IO (614) final

Departmentalization

An element of organizational structure that concerns how organizations are divided into units based on the functions they perform, the customers they serve, the geographic areas they oversee, or the products they manage.

Specialization

An element of organizational structure that concerns how work is broken down into smaller routinized tasks.

Chain of command

An element of organizational structure that concerns an organization’s reporting structure

Unity of command

The concept that each subordinate should be accountable to only one supervisor

Centralization

an element of organizational structure that concerns how decisions are carried out in an organization

Span of control

an element of organizational structure that concerns the number of subordincated a manager is responsible for supervising

Formalization

an element of organizational structure that concerns the extent to which there are clear rules, procedures, and policies within an organization that dictate what is and is not allowed.

Humanitarian work psychology

the practice of IO psychology directed to the societal goal of improving employment for all mankind

Diversity

the practice or state of having broad representation of people with different personal characteristics, including backgrounds, demographics, and viewpoints.

Equity

Fairness of justice without bias or favoritism, with adjustments made to rectify imbalances and ensure all individuals have access to the same opportunities

Inclusion

the involvement and integration of people from all groups into organizational systems and processes while allowing each to retain their own identity

Nepotism

An approach to personnel staffing whereby family members receive preferential treatment because of birth or marriage

Corporate social responsibility

the obligation of organizations to take an active part in improving society

Protected class

a designation for members of society who are granted legal status by virtue of a demographic characteristic, such as race, sex, national origin, color, religion, age, and disability.

Bona fide occupational qualification

An exception to title VII that allows in very rare circumstances for organizations to make decisions on the basis of sex, religion, or national origin due to business necessity

Sexual harassment

un welcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment

quid pro quo harassment

a legal classification of sexual harassment in which specified organizational rewards are offered in exchange for sexual favors.

hostile environment harassment

a legal classification of sexual harassment in which individuals regard conditions in the workplace as offensive

adverse impact

a type of unfair discrimination in which the result of using a particular personnel selection method has a negative effect on protected group members compared with majority group members. Often contrastes with disparate treatment

disparate treatment

a type of unfair discrimination in which protected group members are afforded differential employment procedures compared to members of other groups

affirmative action

a social policy that advocates members of protected groups will be actively recruited and considered for selection in employment

whistleblower laws

anti-retaliation stipulations that employers are prohibited from taking any adverse action against employees for filing complaints or raising awareness of dangerous or illegal activities.

child labor

the pattern of compelling children under the age of 15 to perform labor that is harmful to their overall health and/or wellbeing

dynamic performance criteria

aspects of job performance that change over time

citizenship behavior

employee behavior that transcends job performance and is directed to the overall welfare of the organization

adaptive behavior

a range of behaviors that enable employees to increase their capacity to cope with organizational change

counterproductive work behavior

a broad range of employee behaviors that are harmful to other employees or the organization

emotional labor

the requirement in some jobs that employees express emotions that are associated with enhanced performance in the job

maximum performance

the level of performance that individuals can do during short, evaluative circumstances

typical performance

the level of performance that individuals will do on a day-to-day non-evaluated basis

objective performance criteria

a set of factors used to assess job performance that are relatively factual in character

subjective performance criteria

a set of factors used to assess job performance that are product of someone’s judgement of these factors

competency modeling

a process for determining the human characteristics needed to perform successfully within an organization

taxonomy

a classification of objects designed to enhance understanding of the objects being classified

position analysis questionnaire

a method of work analysis that assesses the content of jobs on the basis of approximately 200 items in the questionnaire

worker-oriented procedure

a procedure or set of operations in work analysis designed to identify important or frequently utilized human attributes as a means of understanding the work performed

KSAOs

an abbreviation for “knowledge, skills, abilities, and other” characteristics. Often used in the context of work analysis

task

the lowest level of analysis in the study of work

position

a set of tasks performed by a single employee

job

a set of similar positions in an organization

job family

a grouping of similar jobs in an organization

task-oriented procedure

a procedure or set of operations in work analysis designed to identify important or frequently performed tasks as a means of understanding the work performed

functional job analysis

a method of work analysis that describes the content of jobs in terms of people data and things

subject matter expert (SME)

a person knowledgeable about a topic who can serve as a qualified information source

work analysis

a formal procedure by which the content of work is defined in terms of activities performed and attributes needed to perform the work

criterion deficiency

the part of the conceptual criterion that is not measured by the actual criterion

criterion relevance

the degree of overlap or similarity between the actual criterion and the conceptual criterion

criterion contamination

the part of the actual criterion that is unrelated to the conceptual criterion. consists of bias or error

criterion contamination bias

the extent to which the actual criteria systematically or consistently measure something other than the conceptual criteria

criterion contamination error

the extent to which the actual criteria are not related to anything at all

actual criteria

the operational or actual standards that researchers measure or assess.

