1. An individual employee’s work performance is made up of two factors: the ability of the individual and the effort the individual puts forth.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 3 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
2. A person’s ability is a function of two organizational practices: selection and training.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 3 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
3. Selection occurs only in the context of a first position for a new employee.
ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 3 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
4. A promotion decision is a selection decision.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 4 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
5. The systematic collection of information from applicants is basically the same regardless of the position that is being filled.
ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 4 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
6. Formalized selection programs for external applicants are designed to collect the same information on all applicants.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 5 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
7. The usefulness of the selection decision should be viewed in terms of its effects over time.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 6 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
8. Selection is more closely related to recruitment than it is to the other HRM programs.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 9 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
9. Research indicates that strategic HRM is related to positive outcomes for organizations.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 9 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
10. It can be stated with certainty that strategic HR causes higher levels of performance.
ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 10 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
11. The crucial issue in the selection process is whether an organization can collect information from applicants and then decide who are to be given employment offers.
ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 10 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
12. The starting point in the selection process is job analysis.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 10 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
13. Information obtained from job analysis helps minimize applicants’ inappropriate expectations about a job.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 10 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
14. When developing the selection program it is important to determine how job performance is measured and what level of performance is regarded as successful.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 10 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
15. Information as to what constitutes successful job performance is used to identify KSAs that a worker should possess.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 12 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
16. An application form is a poor way to collect information on applicant KSAs.
ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 12 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
17. An assumption in selection is that applicants possess different amounts of the KSAs that are necessary for job performance.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 12 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
18. Content validation uses the scores on the selection devices from a representative sample of individuals and measures how well each of these individuals is performing important parts of the job.
ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 13 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
19. Empirical validation takes the data produced by the judgments of workers and managers and uses them to determine the relationship between the selection test and job performance.
ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 13 NOT: AACSB Analytic
20. The essence of selection is prediction about how well job applicants will do in the job under consideration.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 14 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
21. The greater the amount of accurate data obtained, the higher the probability of making an accurate selection decision.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 14 NOT: AACSB Analytic
22. Quantitative data is useful in selection because numbers facilitate the comparison of people.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 14 NOT: AACSB Analytic
23. Factors other than KSAs should come into play only before applicants have been measured on the selection devices and a group has been identified as being appropriate for the job.
ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 15 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
24. A selection program should focus on all of the variables that influence performance.
ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 15 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
25. Evidence-based management is a term that means managing by translating principles based on academic theory into management practice.
ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 16 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
26. The purpose of validation is to provide evidence that data from the selection instruments are related to successful job performance.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 13 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
27. Selection and staffing are two terms that describe the same thing.
ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 17 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
28. Knowledge of selection is an essential foundation for staffing.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 17 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
29. Recent changes in the way work is done in organizations has prompted an examination of the adequacy of traditional selection procedures for these new work methods.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 17 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
30. The number of open positions in large and small organizations has stayed the same over the last 20 years.
ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 19 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Organization specialists have determined that an individual employee's work performance is a function of two factors:
a. | ability and training | c. | ability and effort |
b. | effort and training | d. | motivation and job satisfaction |
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 3 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
2. When we refer to selection in HRM, we mean
a. | the process of hiring people to fill vacancies. |
b. | obtaining information about the applicants' lives so we can pick the best. |
c. | the process of collecting and evaluating information about an individual in order to extend an offer of employment. |
d. | eliminating from the applicant pool those people who are not qualified to perform the job. |
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 3 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
3. Hiring refers to
a. | offers of employment that are given with no evaluation of the applicant’s job-related qualifications. |
b. | identifying KSAs. |
c. | negotiations that take place simultaneously with selection. |
d. | the whole selection process. |
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 4 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
4. An offer extended without collecting and evaluating information about an individual is called
a. | selection | c. | position filing |
b. | hiring | d. | satisficing |
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 4 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
5. KSA is an acronym used in selection that refers to
a. | knowledge, skills, assets | c. | knowledge, skills, abilities |
b. | knowledge, style, availability | d. | knowledge, style, abilities |
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 4 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
6. Why are promotion decisions often viewed as a different SHRM function than selection?
a. | Entirely different procedures are used for promotion than for selection. |
b. | Different people make selection decisions than those making promotion decisions. |
c. | Promotion decisions are often reached without using the formal testing devices that characterize external selection. |
d. | More information is available about applicants in selection decisions than is available about candidates for promotion decisions. |
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 5 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
