Mos 1021 Test #1

the policies, practices, and systems that influence employees' behaviour, attitudes, and performance

they provide human capital to the organization

the economic value of humans

an organizations's employees, described in terms of their training, experience, judgment, intelligence, relationships, and insight

quality, profitability, and customer satisfaction

improved through human capital

job analysis

workforce planning

recruitment

selection

training and development

performance management

compensation and rewards

employee and labour relations

what a job entails

roles/responsibilities of the job

the process of getting detailed information about jobs

- traditionally emphasized the study of existing jobs to make decisions about employee selection, training, compensation

steps we take to do the job

how you can make changes to make a job better

the process of defining the way work will be performed and the tasks that a given job requires

- traditionally, emphasized efficiency and motivation

job analysis

number/types of employees needed in company

attracting individuals to fill job openings

trying to determine the knowledge, skills, and abilities applicants have

train employees to do job-related tasks

assessing employees' performance against organization's goals

pay, benefits, and bonuses

especially in unions: elective agreements, etc.

the fundamental principles of right or wrong

- provide the greatest good for the greatest number of people

- respect legal requirements (human rights and privacy)

- treat employees and customers equitably and fairly

Canadian Council of Human Resources Associations (CCHRA)

Employee benefits manager

Staff recruiter

HR generalist

Employee training specialist

HR manager

HR executive

Compensation analyst

Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation

- Manage an aging, increasingly diverse workforce

- Be socially responsible as an organization

- Manage organizational and employee needs for flexibility

- Deal with skill deficiencies

- Attract knowledge workers

- Engage employees

- Promote teamwork

- Handle the constantly changing technology

- In particular, practitioners placed little faith in intelligence and personality tests

a formal statement of the expected relationship between two variables

a prediction

not necessarily accurate - we simply wish to test our hypotheses to determine their support

measure that can take on two or more values

- influence the dependent variable

- predict or cause variation in the dependent variable

- influenced by the independent variable

- vary as a result of changes to the independent variable

methods that generate new information on a particular research question

- laboratory experiments

- quasi-experiments

- questionnaires

- observations

methods that examine existing information from studies that used primary methods

meta-analysis

conducted in contrived settings where investigator manipulates independent variables and randomly assigns participants to different conditions

primary

conducted in field settings where the researcher may be able to manipulate some independent variables

primary

not natural

not where behaviour normally takes place

natural environment

non-contrived

participants respond to written questions posed by the investigator

primary

investigators observe participants for the purpose of understanding their behaviour

ex. observation of police officers at work

primary

statistical procedure that combines the results of many individual, independently conducted empirical studies into a single result

advantage: REDUCES SAMPLING ERROR

the correlation coefficient reflects the degree of linear relationship between two variables

data can come from questionnaires, interviews, organizational records

regardless of the research technique, it is important to use large, random samples so that our finding can be generalized (external validity)

guarantees every person freedom from discrimination based on:

- race

- national or ethnic origin

- colour

- religion

- sex

- age

- mental or physical disability

jurisdiction

- provincial and territorial legislation governs about 90% of employers (e.g. retail, schools, most manufacturing)

- federal legislation governs about 10% of employers (e.g. banks, airports, federal departments)

- recognizes the dignity of all workers and encourages inclusion in the workplace

- limits discrimination in staffing (e.g. job advertisements, harassment, termination, accessibility for people with disabilities)

the Human Rights Commissions

- race or colour

- religion

- physical or mental disability

- dependence on alcohol or drugs

- age

- sex

- marital status

- family status

- sexual orientation

- national or ethnic origin

- ancestry

- pardoned conviction

the act of treating people differently and making a distinction between certain individuals or groups based on prohibited grounds of discrimination

can be direct or indirect

- policies or practices that clearly make a distinction on the basis of a prohibited ground

ex. "seeking young, energetic employees!"

