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Chapter 06 - Selection and Placement
Additional Activities
Teaching suggestions
The following suggestions and activities involve issues, such as race norming and
interviewing individuals with disabilities, which are likely to be unfamiliar to students. These
issues are likely to raise emotions, and instructors should probably lay some ground rules for
discussion. For instance, feedback to other students should not attack the student himself or
herself for a particular attitude, but discussion should relate to the difficulty in reconciling a
wide variety of perceptions in the practice of human resources (in other words, an
organization may not be able to). This may upset the students' sense of order, but it is critical
that they understand that there are not always "right" answers. For example, the reality that
an organization can be sued for reverse discrimination when affirmative action is ordered by
a court will confuse students but represents reality.
Inviting other perceptions from students will allow students to understand the range of
perceptions that may exist and how their particular attitudes fit into legal and societal
contexts. The topic of "politically correct" attitudes will arise, and hopefully students can
recognize that in an academic environment, everyone has the right to discuss his or her
attitudes. All students have the academic requirement to recognize the consequences of
actions in the organizational context, such as in issues related to sexual harassment.
1. Discuss with students what special challenges interviewing individuals with
disabilities may have.
Interviewing individuals with disabilities will pose special challenges:
Background: ADA covers an estimated 43 million people. As of July 26, 1994, all
employers with over 15 employees are subject to the provisions of ADA. There must
be no questions on the application blank or within the interview that ask applicants
whether they have disabilities.
You can sensitize students to these issues by allowing them to role play an interview
with a differently abled individual. It is possible that you could invite such an
individual to help the class with this (there are often advocacy groups on campus who
could be asked).
You might try the interview "cold" first and then discuss with both the interviewer
and interviewee what the problems were and where the interviewer was unsure of
how to proceed. The differently abled candidate could present his or her perceptions
about what went well and what could be improved. Typically, the differently abled
will discuss his or her desire to be treated like everyone else (which, of course, the
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McGraw-Hill Education.
Chapter 06 - Selection and Placement
legislation also emphasizes).
Following are some suggestions provided for interviewing the differently abled:
Small talk might breach the law, such as what the candidate's spouse does for
a living or whether the candidate has children (sex discrimination) or where a
candidate went to high school (can be related to national origin). Stick to
job-related questions.
Take notes with caution. An attorney recommends not writing down anything
that you would not want a jury to see.
You can't ask about health. You can ask the candidate to take a physical exam
after making a conditional offer if you routinely make that request of all
candidates.
Courtesy issues:
Regarding shaking hands, take what candidates offer you, whether hand or
hook.
Do not ask how a candidate became disabled.
With a blind individual: If you have an obstacle-course office, place the
person's hand on the back of the chair or just direct him or her verbally to the
chair. If there is a guide dog, the dog will guide the person.
Do not lean on a wheelchair. This is personal space and you could make it roll.
Sit down when talking to wheelchair users.
Do not be overly protective. These persons have typically learned to be
independent, and protective behavior will often be perceived as patronizing.
Do not use terms such as handicapped, deformed, deaf, or deaf mute.
Acceptable terms are blind, visually or hearing impaired, or multiply disabled.
Do not ask how a disabled individual will get to work or go to the bathroom
(again, this is not asked of other candidates).
It is never wrong to ask "Is there anything you need?" but typically you should
ask only once.
For additional help:
Guidance is available from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's
Technical Assistance Manual on the Employment Provisions (Title D of the
Americans with Disabilities Act), which explains the law in lay terms. The second of
two volumes is a resource directory listing groups that can help with
accommodations. Call (800) 669-EEOC. Hearing impaired individuals can call the
TDD number at (800) 800-3302.
The National Center for Disability Services provides training for interviewers across
the United States.
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Chapter 06 - Selection and Placement
Source: M. Hequet, "The Intricacies of Interviewing," Training, April 1993, pp.
31-36.
2. Case: Selecting Employees for Work Teams at Levi Strauss & Company.
Levi Strauss is implementing a new manufacturing process at its Blue Ridge,
Georgia, plant. The manufacturing process makes extensive use of work teams. The
As a result, they want to choose employees who will help ensure the success of this
manufacturing system. This is a nonunionized environment. They will first choose
Pretend that you are the manager overseeing the new manufacturing operation. What
recommendations would you have for HRM regarding what process and "tests" to use
to select employees for the new manufacturing system? What types of information
about the “tests” would you want in order to make you feel confident they would
work?
