfortable with the computer,was hired.Homer was not part of a minority group.Abner was a minority,and he was not hired.This is not a case of discrimination because the hiring decision was made on the basis of:

A)a bona fide seniority system
B)job relatedness
C)a voluntary affirmative action program
D)the mission statement
E)a blind test

Question 46

Which of the following statements about general health (physical)examinations as a part of the job selection process is true?

A)Under the Americans with Disabilities Act,physical examinations can be given to all job applicants.
B)Physical examinations are one of the first steps in the selection process.
C)Physical exams may be given only after a job offer has been made.
D)A job applicant can be asked to undergo a physical examination at any point during the selection process.
E)All of the above statements about physical examinations as a part of the job selection are truE.

Question 47

Illegal discrimination against an entire protected group is called:

A)nationalized discrimination
B)universal discrimination
C)differentiated selection and placement
D)adverse impact
E)disparate treatment

Question 48

A firm's choice of recruiting methods influences the quality of applicants who apply for jobs.

Question 49

Keisha has applied for a job as a gardening expert for a landscaping company.Which of the following selection measures would she consider to be most relevant and most fair?

A)a handwriting analysis
B)a test on plant recognition
C)a dexterity test
D)a paper-and-pencil test
E)an exercise to determine her honesty

Question 50

Effective selection minimizes the risk of harm and the costs of associated lawsuits brought by victims of violent or criminal acts performed by employees who should not have been hired.

Question 51

The more important the position,the less the cost for selection should be.

Question 52

The Civil Rights Act of 1991 affirmed that:

A)U.S.citizens employed outside the U.S.by U.S.multinationals are covered by American civil rights legislation but foreign nationals working in the U.S.are excluded from the Civil Rights Act.
B)U.S.citizens employed outside the U.S.by U.S.multinationals and foreign nationals working in the U.S.are excluded from the Civil Rights Act.
C)U.S.citizens employed outside the US by U.S.multinationals are covered by American civil rights legislation and foreign nationals working in the U.S.are covered by the Civil Rights Act unless specified in other trade pacts.
D)US citizens employed outside the U.S.by U.S.multinationals are excluded from American civil rights legislation but foreign nationals working in the US are covered by the Civil Rights Act.
E)None of these is correct

Question 53

A multinational company that manufactures leather products employs third-country nationals (TCNs)as managers.How would the employment of TCNs be advantageous to the organization?

A)Hiring TCNs expands the opportunities for parent-company nationals (PCNs)to gain overseas experience.
B)The salary and benefit requirements for TCNs are typically lower than for PCNs.
C)The host countries will welcome the hiring of TCNs.
D)TCNs will be happy to return to their own countries once they have finished their assignments for the parent company.
E)TCNs do not have to worry about possible national animosities as do PCNs.

Question 54

Which of the following statements about selection and placement processes for multinational companies is true?

A)The most effective employees for companies operating abroad are expatriates.
B)Most multinational companies employee third-country nationals (TCNs).
C)Expatriates are also called host-country nationals (HCNs).
D)A Brazilian hired by a German firm to manage a subsidiary operation in Portugal would be an example of a HCN.
E)HCNs are typically selected using the selection process common to the host country.

Question 55

Using the 80 percent rule to evaluate adverse impact is established by the Uniform Guidelines.50 people have been interviewed and deemed qualified for twelve openings.Of these 50,20 are women and 30 are white males.The final selection test was a panel interview.10 of the white males are hired and 2 of the women.Under the 80 percent rule,what can be said about the panel interview?

A)The selection rate for men was 60% compared to 40% for women.This indicates adverse impact.
B)The selection rate for the men is lower than the pass rate for the women.This indicates there was no adverse impact.
C)The panel interview appears to have had an adverse impact and should be investigated.
D)The selection rate for women was lower than that for men,but above the 80% cutoff.Therefore,there is no adverse impact.
E)None of these is truE.

Question 56

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)has issued employer guidelines on how to:

A)avoid discrimination because of national origin
B)identify essential job functions
C)test job candidates
D)develop acceptable interviewing strategies
E)do all of the above

Question 57

Which of the following is an example of a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ)for piloting a small corporate jet with limited space in the cockpit?

A)pilot's gender
B)pilot's national origin
C)pilot's arrest record
D)pilot's height and weight
E)pilot's marital status

Question 58

Research shows that applicant's reactions to the selection process is positively correlated to retention.Perception of fairness is the most important.Which of the following will not contribute to a perception of fairness from the applicant's point of view?

A)For a person applying for a job as a computer programmer to write computer code in a job simulation
B)Give structured behavioral interviews to supervisory candidates
C)Personal information gathered appeared to be handled confidentially.
D)Feedback about scores is kept secret because it is not desirable for the candidates to feel like they are in competition
E)The organization has earned a reputation as affirmatively hiring minorities.You heard this firsthand from a Hispanic friend who just was hired by them.

Question 59

Predicting who will perform tasks well is the goal of recruitment.

Question 60

Which of the following statements about selection and placement processes for multinational companies is true?

A)A Canadian hired by an American firm wholesaler to manage a distribution center in Canada is an example of a third-world national (TCN).
B)American laws do not affect selection and placement processes that occur outside the U.S.border.
C)A Japanese hired by a British import company to manage its operations in Malaysia is an example of a (host country national)HCN.
D)A South African company that sends one of its managers to run an operation in Australia is using a parent-company national (PCN).
E)All of the above statements about the selection and placement process for multinational companies are truE.

Question 61

An applicant for the external auditing job who scored high in mathematical ability and low in social skills could be given the job if the employer used the multiple-hurdles approach to choosing a new hire.

Question 62

Behavioral interviewing is based on the premise that past behavior is a poor predictor of future behavior.

Question 63

What is the economic utility associated with using a specific test of how a job candidate will perform in his or her future job?

Question 64

The term reliability refers to the usefulness of a predictor for correctly inferring the future job behavior of applicants.

Question 65

Since the enactment in 1990 of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),general health examinations must be given before a job offer has been made.

Question 66

What are the three strategies used to ascertain whether inferences about job candidates' performances based on predictor scores will be valid?

Question 67

The 80% rule evaluates adverse impact by comparing the representation of a group in the applicant pool to the representation of that group among those who have been hired,fired,promoted,transferred,or demoted.

Question 68

Selection practices that result in adverse impact are not illegal if the employer can prove they are job related.

Question 69

The purpose of assessment centers is to evaluate how well new employees will fit into the organizational culture.

Question 70

Principles for the Validation and Use of Personnel Selection Procedures were published by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)to make sure that disabled applicants were not ill-treated by selection practices.

Question 71

Interviewers must be trained to use job-related information and to apply it consistently across all job applicants.

Question 72

In the Civil Rights Act of 1991,Congress affirmed its policy that American civil rights laws apply to the employment practices of American multinational companies relative to U.S.citizens employed in their foreign operations.

Question 73

There is no legal justification for discriminatory employment practices.

Question 74

After passage of the Americans with Disability Act,all organizations now require medical tests prior to employment.

Question 75

The percentage of applicants who test positive for some drugs is quite low because people usually know in advance that they will be subjected to the tests.

Question 76

The most common distortions by applicants in providing background information relate to the length of employment and chronological age.

Question 77

Although all interviewers on a panel hear the same responses,panel interviews tend produce more in consistent results.

Question 78

Criterion-related validation uses qualitative data to establish a relationship between predictor scores and outcome criteria.

Question 79

The Americans with Disabilities Act specifically prohibits genetic screening.

Question 80

A Venezuelan who is hired by an American printing company to manage an operation in Spain is an example of a third-country national (TCN).