Deck 7: Selecting Employees

Question 1

The Privacy Act of 1974 prevents government agencies from making their employment records available to other organizations without the consent of the individual involved.

Answer 1

True
Explanation: Government legislation has significantly influenced the process of reference checking. The Privacy Act of 1974 prevents government agencies from making their employment records available to other organizations without the consent of the individual involved.

Question 2

Any procedure that is used to make employee selection decisions is construed to be a test.

Answer 2

True
Explanation: In Albemarle v. Moody, the Supreme Court ruled that any procedure used to make selection decisions is to be construed as a test.

Question 3

The split-halves method used to determine reliability of an employment test involves administering the test to a group of employees and later,usually in about two to four weeks,giving the same group the same test.

Answer 3

False
Explanation: The split-halves method determines a test's reliability by dividing the test into halves. Test-retest involves administering the test to a group of employees and later, usually in about two to four weeks, giving the same group the same test.

Question 4

One advantage of concurrent validation as a criterion predictor is that in situations in which either racial or sexual discrimination has been practiced in the past,minorities and women will be adequately represented.

Question 5

A criterion predictor never correlates perfectly with a criterion of job success.

Question 6

Adverse impact is a condition that occurs when the selection rate for women and minorities is less than 80 percent of the selection rate for the majority group in hiring,promotions,transfers,demotions,or any selection decision.

Question 7

Predictive validation is used frequently for employment tests because it is cost-efficient and fast.

Question 8

The Americans with Disabilities Act stipulates that a physical exam cannot be conducted until after a job offer has been extended to a job candidate.

Question 9

An applicant flow record is required mandatorily to be filled by all job applicants as part of the selection process.

Question 10

Psychomotor tests measure the job-related knowledge possessed by an applicant.

Question 11

Chemical testing employees for drugs or AIDS is not prohibited.

Question 12

The objective of an employee selection process is to attract qualified candidates to apply for a job opening.

Question 13

Generally,taking notes during a job interview should be avoided.

Question 14

Perception speed tests measure a person's ability to visualize objects in space and determine their relationships.

Question 15

People with AIDS and people who test positive for HIV antibodies are protected in their jobs by the Vocational Rehabilitation Act.

Question 16

The validity of a criterion predictor refers to the extent to which the predictor produces consistent results.

Question 17

An unstructured interview will not have a predetermined checklist of questions.

Question 18

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)and the courts,inquiries about race,color,national origin,or religion are illegal per se.

Question 19

Courts have ruled that an individual's arrest record is a lawful basis for refusal to hire.

Question 20

Polygraph tests are widely used today to screen out undesirable job candidates.

Question 21

The purpose of an employment application form is to:

A) test applicants' interpersonal skills.
B) inform the applicants about the job responsibilities.
C) inform the applicants about the selection criteria.
D) screen out unqualified applicants.

Question 22

The ____ is a handbook that summarizes a wide variety of commercial tests and also provides an evaluation of the tests by several experts.

A) Test Evaluation Book
B) Mental Measurements Yearbook
C) Knowledge Measurements Journal
D) Uniform Guidelines

Question 23

The first step in the employee selection process is:

A) employment testing.
B) completing an employment application form.
C) reference checking.
D) conducting a preliminary interview.

Question 24

Which of the following is a prerequisite to the selection process?

A) Employee orientation
B) Appraisal
C) Recruitment
D) Exit interview

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a preliminary interview?

A) It should include job-related questions.
B) It is generally a brief, exploratory interview.
C) It is normally conducted by a specialist from the human resource department.
D) It should be conducted before the employment application form is filled.

Question 26

A word processing test given to applicants for a secretarial job is an example of a(n)____.

A) proficiency test
B) interest test
C) personality test
D) polygraph test

Question 27

The use of polygraph examinations:

A) has been made mandatory by the government for all private employers.
B) is currently prohibited in most employment settings.
C) is totally objective since the device interprets the readings.
D) has been restricted in industries with national defense or security contracts.

Question 28

Which of the following tests is based on the assumption that people are more likely to be successful in jobs they like?

A) Spatial tests
B) Proficiency tests
C) Interest tests
D) Polygraph tests

Question 29

____ are used to differentiate experienced and skilled workers from less experienced and less skilled workers.

A) Genetic tests
B) Job knowledge tests
C) Spatial tests
D) Perception speed tests

Question 30

Questions about a person's race,color,national origin,or religion should be avoided in an application form because:

A) such questions should be reserved for the interview time.
B) recording of such information can be proven as discriminatory.
C) addressing such matters is illegal in any circumstance.
D) recruitment ads specify that certain minorities need not apply.

Question 31

Perception speed tests measure a person's ability to:

A) deal with numbers.
B) use words in thinking, planning, and communicating.
C) visualize objects in space and determine their relationships.
D) recognize similarities and differences.

Question 32

A(n)____ is used by a company to obtain information from a job applicant that could be used to illegally discriminate.

