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CHAPTER 17 HR POLICIES & PRACTICES

SELECTION PRACTICES
The objective of effective selection is to figure out who is the right people, by matching individual
characteristics with the requirement of the job.
SELECTION PROCESS

Initial Selection the first information applicants summit and are used for preliminary rough cuts to
decide whether the applicant meets the basic qualifications for a job
Device:

Application forms
Background checks

Substantive Selection -

these are the heart of the selection process, and include written tests,
performance tests, and interviews

Written Tests
- Applicants tend to view this less valid and fair than interviews or performance tests.
- Include :
1. Intelligence or cognitive ability tests
2. Personality tests

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3. Integrity tests
4. Interest inventories
- Tests must show a valid connection to job-related performance requirements.
Performance-simulation Tests
- Based on job-related performance requirements.
- Yield validities (correlation with job performance) superior to written aptitude and
personality tests.
- 2 best known:
1. Work sample tests - Creating a miniature replica of a job to evaluate the
performance abilities of job candidates.
2. Assessment centers - A set of performance-simulation tests designed to
evaluate a candidates managerial potential
Interviews
- Are the most frequently used selection tool.
- Carry a great deal of weight in the selection process.
- Can be biased toward those who interview well.
- Should be structured to ensure against distortion due to interviewers biases.
- Are better for assessing applied mental skills, conscientiousness, interpersonal skills,
and person-organization fit of the applicant.

Contingent Selection -

if application pass the substantive selection methods, they are ready to be

hired, contingent on a final check.

One common contingent method is: a drug test.

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

Types of Training
Four general skill categories:
1. Basic literacy organizations have to teach employees basic reading and math skills.
Including writing and readinf charts, graphs, and bulletin boards, increased abilities to
use fractions and decimals, better overall communication, and a significant increase in
confidence.
2. Technical skills for two reasons: new technology and new structural designs inthe
organization.
3. Interpersonal skills employees work performance depends on their ability to
effectively interact with their co-workers and boss, so they require training to improve
listening, communicating, and team-building skills.
4. Problem-solving skills include activities to sharpen employees logic, reasoning, and
problem defining skills as well as their abilities to assess causation, develop, and analyze
alternatives, and select solutions.
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What about Ethics Training?
Argument against ethics training: Personal values and value systems are fixed at an early
age
Arguments for ethics training:
o Values can be learned and changed after early childhood.
o Training helps employees recognize ethical dilemmas and become aware of
ethical issues related to their actions.
o Training reaffirms the organizations expectation that members will act ethically.
Training Method
1. Formal Training = planned in advance and having a structured format.
2. Informal Training = unstructure, unplanned, and easily adapted to situations and
individual.
3. On-the-Job Training = include job rotation, apprenticeships, understudy assignments,
and formal mentoring programs.
4. Off-the-Job Training = by using classrom lectures, videotapes, public seminars, self-study
programs, internet courses, and group activities that use role-plays and case-studies.
5. E-training = online courses covering everything from products to policies

Individualizing Formal Training to Fit the Employees Learning Style

Readings
Lectures
Participation and Experiential Exercises
Visual Aids

Performance Evaluation
3 major types of behavior that constitute performance at work:
1. Task Performance performing the duties and responsibilities that contribute to the production
of a good or service or to administrative tasks
2. Citizenship actions that contribute to the psychological environment of the organization, such
as helping others when not required
3. Counterproductivity actions that actively damage the organization, including stealing,
behaving, aggresively toward co-workers, or being late or absent
Purposes of Performance Evaluation:
1. Making general human resource decisions.
Promotions, transfers, and terminations
2. Identifying training and development needs.
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Employee skills and competencies
3. Validating selection and development programs.
Employee performance compared to selection evaluation and anticipated performance
results of participation in training
4. Providing feedback to employees.
The organizations view of their current performance
5. Supplying the basis for rewards allocation decisions.
Merit pay increases and other rewards

What Do We Evaluate?
a) Individual task outcomes, such as quantity produces, scrap generated, and cost per unit of
production for a plant manager or on overall sales volume in the territory, dollar increase sales,
etc
b) Behaviors we may readily evaluate the groups performance, but it is hard to identify the
contribution of each group member
c) Traits the weekest criteria. Having a good attitude, showing confidence, being dependable,
looking busy, etc may or may not be highly correlated with postive task outcomes
What should do the Evaluating?

Managers
Peers and subordinates
360-degree evaluation

How to evaluate an employee performance?

Written Essay
A narrative describing an employees strengths, weaknesses, past performances, potential, and
suggestions for improvement
Critical Incidents
Evaluating the behaviors that are key in making the difference between executing a job
effectively and executing it ineffectively

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Graphic Rating Scales
An evaluation method in which the evaluator rates performance factors on an incremental
scale.

Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS)

Scales that combine major elements from the critical incident and graphic rating scale
approaches: The appraiser rates the employees based on items along a continuum, but the
points are examples of actual behavior on a given job rather than general descriptions or traits.

Forced Comparisons -- Evaluating one individuals performance relative to the performance of

another individual or others.

Group Order Ranking

An evaluation method that places employees into a particular classification, such as
quartiles.
Individual Ranking
An evaluation method that rank-orders employees from best to worse.

Suggestions for Improving Performance Evaluations

Use multiple evaluators to overcome rater biases.

Evaluate selectively based on evaluator competence.
Train evaluators to improve rater accuracy.
Provide employees with due process.

Providing Performance Feedback

Why Managers Are Reluctant to Give Feedback

Uncomfortable discussing performance weaknesses directly with employees.

Employees tend to become defensive when their weaknesses are discussed.

Employees tend to have an inflated assessment of their own performance.

Solutions to Improving Feedback

Train managers in giving effective feedback.

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Use performance review as counseling activity than as a judgment process.

Managing Work-Life Conflicts

Managing Diversity in Organizations

Diversity Training -- Participants learn to value individual differences, increase cross-cultural
understanding, and confront stereotypes.

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