Robbins Ob14 Tif17 Solution Manual Organizational Behavior

Organizational Behavior, 14e (Robbins/Judge)
Chapter 17 Human Resource Policies and Practices
1) Which of the following is not a part of the selection process for most organizations?
A) physical selection
B) initial selection
C) job offer
D) contingent selection
E) substantive selection
Answer: A
Explanation: Applicants go through three stages in the selection process, initial selection,
substantive selection, and contingent selection, during which they can be rejected at any time. If
not rejected, they can ultimately be offered the job. Physical selection, although might be used
for some jobs like the NFL, is not a part of the typical selection process.
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 554
Topic: Selection Practices
Skill: AACSB: Analytic Skills
Objective: Selection Practices
Quest. Category: Concept/Definitional
LO: 1
2) Which of the following is the most common method of initial selection?

A) written tests
B) background check
C) performance test
D) application form
E) work-sample test
Answer: D
Explanation: Initial selection devices are the first information applicants submit and are used to
decide whether the applicant meets the basic qualifications for a job. Application forms are the
most common initial selection devices. Background checks are either an initial selection device
or a contingent selection device, depending on how the organization chooses to structure its
selection process.
LO: 1
1
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
3) ________ refers to a series of devices submitted by applicants in which preliminary rough
cuts are made by the potential employer when it is decided whether or not an applicant meets
basic job requirements.
A) A job offer
B) Initial selection
C) Substantive selection
D) A background check
E) Contingent selection
Answer: B
Explanation: Initial selection devices are the first information applicants submit and are used for
decide whether the applicant meets the basic qualifications for a job. Application forms are
initial selection devices. Application forms help determine if an applicant has the proper
credentials (education, certification, experience), for the position.
LO: 1
4) Gailen is looking for a job. Today he went to the Web site of JPC Corp where he filled out an
online application and attached a copy of his resume. In which part of the selection process is
Gailen?
A) physical selection
B) job offer
C) initial selection
D) contingent selection
E) substantive selection
Answer: C
Explanation: Applicants go through three stages in the selection process, initial selection,
substantive selection, and contingent selection. Initial selection devices are the first information
applicants submit and are used to decide whether the applicant meets the basic qualifications for
a job. Application forms are initial selection devices. Today many organizations encourage
applicants to apply online.
Quest. Category: Application
LO: 1
2
5) More than ________ percent of employers conduct some type of background check on
potential employees during some point in the hiring process, usually either in the initial phase or
the contingent phase.
A) 25
B) 50
C) 65
D) 80
E) 95
Answer: D
Explanation: More than 80 percent of employers conduct reference checks on applicants at some
point in the hiring process. The reason is obvious: They want to know how an applicant did in
past jobs and whether former employers would recommend hiring the person.
LO: 1
6) Which of the following is not a type of background check commonly used by employers?
A) phone interview of former employer
B) letter of recommendation
C) credit history check
D) criminal record check
E) intelligence test
Answer: E
Explanation: Contacting former employers to see if they would recommend hiring the person is
one form of a background check, as are letters of recommendation. Some employers check credit
histories or criminal records. An intelligence test is not a background check.
LO: 1
3
7) Which of the following is not a typical written test used in organizations?
A) intelligence
B) integrity
C) personality
D) interest inventory
E) work sample
Answer: E
Explanation: Typical written tests include (1) intelligence or cognitive ability tests, (2)
personality tests, (3) integrity tests, and (4) interest inventories. Managers recognize that valid
tests can help predict who will be successful on the job.
Objective: Written Tests
LO: 2
8) Between the late 1960s and the mid-1980s, the use of written tests declined because they were
characterized as ________.
A) unprofessional
B) discriminatory
C) unreliable
D) invalid
E) mathematically flawed
Answer: B
Explanation: Long popular as selection devices, written tests declined in use between the late
1960s and mid-1980s, especially in the United States. They were frequently characterized as
discriminatory, and many organizations had not validated them as job related.
