Source: INTRODUCTION TO I/O PSYCHOLOGY by Ronald E.

Riggio 6th Edition

INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Introduction:

What Is Industrial/Organizational Psychology?

Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Psychologists use systematic scientific methods in an effort to understand more about the hows
and whys of behavior and human thought processes. Within the broad field of psychology are
many specialty areas, each of which focuses on a different aspect of behavior. For instance,
developmental psychology focuses on developmental behavior over the life span, cognitive
psychology studies human thinking (cognition) and how the mind works, and social psychology
studies human social behavior.

Industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology is that specialty area within the broad field of
psychology that studies human behavior in work settings.
As you might imagine, the study of human behavior in work settings is a large undertaking. Most
jobs are quite complicated, requiring the use of a wide range of mental and motor skills. Work
organizations are often large and complex entities made up of hundreds or even thousands of
workers who must interact and coordinate activities to produce some product, service, or
information. More and more often, workers are physically distant from one another, working in
different parts of the country or the world, coordinating their work activities through online
networks and other communication technologies.

“The branch of psychology that is concerned with the study of behaviour in work settings and the
application of psychology principles to change work behaviour ” (Riggio 2013)

The Science and Practice of Industrial/Organizational

Psychology

I/O psychology has two objectives:

1. To conduct research in an effort to increase our knowledge and understanding of human

work behavior and
2. To apply that knowledge to improve the work behavior, the work environment, and the
psychological conditions of workers.

The Roots and Early History of Industrial/ Organizational Psychology

To understand the impact that I/O psychology has had on the world of work, it is important to
know a little bit about the history of the field. We will examine historical periods in I/O
psychology’s past and focus on a significant event or important phenomenon in each time period.
We will later look at the present and future of I/O psychology.

THE BEGINNINGS
Around the turn of the 20th century, when the field of psychology was still in its infancy, a few
early psychologists dabbled in the study of work behavior.

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For example, Hugo Munsterberg: was an experimental psychologist who became interested in
the design of work and personnel selection for jobs such as streetcar operator (Munsterberg,
1913).
Walter Dill Scott: who was interested in studying salespersons and the psychology of
advertising (Scott, 1908). Scott went on to become the first professor in this new field and also
started a consulting company to practice what was being learned from research.
Frederick W. Taylor: Another early spark that helped ignite the field of I/O psychology was
provided not by a psychologist, but by an engineer named Frederick W. Taylor. Taylor believed
that scientific principles could be applied to the study of work behavior to help increase worker
efficiency and productivity.
He felt that there was “one best method” for performing a particular job. By breaking the job
down scientifically into measurable component movements and recording the time needed to
perform each movement, Taylor believed that he could develop the fastest, most efficient way of
performing any task. He was quite successful in applying his methods, which became known as
time-and-motion studies.

These time-and-motion procedures often doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled laborer output!
Taylor’s system for applying scientific principles to increase work efficiency and productivity
eventually became known as scientific management. In addition to applying time-and-motion
procedures, Taylor also incorporated into his system of scientific management other
considerations, such as selection of workers based on abilities and the use of proper tools (Taylor,
1911). For example, scientific management principles and procedures such as time-and-motion
studies greatly improved the efficiency of a wide variety of typical types of jobs, including
cabinetmaking, clerical filing, lumber sawing, and the making of reinforced concrete slabs
(increased from 80 to 425 slabs per day!) (Lowry, Maynard, & Stegemerten, 1940).

Unfortunately, Taylor’s philosophy was quite narrow and limited. In his day, many jobs involved
manual labor and were thus easily broken down and made more efficient through the application
of principles of scientific management. Today, jobs are much more complex and often require
sophisticated problem-solving skills or the use of creative thinking. Fewer and fewer people
engage in physical labor. Many of these “higher-level” tasks are not amenable to time-and-motion
studies. In other words, there is probably not one best method for creating computer software,
developing an advertising campaign, or managing people.

Elton Mayo (1880 –1949): Known for the Hawthorne Experiments; Developed the Human Relations
Movement and His work highlighted the importance of social factors in influencing work performance.
The Hwatorne Study looked at:
 What are the effects of the physical work environment on worker productivity?
 Lighting experiment-human relation movement (the importance of social factors in improving
productivity).

What Does an I/O Psychologist Really Do?

 Research; Consultancy; Teaching; Human Resource Development/Management

Industrial/Organizational Psychology Today and in the Future

Today, industrial/organizational psychology is one of the fastest growing areas of psychology. I/O
psychologists are in the forefront of those professionals who are satisfying the huge demand for

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information leading to greater understanding of the worker, the work environment, and work
behavior.
CURRENT ISSUES AND FEATURES THAT POSE CHALLENGES TO ORGANIZATIONS:
Although the efforts of I/O psychologists have helped improve behavior at work, other
developments in the working world and in the world at large have in turn influenced the field of
I/O psychology. We will examine four key trends in the world of work that are important today
and in the future of I/O psychology:

A. The Changing Nature Of Work:

Jobs and organizations are rapidly changing and evolving. Organizations are becoming flatter,
with fewer levels in the hierarchy, and they are being broken up into smaller subunits with greater
emphasis on work teams. With telecommuting, advanced communication systems, and
sophisticated networking, people can work in almost any location, with team members who are
quite remote. This will have important implications for how work is done, and I/O psychologists
will be very involved in helping workers adapt to technological and structural changes (Craiger,
1997; Huber, 2011). In addition, I/O psychologists will assist organizations in redesigning jobs
for greater efficiency, in creating new and more flexible organizational structures and work teams,
and in helping workers become more engaged, motivated, and better able to deal with stresses
that result from all the changes. Many jobs are becoming increasingly complex due to
technological advancements, and they are more demanding, requiring workers to process more
and more information and to make more decisions (Ones & Viswesvaran, 1998a). In addition,
organizations worldwide are reducing their workforces.
Organizational downsizing is a strategy of reducing an organization’s workforce to improve
organizational efficiency, productivity, and/or competitiveness (Mentzer, 2005; Molinsky &
Margolis, 2006). Organizations are downsizing because of technological advancements such as
robotic and computer-assisted manufacturing that eliminate workers’ jobs, because of increased
efficiency in jobs and the elimination of overlapping worker functions, and because of a general
reduction in middle-level managers (De Meuse, Marks, & Dai, 2011; Murphy, 1998).
Another trend is outsourcing of work—contracting with an external organization to accomplish
tasks that were previously done, or could be done, within the organization (Davis-Blake &
Broschak, 2009). Outsourcing is used to increase output and can reduce overhead costs
associated with the personnel needed to do the tasks in-house. I/O psychologists are involved in
helping to understand the effects that the increased use of outsourcing is having on variables
such as the way jobs are conducted, group processes, structure and design of organizations,
employee commitment, motivation, and other factors.

B. Expanding Focus On Human Resources (More Focus On Enhancing Performance &

Motivation:
The increasing concern with the management and maintenance of an organization’s human
resources that began with Mayo and the human relations movement continues to be important.
Organizations have become more and more concerned about and responsive to the needs of
workers. At the same time, organizations are realizing that skilled and creative workers are the
keys to success. The term “talent management” is a frequent buzzword heard in organizations—
important because it reflects the emphasis on the value of the worker and the need to select,
care for, and develop workers’ talents. This will become even more important in the future (Cascio
& Aguinis, 2008; Losey, Ulrich, & Meisinger, 2005).