7. What is the specific link between the firm's strategy and its selection process?
a. | recruitment | c. | job analysis |
b. | strategic human resource management | d. | KSA assessment |
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 8 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
8. Selection is most closely related to which of the following HRM programs?
a. | initial training | c. | job performance measurement |
b. | compensation | d. | recruitment |
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: 9 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
9. The purpose of recruiting is
a. | to increase the success rate of the selection process by increasing the number of total applicants (both qualified and unqualified). |
b. | to meet the organization's legal and social obligation by establishing minority quotas. |
c. | to increase the pool of candidates regardless of cost. |
d. | to attract people and increase the probability that they will accept a position if it is offered. |
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: 9 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
10. Selection is more closely related to which of the following SHRM areas?
a. | training | c. | performance appraisal |
b. | recruitment | d. | compensation |
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 9 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
11. Which of the following is a purpose of recruitment?
a. | to measure characteristics of jobs and individuals |
b. | to examine other organizational systems |
c. | to provide evidence of validity |
d. | to increase the probability that job applicants will accept a position if it is offered. |
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: 9 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
12. Why is selection more closely related to recruitment than it is to other personnel/human resource management areas?
a. | Recruitment and selection are both concerned with placing individuals into jobs. |
b. | Recruitment is concerned with hiring employees in sufficient numbers. |
c. | Recruitment and selection are both concerned with processing data about the applicant. |
d. | Recruitment and selection are both concerned with external labor market factors. |
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 9 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
13. Which of the following is NOT a part of recruiting that an organization can control?
a. | recruiting sources | c. | content of recruitment message |
b. | recruiting budget | d. | applicant impression of the organization |
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: 9 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
14. Methods of internal recruitment include all of the following EXCEPT
a. | job postings in the local media. |
b. | announcements by managers higher in the organization than the open position. |
c. | requests for nominations from managers and/or employees. |
d. | bulletin board job postings. |
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 5 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
15. Which of the following is NOT a method of external recruitment?
a. | media ads |
b. | posting jobs on bulletin boards throughout the workplace |
c. | Internet job postings |
d. | employment agencies |
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 5 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
16. Research has found which of the following to be TRUE about differences among various recruitment sources in terms of future turnover, absenteeism, job attitudes, and job performance?
a. | Internal sources are found to be superior to external sources. |
b. | External sources are found to be superior to internal sources. |
c. | Both internal and external sources are found to be equivalent. |
d. | Fee-based sources are superior to non fee-based sources. |
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 5 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
17. Which of the following statements concerning promotion is correct?
a. | Candidates for promotion are external to the firm |
b. | Candidates for promotion are internal to the firm |
c. | Candidates for promotion are well qualified |
d. | Candidates for promotion can be both internal and external to the firm |
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 5 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
18. Because the applicants for initial jobs are all external to the organization, selection programs are usually
a. | random. |
b. | subjective. |
c. | formalized. |
d. | arbitrary. |
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 5 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
19. Selection for an initial job involves applicants who are ______________ the organization.
a. | external to |
b. | internal to |
c. | unfamiliar with |
d. | already employed by |
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 4 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
20. The probability of making an accurate selection decision is higher when
a. | the number of applicants is large. |
b. | decision makers have a greater amount of accurate data. |
c. | the applicant pool is diverse. |
d. | hiring for an initial position. |
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 14 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
21. The process of systematically filling positions within the organization and then monitoring the performance of individuals in those positions is known as
a. | strategic leadership. |
b. | selection. |
c. | staffing. |
d. | none of the above. |
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 17 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
22. Which of the following statements is correct?
a. | Both large and small firms can benefit from formalized selection procedures. |
b. | Formalized selection procedures benefit large firms more than small firms. |
c. | Formalized selection procedures benefit small firms more than large firms. |
d. | Large firms generally use informal selection procedures more than small firms. |
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 19 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
23. Assessment devices should be able to
a. | group applicants by KSAs. |
b. | organize information on applicants. |
c. | differentiate among applicants. |
d. | stand the test of time. |
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 12 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
24. Job analysis is the __________ step in the selection process.
a. | last | c. | first |
b. | middle | d. | first and last |
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 10 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
25. What is the first step in the development of selection programs?
a. | testing applicants to see if they are able to do the job |
b. | identifying the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for the job |
c. | conducting a job analysis which should be descriptive of the tasks, activities, results, environment, etc., that characterize the job |
d. | advertising of the job opening |
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 10 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
26. __________ is not a step in the development of selection programs.