LO: 2
4
9) Which of the following has proven to be a particularly good predictor for jobs that require
cognitive complexity?
A) intelligence tests
B) integrity evaluations
C) work sampling
D) aptitude tests
E) behavioral assessment
Answer: A
Explanation: Intelligence tests have proven to be particularly good predictors for jobs that
include cognitively complex tasks. Many experts say intelligence tests are the single best
selection measure across jobs, and that they are at least as valid in the European Union (EU)
nations as in the United States.
Objective: Intelligence Tests
LO: 2
10) The best way for an employer to find out if a potential employee can do a job is by
________.
A) using the interview process
B) using a written test
C) having them spend a day in the office
D) administering an IQ test
E) using a performance simulation test
Answer: E
Explanation: What better way to find out whether applicants can do a job successfully than by
having them do it? That's precisely the logic of performance-simulation tests. Although they are
more complicated to develop and administer than written tests, performance-simulation tests
have higher face validity and their popularity has increased.
Objective: Performance-Simulation Tests
LO: 2
5
11) Hands-on simulation of part of a job is known as a ________.
A) practical assessment
B) performance-simulation interview
C) job simulation assessment
D) work sample
E) behavioral role exposition
Answer: D
Explanation: Work sample tests are hands-on simulations of part or all of the work that
applicants for routine jobs must perform. Each work sample element is matched with a job-
performance element to measure applicants' knowledge, skills, and abilities with more validity
than written aptitude and personality tests.
Objective: Work Sample Tests
LO: 2
12) Work sample tests are widely used in hiring ________.

A) unskilled labor
B) skilled workers
C) professional workers
D) managers
E) knowledge workers
Answer: B
Explanation: Work samples are widely used in the hiring of skilled workers, such as welders,
machinists, carpenters, and electricians. Each work sample element is matched with a job-
performance element to measure applicants' knowledge, skills, and abilities.
LO: 2
6
13) Elaborate sets of performance simulation tests, specifically designed to evaluate a candidate's
managerial potential, are ________.
A) more effective than work sampling
B) administered in assessment centers
C) similar to personality tests
D) considered drawbacks of some management development programs
E) likely to skew the results of behavioral samples
Answer: B
Explanation: A more elaborate set of performance-simulation tests, specifically designed to
evaluate a candidate's managerial potential, is administered in assessment centers. Line
executives, supervisors, trained psychologists, or all, evaluate candidates as they go through a
single to several days of exercises that simulate real problems they would confront on the job.
Objective: Assessment Centers
LO: 2
14) Assessment centers are used specifically to evaluate what level of job candidate?
A) unskilled laborers
B) skilled workers
C) professional workers
D) supervisors
E) knowledge workers
Answer: D
LO: 2
7
15) The results of which of the following tend to have a disproportionate amount of influence on
employee selection decisions?
A) interviews
B) written tests
C) performance simulation tests
D) work sampling methods
E) personality tests
Answer: A
Explanation: Of all the selection devices organizations around the globe used to differentiate
candidates, the interview remains the most common. It also tends to have a disproportionate
amount of influence. The candidate who performs poorly in the employment interview is likely
to be cut from the applicant pool regardless of experience, test scores, or letters of
recommendation
Objective: Interviews
LO: 2
16) The variability in interview results across an applicant pool is reduced by using a
standardized ________.
A) approach for recruiting applicants
B) pool of applicants
C) set of interview questions
D) time frame for scheduling interviews
E) none of the above
Answer: C
Explanation: To reduce such bias and improve the validity of interviews, managers should adopt
a standardized set of questions, a uniform method of recording information, and standardized
ratings of applicants' qualifications.
LO: 2
8
17) Which of the following is true regarding behavioral structured interviews?
A) They are conducted in a similar manner as audition-type interviews.
B) They decrease an interviewer's reliance on his or her "gut feelings."
C) They are most useful when interviewing high-performing workers.
D) They are useful only for interviewing non-skilled workers.
E) They increase the effectiveness of the interview technique.
