Tutorial 6 – Solutions

Group Activity

1. Discussing some of the ethical and legal considerations in testing in

the United States. What about China? State and federal laws, EEOC
guidelines, and court decisions require that you must be able to prove that
your tests are related to success or failure on the job and that they are not
having an adverse impact on members of a protected group. Test takers
also have certain basic rights to privacy and information. The test taker
also has the right to expect that the test is equally fair to all test takers. (LO
6.4;  AACSB: Communication Abilities & Reflective Thinking Skills;
Learning Outcome: Identify the characteristics of properly designed
selection tests)

2. Working in groups, develop a list of selection techniques that you

would suggest your dean use to hire the next HR201 Lecturer at your
school. Also, explain why you chose each selection technique. The
students should use the selection information presented in the chapter to
list their selection techniques of choice with their supporting rationale. (LO
6.5;  AACSB: Analytic Skills; Learning Outcome: Identify the
characteristics of properly designed selection tests)

3. HOMEWORK: Working in groups, contact the Publisher/ Service

Provider of a standardized test such as ELS and obtain from them
written information regarding the test's validity and reliability.
Present a short report in class discussing what the test is supposed
to measure and the degree to which you think the test does what it is
supposed to do, based on the reported validity and reliability scores.
Encourage students to contact different sources; it may be a good idea to
have a sign-up sheet so that no two students or groups are gathering
information about the same instrument. Students should be able to relate
validity and reliability scores to effectiveness. (LO 6.5;  AACSB:
Communication Abilities & Analytic Skills; Learning Outcome: Identify the
characteristics of properly designed selection tests)

Discussion Questions

1. What is the difference between reliability and validity? In what

respects are they similar? Reliability is the consistency of scores
obtained by the same person when retested with identical tests or with an
equivalent form of a test. It is a measure of internal consistency of the
instrument. Validity is the degree to which a test measures what it is
purported to measure. It is a measure of external consistency. They are
similar in that both are concerned with aspects of consistency of the
instrument, and that reliability is a necessary condition for validity.  (LO
6.1;  AACSB: Analytic Skills; Learning Outcome: Identify the
characteristics of properly designed selection tests)
2. Explain how you would go about validating a test. How can this
information be useful to a manager? The validation process consists of
five steps: job analysis, selecting a test, administering a test, relating the
test scores and the criteria, and cross validation and revalidation. Using
valid selection devices will enable the manager to develop objective
information in the selection process and should result in more effective
selection decisions. (LO 6.2;  AACSB: Communication Abilities & Analytic
Skills; Learning Outcome: Identify the characteristics of properly designed
selection tests)

3. Explain why you think a certified psychologist who is specially

trained in test construction should (or should not) always be used by
a small business that needs a test battery. Due to the complex and
legal nature of this activity, the use of a certified psychologist may be the
only safe way to accomplish your objectives. However, because of the
high salary and limited job scope of such a specialist, a definite drawback
to this approach is the cost involved. Perhaps more "direct" tests can be
developed which require less sophistication: motor and physical abilities
tests (many state employment agencies provide this service), on-job
knowledge tests, and work sampling. This chapter also presents some
alternative testing tools that are relatively easy to administer and low in
cost and that are reasonable choices for small employers to use. (LO 6.3-
4;  AACSB: Communication Abilities & Analytic Skills; Learning Outcome:
Identify the characteristics of properly designed selection tests)

4. Give some examples of how interest inventories could be used to

improve employee selection. In doing so, suggest several examples
of occupational interests that you believe might predict success in
various occupations including college professor, accountant, and
computer programmer. Interest inventories can improve employee
selection by identifying individuals with similar interests as those reported
by a substantial percentage of successful incumbents in an occupation.
This should clearly increase the likelihood that the applicants will be
successful in their new jobs. Interests that one might expect: accountant:
math, reading, music; college professor: public speaking, teaching,
counseling; computer programmer: math, music, computers. (LO 6.5;
AACSB: Analytic Skills; Learning Outcome: Identify the characteristics of
properly designed selection tests)

5. Why is it important to conduct pre-employment background

investigations? How would you go about doing so? Past behavior is
the best predictor of future behavior. It is important to gain as much
information as possible about past behavior to understand what kinds of
behavior one can expect in the future. Knowledge about attendance
problems, insubordination issues, theft, or other behavioral problems can
certainly help one avoid hiring someone who is likely to repeat those
behaviors. The section on background investigations and reference
checks has some excellent guidelines for background checks. (LO 6.7;
 AACSB: Communication Abilities & Reflective Thinking Skills; Learning
Outcome: Identify the characteristics of properly designed selection tests)

6. Explain how you would get around the problem of former employers
being unwilling to give bad references on their former employees.
Since many companies have strict policies regarding the release of
information about former employees, it may not be possible to get
information at all, good or bad. However, conducting a thorough reference
audit by contacting at least two superiors, two peers, and two subordinates
will help increase the chance that you will find someone who is willing to
give you the information you need. Also, making the contacts by phone
rather than in writing will increase their belief that the information may not
be traced back to them. Using the additional technique of asking
references for the name of someone else who might be familiar with the
applicant's performance will also increase the possibility of getting more
information. (LO 6.7;  AACSB: Communication Abilities & Reflective
Thinking Skills; Learning Outcome: Identify the characteristics of properly
designed selection tests)

7. How can employers protect themselves against negligent hiring

claims? There is a list of ways employers can protect themselves against
negligent hiring claims discussed in the section on why careful selection is
important at the beginning of the chapter. (LO 6.4;  AACSB:
Communication Abilities & Reflective Thinking Skills; Learning Outcome:
Identify the characteristics of properly designed selection tests)