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C. Increasing Diversity In The Workforce:

The increasing number of women and ethnic minorities entering the organizational workforce has
led to greater and greater workplace diversity. This diversity will increase in the future. Women
and ethnic minorities—who have been targets of employment discrimination—now make up the
majority of the U.S. workforce, and there are similar trends worldwide. Moreover, the diversity of
cultures in workplaces will also increase as workers become more internationally mobile. Existing
workforces will consist of members from a greater number and variety of cultures. In addition, it
has been suggested that there are many different layers or levels examining cultures and cultural
differences (Erez & Gati, 2004).
Although increased diversity presents challenges to organizations and managers, this increased
workforce diversity also represents a tremendous strength and opportunity. An obvious
advantage of increased workforce diversity is the opportunity for different viewpoints and
perspectives that will lead to organizational creativity and innovation (Jackson & Joshi, 2011).
Increased workforce diversity can also help an organization in understanding and reaching new
markets for products or services. An organization’s commitment to diversity can also help in
recruiting and retaining the best workers.
 Age; young and older employees.
 Race/Class/Color issues
 Gender issues

D. Globalization and Competitiveness:

 Branding _Organizational identify and culture.
 Efficiency and learning

E. Increasing relevance of I/O psychology in policy and practice

Although I/O psychology has had an important impact in how we select, train, develop, and
motivate employees, there is huge potential for I/O psychology to play an even bigger part in
helping to improve work performance and make the conditions for workers better, more
rewarding, and more “healthy.” It has been suggested that I/O psychology could have a
tremendous future impact on the workplace and that it is critical that research in I/O psychology
be directly relevant to the practice of I/O psychology.

RESEARCH METHODS IN INDUSTRIAL/ ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

We will review the step-by-step procedures used in social science research and conclude with a
discussion of how research results are interpreted and applied to increase our understanding of
actual work behavior.

A. Social Science Research Methods:

One of the prime purposes of the social science research methods used by I/O psychologists is
to enable the researcher to step back from any personal feelings or biases to study a specific
issue objectively.
Objectivity is the overarching theme of scientific research methods in general, and of social
science research methods in particular. It is this objectivity, accomplished via the social scientific
process that distinguishes how a social scientist approaches a work-related problem or issue and
how a nonscientist practitioner might approach the same problem or issue. Research methodology
is simply a system of guidelines and procedures designed to assist the researcher in obtaining a
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more accurate and unbiased analysis of the problem at hand. Similarly, statistical analysis is
nothing more or less than procedures for testing the repeated objective observations that a
researcher has collected.
Goal of Social Science Research Methods: Because I/O psychology is the science of behavior
at work, its goals are to describe, explain, and predict work behavior. For example, an I/O
psychologist might attempt to satisfy the first goal by describing the production levels of a
company, the rates of employee absenteeism and turnover, and the number and type of
interactions between supervisors and workers for the purpose of arriving at a more accurate
picture of the organization under study. The goal of explaining phenomena is achieved when the
I/O psychologist attempts to discover why certain work behaviors occur. Finding out that a
company’s employee turnover rates are high because of employee dissatisfaction with the levels
of pay and benefits would be one example.

Steps in the Research Process

Formulation of the problem or issue: The first step in conducting research is to specify the
problem or issue to be studied. Sometimes, a researcher develops an issue because of his or her
interests in a particular area. For example, an I/O psychologist might be interested in the
relationships between worker job satisfaction and employee loyalty to the organization, or
between worker productivity and the length of time that employees stay with a particular
organization.

Generation of hypotheses: The next step in the research process involves taking those
elements that the researcher intends to measure, known as variables, and generating
statements concerning the supposed relationships between or among variables. These statements
are known as hypotheses.

Selecting the research design: Once hypotheses are generated, the researcher chooses a
research design that will guide the investigation. The type of design selected depends on such
things as the research setting and the degree of control that the researcher has over the research
setting. For instance, a researcher may decide that he or she will conduct a study of workers’ task
performance by observing workers in the actual work setting during normal working hours, in
order to make the setting as “natural” as possible. Alternatively, the researcher may decide
instead that it would be less disruptive to bring workers into a laboratory room where the work
tasks could be simulated. Different settings may require different research designs. The
researcher may also be constrained in the selection of a research design by the amount of control
the researcher has over the work setting and the workers. The company may not allow the
researcher to interfere with normal work activities, forcing the researcher to use observational
measurement of behavior or to use existing data that the organization has already collected. We
shall discuss specific research designs shortly.

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Collection of data: The collection of data is governed by the particular research design used.
However, an important concern in data collection is sampling, or selecting a representative
group from a larger population for study. The sample is selected, and the results obtained from
this subgroup are generalized to the larger population.
With random sampling, research participants are chosen from a specified population in such a
way that each individual has an equal probability of being selected. For the case of Stratified
sampling begins with the designation of important variables that divide a population into
subgroups, or strata.
Both of these sampling techniques help ensure that the sample is representative of the population
from which it is drawn. The random selection procedure also protects against any sorts of biases
in the choice of participants for study.

Analyses of research data

Once data are gathered, they are subjected to some form of analysis for interpretation. Most
often, this involves statistical analyses of quantitative data (i.e., data with numerical values),
although data can be analyzed using qualitative data analysis techniques (not based on the
numerical values of the data). Statistical analysis of data requires that the research observations
be quantified in some way. Statistics are simply tools used by the researcher to help make sense
out of the observations that have been collected. Some statistical analyses are very simple and
are used to help describe and classify the data. Other statistical techniques are quite complex
and help the researcher make detailed inferences. For example, some statistics allow the
researcher to determine the causes of certain observed outcomes.

Interpretation of research results

Here the researcher draws conclusions about the meaning of the findings and their relevance to
actual work behavior as well as their possible limitations.

B. The Experimental Method

The experimental method is most commonly associated with research conducted in a

laboratory, although it can also be applied in an actual work setting, in which case it is known as
a field experiment. The experimental method is designed to give the researcher a very high
degree of control over the research setting. In a laboratory experiment the researcher has a great
deal of control, which is a major advantage of conducting research in a laboratory. In a field
experiment, the researcher typically has less control than in the laboratory, but the researcher
must still maintain control over the situation in a field experiment to draw strong conclusions.

QUASI-EXPERIMENTS
In many cases, a researcher does not have the control over the situation needed to run a true
experiment. As a result, a quasi-experiment is used, which is a design that follows the
experimental method but lacks features such as random assignment of participants to groups and
manipulation of the independent variable.
For example, a researcher might compare one group of workers who have undergone a particular
training program with another group of workers who will not receive the training, but because
they were not randomly assigned to the groups, the groups are not equivalent. As a result, cause-
and-effect relationships cannot be determined. For example, one study examined the
effectiveness of a management coaching program and compared managers in the coaching

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programs to other managers not receiving coaching, but who were matched on age, years of
experience, and salary (Evers, Brouwers, & Tomic, 2006)
Quasi-experiments are quite common in I/O psychology because of the difficulties in controlling
extraneous variables and, often, the unit of analysis is groups or organizations, rather than
individuals. Quasi-experiments can be used, for example, to compare departments or
organizations on some variables of interest. It is important in making these comparisons,
however, that the groups be as equivalent as possible. Moreover, in quasi-experimental designs,
researchers often try to measure as many possible extraneous variables as they can in order to
statistically control for their effects.

C. The Correlational Method

The second major method for data collection, the correlational method (also referred to as the
observational method), looks at the relationships between or among variables as they occur
naturally. When the correlational method is used, in contrast to the experimental method, there
is no manipulation of variables by the experimenter. A researcher simply measures two or more
variables and then examines their statistical relationship to one another. Because the correlational
method does not involve the manipulation of independent variables, distinctions between
independent and dependent variables are not nearly as important as they are in the experimental
method.

D. The Case Study Method

We have stated that there are difficulties in conducting controlled research in actual work settings.
Often a researcher or scientist–practitioner will have the opportunity to conduct research in a
business or industry, but will find it impossible to follow either the experimental or the
correlational method. The study may involve a one-time-only assessment of behavior, or the
application of an intervention to only a single group, department, or organization. Such research
is known as a case study. The results of a single case study, even if the study involves the
application of some highly researched intervention strategy, do not allow us to draw any firm
conclusions. A case study is really little more than a descriptive investigation.