a. | Validation of assessment devices |
b. | Job analysis |
c. | Administering an employment test |
d. | Identification of knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for the job |
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 11 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
27. The last step in the selection process is
a. | gathering useful information about the nature of the job. |
b. | identifying major aspects of performance on the job. |
c. | use of assessment devices in the processing of applicants. |
d. | assessing an applicant's knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the job. |
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 11 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
28. Place the following steps in the development of selection programs in order:
i. Identification of relevant job performance dimensions
ii. Job analysis
iii. Identification of knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for job
iv. Development of assessment devices
v. Validation of assessment devices
vi. Use of assessment devices in processing applicants
a. | i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi | c. | ii, i, iii, iv, v, vi |
b. | ii, i, iii, v, iv, vi | d. | i, iii, ii, v, iv, vi |
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 10 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
29. The purpose of __________ is to measure the different KSAs necessary for job performance.
a. | the preliminary interview | c. | assessment devices |
b. | job analysis | d. | validation |
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 12 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
30. Using __________ and __________ the HR specialist must identify the KSAs and other employee characteristics that a worker should possess to perform the job successfully.
a. | assessment devices; job analysis |
b. | job analysis information; job performance data |
c. | job performance data; assessment devices |
d. | validation data; job analysis |
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 12 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
31. Application blanks, biographical data forms, and reference checks are all forms of
a. | job analysis techniques. | c. | assessment devices. |
b. | performance appraisal techniques. | d. | validation devices. |
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 12 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
32. The purpose of __________ is to provide evidence that data from the selection instruments are related to job performance.
a. | reliability testing | c. | validation |
b. | the selection interview | d. | internal recruitment |
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 13 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
33. ____________ systematically takes the data produced by the judgments of workers and managers and uses them to determine the relationship between selection the selection test and job performance.
a. | Content validation | c. | Empirical validation |
b. | Construct validation | d. | Process validation |
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 13 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
34. Which of the following involves taking data produced by the judgments of workers and managers and using them to determine the relationship between the selection test and job performance?
a. | Content validation | c. | Empirical validation |
b. | Construct validation | d. | Process validation |
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 13 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
35. Validation of selection procedures is important because
a. | it tells us if we evaluated the individual well. |
b. | it focuses on the collection and evaluation of information to determine whether the worker characteristics thought to be important are in fact related to successful job performance. |
c. | it compares evaluations of prospective employees and identifies the best. |
d. | it compares evaluations of prospective employees and identifies the best. |
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 13 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
36. Work performance is affected by
a. | supervisory methods. | c. | goal-setting procedures. |
b. | feedback methods. | d. | all of the above. |
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 15 NOT: AACSB Reflective Thinking
ESSAY
1. How does a broader definition of selection influence the way an organization manages its human resource management system?
ANS:
Student response will vary.
PTS: 1
2. What are the similarities and differences in applicant information collected from internal and external sources? Are more accurate selection decisions made on internal candidates? Why or why not?
ANS:
Student response will vary.
PTS: 1
3. What are the important issues to consider when designing an effective recruitment program? Outline the features you would include in a college recruitment program for management trainees.
ANS:
Student response will vary.
PTS: 1
4. How can an organization get the greatest amount of useful information about an applicant at the least cost?
ANS:
Student response will vary.
PTS: 1
5. Develop a model of job performance. List as many factors as you can that influence job performance but are not related to selection decisions.
ANS:
Student response will vary.
PTS: 1
6. How does an organization's strategy influence its selection process?
ANS:
Student response will vary.
PTS: 1
7. What is the interaction among selection, recruitment, compensation, and training?
ANS:
Student response will vary.
PTS: 1
8. One writer describes selection as "hypothesis testing." Explain.
ANS:
Student response will vary.
PTS: 1
9. Describe a selection procedure for choosing team members in an aircraft manufacturing plant that uses "cellular manufacturing" (work teams + business process reengineering + total quality management).
a. What characteristics (KSAs) would you use for selection criteria?
b. Who would make the selection decisions?
c. How would the selection decisions be made?
ANS:
Student response will vary.
PTS: 1
10. Discuss two of the four different approaches for setting up selection programs for broadly defined and team-based jobs.
ANS:
Student response will vary.
