Deck 6: Employee Selection

Question 1

In order to establish concurrent validity of selection tests, BluTech has employees take an aptitude test the week after their performance appraisal is completed by their supervisors. The test scores are then compared to the ratings.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

A test that gives comparable scores when it is administered to the same individual a few days apart is unreliable.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Criterion-related validity is the extent to which a selection tool predicts or correlates with important elements of work behavior.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

According to the job board CareerBuilder, fewer people lie on application forms relative to their resumes.

Question 5

A review of BluTech's hiring practices indicated that it has a selection ratio of 0.05. This level of selectivity indicates that only the most promising applicants are hired.

Question 6

A review of BluTech's selection procedures revealed that these procedures have yielded comparable data over a period of time. According to this review, the procedures used by BluTech would be considered valid.

Question 7

While the overall selection process is the responsibility of the HR department, line managers often make the final decision about hiring personnel into their unit.

Question 8

In order to determine the validity of its tests, BluTech tests applicants and then obtains criterion data after they have been hired and on the job for some indefinite period. BluTech is validating its tests through concurrent validity.

Question 9

As more steps are generally required when filling positions externally, companies often try to hire within and advertise externally only as a last resort.

Question 10

Content validity is the most complicated type of validity to assess.

Question 11

The number of steps in the selection process and their sequence will vary, not only with the organization, but also with the type and level of jobs to be filled.

Question 12

A validity coefficient of 0.00 indicates a complete absence of relationship between the predictor and criterion data.

Question 13

A firm established the concurrent validity of a selection test by obtaining data from current employees. Now, any candidates for the position should be required to score at the same level on that test in order to be hired.

Question 14

In order to determine the validity of its tests, BluTech compares the test scores of job applicants against the performance data of existing employees. BluTech is validating its tests through predictive validity.

Question 15

Validity refers to the degree to which selection procedure predicts how well a person performs on the job.

Question 16

Asking an accountant applicant to solve accounting problems similar to those encountered on the job is an example of construct validity.

Question 17

In the course of an interview, the interviewer asked the candidate the origin of his name, whether he was married, and what year he graduated high school. These are all inappropriate questions.

Question 18

The higher the overall validity of a selection procedure is, the greater the chances are of hiring individuals who will be the better performers.

Question 19

The closer the content of the selection instrument is to actual work samples or behaviors, the greater its content validity.

Question 20

Reliability refers to the extent to which two methods yield similar results or are consistent with one another.

Question 21

In most instances, employers can legally use polygraph tests to screen applicants.

Question 22

BluTech is a national firm, with offices in several states. It can effectively streamline its hiring procedures by developing an application form that can be used nationally.

Question 23

An interviewer needs to find out if a candidate is physically capable of performing the job for which she applied. The interviewer may not ask the candidate the date or results of her last physical, but he may ask her if she would be willing to take a physical exam.

Question 24

Federal courts have significantly expanded the areas of questioning permitted during an interview.

Question 25

Organizations should try to avoid using telephone reference checks because they are less reliable than written references.

Question 26

Most organizations require application forms to be completed because they provide a fairly quick and systematic means of obtaining a variety of information about the applicant.

Question 27

A review of BluTech's hiring practices indicated that it has a selection ratio of 0.95. This level of selectivity indicates that only the most promising applicants are hired.

Question 28

A review of BluTech's hiring practices indicated that it has a selection ratio of 0.95. At this level of selectivity, it is likely that the managers experience desperation bias.

Question 29

In highly structured interviews, the interviewer determines the course that the interview will follow as each question is asked.

Question 30

The hiring managers at BluTech prefer to conduct computer-administered interviews because they allow them to ask follow-up questions immediately.

Question 31

Legally, medical examinations can be administered to an applicant before he or she has been made a conditional employment offer.

Question 32

To protect themselves from hiring potentially bad employees, organizations are encouraged to ask job applicants about past arrests on biographical information blanks.

Question 33

On application forms, questions about arrests are not permissible.

Question 34

The Americans with Disabilities Act severely limits the types of medical inquiries and examinations that employers may use.

Question 35

Sequential interviews are very common.

Question 36

It is inappropriate for an interviewer to ask men if they are married or have children.

Question 37

A behavioral description interview focuses on hypothetical situations.

Question 38

BluTech uses selection tools that measure such characteristics as the intelligence and anxiety levels of applicants. These tools would be said to have construct validity.

Question 39

BluTech uses nondirective interviews to gain information about job applicants. The firm has been sued by job applicants who were weeded out during the interview process. BluTech may want to start using structured interviews, which are less likely to be attacked in court.

Question 40

Sally had to take a multiple-part test as part of her application process for a position at BluTech. While her scores were exceptional in three areas, she did not achieve a passing score in two of the sections, and was therefore not considered for the position. This indicates that BluTech uses a multiple cutoff selection model.

Question 41

A particular candidate demonstrated a lack of knowledge and skills in a particular area. However, the hiring manager was impressed by the candidate's motivation and interests, and was leaning towards hiring this person anyway. In this situation, the manager was more influenced by "can-do" factors than by "will-do" factors in making a hiring decision.