Ethical Issues in Research and Practice in I/O Psychology

It is very important in conducting any type of psychological research involving human beings that
the researcher, student or professional, adhere to ethical principles and standards. The American
Psychological Association (APA) lists several core principles that should guide the ethical conduct
of research in psychology, including I/O psychology (APA, 2002). These guiding principles include:
striving to benefit the persons with whom the psychologist is working and taking care to do no
harm; being honest and accurate in the science, teaching, and practice of psychology; and
respecting the rights of people to privacy and confidentiality.

The researcher must obtain participants’ informed consent consent—a sort of “full disclosure.”
That is, participants must be told in advance the purposes, duration, and general procedures
involved in the research, and they have the right to decline participation at any point. At the end
of the research, participants should be fully debriefed, and the researcher should ensure that no
harm has been caused. Researchers must also protect the privacy of research participants by
either collecting data anonymously or keeping the data confidential—with identities known only
to the researchers for purposes of accurate recordkeeping.

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JOB ANALYSIS
The systematic study of the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of a job and the qualities needed
to perform it.
Job analysis is the starting point for nearly all personnel functions, and job analysis is critically
important for developing the means for assessing personnel (Wheaton & Whetzel, 1997). Before
a worker can be hired or trained and before a worker’s performance can be evaluated, it is critical
to understand exactly what the worker’s job entails. Such analyses should also be conducted on
a periodic basis to ensure that the information on jobs is up to date. In other words, it needs to
reflect the work actually being performed.
Because most jobs consist of a variety of tasks and duties, gaining a full understanding of a job
is not always easy. Therefore, job analysis methods need to be comprehensive and precise.
Indeed, large organizations have specialists whose primary responsibilities are to analyze the
various jobs in the company and develop extensive and current descriptions for each.

A job analysis leads directly to the development of several other important personnel “products”:
a job description, a job specification, a job evaluation, and performance criteria.
A job description is a detailed accounting of the tasks, and equipment used to perform the job;
and the job output (end product or service).
A job specification, which provides information about the human characteristics required to
perform the job, such as physical and personal traits, work experience, and education. Usually,
job specifications give the minimum acceptable qualifications that an employee needs to perform
a given job.
A third personnel “product,” job evaluation, is the assessment of the relative value or worth of
a job to an organization to determine appropriate compensation, or wages.
Finally, a job analysis helps outline performance criteria, which are the means for appraising
worker success in performing a job.

LINKS BETWEEN JOB ANALYSIS AND PERSONNEL FUNCTIONS

Products of Job Analysis:

 Job Description; Job Specification; Job Evaluation and Performance Criteria.

Uses of Job Analysis Products:

Job Design; Personnel Planning; Personnel Recruitment and Selection; Compensation; Employee
Training and Development; Equal Employment Opportunity and Performance Appraisal.

Job Analysis Methods

i. Observations
Observational methods of job analysis are those in which trained job analysts gather information
about a particular job. To do this, the analyst usually observes the job incumbent at work for a
period of time. Job analysts may also make use of videos to record work behavior for more
detailed analysis. Typically in observational analysis, the observer takes detailed notes on the
exact tasks and duties performed. However, to make accurate observations, the job analyst must
know what to look for. For example, a subtle or quick movement, but one that is important to
the job, might go unnoticed. Also, if the job is highly technical or complex, the analyst may not
be able to observe some of its critical aspects, such as thinking or decision-making processes.

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Observational techniques usually work best with jobs involving manual operations, repetitive
tasks, or other easily seen activities.

ii. Participation
In some instances, a job analyst may want to actually perform a particular job or job operation
to get a firsthand understanding of how the job is performed. For example, several years ago, I
was involved in conducting a job analysis of workers performing delicate micro-assembly
operations. These micro-assemblers were working with fitting together extremely tiny electrical
components. The only way to gain a true understanding of (and appreciation for) the fine hand–
eye coordination required to perform the job was to attempt the task myself.

iii. Existing data

Most large, established organizations usually have some information or records that can be used
in the job analysis, such as a previous job analysis for the position or an analysis of a related job.
Such data might also be borrowed from another organization that has conducted analyses of
similar jobs. Human resources professionals often exchange such information with professionals
at other organizations. Existing data should always be checked to make sure it conforms to the
job as it is currently being performed and also to determine if the existing data accounts for the
inclusion of new technology in the job.

iv. Interviews
Interviews are another method of job analysis. They can be open-ended (“Tell me all about what
you do on the job”), or they can involve structured or standardized questions. Because any one
source of information can be biased, the job analyst may want to get more than one perspective
by interviewing the job incumbent, the incumbent’s supervisor, and, if the job is a supervisory
one, the incumbent’s subordinates. The job analyst might also interview several job incumbents
within a single organization to get a more reliable representation of the job and to see whether
various people holding the same job title in a company actually perform similar tasks.

v. Surveys
Survey methods of job analysis usually involve the administration of a pencil and- paper
questionnaire that the respondent completes and returns to the job analyst. Surveys can consist
of open-ended questions (“What abilities or skills are required to perform this job?”); closed-
ended questions (“Which of the following classifications best fits your position?
(a) Supervisory, (b) technical, (c) line, (d) clerical”); or checklists (“Check all of the following tasks
that you perform in your job.”). The survey method has two advantages over the interview
method. First, the survey allows the collection of information from a number of workers
simultaneously. This can be helpful and very cost effective when the analyst needs to study
several positions. Second, because the survey can be anonymous, there may be less distortion
or withholding of information than in a face-to-face interview. One of the drawbacks of the survey,
however, is that the information obtained is limited by the questions asked. Unlike an interview,
a survey cannot probe for additional information or for clarification of a response.

Often in conducting job analyses, job incumbents or knowledgeable supervisors of job incumbents
are referred to as subject matter experts (or SMEs). Subject matter experts can provide job
analysis information via interviews or through survey methods.

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Vi. Job diaries

Another method for job analysis is to have job incumbents record their daily activities in a diary.
An advantage of the job diary is that it provides a detailed, hour-by-hour, day-by-day account of
the worker’s job. One difficulty of diary methods, however, is that it is quite time consuming, both
for the worker who is keeping the diary and for the job analyst who has the task of analyzing the
large amount of information contained in the diary.
An important concern in all the preceding methods of job analysis is potential errors and
inaccuracies that occur simply because job analysts, job incumbents, and subject matter experts
are all human beings. In one review, Morgeson and Campion (1997) outlined 16 potential sources
of inaccuracy in job analysis, ranging from mere carelessness and poor job analyst training to
biases such as overestimating or underestimating the importance of certain tasks and jobs to
information overload stemming from the complexity of some jobs.
As you recall from our discussion of research methods, an important theme for I/O psychologists
is to take steps to ensure that proper methods are used in all sorts of organizational analyses.
Nowhere is this more important than in conducting job analyses.