- policies or practices that appear to be neutral but have an adverse effect on the basis of a prohibited ground

ex. Jones case - ultimately discriminatory as it was not necessary for him to perform the task (putting out poinsettias for Christmas), especially given his religious beliefs (Jehovah's witness - does not celebrate Christmas)

practice that is established as an essential requirement of the job and is thus not discriminatory

ex. hiring only females as maternity models or selecting only males as guards in a men's prison

Meiorin case established criteria for BFOR

employer's responsibility to eliminate rules, practices, or barriers to meet the needs of a protected group

ex. provide specialized computer equipment and work space to accommodate wheelchairs

- accomodate to the point of undue hardship

so expensive that cannot afford

affecting morale of rest of organization

collective agreement broken

any behaviour that demeans, humiliates, or embarrasses a person, and that a reasonable person should have known would be unwelcome

- actions (touching, pushing)

- comments (name-calling)

- displays (cartoons)

human rights legislation prohibits all forms of harassment

four designated groups:

- women

- members of visible minorities

- aboriginal peoples

- persons with disabilities

- all jurisdictions have privacy laws that regulate the handling of personal information

- PIPEDA

federal law that provides rules for how private sector organizations can collect, use or disclose personal information

enforced by the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

- minimum wage

- overtime pay

- hours of work

- work scheduling

- general holidays

- annual vacations

- benefits for part-time workers

- parental leave

- layoff procedures

- terminations and severance pay

equal pay for work of equal value

- skill

- effort

- working conditions

- responsibility

SEWR - relative value of a job

standards used to help make evaluative judgments about objects, people, or events

ex. "goodness in teaching" criteria might include preparedness and course relevance

determined through job analysis

- selection

- recruitment

- job evaluation

- training

- performance management

- legal (less likely to have legal issues when using job analysis - basing actions on actual job not person)

- career planning

- workforce planning

- work redesign

1. review background information

2. choose sources of job information

3. gather job information

4. develop job descriptions and specifications

National Occupational Classification: a tool created by the federal government to provide a standardized source of information about jobs in Canada's labour market

- type and level of skill needed is contained in 4 digit code

- vital that job analysis is an accurate and complete representation of the job

- 3 major sources of job information:

- job incumbent

- supervisor

- job analyst

- each source is an example of a subject matter expert (SME)

person actually doing job

- good job knowledge and accurate at estimating the time spent performing job tasks, but may exaggerate what they do

good at reporting information about the importance of job duties, but may be less aware of what happens day-to-day on the job

person who analyzes other people's jobs

- good at making comparisons across jobs, but lacks inside knowledge of the organization

Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)

Fleishman Job Analysis System

- standardized

- reliable

- personal factors have little impact

- expert vs. naive raters are not equivalent

- more suited for blue-collar jobs

- behavioural similarities vs. task differences (because PAQ only talks about behaviours, makes some jobs appear a lot more similar that they actually are)

- reading level is high

job analysis technique that asks subject matter experts to evaluate a job in terms of the abilities required to perform the job

does not look at tasks behaviours, etc.

ex. manual dexterity, stamina, originality

- reliability/validity

- simple administration

- cost efficient

- abilities only, does not look at tasks, behaviours, etc.

a list of the tasks, duties, and responsibilities (TDRs) that a particular job entails

a list of the competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics) that an individual must have to perform a particular job

Title of the job

Administrative information about the job

Statement of the job's purpose

Essential duties of the job

Additional responsibilities

Knowledge

Skill

Ability

Other Characteristics

factual or procedural information necessary for successfully performing a task

ex. knowledge of city building codes

level of proficiency at performing a particular task

generally, skills can be practiced and improved upon

ex. skill in operating a drill

general, enduring capability that an individual possesses

normally cannot be improved on much

ex. ability to lift a 50 lb. object

personality traits, licensing

ex. remain calm in emergencies

it is always RELEVANT

Rapid changed in the workplace means changes to workers' tasks and KSAOs

tying competencies to an organization's strategy rather than to specific tasks

ex. stays current with latest technological advances in the field

instead of looking at specific tasks that get done, look at it based on general human characteristics needed to do the job properly

- core competencies

- functional competencies

- job-specific competencies

characteristics that apply to all members of the organization

ex. respectful, trust and interpersonal comunication

characteristics that apply to members of common job groups or occupations

ex. pilots, navigators: map reading

characteristics that apply to only specific positions

ex. pilots: skills to fly a plane

any activity carried on by the organization with the primary purpose of identifying and attracting potential employees

- human resource policies

- recruitment sources

- characteristics and behaviour of the recruiter

- internal vs. external recruiting

- lead-the-market pay strategies

- employer branding

does the organization "promote from within" or hire from outside the organization?

opportunities for advancements make a job more attractive to applicants

- organizations have an advantage if they "lead the market" with pay by paying more that the current market wages