conceptual criteria

the theoretical standards that researchers seek to understand

criteria

standards used to help make evaluative judgements

Assessment center

a technique for assessing job candidates using a series of structured, group oriented exercises that are evaluated by raters

situational exercise

a method of assessment in which examinees are presented with a problem and asked how they would respond to it

work samples

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

behavior description interview

a type of job interview in which candidates are asked to provide specific examples from their past to illustrate attributes important for the position

situational interview

a type of job interview in which candidates are presented with a hypothetical problem and asked how they would respond to it

structured interview

a format for the job interview in which the questions are consistent across all candidates

unstructured interview

a format for the job interview in which the questions are different across all candidates

computerized adaptive testing

a form of assessment using a computer in which the questions have been precalibrated in terms of difficulty and the examinee’s response to one question determines the selection of the next question

drug testing

a method of assessment typically based on an analysis of urine that is used to detect illicit drug use by the candidate

rational keying

giving more points to response options that most reflect the constructrs they are intended to reflect, as determined by expert judgements

empirical keying

giving more points to options that are most predictive of the criterion of interest, such as job performance or turnover

hybrid keying

a combination of rational and empirical keying

biodata inventory

a method of assessing individuals in which biographical information pertaining to past activities, interests, and behaviors in their lives is considered

situational judgement test

a type of test that describes a problem to the test taker and requires the test taker to rate various possible solutions in terms of their feasibility or application

integrity test

a type of test that purports to assess a candidate’s honesty or character

big 5 personality traits

openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, emotional stability

g

the symbol for general mental ability which has been found to be predictive of success in most jobs

face validity

the appearance that items in a test are appropriate for the intended use of the test by the individuals who take the test

construct validity

the degree to which subject matter experts agree that items in a test are representative sample of the domain of knowledge the test purports to measure

validity coefficient

a statistical index that reveals the degree of association between two variables

criterion-related validity

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

construct validity

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

operationalization

the process of determining how a construct will be assessed

construct

theoretical concept to explain aspects of behavior

validity

a standard for evaluating tests that refers to the accuracy of appropriateness of drawing inferences from test scores

inter-rater reliability

a type of reliability that reveals the degree of agreement among the assessments provided by two or more raters

internal-consistency reliability

a type of reliability that reveals the homogeneity of the items comprising a test

psychometric

literally, the measurement of properties of the mind

reliability

a standard for evaluating tests that refers to the consistency, stability or equivalence of test scores

test-retest reliability

a type of reliability that reveals the stability of test scores upon repeated applications of the test

equivalent form reliability

a type of reliability that reveals the equivalence of test scores between two versions or forms of the test

recruitment

the process by which individuals are solicited to apply for jobs.

personnel selection

the process of determining those applicants who are selected for hire versus those who are rejected.

predictor cutoff

a score on a test that differentiates those who passed the test from those who failed; often equated with the passing score on a test.

selection ratio

a numeric index ranging between 0 and 1.00 that reflects the selectivity of the hiring organization in filling jobs; the number of job openings divided by the number of job applicants.

base rate

the percentage of employees who would be successful if individuals are randomly hired.

criterion cutoff

a standard that separates successful from unsuccessful job performance.

true positives

a term to describe individuals who were correctly selected for hire because they became successful employees.

true negatives

a term to describe individuals who were correctly rejected for employment as they would have been unsuccessful employees.

false negatives

a term to describe individuals who were incorrectly rejected for employment as they would have been successful employees

false positives

a term to describe individuals who were incorrectly accepted for employment as they became unsuccessful employees.

multiple correlation

a statistical index used to indicate the degree of predictability in forecasting the criterion on the basis of two or more other variables.

coefficient of determination

the amount of criterion variance that can be predicted or explained from using predictors, computed as the squared multiple correlation.

coefficient of non-determination

the amount of criterion variance that cannot be predicted or explained from using predictors, computed by subtracting the coefficient of determination from 1.00

validity generalization

a concept that reflects the degree to which a predictive relationship empirically established in one context spreads to other populations or contexts.

banding

a method of interpreting test scores such that scores of different magnitude in a numeric range or band are regarded as being equivalent

utility

a concept reflecting the economic value of making personnel decisions