Specific Job Analysis Techniques

In addition to these various general methods for conducting job analyses, there are also a number
of specific, standardized analysis techniques. These techniques have not only been widely used
but have also generated a considerable amount of research on their effectiveness. We will
consider four of these specific techniques: the job element method, the functional job analysis,
the Position Analysis Questionnaire, and the critical incidents technique.

a. Job Element Method:

The job element method of job analysis looks at the basic knowledge, skills, abilities, or other
characteristics—KSAOs—that are required to perform a particular job (Primoff, 1975). These
KSAOs constitute the basic job elements.
In the job element method the job analyst relies on “experts” (subject matter experts, or SMEs)
who are informed about the job to identify the job elements (KSAOs) required for a given job.
The experts then rate or rank the different elements in terms of their importance for performing
the job. The job element method is “person oriented” in that it focuses on the characteristics of
the individual who is performing the job. This method has been used most often in jobs in the
federal government. Because of its limited scope, the job element method is often combined with
other job analysis methods outlined next (Bemis, Belenky, & Soder, 1983).

b. Critical Incidents Technique:

The critical incidents technique (CIT) of job analysis records the specific worker behaviors
that have led to particularly successful or unsuccessful job performance (Flanagan, 1954). For
example, some critical incidents for the job of clerical assistant might include: “Possess knowledge
of word processing programs”; “Notices an item in a letter or report that doesn’t appear to be
right, checks it, and corrects it”; “Misfiles charts, letters, etc., on a regular basis”; and “Produces
a manuscript with good margins, making it look like a professional document.” All of these
behaviors presumably contribute to the success or failure of the clerical assistant. Research
indicates that information is best provided by experts on the job and that careful qualitative
analysis methods should be used (Butterfield, Borgen, Amundson, & Asa-Sophia, 2005; Mullins&
Kimbrough, 1988). Therefore, information on such incidents is obtained by questioning, either
through interviews or questionnaires, job incumbents, job supervisors, or other knowledgeable

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individuals. Through the collection of hundreds of critical incidents, the job analyst can arrive at
a very good picture of what a particular job—and its successful performance—is all about.
The real value of the CIT is in helping to determine the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities
that a worker needs to perform a job successfully.
The CIT technique is also useful in developing appraisal systems for certain jobs, by helping to
identify the critical components of successful performance. In fact, recently the results of CIT
analyses have been used to teach “best practices” in professions such as medicine, counseling,
and customer service (e.g., Rademacher, Simpson, & Marcdante, 2010).

c. Position Analysis Questionnaire:

One of the most widely researched job analysis instruments is the Position Analysis
Questionnaire (PAQ) (McCormick, Jeanneret, & Mecham, 1969), which is a structured
questionnaire that analyzes various jobs in terms of 187 job elements that are arranged into six
categories, or divisions, as follows:
Information input: Where and how the worker obtains the information needed to perform the
job. For example, a newspaper reporter may be required to use published, written materials as
well as interviews with informants to write a news story. A clothing inspector’s information input
may involve fine visual discriminations of garment seams.
Mental processes: The kinds of thinking, reasoning, and decision making required to perform
the job. For example, an air traffic controller must make many decisions about when it is safe for
jets to land and take off.
Work output: The tasks the worker must perform and the tools or machines needed. For
example, a word processor must enter text using keyboard devices.
Relationships with other persons: The kinds of relationships and contacts with others
required to do the job. For example, a teacher instructs others, and a store clerk has contact with
customers by providing information and ringing up purchases.
Job context: The physical and/or social contexts in which the work is performed. Examples of
job context elements would be working under high temperatures or dealing with many conflict
situations.
Other job characteristics: Other relevant activities, conditions, or characteristics necessary to
do the job. Each of these job elements is individually rated using six categories: extent of use,
importance to the job, amount of time, applicability, possibility of occurrence, and a special code
for miscellaneous job elements. The standard elements are rated on a scale from 1, for minor
applicability, to 5, for extreme applicability. There is an additional rating for “does not apply”
(McCormick, 1979).

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 A SAMPLE PAGE FROM THE PAQ
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The PAQ results produce a very detailed profile of a particular job that can be used to compare
jobs within a company or similar positions in different organizations. Because the PAQ is a
standardized instrument, two analysts surveying the same job should come up with very similar
profiles. This might not be the case with interview techniques, where the line of questioning and
interpersonal skills specific to the interviewer could greatly affect the job profile.
As mentioned, the PAQ has historically been one of the most widely used and thoroughly
researched methods of job analysis (Hyland & Muchinsky, 1991; Peterson & Jeanneret, 1997). In
one interesting study, the PAQ was used to analyze the job of a homemaker. It was found that a
homemaker’s job is most similar to the jobs of police officer, firefighter, and airport maintenance
chief (Arvey & Begalla, 1975).
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d. Functional Job Analysis

A structured job analysis technique that examines the sequence of tasks in a job and the
processes by which they are completed.
Functional Job Analysis uses three broad categories representing the job’s typical interaction
with data, people, and things. Data is information, knowledge, and conceptions. Jobs are
evaluated with an eye to the amount and type of interaction the person performing the job has
with data—numbers, words, symbols, and other abstract elements. People refers to the amount
of contact with others that a job requires. These people can be coworkers, supervisors,
customers, or others. Things refers to the worker’s interaction with inanimate objects such as
tools, machines, equipment, and tangible work products. Within each of these categories there
is a hierarchy of work functions that ranges from the most involved and complex functions (given
the numerical value of “0”) to the least involved and least complex (the highest digit in the
category; see Table 3.2). For example, using FJA, the job of industrial/organizational psychologist
requires “coordinating” data (value of “1”), “mentoring/leading” people (the highest value of “0”),
and “handling” things (relatively low value of “7”). For the occupation of job analyst, the
corresponding numbers are 2, 6, and 7, meaning that this job involves “analyzing” data,
“exchanging information” with people, and “handling” things.
As mentioned, the DOT has been replaced by O*NET—the Occupational Information Network
(www.onetcenter.org). The O*NET database contains information about job categories, job
KSAOs, as well as information about wages and salaries, job training and licensing requirements
for particular jobs, and much, much more.

Today, using functional job analysis, the job analyst may begin with the general job description
provided by O*NET. The analyst will then use interviewing and/or observational techniques to
conduct a more detailed study of a certain job. FJA is especially helpful when the job analyst must
create job descriptions for a large number of positions. It is also quite popular because it is cost
effective and because it uses job descriptions based on national databases, which are often
considered satisfactory by federal employment enforcement agencies (Mathis & Jackson, 1985).
FJA has also proven useful in research designed to gain insight into how workers are performing
their jobs. For instance, in a study of over 200 nursing assistants in nursing homes, functional job
analysis discovered that nursing assistants were spending too little time dealing with the people
aspects of their jobs (e.g., giving attention to elderly residents) and a disproportionately large
amount of time dealing with data (e.g., reports) and things, such as changing bedding (Brannon,
Streit, & Smyer, 1992).
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Employee Recruitment, Selection, and Placement

i. Human Resource Planning
ii. Steps in the Employee Selection Process
iii. Employee Recruitment
iv. Employee Screening
v. Employee Selection And Placement
 A Model For Employee Selection
 Making Employee Selection Decisions
vi. Employee Placement

i. HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING:

Human resource planning (HR planning) begins with the strategic goals of the organization.
Human resources professionals need to consider a number of factors in HR planning:
 What are the organization’s goals and strategic objectives?
 What are the staffing needs required for the organization to accomplish its goals?
 What are the current human resource capacities and existing employee skills in the
organization?
 Which additional positions are needed to meet the staffing needs (sometimes referred to
as a “gap analysis,” i.e., what is the gap between the HR capacities the company has and
what it needs)?

Staffing today’s organizations requires that companies take into account a number of critical
issues, such as the changing nature of work and the workforce (e.g., greater need for
experienced, “knowledge” workers), increased competition for the best workers, assuring that
there is good “fit” between workers and organizations, and increasing workforce diversity
(Ployhart, 2006).
Human resources planning also considers the short- and long-term timeframes, and begins to ask
the broader HR questions:
 What are the training needs of employees going to be in the future?
 How can we competitively recruit the highest potential employees?
 How competitive are we in our compensation and benefit programs? How can we find
employees who are a “good fit” for our company and its culture?
One model of human resource planning suggests that companies need to focus on four
interrelated processes (Cascio, 2003). These are:
Talent Inventory: An assessment of the current KSAOs (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other
characteristics) of current employees and how they are used.
Workforce forecast: A plan for future HR requirements (i.e., the number of positions
forecasted, the skills those positions will require, and some sense of what the market is for those
workers).
Action plans: Development of a plan to guide the recruitment, selection, training, and
compensation of the future hires.
Control and evaluation: Having a system of feedback to assess how well the HR system is
working, and how well the company met its HR plan (you will find that evaluation is critical for all
HR functions-we need to constantly evaluate I/O programs and interventions to determine their
effectiveness).

