chapter 6 - staffing decisions

test 2

staffing decisions

decisions associated with recruiting, selecting, promoting, and separating employees

high performance work practices

practices that include the use of formal job analyses, selection from within for key positions, merit based promotions, and the use of formal assessment devices for selection

multinational staffing

procedures that involve staffing for organizations in more than one country

validity

the accurateness of inferences made based on test or performance data; also addresses whether a measure accurately and completely represents what was intended to be measured

criterion-related validity

validity approach that is demonstrated by correlating a test score with a performance measure; improves researcher’s confidence in the inference that people with higher test scores have higher performance

selection ration (SR)

index ranging from 0 to 1 that reflects the ratio of positions to applicants; calculated by dividing the number of positions available by the number of applicants

false positive

decision in which an applicant was accepted but performed poorly; decision is false because of the incorrect prediction that the applicant would perform successfully and positive because the applicant was hired

false negative

decision in which an applicant was rejected but would have performed adequately or successfully; decision is false because of the incorrect prediction that the applicant would not preform successfully and negative because the applicant was not hired

true negative

decision in which an applicant was rejected that would have performed poorly if he or she were hired; decision is true because of the correct prediction that the applicant would not be a good performer and negative because the applicant was not hired

true positive

decision in which an applicant was accepted and performed successfully; decision is true because of the correct prediction that the applicant would be a good performer and positive because the applicant was hired

cut score

specified point in a distribution of scores below which candidates are rejected; also known as a cutoff score

criterion-referenced cut score

score established by considering the desired level of performance for a new hire and finding the test score that corresponds to the desired level of performance, sometimes called domain-referenced cut score

norm-reference cut score

score based on some index of the test takers’ scores rather than any notion of job performance

uniform guidelines on employee selection procedures

official government guidelines designed to assist employers, labor organizations, employment agencies, and licensing and certification boards to comply with federal requirements

utility analysis

technique that assesses the economic return on investment of human resource interventions such as staffing and training

base rate

percentage of the current workforce that is performing successfully

comprehensive staffing model

model that gathers enough high-quality information about candidates to predict the likelihood of their success on the varied demands of the job

clinical decision making

method that uses judgement to combine information and to make a decision about the relative value of different candidates or applicants

statistical decision making

method that combines information according to a mathematical formula

compensatory system

model in which a good test score on one test can compensate for a lower score on another test

hurdle system

non-compensatory strategy in which an individual has no opportunity to compensate at a later assessment stage for a low score in an earlier stage of the assessment process

multiple hurdle system

strategy constructed from multiple hurdles so that candidates who do not exceed each of the minimum dimension scores are excluded from futher consideration

multiple regression analysis

method of analysis that results in an equation for combining test scores into a composite based on the correlations among the test scores and the correlations of each test score with the performance score

cross-validation

process used with multiple regression techniques in which a regression equation developed on a first sample is tested on a second sample to determine if it still fits well; usually carried out with an incumbent sample, and the cross validated results are used to weight the predictor scores of an applicant sample

termination for cause

job loss that occurs when an individuals is fired from an organization for a particular reason; the individual has usually been warned one or more times about a problem and either cannot or will not correct it

layoff

job loss due to employer downsizing or reductions in force; often comes without warning or with a generic warning that the workforce will be reduced

expert witness

witness in a lawsuit who is permitted to voice opinions about organizational practices

adverse (or disparate) treatment

type of discrimination in which the plaintiff attempts to show that the employer actually treated the plaintiff differently from majority applicants or employees; intentional discrimination

adverse impact

type of discrimination that acknowledges the employer may not have intended to discriminate against a plaintiff, but an employer practice did have an adverse impact on the group to which the plaintiff belongs

“80%” or “4/5ths rule”

guidelines for assembling whether there is evidence of adverse impact; if it can be shown that a protected group received less than 80 percent of the desirable outcomes (e.g. job offers, promotions) received by a majority group, the plaintiffs can claim to have met the burden of demonstrating adverse impact

adverse impact ratio

ratio obtained by dividing the selection ratio of the protected group by the selection ratio of the majority group; if this ratio is lower than 80 percent, there is evidence of adverse impact

discovery

process in which lawyers are given access to potential witnesses who will be called by the other side, as well as any documents relevant to the compliments

class certification

judge’s decision based on several criteria that determine whether individual plaintiffs can file together under a class action suit

deposition

interview under oath taken by an opposing attorney in a lawsuit

settlement discussions

discussions conducted by the parties in a lawsuit in an attempt to reach a mutually satisfying resolution of the complaint before proceeding with all of the other steps that lead to a trial