Answer: E
Explanation: Interview effectiveness also improves when employers use behavioral structured
interviews, which are less influenced by a variety of interviewer biases. They require applicants
to describe how they handled specific problems and situations in previous jobs based on the
assumption that past behavior offers the best predictor of future behavior.
Objective: Behavioral Structured Interviews
LO: 2
18) Applicants describe how they handled problems and situations in previous jobs in a(n)
________ interview.
A) behavioral structured
B) audition-type
C) performance-simulation
D) problem-solving
E) reflection
Answer: A
Explanation: In behavioral structured interviews applicants to describe how they handled specific
problems and situations in previous jobs based on the assumption that past behavior offers the
best predictor of future behavior.
LO: 2
9
19) The behavioral structured interview is built on the assumption that ________.
A) past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior
B) technical knowledge and skills are the best predictor of job performance
C) personality is the best predictor of job performance
D) personality and mood are highly correlated
E) technical knowledge and mood are highly correlated
Answer: A
Explanation: In behavioral structured interviews applicants describe how they handled specific
problems and situations in previous jobs based on the assumption that past behavior offers the
best predictor of future behavior.
LO: 2
20) What is a common contingent selection method?

A) IQ test
B) interview
C) interest inventory
D) drug test
E) work sample test
Answer: D
Explanation: If applicants pass the substantive selection methods, they are ready to be hired,
contingent on a final check. One common contingent method is a drug test.
Objective: Contingent Selection
LO: 3
10
21) What is an argument against drug testing?
A) Drug tests screen out individuals who use marijuana and alcohol.
B) Drug use is a private matter.
C) Drug tests are costly in terms of people's safety.
D) Drug tests are generally inaccurate.
E) The results of drug tests are easily faked.
Answer: B
Explanation: Drug testing is controversial. Many applicants think testing without reasonable
suspicion is invasive or unfair and say they should be tested on job performance factors, not
lifestyle choices that may not be relevant.
LO: 3
22) Terry has been told that he is a final candidate for a job, he merely has to submit a urine
sample for a drug test. Terry is indignant and feels that the request is a violation of his rights.
Which of the following statements is not true about Terry's situation?
A) Terry won't have any problems if he has only consumed alcohol.
B) Terry can 'fake' the drug test if he has only smoked marijuana.
C) The supreme court does not support Terry's view on drug testing.
D) Drug testing is expensive, so the company must value Terry as a candidate.
E) Drug testing is not going away and Terry should accept it.
Answer: B
Explanation: Contrary to popular claims, results are generally precise and quite accurate,
indicating the specific type of drug in the applicant's system, and not easily faked. Despite the
controversy, drug testing is probably here to stay, and is supported as minimally invasive by the
Supreme Court. Drug tests are not cheap.
LO: 3
11
23) Because of passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, job applicants ________.
A) can be subjected to a physical exam before a job offer
B) can not be subjected to a physical exam after a job offer
C) can not be subjected to a physical exam before a job offer
D) can not be drug tested for medicinal marijuana use
E) are never required to submit to a physical exam for a job
Answer: C
Explanation: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, firms may not require employees to
pass a medical exam before a job offer is made. However, they can conduct medical exams after
making a contingent offer, to determine whether an applicant is physically or mentally able to do
the job.
LO: 3
24) Sylvia is applying for a job as an air traffic controller at the local airport. Which of the
following statements is not true regarding her contingency selection.
A) Sylvia will not likely undergo physical testing as an air traffic controller.
B) Sylvia will most likely be required to submit a urine sample for a drug test.
C) Sylvia will need to pass a series of medical exams for the job.
D) Sylvia will need to pass exams showing her psychological ability to perform.
E) A criminal background check could be a part of her contingency selection.
Answer: A
Explanation: For jobs requiring exposure to heavy physical or psychological demands, such as
air traffic controllers, medical and psychological exams are an important indicator of ability to
perform. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, firms may not require employees to pass a
medical exam before a job offer is made. However, they can conduct medical exams after
making a contingent offer, to determine whether an applicant is physically or mentally able to do
the job.