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Steps in the Employee Selection Process

a. Employee Recruitment: is the process by which organizations attract potential workers to
apply for jobs. Greater numbers of organizations are developing strategic programs for
recruitment. The starting point for a good recruitment program is an understanding of the job
and what kinds of worker characteristics are required to perform the job. Here, the recruiter
relies on the products of job analysis—job descriptions and job specifications
One of the primary objectives of a successful program is to attract a large pool of qualified
applicants. A wide variety of recruitment techniques and tactics can be used, including job
advertisements on Internet sites (e.g., Monster.com, careerbuilder.com), newspapers and
trade magazines and on television, radio, or billboards; the use of employment agencies
(including executive search firms—i.e., “headhunters”—for high-level positions); and referrals
by current employees. College students are most familiar with on-campus recruitment
programs and web-based career sites that post openings as well as allowing applicants and
employers to “connect” online, through professional social networking sites (e.g.,
LinkedIn.com, Plaxo.com).

b. Employee Screening: is the process of reviewing information about job applicants to select
individuals for jobs. A wide variety of data sources, such as resumes, job applications, letters
of recommendation, employment tests, and hiring interviews, can be used in screening and
selecting potential employees. If you have ever applied for a job, you have had firsthand
experience with some of these.

c. Employee Selection and Placement:

i. Employee selection: is the actual process of choosing people for employment from a pool
of applicants. In employee selection, all the information gained from screening procedures,
such as application forms, resumes, test scores, and hiring interview evaluations, is combined
in some manner to make actual selection decisions.

A MODEL FOR EMPLOYEE SELECTION

The model for recruiting and hiring effective and productive employees is actually quite simple.
It consists of two categories of variables: criteria and predictors.
Criteria (or the singular, criterion) are measures of success. The most common way to think of
success on the job is in terms of performance criteria. A performance criterion for a cable TV
installer may be the number of units installed. For a salesperson, dollar sales figures may be a
performance criterion. Yet, when it comes to hiring good employees, we may want to go beyond
these rather simple and straightforward performance criteria. The general criterion of “success”
for an employee may be a constellation of many factors, including performance, loyalty, and
commitment to the organization, a good work attendance record, ability to get along with
supervisors and coworkers, and ability to learn and grow on the job. Thus, for the purpose of
hiring workers we might want to think of “success on the job” as the ultimate criterion—a criterion
we aspire to measure, but something that we may never actually be able to capture with our
limited measurement capabilities.
Predictors are any pieces of information that we are able to measure about job applicants that
are related to (predictive of) the criterion. In employee selection, we measure predictors, such as
job-related knowledge and expertise, education, and skills, in an effort to predict who will be
successful in a given job. Figure 4.1 (see page 86) illustrates this model for employee selection.
Through evaluation of resumes and hiring interview performance, and from the results of
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employment tests, applicants are measured on a number of predictors. These predictor variables
are then used to select applicants for jobs. Evaluation of the success of an employee selection
program involves demonstrating that the predictors do indeed predict the criterion of success on
the job.

MAKING EMPLOYEE SELECTION DECISIONS

Once employers have gathered information about job applicants, they can combine that
information in various ways to make selection decisions. Primary goals in this process are to
maximize the probability of accurate decisions in selecting job applicants and to assure that the
decisions are made in a way that is free from both intentional and unintentional discrimination
against these applicants. In an ideal situation, we want to employ applicants who will be
successful and reject those who will not be successful in the job. In reality, however, errors are
involved.

Decision errors in employee selection:

There are two types of decision errors in employee selection i.e. false-positive errors and
false-negative errors. For the case of false positive error is erroneously accepting applicants
who would have been unsuccessful. On the other hand, when we erroneously reject applicants
who would have been successful in the job, we are making false-negative errors. Although
both errors are problematic to the organization, it is more difficult to identify false-negative errors
than false-positive errors. We cannot eliminate these errors entirely, but we can minimize them
by using more objective decision strategies.

Employee selection decision Approaches:

1. Clinical approach: In this approach, a decision maker simply combines the sources of
information in whatever fashion seems appropriate to obtain some general impression about
applicants. Based on experience and beliefs about which types of information are more or
less important, a decision is made. Although some good selection decisions may be made by
experienced decision makers, subjective, clinical decisions are error prone and often
inaccurate.
2. Statistical approach: The alternative is to use a statistical decision-making model, which
combines information for the selection of applicants in an objective, predetermined fashion.
Each piece of information about job applicants is given some optimal weight that indicates its
strength in predicting future job performance. It makes sense that an objective decision
making model will be superior to clinical decisions, because human beings, in most cases, are
incapable of accurately processing all the information gathered from a number of job
applicants. Statistical models are able to process all of this information without human
limitations.

One statistical approach to personnel decision making is the multiple regression model, an
extension of the correlation coefficient. Correlation coefficient examines the strength of a
relationship between a single predictor, such as a test score, and a criterion, such as a measure
of job performance. However, rather than having only one predictor of job performance, as in
the correlation coefficient or bivariate regression model, multiple regression analysis uses several
predictors. Typically, this approach combines the various predictors in an additive, linear fashion.
In employee selection, this means that the ability of each of the predictors to predict job
performance can be added the criterion; higher scores on the predictors will lead to higher scores
on the criterion. Although the statistical assumptions and calculations on which the multiple
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regression model is based are beyond the scope of this text, the result is an equation that uses
the various types of screening information in combination. The multiple regression model is a
compensatory type of model, which means that high scores on one predictor can compensate for
low scores on another. This is both a strength and a weakness of the regression approach.

A second type of selection strategy, one that is not compensatory, is the multiple cutoff model,
which uses a minimum cutoff score on each of the predictors. An applicant must obtain a score
above the cutoff on each of the predictors to be hired. Scoring below the cutoff on any one
predictor automatically disqualifies the applicant, regardless of the scores on the other screening
variables. For example, a school district may decide to hire only those probationary high school
teachers who have completed a specified number of graduate units and who have scored above
the cutoff on a national teacher’s examination. The main advantage of the multiple cutoff strategy
is that it ensures that all eligible applicants have some minimal amount of ability on all dimensions
that are believed to be predictive of job success.
Cutoff scores are most commonly used in public-sector organizations that give employment tests
to large numbers of applicants. The setting of cutoff scores is an important and often controversial
decision, because of the legal issues involved. Particular care needs to be taken by I/O
psychologists to set cutoff scores that distinguish the best candidates for jobs, but cutoffs that
do not unfairly discriminate against members of certain ethnic minority groups, women, or older
workers.
The multiple regression and multiple cutoff methods can be used in combination. If this is done,
applicants would be eligible for hire only if their regression scores are high and if they are above
the cutoff score on each of the predictor dimensions.

