i.
2. Interviews
a. The interview continues to be the device most frequently used.
b. It seems to carry a great deal of weight.
c. The candidate who performs poorly in the employment interview is likely to be
cut, regardless of his/her experience, test scores, or letters of recommendation,
and vice versa.
d. This is important because of the unstructured form of most selection interviews.
i. The unstructured interview—short in duration, casual, and made up of
random questions—is an ineffective selection device.
ii. The data are typically biased and often unrelated to future job performance.
iii. Without structure, interviewers tend to favor applicants who share their
attitudes, give undue weight to negative information, and allow the order in
which applicants are interviewed to influence their evaluations.
iv. To reduce bias, managers should adopt a standardized set of questions, a
uniform method of recording information, and standardized ratings of
applicants’ qualifications.
v. Training interviewers to focus on specific dimensions of job performance,
practicing evaluation of sample candidates, and giving interviewers feedback
on how well they were focused on job-relevant characteristics significantly
improves the accuracy of their ratings.
e. Interview effectiveness also improves when employers use behavioral structured
interviews, probably because these assessments are less influenced by interviewer
biases.
i. They require applicants to describe how they handled specific problems and
situations in previous jobs, based on the assumption that past behavior offer
the best predictor of future behavior.
ii. Panel interviews also minimize the influence of individual biases and have
higher validity.
f. Most organizations use interviews as more than a prediction of performance
device.
i. Companies use them to assess applicant-organization fit.
ii. So in addition to evaluating specific, job-related skills, they are looking at
personality characteristics and personal values to find individuals who fit the
organization’s culture and image.
B. Contingent Selection Tests
2. One common contingent method is a drug test.
a. Drug testing is controversial.
may not be relevant.
c. Employers might counter that drug use and abuse are extremely costly, not just in
financial terms but also in terms of people’s safety. They have the law on their
side.
3. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, firms may not require employees to pass a
II. Training and Development Programs
A. Introduction
1. Skills deteriorate and can become obsolete.
2. U.S. corporations with 100 or more employees spent more than $125 billion in on
formal training in recent years.
B. Types of Training
1. Introduction
a. There are four general skill categories for training—basic, technical,
interpersonal, and problem solving skills—and civility and ethics training.
2. Basic skills
a. One survey of more than 400 human resources professionals found that
comprehension, writing, and math.
i. As work has become more sophisticated, the need for these basic skills has
grown significantly, leading to a gap between employer demands for skills and
the available skills in the workforce.
b. Organizations find they must provide basic reading and math skills for their
employees.
eighth-grade levels in either reading or math.
iii. After the first round of basic-skills classes, company-paid and on company
time, 70 percent of attendees brought their skills up to the target level,
allowing them to do a better job.
3. Technical skills
a. Most training is directed at upgrading and improving an employee’s technical
skills.
structural designs.
c. As organizations flatten their structures, expand their use of teams, and break
down traditional departmental barriers, employees need mastery of a wider
e. Companies like Tata and Wipro provide new hires with up to 3 months of training
to ensure they have the knowledge to perform the technical work demanded.
employers.
4. Problem-solving skills
solutions.
5. Interpersonal skills
coworkers and bosses.
b. Some require training in how to be a better listener, how to communicate ideas
6. Civility training
a. As human resource managers have become increasingly aware of the effects of
experiencing other actions meant to demean or disparage.
b. Researchers have shown that these forms of negative behavior can decrease
directed conversations about it and supporting the reduction of incivility on an
ongoing process.
incivility, cynicism, and absences decreased.
e. Thus, the evidence suggests that deliberate interventions to improve the
workplace climate for positive behavior can indeed minimize the problems of
incivility.
7. Ethics training
a. It is common for employees to receive ethics and values guidance incorporated in
new-employee orientations, developmental programs, or as periodic
reinforcements of ethical principles.
b. Critics argue that ethics are based on values, and value systems are fixed at an
early age.
i. Ethics cannot be formally “taught” but must be learned by example.
c. Supporters of ethics training argue that values can be learned and changed after
early childhood.
i. Even if it could not, it helps employees to recognize ethical dilemmas, become
more aware of the ethical issues underlying their actions, and reaffirms an
organization’s expectations.
d. Ethic training also reaffirms an organization’s expectations that members will act
ethically.
i. Individuals who have greater exposure to organizational ethics codes and
ethics training do tend to be more satisfied and perceive their organizations as
more socially responsible, so ethics training does have some positive effects.
C. Training Methods
1. Historically, training meant formal training. It is planned in advance and has a
structured format.
2. Organizations are increasingly relying on informal training.
a. Unstructured, unplanned, and easily adapted to situations and individuals.
b. Most informal training is nothing other than employees helping each other out.
i. They share information and solve work-related problems with one another.
