2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted

© 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Chapter 1 An Introduction to Selection

I. Definition of Selection: Collecting and evaluating information about an

individual in order to extend an offer of employment. Such employment could be either a first position for a new employee or a different position for a current employee. The selection process is performed under legal and environmental constraints and addresses the future interests of the organization and of the individual. (PPT 1-4)

• Collecting and evaluating information (PPT 1-5)

Objective is to separate from a pool of applicants those who have the appropriate KSAs

• Applicants possess KSAs (knowledge, skills, and abilities)
• Process can range from very simple (brief interview) to very complex

(interviews, simulations other measures)

• Selection and hiring are not synonymous (PPT 1-6)
• Selection – occurs when job-related information is collected from

applicants and offers of employment are given to those who apparently possess the necessary KSAs to do well on the job.

• Hiring – offers of employment are given with no evaluation of the

applicant’s job-related qualifications.

• Selection for initial job and promotion (PPT 1-7)
• Initial job selection and internal movement decisions (e.g., promotions and

transfers) are tasks that are conceptually similar

• Initial job involves hiring applicants that are external to the organization
• Selection programs are usually formal and systematically gather job-

related data so that comparisons between applicants can directly be made

• Promotion
• Candidates are internal (employees) to the organization so there is

much information about them

• Constraints and future interests
• Economic and/or educational conditions can influence number of

applicants

• Federal laws, state laws, and administrative rulings restrict what

information can be gathered and how it may be used (e.g. EEO laws) II. Selection and Strategic Human Resource Management

• Strategy and human resource planning (PPT 1-8)

(Human Resource Selection, 7e Robert Gatewood, Hubert Feild, Murray Barrick) (Insturctor Manual) 1 / 4

© 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Linking organizational goals to human resource plans

• Basic resources
• Financial resources
• Physical resources
• Human resources

2. Human resource planning involves two forecasts about employees:

• Demand for labor—number of employees in specific jobs/groups of

jobs that is needed to meet strategic objective

• Labor supply forecast—number of individuals that the organization

may have in each of the jobs identified if present HR programs are continued

3. Strategic human resource management: selection practices must be

congruent and aligned with strategy

• Strategic planning→Strategic human resource planning→selection

• Selection and other HRM programs
• Interaction among recruitment, initial training, compensation, and job

performance measurement (Fig. 1.1, PPT 1-9)

• Selection and recruitment (PPT 1-10)

Selection is more closely related to recruitment than other HR programs

Definition of recruitment: Those organizational activities that influence the

number and types of individuals who apply for a position – and that also affect applicants’ decisions about whether or not to accept a job offer.

III. Developing a Selection Program (Fig. 1-2, PPT 1-11) Critical issue is whether the organization can collect information from applicants that is closely related to job performance and effectively use this information to identify the best applicants.

• Job analysis information (PPT 1-12)
• Identifying relevant job performance measures (PPT 1-13)
• Identification of worker characteristics (KSAs) necessary for successful job

performance (PPT 1-14)

• Development of assessment devices to measure KSAs (PPT 1-15)
• Validation procedures (for assessment devices)
• Empirical (criterion) validation often employs correlation analysis to

calculate correlation coefficients between scores on selection instruments and on a job performance measure 2 / 4

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• Content validation takes data produced by the judgments of workers and

managers and uses them to determine the relationship between the selection test and job performance

• Use of assessment devices in processing applicants

IV. Constraints in Developing a Selection Program (PPT 1-16)

• Limited information on applicants – the greater the amount of accurate data

obtained the higher the probability of making an accurate selection decision

• Measurement of jobs, individuals, and work performance – numbers must be

accurate descriptions of the characteristics of the applicant, the job, or the job performance under study

• Other factors affecting work performance
• training programs for employees
• appraisal and feedback methods
• goal-setting procedures
• financial compensation systems
• work design strategies
• supervisory methods
• organizational structure
• decision-making techniques
• work schedules
• Selection research vs. selection practice
• Gap between what academic research shows and management practice
• Evidence-based management – translating principles based on evidence

into organizational practice

• Evidence-based management is not universally practiced in organizations
• Selection and staffing

1. Staffing: broad concept that can refer to various HR programs and

techniques used to manage the employees of an organization. Staffing includes recruitment, selection, training, work performance measurement, succession planning, job reassignment, termination, and compensation.

• Staffing is closer to strategic HRM than it is to selection
• Knowledge of selection is essential foundation of staffing

• Current Issues in Selection (PPT 1-17)
• Broadly defined team-based jobs 3 / 4

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• Emphasize KSAs necessary for teamwork
• Emphasize interpersonal skills and use of incumbent team members in the

selection of new members

• Describe jobs in terms of processes rather than specific job activities
• Work analysis methods should allow for considerable flexibility as job

incumbents and organization change

• The growth of small business - large organizations have been reducing the

number of employees, while small businesses have been increasing their numbers.VI. Plan of this Book (PPT 1-18)

Key terms and concepts (PPT 1-19)

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