Chapter 6 - Employee Selection – 9e

1. When an organization hires a person who is described as high in predicted success and high in job performance, what
do we call that situation?
  a. a hit b. a miss
  c. high prediction d. a successful selection system
rate
ANSWER:  a

2. Abel scored high on an ability test used to hire him. He, however, turned out to be a poor employee. Which term refers
to this outcome?
  a. a hit b. a miss
  c. a poor prediction d. an opportunity cost
rate
ANSWER:  b

3. What is a key drawback of values-based hiring?

  a. It increases selection “misses.”
  b. It is associated with a large volume of
lawsuits.
  c. It can result in a lack of diversity.
  d. It increases opportunity costs.
ANSWER:  c

4. Organization B is using an interview format that requires a panel of three interviewers. The company has found that
about half of the time, the interviewers disagree in their ratings such that some members of the panel give the candidate a
high rating, while others give the same candidate a low rating. What is the best way to describe the interview format that
Organization B is using?
  a. It is not content b. It is lacking predictive
valid. validity.
  c. It is not valid. d. It is not reliable.
ANSWER:  d

5. The HR manager and the training manager separately interviewed five applicants for a position. They both ended
scoring the five of them very similarly. What is this result an example of?
  a. high concurrent b. high inter-rater reliability
validity
  c. high construct validity d. high inter-personal reliability
ANSWER:  b

6. What is a key purpose of “name-blind” resumes?

  a. to align them with organizational pay systems
  b. to help stop unconscious bias
  c. to prevent hacking
  d. to improve consistency
ANSWER:  b

7. What do we call the degree to which inferences drawn from interviews, test scores, and other selection procedures are
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Chapter 6 - Employee Selection – 9e
supported by evidence (such as good job performance)?
  a. predictabilit b. validity
y
  c. reliability d. accuracy
ANSWER:  b

8. What is a key reason to ensure that selection procedures are valid?

  a. to ensure comprehensive training for HR professionals
  b. to test reliability
  c. because validity guarantees the success of the selection
procedure
  d. because validity is related to employee productivity
ANSWER:  d

9. Which of the following is appropriate to ask on an application form?

  a. whether the applicant has prior arrests
  b. whether the applicant is eligible to be bonded
  c. whether the applicant has ever been in jail
  d. whether the applicant has ever been caught
stealing
ANSWER:  b

10. Which of the following types of interviews allows applicants the most freedom in discussing a response to an
interview question?
  a. a structured b. a non-directive interview
interview
  c. an open interview d. a situational interview
ANSWER:  b

11. Organization Beta is hiring 20 new staff for front-line positions. The interview the company is using involves giving
the applicant hypothetical incidents and asking how he or she would respond. What is this type of interview called?
  a. a behavioural description interview b. a panel interview
  c. a situational interview d. a structured interview
ANSWER:  c

12. What type of interview is associated with open-ended questions?

  a. a structured interview b. a standardized interview
  c. a nondirective interview d. a situational interview
ANSWER:  c

13. What type of interview allows the applicant the maximum amount of freedom in determining the course of discussion?
  a. a structured interview b. a depth interview
  c. a situational d. a nondirective interview
interview
ANSWER:  d

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Chapter 6 - Employee Selection – 9e
14. Questions contained in structured job interviews should be based on which of the following?
  a. job design b. job analysis
  c. job specialization d. job knowledge
ANSWER:  b

15. Mary was asked a question in an interview about a hypothetical incident and was asked how she would respond to it.
What is this type of interview called?
  a. a situational b. a panel interview
interview
  c. a mock interview d. a nondirective interview
ANSWER:  a

16. During an interview, Seema was asked: “Tell me about the last time you helped to train an employee.” What is this an
example of?
  a. a nondirective interview question
  b. a directive interview question
  c. a behavioural description interview
question
  d. a closed response interview question
ANSWER:  c

17. Organization Omega is hiring 20 new front-line employees. The company is using an interview that involves three
people taking turns asking questions and then pooling their scores of the responses. What is this type of interview called?
  a. a behavioural description interview b. a panel interview
  c. a situational interview d. a structured interview
ANSWER:  b

18. Which of the following best describes the use of reference checks?

  a. They are no longer used because organizations won’t share information about previous employees for fear of
litigation.
  b. Their usefulness is limited because most managers will not share performance data.
  c. Some organizations have detailed forms for previous employers to fill out in order to get the best information.
  d. New human rights laws prohibit their use.
ANSWER:  c