3. Job Training. On-the-job training includes job rotation, apprenticeships, understudy
assignments, and formal mentoring programs.
a. The primary drawback of these methods is that they often disrupt the workplace.
b. Organizations are investing increasingly in off-the-job training—nearly $130
billion annually. What types of training might this include?
4. The most popular is live classroom lectures.
a. It also encompasses videotapes, public seminars, self-study programs, Internet
courses, satellite-beamed television classes, and group activities that use
role-plays and case studies.
5. Computer-Based Training. Recently, e-training (computer-based training) is the
fastest growing training delivery mechanism.
a. E-learning systems emphasize learner control over the pace and content of
instruction, allow e-learners to interact through online communities, and
incorporate other techniques such as simulations and group discussions.
b. Computer-based training that lets learners actively participate in exercises and
quizzes was more effective than traditional classroom instruction.
D. Evaluating Effectiveness
1. The effectiveness of a training program can refer to the level of student satisfaction,
the amount students learn, the extent to which they transfer the material from training
to their jobs, or the financial return on investments in training.
a. Rigorous measurement of multiple training outcomes should be a part of every
training effort.
b. Not all training methods are equally effective.
2. The success of training also depends on the individual.
a. Personality is important: those with an internal locus of control, high
conscientiousness, high cognitive ability, and high self-efficacy learn more.
b. Other personal factors, such as stereotype threat may also play a role in training
performance.
3. The climate also is important: when trainees believe there are opportunities and
resources to let them apply their newly learned skills, they are more motivated and do
better in training programs.
4. After-training support from supervisors and coworkers has a strong influence on
whether employees transfer their learning into new behavior.
5. An effective training program requires not just teaching the skills but also changing
the work environment to support the trainees.
III. Performance Evaluation
A. What Is Performance?
1. In the past, most organizations assessed only how well employees performed the tasks
listed on a job description, but today’s less hierarchical and more service-oriented
organizations require more.
2. Researchers now recognize three major types of behavior that constitute performance
at work:
a. Task performance
i. Performing the duties and responsibilities that contribute to the production of
a good or service or to administrative tasks.
b. Citizenship
i. Actions that contribute to the psychological environment of the organization,
such as helping others when not required, supporting organizational
objectives, treating coworkers with respect, making constructive suggestions,
and saying positive things about the workplace.
c. Counter productivity
coworkers, and taking avoidable absences.
3. Most managers believe good performance means doing well on the first two
dimensions and avoiding the third.
a. A person who does core job tasks very well but is rude and aggressive toward
coworkers is not going to be considered a good employee in most organizations,
B. Purposes of Performance Evaluation
1. Management uses evaluations for general human resource decisions, such as
promotions, transfers, and terminations.
2. Evaluations identify training and development needs.
3. They pinpoint employee skills and competencies needing development.
C. What Do We Evaluate?
1. Introduction
a. The criteria or criterion used to evaluate performance has a major influence on
performance.
i. The three most popular sets of criteria are individual task outcomes,
behaviors, and traits.
2. Individual task outcomes
task outcomes.
3. Behaviors
a. It is difficult to attribute specific outcomes to the actions of employees in advisory
or support positions or employees whose work assignments are part of a group
effort.
employee’s behavior.
c. Measured behaviors needn’t be limited to those directly related to individual
productivity.
d. As we pointed out in discussing organizational citizenship behavior (see Chapters
1 and 3), helping others, making suggestions for improvements, and volunteering
incorporated into evaluations of employee performance.
4. Traits
a. Traits may or may not be highly correlated with positive task outcomes, but only
the naive would ignore the reality that such traits are frequently used in
organizations for assessing performance.
D. Who Should Do the Evaluating?
their employees’ performance.
2. But others may do the job better.
a. With many of today’s organizations using self-managed teams, telecommuting,
and other organizing devices that distance bosses from employees, the immediate
superior may not be the most reliable judge of an employee’s performance.
have input into their performance evaluations.
4. In most situations, in fact, it is highly advisable to use multiple sources of ratings.
5. Any individual performance rating may say as much about the rater as about the
person being evaluated.
a. By averaging across raters, we can obtain a more reliable, unbiased, and accurate
performance evaluation.
organizations collect 5 to 10 per employee.
c. Some firms using 360-degree programs are Alcoa, DuPont, and Levi Strauss.
d. By relying on feedback from coworkers, customers, and subordinates, these
organizations are hoping to give everyone a sense of participation in the review
process and gain more accurate readings on employee performance.
used 360-degree feedback.
ii. In these companies, ostracized employees were also more likely to direct more
deviant behaviors and fewer helping behaviors towards coworkers.
7. Some allow employees to choose the peers and subordinates who evaluates them,
which can artificially inflate feedback.
performance.
E. Methods of Performance Evaluation
1. Written essays
a. The simplest method of evaluation is to write a narrative describing an
employee’s strengths, weaknesses, past performance, potential, and suggestions
for improvement.
the ability of the writer.