1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1 Suggestions
A job analysis that specifies the job requirements should be done first. Students
should be encouraged to consider techniques that are primarily job-related and that
focus on behavioral measurements. Since current employees are involved, the
organization could consider a multiple-hurdle approach.
For example, a work sample in a team setting with trained observers assessing team
skills such as cooperativeness, persuasiveness, and problem-solving ability might be
an excellent approach. Rather than using cognitive ability tests on current employees,
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McGraw-Hill Education.
Chapter 06 - Selection and Placement
volunteers might be elicited for training and to construct a test that would be content
validated. Trainees would have to pass these tests to be selected for the job.
Since there is so much more information available on current employees, an approach
that emphasizes training and selection first from the inside might have higher utility
than testing external applicants.
The effectiveness of the approach could be examined by a predictive validation
process that would correlate scores in the work sample and reining with subsequent
performance on the job. If the techniques appear valid, they could be expanded or
adapted as needed for use with both internal and external applicants.
3. Case: Selecting Patient Escorts at City Hospital.
City Hospital is located in the heart of a large Midwestern city. City Hospital has
about 1,200 beds and employs 4,500 individuals. The job of patient escort is simple,
The job of patient escort is critical to the hospital, since the escort is always the last
The hospital follows a standard procedure when hiring patient escorts. The HR
During the last two years, the hospital has experienced a number of problems with
patient escorts that have affected the hospital's image. Several patients have
As a hospital administrator, you would like to see a selection process implemented
that would eliminate the hiring of rude, insulting, or careless patient escorts. Poor
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Chapter 06 - Selection and Placement
a. What recommendations would you have for HR regarding what process and
tests to use to select employees for the patient escort position?
Job-relatedness again is a critical issue. Personality tests, because of their
Critical incidents in the interview could simulate particularly problematic
patient situations to understand what the candidate would do. Since 25 percent
b. What types of information about the tests would you want to make you
comfortable that they would work?
Validity could be examined by predictive-validation techniques in assessing
the value of demographic information such as previous experience and the
4. Role Play in interviewing: Role-play can be done to illustrate how interviewing may
miss critical issues. Students can be placed in dyads or triads ( two role players and
one observer) to role play this interview. Students should be cautioned not to step out
of role but play it seriously (sometimes role plays are difficult co maintain for long
periods of time). Give the role play only to the person designated to play the role
immediately before the role play will occur. Give students approximately 15 minutes
to prepare to play their roles. Two role descriptions follow.
Applicant Role: Edward Cunningham
You are Edward Cunningham, the former assistant financial controller at
Universal Plastic Company. You were in that position for four years and worked for
Universal for six years. Last week, you were unexpectedly fired by your boss at
Universal. There were several factors that led to your dismissal. They were:
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Chapter 06 - Selection and Placement
a. Three years ago, you and two co-workers purposely damaged a new
high-speed forming machine at Universal. The company was unable to prove
anything, but they strongly suspected that you were trying to sabotage the
company. Actually, you made a dumb decision to accept a bribe from an
official at National Plastic Company to do this. You did it because you
desperately needed the money. Universal ended the matter by giving you a
strong oral reprimand that was not documented in your personnel file. Very
few people know about this.
b. Last year, you had three sexual harassment charges filed against you. You felt
that the charges were not justified since all you did was "pinch" the girls in the
office a little bit. The company had you sign a settlement agreement, and you
stopped "pinching" the girls. A written reprimand was placed in your
personnel file and nearly everyone knew about in
c. Two years ago, you failed the state accountant's certification test. Universal
requires that financial controllers (and assistants) be certified. You took some
extra courses and tried to pass the exam. You took the exam again at the
special interim testing two weeks ago and failed again. Normally, the test is
given every four years so it will be two more years before you have a chance
to take it again. Universal was not willing to wait that long for you to pass.
d. The final straw that led to your dismissal was the IRS ruling last week. You
had implemented some modified accounting procedures at Universal and had
saved the company $175,000. However, the procedures were ruled illegal and
Universal was fined $450,000 in penalties and back taxes. The company
placed nearly all the blame on you.
Three weeks ago you saw an ad for a financial controller position at National
Plastic Company. National is Universal's major competitor, and the
competition has not only been fierce but downright nasty. You know that
National likes to hire people from Universal, so you sent sour resume to John
Hathaway, the administrative vice-president at National. At the rime you sent
the resume, you had not been fired and had nor heard from the IRS regarding
their ruling. You really want the job at National, and today you are scheduled
to have an interview with John Hathaway.