LO: 3
12
25) Statistics show that 50% of high school graduates in the U.S. don't possess adequate
________ skills to perform with maximum productivity in today's demanding work place.
A) literacy
B) technical
C) problem solving
D) interpersonal
E) social
Answer: A
Explanation: Statistics show that nearly 40 percent of the U.S. labor force and more than 50
percent of high school graduates don't possess the basic literacy and work skills needed to
perform in today's workplace. The National Institute of Learning estimates this literacy problem
costs corporate America about $60 billion per year in lost productivity.
Topic: Training and Development Programs
Objective: Technical Skills
LO: 4
26) Which type of skill training has become increasingly important in organizations?
A) financial
B) technical
C) problem solving
D) interpersonal
E) social
Answer: B
Explanation: Most training is directed at upgrading and improving an employee's technical skills,
increasingly important for two reasons: new technology and new structural designs in the
organization.
LO: 4
13
27) Training employees on how to be better listeners falls under which of the following training
categories?
A) ethical skills
B) technical skills
C) problem-solving skills
D) interpersonal skills
E) cultural skills
Answer: D
Explanation: Some employees have excellent interpersonal abilities, but others require training to
improve listening, communicating, and team-building skills.
Objective: Interpersonal Skills
LO: 4
28) According to a recent survey, about ________ percent of employees working in the 1,000
largest U.S. corporations receive ethics training.
A) 10
B) 25
C) 50
D) 75
E) 90
Answer: D
Explanation: About 75 percent of employees working in the 1,000 largest U.S. corporations
receive ethics training either during new-employee orientation, as part of ongoing developmental
programs, or as periodic reinforcement of ethical principles.
Objective: Ethics Training
LO: 4
14
29) Tyler is a sales representative for his company. He is attending a company training program
about the types of expenses that are considered legal deductions for tax purposes, and how to
distinguish between personal expenses and business expenses. Tyler is attending training to
improve his ________ skills.
A) literacy
B) problem solving
C) interpersonal
D) ethics
E) technical
Answer: D
Explanation: Tyler is attending training to improve ethics skills. About 75 percent of employees
working in the 1,000 largest U.S. corporations receive ethics training either during new-
employee orientation, as part of ongoing developmental programs, or as periodic reinforcement
of ethical principles.
LO: 4
30) Employees helping each other out at the workplace in an unplanned and unstructured
environment, is called ________.
A) formal training
B) ethics training
C) interpersonal training
D) informal training
E) off-job training
Answer: D
Explanation: Evidence indicates 70 percent of workplace learning takes place in informal
training, which is unstructured, unplanned, and easily adapted to situations and individuals, for
teaching skills and keeping employees current. In reality, most informal training is nothing other
than employees helping each other out.
Objective: Training
LO: 5
15
31) Which of the following is not a weakness of electronic training?
A) expensive
B) low social interaction
C) disengaged students
D) flexibility of completion
E) lack of learning accountability
Answer: D
Explanation: E-training is expensive to design self-paced online materials. Employees miss the
social interaction of a classroom. Online learners are more susceptible to distractions, and
"clicking through" training without actually engaging in practice activities. It provides no
assurance employees have actually learned anything.
Objective: Training
LO: 5
32) Examples of on-the-job training include all of the following except ________.
A) job rotation
B) apprenticeship
C) simulation centers
D) understudy assignments
E) formal mentoring programs
Answer: C
Explanation: On-the-job training methods include job rotation, apprenticeships, understudy
assignments, and formal mentoring programs.
Objective: On-the-Job Training
LO: 5
16
33) Examples of off-the-job training include all of the following except ________.
A) classroom lectures
B) apprenticeship programs
C) Internet courses
D) public seminars
E) videotapes
Answer: B
Explanation: Formal off-the-job training includes live classroom lectures, videotapes, public
seminars, self-study programs, Internet courses, satellite-beamed television classes, and group
activities that use role-plays and case studies.