19. Which of the following best describes credit reports?

  a. Organizations must advise and receive written consent from the applicant when they request a credit report.
  b. Organizations can request a report on any employee at any time without consent.
  c. Organizations do not have to inform applicants if adverse decisions are made based on information in the
report.
  d. Organizations cannot make adverse decisions based on information in such a report.
ANSWER:  a

20. During her interview for a position as a secretary, Nikki was asked to answer a real phone call from a client. The
interviewer used her performance to help with the selection decision. Which of the following types of tests was used in
this instance?
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Chapter 6 - Employee Selection – 9e
  a. a personality test b. a work sample test
  c. an assessment centre d. a cognitive ability
test test
ANSWER:  b

21. What type of employment test measures “general intelligence”?

  a. a work sample test b. an assessment test
  c. a structured ability test d. a cognitive ability
test
ANSWER:  d

22. Which of the following measures mental capabilities such as general intelligence, verbal fluency, numerical ability, or
reasoning ability?
  a. a personality and interest b. a physical ability test
inventory
  c. a cognitive ability test d. a job sample
ANSWER:  c

23. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is an example of what type of employment test?
  a. work assessment test b. cognitive ability test
  c. biodata test d. personality test
ANSWER:  d

24. Which of the following is a key basis for the use of biodata tests?
  a. Family history is important to job success.
  b. They are required by law.
  c. Past behaviour is the best predictor of future behaviour.
  d. There are no right or wrong answers.
ANSWER:  c

25. Which of the following do personality tests measure?

  a. disposition and b. likability and attitude to work
temperament
  c. intelligence and knowledge d. attitudes and behaviours
ANSWER:  a

26. Which of the following types of tests measure dispositional characteristics such as extroversion, inquisitiveness, and
dependability?
  a. mental ability b. cognitive ability
tests tests
  c. personality tests d. biodata tests
ANSWER:  c

27. The “Big Five” factors are related to what type of employment tests?
  a. cognitive ability tests b. general intelligence
tests
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Chapter 6 - Employee Selection – 9e
  c. personality tests d. mental awareness tests
ANSWER:  c

28. Why would an organization use an integrity test?

  a. because even though such tests are not correlated with reduced disruptive behaviours, they have been
correlated with reduced turnover
  b. because such tests are designed to identify thieves
  c. because these tests not only reduce theft, but also have been shown to have a relationship with performance on
the job
  d. because in using an integrity test, you can avoid the use of most other selection tests, since it has been shown
that these are good stand-alone predictors
ANSWER:  c

29. What is currently the most effective way to assess a person’s honesty during the selection process?
  a. graphology b. polygraph testing
testing
  c. integrity testing d. background testing
ANSWER:  c

30. In the “Big Five” personality tests, what is the dimension captured by the degree to which someone is dependable and
organized, and perseveres?
  a. conscientiousness b. agreeableness
  c. extroversion d. dependability
ANSWER:  a

31. Which of the following best describes drug testing in the selection process?
  a. It is conducted by very few Canadian
organizations
  b. It is illegal in Canada.
  c. It is required by law.
  d. It is conducted in most Canadian workplaces.
ANSWER:  a

32. Six months ago, Organization A used a new selection system to hire 100 front-line staff members. With six months of
performance data in hand, Organization A is interested in determining if its new selection system predicts performance on
the job. What is the best way to describe this process?
  a. assessing concurrent validity through a cross-validation study
  b. assessing concurrent validity through a criterion-related validity
study
  c. assessing predictive validity through a criterion-related validity study
  d. assessing predictive validity through a cross-validation study
ANSWER:  c

33. Organization C has developed a new selection system. The company is interested in determining if the system predicts
performance on the job, so Organization C gave the selection tests to 100 existing employees. What is the best way to
describe this process?
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Chapter 6 - Employee Selection – 9e
  a. assessing concurrent validity through a cross-validation study
  b. assessing concurrent validity through a criterion-related validity
study
  c. assessing predictive validity through a criterion-related validity study
  d. assessing predictive validity through a cross-validation study
ANSWER:  b

34. Which of the following terms refers to the extent to which good performance on an employment selection test
correlates with high marks on a performance review?
  a. construct validity b. content validity
  c. criterion-related d. cross-validation
validity
ANSWER:  c

35. Giving applicants a clerical aptitude test and then tracking their performance one year later is an example of which of
the following?
  a. construct validity b. concurrent validity
  c. content validity d. predictive validity
ANSWER:  d