You will try to emphasize all your strengths in the interview, which you feel
are the following:
You have a master's degree in accounting (GPA 3.8).
You are (were) the assistant financial controller at Universal and held
that position for four years.
You saved Universal $175,000 in the last three years by modifying
some accounting procedures.
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Chapter 06 - Selection and Placement
You were awarded the Outstanding Community Member award by the
Chamber of Commerce three years ago.
You recently completed some advanced postgraduate courses in
finance.
You have worked for two companies (including Universal) since you
graduated from college 10 years ago, and you progressed rapidly in
both companies.
You do not want John Hathaway to find out any of the negative information
about you; however; basically you are truthful, so you will not lie in the
interview. The most important point to disguise is that you were fired by
Universal. You will emphasize your strengths in the interview with John
Hathaway.
Interviewer Role: John Hathaway
You are John Hathaway, administrative vice-president of National Plastic Company.
The company has nationwide manufacturing locations and distribution centers.
Product lines have historically been home-use plastic products, but the company has
recently expanded into the industrial market. The new product lines are specialty
plastic products for several industries, which include forest products, steel, and
textiles.
As corporate administrative vice-president, you are in charge of human resources,
finance, public affairs, and office systems. Within the finance department are the
usual functions, such as payroll, accounts receivable, accounts payable, internal
auditing, and accounting. Four weeks ago, your financial controllers suddenly quit
and rook a higher-level position with National's major competitor, Universal Plastic
Company. You tried to conduct an exit interview with the former controller, but were
unable to get any useful information. The competition has been strong between
National and Universal, and this is probably why the former controller was unwilling
to talk.
You advertised the position opening for two weeks and received 75 resumes. Based
on a review of the resumes, you selected 10 for interviews. You have already
interviewed nine of them, and you have not been very impressed with any of them.
Nevertheless, one of the nine did have better qualifications than the other eight, and
you will offer him the job, if necessary. However, the applicant that you expected to
be the best is going to come for an interview today. Because of some critically
important financial project work that must be done, you will have to make a hiring
decision today as soon as the interview is over.
The tenth applicant is Edward Cunningham, who is currently the assistant financial
controller at Universal Plastic Company. He has an outstanding track record, and
following are some of the key points on his resume:
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Chapter 06 - Selection and Placement
He has a master's degree in accounting (GPA 3.8).
He is the assistant financial controller at Universal and has been in that
position for four years.
He saved Universal $175,000 in the last three years by modifying some
accounting procedures.
He was awarded the Outstanding Community Member award by the Chamber
of Commerce three years ago.
He recently completed some advanced postgraduate courses in finance.
He has worked for two companies (including Universal) since he graduated
from college l0 years ago, and he progressed rapidly in both companies.
Edward Cunningham looks like an exceptional candidate, and you would like to find
out even more details about him in the interview. Since Edward works for Universal
(the unfriendly competitor), you will not be able to check his references there. If you
did, you know from past experience that the only information you would get would
be "name, rank, and serial number." You are not really concerned about Edward's
technical knowledge since he has a master's degree, has recently completed some
courses and has apparently demonstrated his knowledge on the job. Further, the state
normally gives a certification test for accountants every four years, and Edward
passed the test six years ago.
Another consideration for the financial controller's position is the fact that Edward is
a male. Although you know that a person's sex cannot be specified as a job
requirement, it would be more helpful, from an EEO perspective, to have a male in
that position. The entire department is 85 percent female, and one of your goals is to
have equally balanced departments in terms of race and sex.
HRM Failures
Top
Case 6: Pre-Employment Screenings: What’s Appropriate?
At a public library in Oregon in 2004, Janet Lanier applied for work as a library page. The
job duties included such tasks as reshelving books and occasionally working a youth
After Lanier refused to take the test, claiming it was an invasion of her privacy, the
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McGraw-Hill Education.
Chapter 06 - Selection and Placement
A district court found the testing policy unconstitutional. That ruling was later reversed
Employers should keep state and federal law in mind if they contemplate imposing
pre-employment drug testing on job candidates.
Question
As an employer, how would you handle the matter of pre-employment screening?
Possible answers
Consider the job type and job description. Does the job have special
requirements: working with infants or children, operating heavy machinery, or
Case: Lanier v. Woodburn, 9th Cir., No. 06-35262 (3/13/08), 518 F.3d 1147; 2008 U.S.
App. Lexis 5353.
Source: James E. Hall, Mark T. Kobata and Marty Denis, Workforce Management, May
2008, http://www.workforce.com.
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