Objective: Off-the-Job Training
LO: 5
34) How would a participator best absorb information?

A) use computers to read manuals
B) watch others and imitate behaviors
C) copy what others do on computers
D) listen to an audiotape
E) gain hands-on experience
Answer: E
Explanation: People who prefer a participating style of learning want to learn by doing, and gain
hands-on experience by practicing.
Objective: Learning Styles and Formal Training
LO: 6
17
35) Fiona can learn anything quickly, if she can see someone else doing it. If she has to figure it
out by any other method, it will take her a long time and she will not be productive. Fiona is a(n)
________, and her manager should ________.
A) listener, provide her with audio tapes
B) reader, give her books to review
C) observer, use Internet videos to train
D) participator, provide hands-on training
E) actor, simulate role-playing situations
Answer: C
Explanation: Fiona is an observer. She learns best by observation. She can watch someone do
something and then copy what they've done. To maximize her learning the manager should
provide the opportunity to observe individuals modeling the new skills either in person or on
video.
LO: 6
36) Which of the following is not a measure of the effectiveness of a training program?
A) the amount of information learned
B) the transfer of information to the job
C) teacher satisfaction with students
D) the financial return on investment
E) student satisfaction with the training
Answer: C
Explanation: The effectiveness of a training program can refer to the level of student satisfaction,
the amount students learn, the extent to which they transfer the material from training to their
jobs, or the financial return on investments in training. Teacher satisfaction is not a measure of
effectiveness and may be irrelevant, for example with e-learning.
LO: 6
18
37) Performance evaluations today are generally based on which three types of behavior?
A) task performance, productivity, tenure
B) productivity, efficiency, absenteeism
C) task performance, citizenship, counterproductivity
D) citizenship, counterproductivity, personality
E) leadership, training, efficiency
Answer: C
Explanation: Researchers now recognize three major types of behavior that constitute
performance at work: 1. Task performance. Performing the duties and responsibilities that
contribute to the production of a good or service or to administrative tasks. 2. Citizenship.
Actions that contribute to the psychological environment of the organization. 3.
Counterproductivity. Actions that actively damage the organization.
Topic: Performance Evaluation
Objective: Purposes of Performance Evaluation
LO: 7
38) Performance evaluations are used to ________.

A) improve group cohesiveness
B) define departmental structure
C) help management make HR decisions
D) identify how jobs are completed
E) decrease conformity within organizations
Answer: C
Explanation: Performance evaluation serves a number of purposes. One is to help management
make general human resource decisions about promotions, transfers, and terminations.
LO: 7
19
39) Performance evaluations are used as a mechanism for all of the following except ________.
A) monitoring the success of marketing strategies
B) determining promotions
C) pinpointing employees skills
D) identifying training and development needs
E) providing feedback to employees
Answer: A
Explanation: Evaluations identify training and development needs. They pinpoint employee
skills and competencies for which remedial programs can be developed. They provide feedback
to employees on how the organization views their performance and are often the basis for reward
allocations including merit pay increases.
LO: 7
40) Which of the following is the least predictive set of criteria used to evaluate employees?
A) traits
B) task outcomes
C) behaviors
D) personality
E) mood
Answer: A
Explanation: The weakest criteria, because they're farthest removed from actual job performance,
are individual traits. Having a good attitude, showing confidence, being dependable, looking
busy, or possessing a wealth of experience may or may not be highly correlated with positive
task outcomes.
Objective: Traits
LO: 7
20
41) Which of the following is not true concerning self-evaluations?
A) They lead to employees rating themselves highly.
B) They tend to heighten employees' defensiveness about the appraisal process.
C) They make excellent vehicles for stimulating job performance discussions between
employees and their superiors.
D) They are often low in agreement with superiors' ratings.
E) They tend to be biased estimates.
Answer: B
Explanation: Self-evaluations often suffer from overinflated assessment and self-serving bias,
and they seldom agree with superiors' ratings. They are probably better suited to developmental
rather than evaluative purposes.