2. Critical incidents
a. Critical incidents focus on those behaviors that are key in making the difference
between executing a job effectively and executing it ineffectively.
b. The appraiser writes down anecdotes that describe what the employee did that
was especially effective or ineffective.
employee.
3. Graphic ratings scales
a. Graphic ratings scales refer to a set of performance factors, such as quantity and
quality of work, depth of knowledge, cooperation, loyalty, attendance, honesty,
and initiative.
scales typically specify five points.
c. Popular because they are less time-consuming to develop and administer and
allow for quantitative analysis and comparison.
4. Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS)
a. BARS combine major elements from the critical incident and graphic rating scale
approaches.
points are examples of actual behavior.
c. To develop the BARS, participants first contribute specific illustrations of
effective and ineffective behavior, which are translated into a set of performance
dimensions with varying levels of quality.
5. Forced comparisons
device.
b. The two most popular are group order ranking and individual ranking.
i. The group order ranking requires the evaluator to place employees into a
particular classification, such as top one-fifth or second one-fifth.
ii. The individual ranking approach rank-orders employees from best to worst.
F. Improving Performance Evaluations
1. Introduction
a. The performance evaluation process is a potential minefield.
b. Evaluators can unconsciously inflate evaluations (positive leniency), understate
performance (negative leniency), or allow the assessment of one characteristic to
e. Although no protections guarantee accurate performance evaluations, the
following suggestions can make the process more objective and fair.
2. Use multiple evaluators
a. As the number of evaluators increases, the probability of attaining more accurate
information increases.
scores of those remaining.
3. Evaluate selectively
a. Evaluate only those areas in which you have some expertise.
b. Appraisers should be as close as possible, in terms of organizational level, to the
individual being evaluated.
4. Train evaluators
accurate raters.
b. Most rater training courses emphasize changing the raters’ frame of reference by
teaching them what to look for, so everyone in the organization defines good
performance in the same way.
c. Another effective training technique is to encourage raters to describe the
moment.
5. Provide employees with due process
a. The concept of due process increases the perception that employees are treated
fairly.
b. Three features characterize due process systems:
respond.
iii. The final decision is based on the evidence and is free from bias.
c. One technique organizations might consider to enhance due process is posting
appraisals online so employees can see their own performance scores exactly as
the supervisor enters them.
online prior to appraisal interviews.
ii. It might be that raters were more sensitive to providing accurate ratings when
they knew employees would be able to see their own information directly.
G. Providing Performance Feedback
1. Managers are often uncomfortable discussing weaknesses with employees.
to ignore this responsibility.
a. Even though almost every employee could stand to improve in some areas,
managers fear confrontation when presenting negative feedback.
b. Employees become defensive.
c. Employees tend to have inflated assessments of their own behavior.
constructive feedback sessions.
4. An effective review—in which the employee perceives the appraisal as fair, the
manager as sincere, and the climate as constructive—can leave the employee feeling
upbeat, informed about areas needing improvement, and determined to correct them.
a. It probably won’t surprise you that employees in a bad mood are much less likely
specific area.
b. It’s also hard to figure out how to improve your performance globally—it’s much
easier to improve in specific areas.
c. In addition, the performance review should be a counseling activity more than a
judgment process, best accomplished by allowing it to evolve from the
employee’s own self-evaluation.
H. International Variations in Performance Appraisal
time orientation, and focus of responsibility.
2. Individual-oriented cultures such as the United States emphasize formal performance
evaluation systems more than informal systems.
a. They advocate written evaluations performed at regular intervals, the results of
which managers share with employees and use in the determination of rewards.
a. One survey of Korean employees revealed that a majority questioned the validity
of their performance evaluation results.
4. One recent study focused on the banking industry found significant differences across
countries in performance appraisal practices.
likely to use formal performance appraisals.
b. On the other hand, in high uncertainty avoidance cultures, performance appraisals
were also used more frequently for communication and development purposes (as
opposed to being used for rewards and promotion).
6. Another study found that individuals who were high in power distance and high in
VI. The Leadership Role of HR
A. Introduction
1. HR also plays a key leadership role in nearly all facets of the workplace environment,
from designing and administering benefit programs to conducting attitude surveys to
drafting and enforcing employment policies.
work-life conflicts, mediations, terminations, and layoffs.
b. HR is on the scene when an employee joins and leaves, and all along the way.
2. HR departments uniquely represent both the employee’s and the company’s
perspective as needed.
a. Companies have only recently begun to recognize the potential for HR to
influence employee performance.
developing.
c. Recent research has shown that having an HWPS may increase organizational
performance, but higher organizational performance may also reinforce
high-performance work practices by providing more resources to an HWPS.
d. HPWS may also have more of an effect on organizational performance when
service).
3. Because employers and employees alike benefit from strong human resource
practices, let’s consider some of the leadership functions of human resources.