36. Which of these statements is a good description of content validity?

  a. The selection instrument looks like actual work samples.
  b. Performance on the test is related to work performance.
  c. Two or more raters concur on the validity of the instrument.
  d. A battery of the tests is administered to a different sample of
people.
ANSWER:  a

37. What do we call the process whereby a test or test battery is administered to a different sample (drawn from the same
population) for the purpose of verifying the results obtained from the original validation study?
  a. repeat validation b. cross-validation
  c. construct validation d. inferential validation
ANSWER:  b

38. The “will do” factors of an applicant include which of the following?

  a. knowledge and skills b. cognitive abilities
  c. aptitude d. motivation and interests
ANSWER:  d

39. Which of the following conditions represents a test that could be described as “construct valid”?
  a. A professor puts one essay question on the final exam, and that essay question is drawn from the chapter that
she feels is the most important.
  b. A manager uses a work sample test used for selection that has facets that tap in to every major aspect of the
job.
  c. A researcher gives a test of “job satisfaction” to a group of participants and checks to make sure that his results
correlate with other measures of satisfaction.
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Chapter 6 - Employee Selection – 9e
  d. A manager assesses how effective his selection test is by checking the performance of successful candidates
months after they are hired.
ANSWER:  c

40. Intelligence, mechanical comprehension, and anxiety are examples of which of the following?
  a. job b. constructs
requirements
  c. theories d. personality traits
ANSWER:  b

41. Which of the following is the most objective approach in making employee selection decisions?
  a. “can-do” approach b. statistical approach
  c. clinical approach d. “will-do” approach
ANSWER:  b

42. Organization T uses a decision-making model in which an applicant is allowed to score poorly in one area of the
selection tests, as long as he or she scores very high in another area. What is this type of decision-making model called?
  a. a statistical model b. a multiple hurdle
model
  c. a compensatory model d. a multiple cutoff model
ANSWER:  c

43. A university uses several criteria for accepting students. There is a minimum score that students have to achieve on
each of the criteria to get admitted. What type of selection model is being used?
  a. moving criteria b. multiple criteria model
model
  c. multiple cutoff model d. compensatory model
ANSWER:  c

44. A manager is examining the number of applicants for a job compared to the number of people needed to be hired.
What is this figure called?
  a. the yield b. the selection ratio
ratio
  c. the base ratio d. the validity coefficient
ANSWER:  b

45. What does a selection ratio of .9 mean?

  a. It means 90 percent of the applicants applying to the position will be hired.
  b. It means 10 percent of the applicants applying to the position will be hired.
  c. It means 9 percent of the applicants applying to the position will be hired.
  d. It means 1 percent of the applicants applying to the position will be hired.
ANSWER:  a

Scenario 6.1

Canadian Fasteners is an Ottawa-based packing firm that packages nuts, bolts, and screws for various Canadian furniture
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Chapter 6 - Employee Selection – 9e
companies. The firm started operations in 2003 with 13 employees and has grown to over 150 employees today.
Employees are paid hourly rates with benefits similar to other packing firms across Ontario. The work does not need
previous experience. Canadian Fasteners has been struggling to recruit and hire the right employees to take the company
into the new millennium. Part of the problem is that workers, especially floor workers, are hired by word of mouth with
no formal application process or even an interview. As a result, the company faces a high turnover rate and spends
valuable time training new employees who may not have the prerequisite skills to effectively do the job in the first place.
46. Refer to Scenario 6.1. Which of the following does Canadian Fasteners need to do to gather information about its
candidates?
  a. administer a lie detector test
  b. run background and credit checks on all employees
  c. gather résumés and applications and conduct interviews
  d. continue as it is currently doing things
ANSWER:  c

47. Refer to Scenario 6.1. Canadian Fasteners is trying to implement a process to recruit and hire workers. Which of the
following would work best in this type of organization?
  a. a non-directive style b. a structured interview
  c. an open interview d. a contextual
interview
ANSWER:  b

48. Refer to Scenario 6.1. Assume Canadian Fasteners designates a person to review the applications and conduct the
interviews. Which of the following is NOT helpful to the interviewer?
  a. non-standardized questions b. understanding the job
  c. establishing an interview plan d. controlling the course of the interview
ANSWER:  a