- sometimes used to attract applicants to jobs with less desirable qualities (ex. night shift, extreme weather)

- a strategic approach of attaching a visual, emotional, or cultural brand to an organization

Internal Sources

External Sources

- employees who currently hold other positions in the organization

- recruited through: job postings, managerial recommendations

- applicants are well known to the organization

- applicants are familiar with the organization and may be less likely to have unrealistic expectations

- often cheaper and faster

- employees who are brought in from outside of the organization to fill positions (especially for entry level or specialist positions)

recruited through:

- direct applicants and referrals

- advertisements

- employment agencies

- schools

- websites

- often necessary for entry-level and specialized positions

- exposes the organization to new ideas

people who apply for a vacancy without prompting from the organization

- many direct applicants are already "sold" on the organization (self-selection)

- send in resume directly to organization

- cost less than formal recruiting efforts

- are among the best sources of new hires

people who apply for a vacancy because someone in the organization prompted them to do so (connections within the company)

- referrals are the most common external recruiting source

- cost less that formal recruiting efforts

- are among the best sources of new hires

- but, limit exposure to new viewpoints

may generate a less desirable group of applicants at greater expense

1. What do we need to say?

enough information to evaluate the job and attain qualifies candidates, keeping in mind that longer ads cost more

2. To whom do we need to say it?

a common location for ads is the classified section, but industry journals offer the ability to target specific skill levels

1. Yield Ratio

2. Cost per Hire

a ratio that expresses the percentage of applicants who successfully move from one stage of the recruitment process to the next

- we want a HIGH yield

- cost of using a particular recruitment source for a particular type of vacancy based on the number of people hired to fill that type of vacancy

- low cost per hire means qualifies candidates at minimal cost

- we want LOW cost per hire

- some studies suggest that HR specialists are viewed as less credible than job experts

- some studies suggest that candidates are less attracted to jobs when recruiters are HR specialists instead of experts at particular jobs

- applicants respond positively to recruiters they perceive as warm and informative

- the effects of age, sex, and race are inconsistent

- recruiters may exaggerate the positive qualities and downplay the negative qualities of a job

- applicants are sensitive to negative information and high-quality applicants may be less willing to pursue jobs when they hear negative information about them

- giving an honest assessment of a job

- job satisfaction (goes UP slightly)

- turnover (turnover goes DOWN slightly)

- commitment (goes UP slightly)

- attrition (goes UP slightly)

attrition is where you leave the selection process

ex. don't go to interview

- can be selective about accepting a job offer

- has unrealistic job expectations

- would have difficulty coping with job demands

1. Screen applicants and resumes (make sure they have basic requirements)

2. Test and review work samples

3. Interview

4. Check references and background

5. Make a selection

- reliability

- validity

- ability to generalize

- practical value

- legal acceptability

the extent to which a measurement generates consistent results

- looking at CONSISTENCY, NOT accuracy

- could be through a test or interviewers

the extent to which performance on a measure is related to what the measure is designed to assess

- whether these tests and tools are assessing what they're supposed to be assessing

- validity is about ACCURACY

ex. toe size is not a valid indicator of performance at work

- construct validity

- criterion-related validity

- content validity

- face validity

abstract, theoretical concept proposed to explain aspects of behaviour

ex. intelligence, leadership, motivation

- not something physical

degree to which a test is an accurate measure of the construct it purports to measure

1. Convergent Validity

2. Discriminant Validity

- scores on a test converge with score on other known tests of the construct

- makes sure we're measuring the right thing

ex. scores on our newly developed intelligence test should correlate with scores on existing measures of intelligence

- scores on a test are unrelated to score on tests off other constructs

- makes sure we're NOT measuring the wrong thing

ex. scores on our newly developed intelligence test should not be related to score on tests about concepts known to be unrelated to intelligence (physical strength, personality)

degree to which a test forecasts or is statistically related to a criterion

- in selection, our criterion is often job performance

degree to which tests or test items cover a representative sample of the content that they are supposed to measure

- assessed by subject matter experts (SMEs)

appearance that items in a test are appropriate for the intended use of the test, based on the judgments of individuals who take the test

- related to test-taking motivation, decreased chance of lawsuits, perception of fairness

valid in other contexts beyond the context in which the selection method was developed

ex. a cognitive ability test that applies to different employees, jobs, and organizations beyond the ones with which it was developed

extent to which the selection method provides value greater than its cost

- the selection process must avoid human rights and privacy complaints

- gather job-related information and avoid asking for information about prohibited grounds for discrimination

ex. instead of asking about religion, ask whether the work shift poses problems for the applicant

- low-cost method for obtaining basic data in a standardized way

- include information such as contact information, work experience, education, skills, certificates

- do NOT ask about birthplace, marital status, number of children, etc.