Another type of selection decision-making method is the multiple hurdle model. This strategy
uses an ordered sequence of screening devices. At each stage in the sequence, a decision is made
either to reject an applicant or to allow the applicant to proceed to the next stage. For example,
the first stage or hurdle is receiving a passing score on a civil service exam. If a passing score is
obtained, the applicant’s application blank is evaluated. An applicant who does not pass the exam
is no longer considered for the job. Typically, all applicants who pass all the hurdles are then
selected for jobs.
One advantage of the multiple hurdle strategy is that unqualified persons do not have to go
through the entire evaluation program before they are rejected. Also, because evaluation takes
place at many times on many levels, the employer can be quite confident that the applicants who
are selected do indeed have the potential to be successful on the job. Because multiple hurdle
selection programs are expensive and time consuming, they are usually only used for jobs that
are central to the operation of the organization.

ii. Employee Placement:

Is the process of assigning workers to appropriate jobs.
Employee placement typically only takes place when there are two or more openings that a newly
hired worker could fill. Placement also becomes important when large organizations close
departments or offices, and the company does not want to lay off the workers from the closed
sites but instead wants to reassign these workers to other positions within the organization.
Although placement is a different personnel function, many of the methods used in placement
are the same as those used in employee selection. The main difference is that in placement the
worker has already been hired. Therefore, the personnel specialist’s job is to find the best possible
“fit” between the worker’s attributes (KSAOs) and the requirements of the job openings.
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Personnel specialists are looking more broadly at the issue of employee selection and placement.
Rather than just focusing on fitting potential employees into the right job, researchers and
practitioners are concerned with how particular individuals might fit with a particular work group
or team and with a specific organization. Assuring that there is good fit between individuals and
their work organizations and work environments allows organizations not only to predict who will
be the better performers, but also helps to increase well-being among the selected employees.

METHODS FOR ASSESSING AND SELECTING EMPLOYEES

Evaluation of Written Materials: The first step in the screening process involves the
evaluation of written materials, such as applications and resumes. Usually, standard application
forms are used for screening lower-level positions in an organization, with resumes used to
provide biographical data and other background information for higher level jobs, although many
companies require all applicants to complete an application form. The main purpose of the
application and resume is to collect biographical information such as education, work experience,
and outstanding work or school accomplishments. Often, these applications are submitted online.
Such data are believed to be among the best predictors of future job performance.

References and Letters of Recommendation: Typically, reference checks and letters of

recommendation can provide four types of information: (1) employment and educational history,
(2) evaluations of the applicant’s character, (3) evaluations of the applicant’s job performance,
and (4) recommender’s willingness to rehire the applicant. Historically, very little research has
examined their validity as selection tools.
There are important reasons that references and letters of recommendation may have limited
importance in employee selection. Because applicants can usually choose their own sources for
references and recommendations, it is unlikely that they will supply the names of persons who
will give bad recommendations.

Employment Testing: After the evaluation of the biographical information available from
resumes, application forms, or other sources, the next step in comprehensive employee screening
programs is employment testing. As we saw in Chapter 1, the history of personnel testing in I/O
psychology goes back to World War I, when intelligence testing of armed forces recruits was used
for employee placement.
Today, the use of tests for employment screening and placement has expanded greatly. A
considerable percentage of large companies and most government agencies routinely use some
form of employment tests to measure a wide range of characteristics that are predictive of
successful job performance. For example, some tests measure specific skills or abilities required
by a job, whereas others assess more general cognitive skills as a means of determining if one
has the aptitude believed to be needed for the successful performance of a certain job. Still other
tests measure personality dimensions that are believed to be important for particular occupations.
Before we discuss specific types of screening tests, however, it is important to consider some
issues and guidelines for the development and use of tests and other screening methods.

Considerations in the Development and Use of Personnel Screening and Testing

Methods:

 Reliability the consistency of a measurement instrument or its stability over time.

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 Validity a concept referring to the accuracy of a measurement instrument and its ability to
make accurate inferences about a criterion

TYPES OF EMPLOYEE SCREENING TESTS

a. TEST FORMATS
Types of Employee Screening Tests
Individual versus group tests: Individual tests are administered to only one person at a time.
In individual tests, the test administrator is usually more involved than in group tests. Typically,
tests that require some kind of sophisticated apparatus, such as a driving simulator, or tests that
require constant supervision are administered individually, as are certain intelligence and
personality tests. Group tests are designed to be given simultaneously to more than one person,
with the administrator usually serving as only a test monitor. The obvious advantage to group
tests is the reduced cost for administrator time. More and more, tests of all types are being
administered online, so the distinction between individual and group testing are becoming blurred,
as many applicants can complete screening instruments online simultaneously.
Speed versus power tests—Speed tests have a fixed time limit. An important focus of a speed
test is the number of items completed in the time period provided. A typing test and many of the
scholastic achievement tests are examples of speed tests. A power test allows the test-taker
sufficient time to complete all items. Typically, power tests have difficult items, with a focus on
the percentage of items answered correctly.
Paper-and-pencil versus performance tests—“Paper-and-pencil tests” refers to both paper
versions of tests and online tests, which require some form of written reply, in either a forced
choice or an open-ended, “essay” format. Many employee screening tests, and nearly all tests in
schools, are of this format. Performance tests, such as typing tests and tests of manual dexterity
or grip strength, usually involve the manipulation of physical objects.

b. BIODATA INSTRUMENTS:
As mentioned earlier, biodata refers to background information and personal characteristics that
can be used in a systematic fashion to select employees. Developing biodata instruments typically
involves taking information that would appear on application forms and other items about
background, personal interests, and behavior and using that information to develop a form of
forced-choice employment test. Along with items designed to measure basic biographical
information, such as education and work history, the biodata instrument might also involve
questions of a more personal nature, probing the applicant’s attitudes, values, likes, and dislikes.

c. COGNITIVE ABILITY TESTS:

Tests of cognitive ability range from tests of general intellectual ability to tests of specific cognitive
skills. Group-administered, pencil-and-paper tests of general intelligence have been used in
employee screening for some time. Two such widely used older instruments are the Otis Self-
Administering Test of Mental Ability and the Wonderlic Personnel Test (now called the Wonderlic
Cognitive Ability Test). Both are fairly short and assess basic verbal and numerical abilities.
Designed to measure the ability to learn simple jobs, to follow instructions, and to solve work-
related problems and difficulties, these tests are used to screen applicants for positions as office
clerks, assembly workers, machine operators, and certain frontline supervisors.

d. MECHANICAL ABILITY TESTS:

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Standardized tests have also been developed to measure abilities in identifying, recognizing, and
applying mechanical principles. These tests are particularly effective in screening applicants for
positions that require operating or repairing machinery, for construction jobs, and for certain
engineering positions. The Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test, or BMCT (Bennett, 1980), is
one such commonly used instrument. The BMCT consists of 68 items, each of which requires the
application of a physical law or a mechanical operation (for examples, see Figure 5.3). One study
using the BMCT and several other instruments determined that the BMCT was the best single
predictor of job performance for a group of employees manufacturing electromechanical
components (Muchinsky, 1993). A U.K. military study also found that a mechanical
comprehension test predicted recruits’ abilities to handle weapons.