Scenario 6.2

Computer Direct Inc. is a mid-sized technology firm that specializes in designing, manufacturing, and selling computers.
The organization staff complement is very diverse, and most of the company’s employees are in the development and
design, sales, and marketing departments. Computer Direct has been using only one method to make recruitment decisions
for all of its employees, from managerial to technical to clerical. Data is gathered on each candidate, and a committee
assigns scores to candidates based on its understanding of the job. Candidates, however, are not given the opportunity to
be tested and hired based on their respective scores. Essentially, decisions are made based on personal judgments.
49. Refer to Scenario 6.2. Which approach best reflects how decisions about recruiting are made at Computer Direct?
  a. psychological approach b. clinical approach
  c. statistical approach d. behavioural approach
ANSWER:  b

50. Refer to Scenario 6.2. If Computer Direct wants to use more objective methods of decision making, which of the
following is the best approach?
  a. demonstrated approach b. compensatory approach
  c. subjective iterative d. statistical approach
approach
ANSWER:  d
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Chapter 6 - Employee Selection – 9e

51. Refer to Scenario 6.2. Which approach is considered superior and would best serve the needs of Computer Direct?
  a. objective approach b. clinical approach
  c. statistical approach d. personal judgment approach
ANSWER:  c

52. Reliability refers to the extent to which two methods yield similar results, but not to the agreement between two or
more raters.

  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  False

53. If an organization’s selection procedures yield comparable data over a period of time, the procedures are valid.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  False

54. Validity refers to what a selection procedure measures and how well it measures it.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

55. Research suggests that employers lose a majority of discrimination lawsuits.

  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

56. Application forms should always require relevant dates, including date of birth.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  False

57. Applicants who “whiten” their names in their resumes stand a better chance to get called for interviews.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

58. Although many organizations are encouraging applicants to apply for jobs online, this practice slows down the
application process.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  False

59. Online applications can speed up the selection process, combine information, and disseminate promising leads to
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Chapter 6 - Employee Selection – 9e
hiring managers more efficiently.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

60. Although widely used, employment interviews pose potential concerns about validity.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

61. Data obtained from nondirective interviews are difficult to validate.

  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

62. The situational interview is a variation of the unstructured interview.

  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  False

63. A situational interview asks the applicant what he or she actually did in a given situation.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  False

64. Situational interviews ask applicants how they would respond, while behavioural description interviews ask applicants
how they did respond
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  False

65. Behavioural description interviews are based on hypothetical situations.

  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  False

66. “Tell me about the last time you disciplined an employee” could be a behavioural description interview question.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

67. “Tell me more about your experiences on your last job” is an example of a nondirective interview question.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True
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Chapter 6 - Employee Selection – 9e

68. The premise of a behavioural interview is that “past performance is the best predictor of future performance.”
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

69. Structured interviews have standardized questions.

  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

70. HRM specialists have found that panel interviews lead to higher reliability and faster decision times than one-to-one
interviews.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

71. Video interviews have the advantages of speed and cost-effectiveness.

  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

72. Hypothetical incidents are used in situational interviews.

  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

73. Employers are required by law to provide references for former employees.

  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  False

74. Written letters of reference are very valid in the selection of employees.

  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  False

75. Credit checks are the most common form of reference check.

  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  False

76. The federal government relies extensively on employment testing in the selection process.
  a. True
  b. False
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Chapter 6 - Employee Selection – 9e
ANSWER:  True

77. Aptitude tests measure what a person knows or can do right now.

  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  False

78. The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is an example of a cognitive ability test.

  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

79. Since biographical information blanks rarely have obviously right or wrong answers, they are difficult to fake.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

80. Job sample tests require the applicant to perform tasks that are part of the work required on the job.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

81. Personality tests measure such things as agreeableness, extroversion, and openness to experience.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

82. Conscientiousness refers to the degree to which someone is trusting, amiable, cooperative, and flexible.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  False

83. In most instances, employers can legally use polygraph tests to screen applicants.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  False

84. Paper-and-pencil tests can be used to measure cognitive ability.

  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

85. Human rights legislation severely limits the types of medical inquiries and examinations that employers may use.
  a. True
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Chapter 6 - Employee Selection – 9e
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

86. Medical examinations are usually conducted before an offer of employment is made.

  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  False

87. Drug testing is used much more frequently in Canada than in the United States.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  False

88. Because of the physical differences between the genders, physical ability tests should be carefully validated on the
basis on the essential functions of the job.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

89. Predictive validity is assessed when the test scores of job applicants are held against the performance data for existing
employees.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  False

90. In general, a criterion-related method of assessing selection test validity is preferred over other methods because it is
based on empirical data.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

91. Criterion-related validity is the extent to which a selection tool predicts or correlates with important elements of work
behaviour.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