- as with applications, resumes are reviewed for educational background, past work performed, competencies, etc.

- applicants control the content and its presentation

tests designed to measure such mental abilities as verbal skills, quantitative skills, and reasoning ability

- also known as intelligence tests (but different from emotional intelligence)

- among the most valid methods of selection, inexpensive to use, but some applicants react negatively to their use

evaluate muscular power, muscular endurance, cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, balance, coordination, and other such abilities

- valid predictors for physically demanding jobs

- excludes women and people with disabilities

assess visual acuity, colour vision, hearing sensitivity

ex. Snellen Eye Chart

- most predictive of job success in clerical jobs

assess fine or gross motor coordination

ex. Purdue Pegboard

- do not have right or wrong answers - test takers answer how much they agree or disagree with statements

- used often for managerial selection

- susceptible to faking, applicants sometimes have negative reactions

- related to performance, absenteeism, theft, motivation

- technically not a test since there are no right or wrong answers

Openness to experience

ex. I enjoy hearing new ideas

Conscientiousness

ex. I pay close attention to details

Extroversion

ex. I make friends easily

Agreeableness

ex. I make people feel at ease

Neuroticism/Emotional Stability

ex. I am not easily bothered by things

designed to assess honesty, character, or dignity

- identify job applicants who will not engage in counterproductive behaviour on the job

- are valid

- faking, misclassification, and poor applicant reactions can occur

require a person to recognize which mechanical principle is suggested by a test item (ex. heat, sound, gravity, force)

- predictive of performance in manufacturing and production jobs

- women tend to perform worse than men

test in which the candidate demonstrates proficiency on a task representative of the work performed in the job

ex. mechanic: repairing a problem on a car

- valid, difficult to fake, costly, safety issues

- may involve testing of saliva, urine, or blood

- high reliability and validity (but not perfect!)

- controversial

- concern for invasion of privacy and accuracy

- accusation of drug us is a serious matter

- cannot measure capability to perform job

- must be careful not to discriminate if drug problem is considered a disability

- must be related to job requirements

- do not give a medical exam until the candidate has received a conditional job offer

a selection tool designed to predict job performance based on applicants' oral responses to questions

- one of the most commonly used selection methods

- validity

- illusion of validity: interviewers believe they are good at understanding other people and judging their abilities and personalities

- multipurpose

interview format in which questions are different across candidates and there is no standard scoring for candidate responses

- called non directive interviews in text

- can suffer from numerous problems, such as lack of job relatedness, contrast effects, and too much emphasis on nonverbal cues

interview format in which the questions are consistent across candidates

- job analysis

- same questions for all applicants

- numerical evaluation

- detailed notes

- references are former employers or other individuals who can verify an applicant's abilities and job performance

- most applicants seek positive references

- many organizations have a policy simply to confirm employment dates

- often tell more about the person writing the letter than the person who the letter is written about

- low validity as they are generally all positive

- a way to verify that applicants are who they say they are

- can include criminal record checks, educational verification, driving records, etc.

- must get consent from the candidate first

- makes sense to do a background check only after a contingent job offer

- polygraph tests

- graphology

- letters of reference

- drug testing

- emotional intelligence (not usually measured weldon)

- multiple regression

- multiple cut-off

- multiple hurdles

- applicant scores on each predictor are weighted through a multiple regression equation and summed to yield a total score

- candidates are ranked on their regression score and selection occurs in a top-down fashion

- compensatory

- does NOT work well for jobs where one test cannot compensate for another

- a cut-off score is established for each predictor and an applicant is required to take all of the tests or procedures

- candidates are ejected if they fall below the cut off score on any one indicator

- applicant must earn a passing score on each predictor before advancing in the selection process

- applicants are screened out as soon as they fail to meet the cut-off score on any one indicator

Benefit: everyone must to test then move on to next one

- gives advantage by being more efficient (not everyone needs to do something before moving on)