A) applicant flow record
B) non-disclosure form
C) realistic job preview
D) job description

Question 33

____ measure how well an applicant can do a sample of the work to be performed.

A) Interest tests
B) Proficiency tests
C) Perception speed tests
D) Polygraph tests

Question 34

The primary problem with using ____ for employee selection purposes is that responses to the questions are not always sincere.

A) graphology
B) proficiency tests
C) interest tests
D) psychomotor tests

Question 35

The Rorschach inkblot test and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)are examples of ____.

A) personality tests
B) psychomotor tests
C) job knowledge tests
D) proficiency tests

Question 36

Prior to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)rendering it as irrelevant to actual job performance,the general intelligence test was among the most frequently used:

A) polygraph tests.
B) psychomotor tests.
C) aptitude tests.
D) interest tests.

Question 37

____ measure a person's capacity or potential ability to learn and perform a job.

A) Psychomotor tests
B) Polygraph tests
C) Interest tests
D) Aptitude tests

Question 38

An employer can refuse to hire on the basis of an applicant's prior arrest and conviction record,if:

A) a lower court granted probation to the applicant at some point.
B) a judicial appeal upheld a prior decision.
C) the employer can show that such a policy is job related.
D) the company prides itself on a perfect record by all employees.

Question 39

Which of the following tests is most likely to be administered while hiring people to fill assembly-line jobs?

A) Perception speed test
B) Verbal-aptitude test
C) Psychomotor test
D) Reasoning test

Question 40

One of the best ways to encourage employment application form accuracy is to:

A) include a statement that termination could result due to falsification of any information.
B) include questions about applicants' race, color, national origin, or religion in the form.
C) consider an application for selection only after reference checking.
D) insist that all responses are transcribed directly from an applicant's resume.

Question 41

Which of the following steps of an employee selection process is required only for an individual who is offered a job and the job offer is contingent on the individual passing this test?

A) Physical examination
B) Diagnostic interview
C) Preliminary interview
D) Reference checking

Question 42

Explain the purpose of a preliminary interview.

Question 43

What is an applicant flow record?

Question 44

Discuss adverse (or disparate)impact.

Question 45

To determine the reliability of an employment test used by True Arc Inc.,the test was administered to a group of employees.The results of the test were randomly separated into two equal groups.The scores of the two groups were then correlated to assess the reliability of the test.Which of the following methods of determining a test's reliability did True Arc Inc.use?

A) Test-retest
B) Polygraph test
C) Split-halves
D) Parallel forms

Question 46

The type of validity in which a test is given to the entire pool of job applicants and correlated to their job performance scores some months later is called:

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

Question 47

What is a polygraph test? In which employment areas is it prohibited?

Question 48

Discuss the various types of aptitude tests.

Question 49

What are the various methods used to demonstrate the reliability of a criterion predictor?

Question 50

____ is determined by administering a test to present employees,and correlating the test scores with the present employees' performance on the job.

A) Predictive validity
B) Concurrent validity
C) Construct validity
D) Content validity

Question 51

Explain content validity and construct validity.

Question 52

Discuss the various types of job interviews.

Question 53

Explain the terms validity and reliability with reference to the employee selection procedure.

Question 54

____ refers to how accurately a predictor actually predicts the criterion of job success.

A) Reliability
B) Validity
C) Agility
D) Adaptability

Question 55

In a job interview,the halo effect occurs when:

A) an interviewer uses only open-ended questions throughout the interview.
B) a candidate being interviewed is overqualified for a job.
C) a job candidate has some preconceived notions about the interviewer and his or her organization.
D) an interviewer allows a single prominent characteristic of a job candidate to dominate judgment of all other traits.

Question 56

What are the various problems associated with conducting job interviews?

Question 57

Which of the following is true of the reliability of employment tests?

A) The reliability of a test is high if a person fails it on one day but makes an excellent grade when taking it again a week later.
B) Reliability is necessary but not sufficient to show the validity of a criterion predictor.
C) The reliability of a criterion predictor plays an insignificant role in determining its validity.
D) Reliability measures how accurately a criterion predictor predicts the criterion of job. success.

Question 58

The ____ rule is a limit used to determine whether or not there are serious discrepancies in hiring decisions and other employment practices affecting women or minorities.

A) 2/3^rds
B) 50/20
C) 4/5^ths
D) 70/30

Question 59

An advantage of a structured interview is that it:

A) provides a more relaxed atmosphere when compared to an unstructured interview.
B) allows systematic coverage of all questions deemed necessary by an organization.
C) helps eliminate an interviewer's personal biases completely.
D) allows an employer to eliminate all the other steps in the employee selection process.

Question 60

Which of the following tests is based on a series of cause-and-effect assumptions like lying causes fear and guilt?

A) Psychomotor tests
B) Interest tests
C) Spatial tests
D) Polygraph tests