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 566-567
Objective: Self-Evaluations
LO: 7
42) The approach to evaluation that uses feedback from those who have daily contact with an
employee (everyone from mailroom personnel to customers to bosses to peers) is termed
________.
A) critical incidents
B) 360-degree evaluation
C) BARS
D) multiperson comparisons
E) MBWA
Answer: B
Explanation: The latest approach to performance evaluation is 360-degree evaluations. These
provide performance feedback from the employee's full circle of daily contacts, from mailroom
workers to customers to bosses to peers.
Objective: 360-Degree Evaluation
LO: 7
21
43) Which of the following is not a weakness of the 360-degree evaluation system?
A) artificially inflated feedback from peers
B) insufficient training for performance evaluators
C) discrepancies between evaluating groups
D) provides a wide performance perspective
E) difficulties in reconciling differing evaluations
Answer: D
Explanation: The 360-degree evaluation provides employees with a wider perspective on their
performance, but many organizations don't spend the time to train evaluators in giving
constructive criticism. Some allow employees to choose the peers and subordinates who evaluate
them, which can artificially inflate feedback. It's also difficult to reconcile disagreements
between rater groups.
LO: 7
44) Which of the following is not a standard method of performance evaluation?

A) critical incidents
B) written essays
C) interviews
D) graphic rating scales
E) BARS
Answer: C
Explanation: Critical incidents, written essays, graphic rating scales, behaviorally anchored
rating scales (BARS), and forced comparisons are the general methods of performance
evaluation used in the workplace today.
Objective: Methods of Performance Evaluation
LO: 7
22
45) Which performance evaluation method requires no complex forms or extensive training to
complete?
A) written essays
B) critical incidents
C) graphic rating scales
D) behaviorally anchored rating scales
E) intellectual assessment
Answer: A
Explanation: Probably the simplest method is to write a narrative describing an employee's
strengths, weaknesses, past performance, potential, and suggestions for improvement. The
written essay requires no complex forms or extensive training to complete.
Objective: Written Essays
LO: 7
46) The evaluation method that focuses the evaluator's attention on those behaviors that are key
to executing a job effectively is known as ________.
A) forced comparison
B) critical incidents
C) graphic rating scales
D) behaviorally anchored rating scales
E) intellectual competence
Answer: B
Explanation: Critical incidents focus the evaluator's attention on the difference between
executing a job effectively and executing it ineffectively. The appraiser describes what the
employee did in a situation that was especially effective or ineffective, citing only specific
behaviors, not vaguely defined personality traits.
Objective: Critical Incidents
LO: 7
23
47) If the manager uses critical incidents as a method of performance evaluation, then ________.
A) the subordinate is apt to become confused
B) the evaluator's writing skills become the determining factor of the evaluation
C) the subordinate is likely to become motivated
D) the focus of the evaluation will center on key behaviors
E) the cost of the evaluation is likely to be incredibly high for the organization
Answer: D
executing a job effectively and executing it ineffectively. A list of such critical incidents
provides a rich set of examples to show the employee desirable behaviors and those that call for
improvement.
LO: 7
48) One reason to consider graphic rating scales is ________.

A) their accuracy
B) their usability in quantitative analysis
C) the quality of their results
D) their breadth of information
E) their reliability
Answer: B
Explanation: Although they don't provide the depth of information that essays or critical
incidents do, graphic rating scales are less time consuming to develop and administer and allow
for quantitative analysis and comparison.
Objective: Graphic Rating Scales
LO: 7
24
49) When an appraiser rates employees based on items on a continuum with the points reflecting
actual behaviors on a given job, this type of evaluation is called ________.
A) BARS
B) critical incident
C) graphic rating scale
D) behavioral structured ratings
E) MBWA
Answer: A
Explanation: Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) combine major elements from the
critical incident and graphic rating scale approaches. The appraiser rates the employees on items
along a continuum, but the items are examples of actual behavior on the job rather than general
descriptions or traits.
Objective: Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales
LO: 7
50) ________ involves evaluating one's performance against the performance of one or more
others.