92. Concurrent validity involves testing applicants and obtaining criterion data after they have been on the job for some
indefinite period.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  False

93. Predictive and concurrent validity are determined by comparing test scores with supervisor performance ratings.
  a. True

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Chapter 6 - Employee Selection – 9e
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

94. If a work sample test includes major job functions and predicts job success, it has content validity.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

95. The closer the content of the selection instrument to actual work samples or behaviours, the higher the content
validity.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

96. Personality tests measure disposition and temperament.

  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

97. Asking an applicant for an accounting position to solve accounting problems similar to those encountered on the job is
an example of construct validity.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  False

98. Measuring construct validity requires linking a psychological test to job performance.

  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

99. It is much easier to measure what individuals can do than what they will do.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

100. Strategies for selecting managerial and technical people are relatively similar.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  False

101. In the clinical approach to decision making in employee selection, decision makers review all the data on the
applicants.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True
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Chapter 6 - Employee Selection – 9e

102. When trying to achieve person–organization fit, managers will pass up potential employees who don’t embrace the
values of the company even if they have excellent job skills.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

103. Person–organization fit has become more of a focus in firms that need teamwork and flexibility.
  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  True

104. In large organizations, supervisors are usually responsible for making job offers and notifying applicants of selection
decisions.

  a. True
  b. False
ANSWER:  False

105. Define the concepts of reliability and validity.

ANSWER:  Reliability describes the degree to which interviews, tests, and other selection procedures yield comparable
data over a period of time. For example, if an interviewer judges the capabilities of a group of applicants
differently today than yesterday, his or her judgment is unreliable. Reliability can also be determined by
interrater reliability, or agreement between two or more raters. Selection decision data that are unreliable
cannot be used as predictors of job success.

Validity refers to what a selection procedure measures and how well it measures it. For personnel selection,
validity indicates the extent to which data from a selection procedure are predictive of job performance or
other relevant criteria. In order for a test to be valid, it must also be reliable. However, reliability does not
assure validity.

106. Compare and contrast the following four interview approaches: (1) nondirective interview, (2) structured interview,
(3) situational interview, and (3) behavioural description interview.
ANSWER:  In a nondirective interview, the interviewer allows the applicant the maximum amount of freedom in
determining the course of the discussion. The interviewer asks broad, general questions, but permits the
applicant to talk freely with little interruption. The greater freedom afforded to the applicant in the
nondirective interview is particularly valuable in bringing to the interviewer’s attention any information,
attitudes, or feelings that may be concealed by a more structured approach. However, the unstructured nature
of this approach limits the consistency of information provided and makes it difficult to cross-check agreement
with other interviewers. Thus, the reliability and validity of the nondirective approach is suspect.

The structured interview has a number of standard questions asked of each job applicant. Questions are job-
related based upon job analysis. Since applicants are asked identical questions, the structured interview
provides a more consistent basis for evaluating job candidates. This interview strives to maximize the validity
of selection decisions.

With the situational interview, the applicant is given a hypothetical incident and asked to respond how he or
she would handle it. Responses are evaluated relative to pre-established standards.

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Chapter 6 - Employee Selection – 9e
Behavioural description interviews focus on actual work experiences in the applicant’s past. The behavioural
questions ask the applicant what he or she actually did in a given situation. This interviewing approach
assumes that past performance is the best predictor of future performance.

107. Compare and contrast the clinical and statistical approaches to decision making in employee selection.
ANSWER:  In the clinical approach to decision making, those making the selection decision review all the data on the
applicants. Then, based on their understanding of the job and what it takes to be successful in that job, they
make a decision. Different individuals may arrive at different decisions about an applicant when they use this
approach because each evaluator assigns different weights to judge the applicant. A drawback of this approach
is that personal biases and stereotypes are frequently covered up by what appear to be rational reasons for
either accepting or rejecting a candidate. Moreover, it can lead to a homogeneous workforce because people
are often tempted to hire applicants like themselves.

In contrast to the clinical approach, the statistical approach to decision making tends to be more objective. It
involves identifying the most valid predictors and weighting them using statistical methods, such as multiple
regression. Quantified data, such as scores or ratings from interviews, tests, and other procedures, are then
combined according to their weighted value. Individuals with the highest combined scores are selected. A
comparison of the clinical approach with the statistical approach in a wide variety of situations has shown that
the statistical approach is superior. Although this superiority has been recognized for many decades, the
clinical approach continues to be the one most commonly used.

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