Question 42

While aptitude is important, Ken, a hiring manager, is equally interested in candidates' agreeableness, extroversion, and openness to experience. He can collect this information by having candidates take personality tests.

Question 43

If a work sample test includes major job functions and predicts job success, it has content validity.

Question 44

Because of the physical differences between the genders, physical ability tests should be carefully validated on the basis of the essential functions of the job.

Question 45

Senior management at BluTech feels that its interview process takes much too long and does not result in consistent information about the candidates needed to make good hiring decisions. HRM specialists at BluTech may recommend that the firm begin using panel interviews as a way to correct these problems.

Question 46

If a work sample test includes major job functions and predicts job success, it has construct validity.

Question 47

Openness to experience refers to the degree to which someone is insightful, creative, artistic, and curious.

Question 48

Extroversion refers to the degree to which someone is insightful, creative, artistic, and curious.

Question 49

Malia's test results indicate that she is trusting, amiable, cooperative, and flexible. This shows that Malia has a high level of conscientiousness.

Question 50

Situational interviews ask the applicants how they would respond, while behavioral description interviews ask the applicants how they did respond.

Question 51

Behavioral description interviews are based on hypothetical situations.

Question 52

Employment interviews can serve as a public relations tool for employers.

Question 53

"Tell me more about your experiences on your last job" is an example of a nondirective interview question.

Question 54

Behavioral description interviews appear to be more effective than situational interviews, especially for higher-level positions.

Question 55

A situational interview asks the applicants what they actually did in a given situation.

Question 56

BluTech needs to administer a battery of tests to applicants to determine their suitability. In order to properly score those tests, BluTech administered them to current employees in order to create a benchmark against which to compare the candidates' scores. This is an example of cross-validation.

Question 57

Personality tests can inadvertently discriminate against individuals who would otherwise perform effectively.

Question 58

Physical ability tests tend to predict performance, accidents, and injuries.

Question 59

Measures of general intelligence, such as IQ tests, are not generally regarded as good predictors of job performance across a variety of jobs.

Question 60

Data obtained from nondirective interviews are difficult to validate.

Question 61

BluTech uses a sequential selection strategy in which the applicants take a series of tests. Only the applicants with the highest scores on a test go on to the next stage. BluTech uses a multiple hurdle selection decision model.

Question 62

What is usually the first step in the selection process?

A)Reference check
B)Submission of resume
C)Interviews
D)Background checks

Question 63

The interview remains a mainstay of selection because of all of the following EXCEPT

A)it absolves the organization of legal liability.
B)it is practical.
C)it serves public relations purposes.
D)interviewers maintain confidence in their judgments.

Question 64

The type of information obtained from an applicant should be based on

A)job specifications.
B)the biographical data set.
C)manning tables.
D)the HR manager's preferences.

Question 65

The difference between the situational interview and the behavioral description interview is that

A)there is no difference, the terms are synonymous.
B)the situational interview is for technical positions, while the behavioral description interview applies to upper-level management positions.
C)the situational interview is hypothetical, while the behavioral description interview is based upon actual experience.
D)the behavioral description interview is hypothetical, while the situational interview is based upon actual experience.

Question 66

With a compensatory model, a low score on one selection test may not eliminate a candidate if he or she gets a high score on another test.

Question 67

The clinical approach to selection eliminates personal biases and stereotypes.

Question 68

Regardless of the selection methods used, it is essential that the selection procedure be

A)lengthy and thorough.
B)quick and efficient.
C)reliable and valid.
D)a positive experience for applicants.

Question 69

Federal law requires comprehensive background checks for all child care providers and prohibits convicted felons from engaging in financial and security-oriented transactions.

Question 70

The selection ratio is the ratio of the number of applicants to be selected to the total number of applicants.

Question 71

Video interviews have the advantages of convenience and cost effectiveness.

Question 72

BluTech requires applicants to achieve some minimum level of proficiency on all selection dimensions in order to be hired. BluTech uses a compensatory selection model.

Question 73

It is much easier to measure what individuals can do than what they will do.

Question 74

Which of the following should NOT be asked on an application form?

A)Application date
B)References
C)National origin
D)Ability to do the job

Question 75

In the clinical approach to selection, different evaluators assign different weights to an applicant's strengths and weaknesses.

Question 76

Job candidates at BluTech must take an aptitude test. After six months on the job, their supervisors rate their performance. The actual job performance ratings are compared with the pre-employment test scores to determine the predictive validity of the tests.

Question 77

The degree to which selection procedures yield consistent data when repeated is known as

A)consistency.
B)reliability.
C)validity.
D)conformity.

Question 78

BluTech uses both interviews and a battery of tests when screening job candidates. If the results of the tests and the interviews both indicate that a candidate should be hired or rejected, the selection procedure can be described as

A)having predictive validity.
B)being reliable.
C)being redundant.
D)having content validity.

Question 79

During the selection procedure, an applicant may be rejected

A)after the preliminary interview.
B)after completing the application blank.
C)after selection test results are received.
D)at any step in the procedure.

Question 80

The statistical approach to decision making is less objective than the clinical approach.