A) BARS
B) A critical incident diary
C) A graphic rating scale
D) Forced comparison
E) Likert analysis
Answer: D
Explanation: Forced comparisons evaluate one individual's performance against the performance
of another or others. It is a relative rather than an absolute measuring device.
Objective: Forced Comparisons
LO: 7
25
51) ________ ranking requires the evaluator to place employees into a particular classification,
such as top one-fifth or second one-fifth.
A) Individual
B) Group order
C) Paired
D) Fractional
E) Percentile
Answer: B
Explanation: Group order ranking requires the evaluator to place employees into a particular
classification, such as top one-fifth or second one-fifth. If a rater has 20 employees, only 4 can be
in the top fifth and, of course, 4 must also be relegated to the bottom fifth. This method is often
used in recommending students to graduate schools.
Objective: Group Order Ranking
LO: 7
52) Which approach to performance evaluation rank-orders employees from best to worst?
A) individual ranking
B) group order ranking
C) paired comparison
D) straight ranking
E) comparison ranking
Answer: A
Explanation: The individual ranking approach rank-orders employees from best to worst. If the
manager is required to appraise 30 employees, the difference between the 1st and 2nd employee
is assumed to be the same as that between the 21st and 22nd. Some employees may be closely
grouped, but no ties are permitted. The result is a clear ordering from the highest performer to
the lowest.
Objective: Individual Ranking
LO: 7
26
53) All of the following are ways to overcome problems encountered with performance
evaluations except ________.
A) evaluate selectively
B) focus on identifiable traits
C) use multiple evaluators
D) provide employees with due process
E) train evaluators
Answer: B
Explanation: Although no protections guarantee accurate performance evaluations, using
multiple evaluators, evaluating selectively, training evaluators, and providing employees with
due process can make the process more objective and fair.
Objective: Improving Performance Evaluations
LO: 8
54) ________ can be used to increase the perception that employees are treated fairly.
A) Selective evaluation
B) Due process
C) Multiple raters
D) Documenting with a journal
E) Focusing on subjective evaluations
Answer: B
Explanation: The concept of due process can be applied to appraisals to increase the perception
that employees are being treated fairly. When due process has been part of the evaluation system,
employees report positive reactions to the appraisal process, perceive it as more
accurate, and express increased intent to remain with the organization.
Objective: Due Process
LO: 8
27
55) Which of the following is not a reason typically cited by managers regarding their reluctance
to give performance feedback?
A) Many employees become defensive when their weaknesses are pointed out.
B) Managers often fear confrontation with employees.
C) Employees have an inflated assessment of their own performance.
D) The human resources department is not supportive of the feedback process.
E) All of the above are typically cited reasons.
Answer: D
Explanation: Few activities are more unpleasant for many managers than providing performance
feedback to employees. Managers fear confrontation when presenting negative feedback. Many
employees tend to become defensive when their weaknesses are pointed out. Employees tend to
have an inflated assessment of their own performance.
Objective: Providing Performance Feedback
LO: 8
56) Lavert hates the annual review process he has to do of the employees in his department.
Although he is fully aware of some of his employees' faults he is reluctant to discuss them in
person, and is only comfortable writing them in an unsigned report that his supervisor will
review. Lavert's behavior demonstrates ________.
A) provision of due process
B) employee inflated assessment of performance
C) employee defensiveness about weaknesses
D) managerial sincerity
E) fear of confrontation
Answer: E
Explanation: Even though almost every employee could stand to improve in some areas,
managers fear confrontation when presenting negative feedback. Lavert's reluctance to criticize
suggests that he doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, and that he fears confrontation.
LO: 8
28
57) Which of the following is not a suggested method to improve on performance evaluations
and make them more pleasant for both the evaluator and the employee?
A) provide constructive feedback
B) be sincere and specific
C) construct a fair appraisal system
D) determine methods of correction
E) evaluate global performance
Answer: E
Explanation: Managers should conduct constructive feedback sessions in which the appraisal is
fair, the manager is sincere and specific, and areas needing improvement are given solutions to
correct them. Overall job performance should be evaluated through specific areas, rather than
globally, so that it can be more objective.