Sample Items from the Bennett Mechanical ComprehensionTest

e. MOTOR AND SENSORY ABILITY TESTS:

A number of tests measure specific motor skills or sensory abilities. Tests such as the Crawford
Small Parts Dexterity Test (Crawford, 1981) and the Purdue Pegboard (Tiffin, 1968) are timed

performance instruments (speed tests) that require the manipulation of small parts to measure
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the fine motor dexterity in hands and fingers required in jobs such as assembling computer
components and soldering electrical equipment. For example, the Crawford test uses boards with
small holes into which tiny pins must be placed using a pair of tweezers. The second part of the
test requires screwing small screws into threaded holes with a screwdriver. Sensory ability tests
include tests of hearing, visual acuity, and perceptual discrimination. The most common test of
visual acuity is the Snellen Eye Chart, which consists of rows of letters that become increasingly
smaller. Various electronic instruments are used to measure hearing acuity. No doubt you have
taken one or more of these in school or in a doctor’s office. In employment settings, they are
used in basic screening for positions such as inspectors or bus drivers who require fine audio or
visual discrimination.

f. JOB SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE TESTS:

A special sort of job skill test involves the use of work sample tests, which measure applicants’
abilities to perform brief examples of some of the critical tasks that the job requires. The sample
tasks are constructed as tests, administered under standard testing conditions, and scored on
some predetermined scale. Their obvious advantage is that they are clearly job-related. In fact,
work sample tests can serve as a realistic job preview, allowing applicants to determine their own
suitability (and capabilities) for performing a job (Callinan & Robertson, 2000). A drawback is that
work samples are usually rather expensive to develop and take a great deal of time to administer.

g. PERSONALITY TESTS
Personality tests are designed to measure certain psychological characteristics of workers. A
wide variety of these tests are used in employee screening and selection in an attempt to match
the personality characteristics of job applicants with those of workers who have performed the
job successfully in the past. During the 1960s and 1970s, there was some controversy over the
use of such tests because of evidence that the connection between general personality
dimensions and the performance of specific work tasks was not very strong or direct (Ghiselli,
1973; Guion & Gottier, 1965). However, in the 1990s meta-analytic reviews of research suggested
that certain work-related personality characteristics can be quite good predictors of job
performance, particularly when the personality dimensions assessed are derived from a thorough
analysis of the requirements for the job (Robertson & Kinder, 1993; Tett, Jackson, & Rothstein,
1991).
Emotional intelligence ability to understand, regulate, and communicate emotions and to use
them to inform thinking.

h. HONESTY AND INTEGRITY TESTS:

In the past, polygraphs, or lie detectors—instruments designed to measure physiological
reactions presumably associated with lying such as respiration, blood pressure, or perspiration—
were used in employee selection. Most often polygraphs were used to screen out “dishonest”
applicants for positions in which they would have to handle cash or expensive merchandise,
although they had also been used by a wide number of organizations to screen and select
employees for almost any position. Research, much of it conducted by industrial/ organizational
psychologists, called into question the validity of polygraphs. A major problem concerned the rate
of “false positive” errors, or innocent persons who are incorrectly scored as lying. Because of this
questionable validity and the potential harm that invalid results could cause innocent people, the
federal government passed legislation in 1988 that severely restricted the use of polygraphs in
general employment screening.

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However, polygraphs are still allowed for the testing of employees about specific incidents, such
as thefts, and for screening applicants for public health and safety jobs and for sensitive
government positions (Camara, 1988).
Since the establishment of restrictions on the use of polygraphs, many employers have turned to
using paper-and-pencil measures of honesty, referred to as integrity tests. Typically, these tests
ask about past honest/dishonest behavior or about attitudes condoning dishonest behavior.
Typical questions might ask, “What is the total value of cash and merchandise you have taken
from your employer in the past year?” or “An employer who pays people poorly has it coming
when employees steal. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?” Like polygraphs, these
tests also raise the important issue of “false positives,” or honest persons who are judged to be
dishonest by the instruments (Murphy, 1993). On the other hand, meta-analyses of validity
studies of integrity tests indicate that they are somewhat valid predictors of employee dishonesty
and “counterproductive behaviors,” such as chronic tardiness, taking extended work breaks, and
“goldbricking”

i. Other employee screening tests

 The Effectiveness of Employee Screening Tests
 Assessment Centers
 Hiring Interviews

Evaluating Employee Performance

JOB PERFORMANCE AND PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS
THE MEASUREMENT OF JOB PERFORMANCE
Objective Versus Subjective Performance Criteria
Sources of Performance Ratings
Supervisor appraisals
Self-appraisals
Peer appraisals
Subordinate appraisals
Customer appraisals
360-degree feedback
METHODS OF RATING PERFORMANCE
Comparative Methods
Rankings
Paired comparisons
Forced distributions
Individual Methods
Graphic rating scales
Behaviorally anchored rating scales
Behavioral observation scales
Checklists
Narratives
PROBLEMS AND PITFALLS IN PERFORMANCE
APPRAISALS
Leniency/severity errors
Halo effects
Recency effects
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Causal attribution errors

Personal biases
Cross-cultural and international issues
THE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL PROCESS
LEGAL CONCERNS IN PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS
TEAM APPRAISALS AND THE FUTURE

Job Performance and Performance Appraisals

Performance appraisals: Is the formalized means of assessing worker performance in
comparison to certain established organizational standards.
The Many Purposes of Performance Appraisals
For the Worker:
 means of reinforcement (praise, pay raises)
 career advancement (promotions, increased responsibility)
 information about work goal attainment
 source of feedback to improve performance
For the Supervisor:
 basis for making personnel decisions (promotions, firings, etc.)
 assessment of workers’ goal attainment
 opportunity to provide constructive feedback to workers
 opportunity to interact with subordinates
For the Organization:
 validation of personnel selection and placement methods
 means for recognizing and motivating workers
 source of information for personnel training needs
 evaluation of the effectiveness of organizational interventions (e.g., training programs,
system
 changes, etc.)

The Measurement of Job Performance

There are many ways to measure job performance. I/O psychologists typically refer to measures
of job performance as performance criteria.
Performance criteria: measures used to determine successful and unsuccessful job
performance.
OBJECTIVE VERSUS SUBJECTIVE PERFORMANCE CRITERIA
Objective performance criteria: measures of job performance that are easily quantified. Such
criteria are often referred to as measures of productivity.
For example, an objective criterion for an assembly-line worker might be the number of products
assembled. For an insurance claims adjuster, the average amount of time it takes to process a
claim might be an objective measure of performance.

Subjective performance criteria: measures of job performance that typically consist of ratings
or judgments of performance.
For example, it is usually inappropriate to use objective performance criteria to assess a
manager’s job, because it is difficult to specify the exact behaviors that indicate successful
managerial performance. Instead subjective criteria, such as subordinate or superior ratings, are
used.

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Criterion concerns or issues in performance appraisals:

Important criterion concerns or issues have implications for conducting accurate performance
appraisals .i.e. Criterion relevance, criterion Contamination, Criterion deficiency,
Criterion usefulness

Criterion relevance: the extent to which the means of appraising performance is pertinent to
job success.
A performance appraisal should cover only the specific KSAOs needed to perform a job
successfully. For example, the performance criteria for a bookkeeper should deal with knowledge
of accounting procedures, mathematical skills, and producing work that is neat and error-free,
not with personal appearance or oral communication skills—factors that are clearly not relevant
to the effective performance of a bookkeeper’s job.

Criterion contamination: the extent to which performance appraisals contain elements that
detract from the accurate assessment of job effectiveness.
For example, a supervisor may give an employee an overly positive performance appraisal
because the employee has a reputation of past work success or because the employee was a
graduate of a prestigious university. Criterion contamination can also result from extraneous
factors that contribute to a worker’s apparent success or failure in a job. For instance, a sales
manager may receive a poor performance appraisal because of low sales levels, even though the
poor sales actually result from the fact that the manager supervises a young, inexperienced sales
force.

Criterion deficiency: the degree to which a criterion falls short of measuring job performance.
Criterion deficiency occurs when the measurement of the performance criteria is incomplete. An
important goal of performance appraisals is to choose criteria that optimize the assessment of
job success, thereby keeping criterion deficiency to a minimum.

Criterion usefulness: the extent to which a performance criterion is usable in appraising a

particular job.
To be useful, a criterion should be relatively easy and cost effective to measure and should be
seen as relevant by the appraiser, the employee whose performance is being appraised and the
management of the organization.

SOURCES OF PERFORMANCE RATINGS

Who do the rating:
Supervisor appraisals: conducting regular appraisals of employee performance is considered
one of the most important supervisory functions. Supervisor performance appraisals are so
common because supervisors are usually quite knowledgeable about the job requirements, are
often in a position to provide rewards for effective performance (and suggestions for improvement
for substandard performance), and typically have a great deal of contact with supervisees.
Self-appraisals: Self-appraisals of performance have been used by many companies, usually in
conjunction with supervisor appraisals. Although there is evidence that self-appraisals correlate
slightly with supervisor performance appraisals, self-appraisals tend to be more lenient and focus
more on effort exerted rather than on performance accomplishments.
Peer appraisals: Research evidence indicates that there is good agreement between
performance ratings made by peers and those made by supervisors.

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Subordinate appraisals: Subordinate ratings are most commonly used to assess the
effectiveness of persons in supervisory or leadership positions. Research on subordinate
appraisals indicates considerable agreement with supervisor ratings
Customer appraisals: they can offer an interesting perspective on whether certain types of
workers (salespersons, waitpersons, telephone operators) are doing a good job.
360-degree feedback: a method of gathering performance appraisals from a worker’s
supervisors, subordinates, peers, customers, and other relevant parties.

Methods of Rating Performance

1. Comparative methods: of performance appraisal involve some form of comparison of one
worker’s performance with the performance of others. These procedures are relatively easy
to implement in work organizations and include rankings, paired comparisons, and forced
distributions.

 Rankings: performance appraisal methods involving the ranking of supervisees from best
to worst.

 Paired comparison performance appraisal method in which the rater compares each
worker with each other worker in the group and then simply has to decide who is the
better performer.

 Forced distributions: forced distributions assigning workers to established

categories of poor to good performance with fixed limitations on how many employees
can be assigned to each category.

2. INDIVIDUAL METHODS: performance appraisal methods that evaluate an employee by

himself or herself, without explicit reference to other workers.

 Graphic rating scales: The vast majority of performance appraisals use graphic rating
scales, which offer predetermined scales to rate the worker on a number of important
aspects of the job, such as quality of work, dependability, and ability to get along with
coworkers. A graphic rating scale typically has a number of points with either numerical
or verbal labels, or both. The verbal labels can be simple, one-word descriptors, or they
can be quite lengthy and specific.

 Behaviorally anchored rating scales: An outgrowth of the critical incidents method of

job analysis is the development of behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS),
which attempt to clearly define the scale labels and anchors used in performance ratings.
Rather than having scale labels such as poor, average, or good, BARS have examples of
behavioral incidents that reflect poor, average, and good performance in relation to a
specific dimension.

 Behavioral observation scales: A performance assessment technique related to the

BARS is behavioral observation scales (BOS). With this method, raters indicate how
often the worker has been observed performing key work-related behaviors. Whereas
BARS focus on expectations that a worker would be able to perform specific behaviors
that are typical of certain performance levels, behavioral observation scales concentrate
on critical behaviors that were actually performed. Bear in mind that behavioral
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observation scales do not involve the direct observation and assessment of performance
behaviors, but rather the recollections of the observers, who may be biased or selective
in what they remember.
 Checklists: Another individual method of performance rating is the use of checklists,
which consist of a series of statements about performance in a particular job. The
statements are derived from a job analysis and can reflect either positive or negative
aspects of performance. The rater’s task is to check off the statements that apply to the
worker being evaluated. Each of the statements is given a numerical value reflecting the
degree of effective performance associated with it. The numerical values assigned to the
checked items are then summed to give an overall appraisal of the worker’s performance.

 Narratives: A relatively simple form of individual performance evaluation is the use of

narratives, which are open-ended, written accounts of the worker’s performance or
listings of specific examples of performance strengths and weaknesses. The advantage of
narratives is that appraisers have the freedom to describe performance in their own words
and to emphasize elements that they feel are important. Their major drawback is that
they offer no quantification of performance, which makes it very difficult to compare
workers’ performance. An additional problem with narratives is that the worker may
misinterpret the meaning of the report.

Problems and Pitfalls in Performance Appraisals

 Leniency error: the tendency to give all workers very positive performance appraisals.
 Severity error: the tendency to give all workers very negative performance appraisals.
 Central tendency error: the tendency to give all workers the midpoint rating in
performance appraisals.
 Halo effect: an overall positive evaluation of a worker based on one known positive
characteristic or action.
 Recency effect: the tendency to give greater weight to recent performance and lesser
weight to earlier performance.
 Causal attribution: the process by which people assign cause to events or behaviors.
 Actor–observer bias: the tendency for observers to over attribute cause to
characteristics of the actor and the tendency for the actor to over attribute cause to
situational characteristics.

POSITIVE EMPLOYEE ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS

Employee engagement: a psychological state characterized by vigor, dedication, and

absorption in one’s work/organization
Highly engaged employees are enthusiastic about their jobs, committed to their work and the
organization, and it is assumed that this state leads them to be more motivated, productive, and
more likely to engage in positive work behaviors.
What factors contribute to employee engagement?
 Job Characteristics.
 If the employees feel that they are support by their supervisors and their organization.
 Being recognized and rewarded.
 working in an organization that treats people fairly

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Job Satisfaction: Job satisfaction consists of the feelings and attitudes one has about one’s
job. All aspects of a particular job, good and bad, positive and negative, are likely to contribute
to the development of feelings of satisfaction.

There are two approaches to conceptualizing job satisfaction:

Global approach: views job satisfaction as an overall construct.
Facet approach: views job satisfaction as made up of individual elements, or facets.

THE MEASUREMENT OF JOB SATISFACTION:

Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ): a self-report measure of job satisfaction that
breaks satisfaction down into 20 job facets.
Job Descriptive Index (JDI): a self-report job satisfaction rating scale measuring five job
facets.

Organizational Commitment:
Organizational commitment: a worker’s feelings and attitudes about the entire work
organization.

Increasing Employee Engagement, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment:

 Changes in job structure
 Changes in pay structure
 Flexible work schedules
 Benefit programs

Organizational citizenship behavior: efforts by organizational members who advance or

promote the work organization and its goals.

Worker Stress, Negative Employee: Attitudes and Behaviors

Defining Worker Stress: as physiological and/or psychological reactions to an event that is
perceived to be threatening or taxing.

Sources of Worker Stress:

WORK TASK STRESSORS
 Work overload
 Underutilization
 Job ambiguity
 Lack of control
 Physical work conditions
 Harassment
 Organizational change
 Work–family conflict

INDIVIDUAL SOURCES OF WORK STRESS:

Type A behavior pattern: ia personality characterized by excessive drive, competitiveness,
impatience, and hostility that has been linked to greater incidence of coronary heart disease.
Hardiness: the notion that some people may be more resistant to the health-damaging effects
of stress.
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Self-efficacy: an individual’s beliefs in his or her abilities to engage in courses of action that will
lead to desired outcomes.

Effects of Worker Stress

 Depression
 Anxiety
 Chronic fatigue.
 Alcoholism
 Drug abuse in workers
 Increased accident rates on the job.
 Emotional exhaustion.
 Detachment from coworkers
 Negative self-evaluations
 Lowered self-esteem.
 Decreased work performance and
 Increased absenteeism
 Turnover.

Coping with Worker Stress

Individual coping strategies: are behavioral or cognitive efforts made in an attempt to

manage internal demands and conflicts that have exceeded an individual’s usual coping resources.
Individual coping strategies: techniques such as
 Exercise,
 Meditation,
 Cognitive Restructuring
 More Efficient Work Methods
 Time Management
 Removing themselves, temporarily or permanently, from the stressful work situation

Organizational coping strategies: are techniques that organizations can use to reduce stress
for all or most employees. E. g.
 Improve the person–job fit
 Improve employee training and orientation programs
 Increase employees’ sense of control
 Eliminate punitive management
 Remove hazardous or dangerous work conditions
 Provide a supportive, team-oriented work environment
 Improve communication

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