LO: 8
58) Work-life conflicts became noticeable in the 1980s when ________.

A) independent child care became a growing industry
B) baby boomer's parents began to age
C) men were surveyed that family time was important
D) work loads became historically heavier
E) women with children entered the workforce
Answer: E
Explanation: Work–life conflicts grabbed management's attention in the 1980s, largely as a result
of the growing number of women, with dependent children, entering the workforce. In response,
most major organizations took actions to make their workplaces more family friendly.
Topic: Managing Diversity in Organizations
Objective: Work-Life Initiatives
LO: 9
29
59) Which of the following is not a company consideration to help employees address work-life
conflicts?
A) keeping work-related travel reasonable
B) reducing workloads
C) offering on-site quality child-care
D) tie manager pay to customer satisfaction
E) employee participation evaluation
Answer: E
Explanation: Organizations should help employees segment their lives by keeping workloads
reasonable, reducing work-related travel, and offering on-site quality child care. Tying
management pay to customer satisfaction is one way to change the cultural environment and
reduce evaluation stress.
LO: 9
60) Which of the following is not a reason an international manager needs to evaluate recruiting
practices?
A) culture-based norms
B) local social values
C) cultural culinary differences
D) cultural legal differences
E) cultural economic differences
Answer: C
Explanation: Managers need to modify policies and practices to reflect culture-based norms and
social values, as well as legal and economic differences. Global firms that attempt to implement
standardized worldwide selection practices can expect considerable resistance from local
managers.
Topic: Global Implications
Skill: AACSB: Multicultural and Diversity
Objective: Globalization and Workforce Diversity
LO: 10
30
61) Which of the following statements is true concerning international selection practices?
A) Structured interviews are popular in all countries.
B) Beliefs about how one should conduct an interpersonal interview are consistent across
countries.
C) The use of educational qualifications in screening candidates seems to be a universal practice.
D) Policies and practices do not require modification from one country to the next.
E) Groups are typically much more effective at selecting candidates in individualistic cultures.
Answer: C
Explanation: A recent study of 300 large organizations in 22 countries demonstrated that
selection practices differ by nation. However, the use of educational qualifications in screening
candidates seems to be a universal practice, but different countries emphasize different selection
techniques.
Skill: AACSB: Analytic Skills; Multicultural and Diversity
Objective: Selection and Culture
LO: 10
62) Which of the following is not true concerning international performance evaluations?
A) Caution should be used in generalizing across cultures.
B) Every culture is concerned with performance appraisal.
C) Not all managers look at performance appraisal the same way as do managers in the U.S.
D) Individualistic countries emphasize formal performance evaluation systems.
E) Israel's culture values group activities.
Answer: B
Explanation: Many cultures are not particularly concerned with performance appraisal or look at
it differently than do managers in the United States and Canada.
Skill: AACSB: Analytic Skills; Multicultural and Diversity
Objective: Performance Evaluation and Culture
LO: 10
31
63) As a selection device, written tests have decreased in usage during the past 20 years.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: Long popular as selection devices, written tests declined in use between the late
1960s and mid-1980s, especially in the United States. They were frequently characterized as
discriminatory, and many organizations had not validated them as job related. The past 20 years,
however, have seen a resurgence, and today more than 60 percent of all U.S. organizations and
most of the Fortune 1000 use some type of employment test.
LO: 2
64) A test that measures factors such as dependability, carefulness, responsibility, and honesty is
referred to as a performance factor test.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: As ethical problems have increased in organizations, integrity tests have gained
popularity. These paper-and-pencil tests measure factors such as dependability, carefulness,
responsibility, and honesty; they have proven to be powerful predictors of supervisory ratings of
job performance and of theft, discipline problems, and excessive absenteeism.
Objective: Integrity Tests
LO: 2
65) Work samples yield validities almost consistently superior to written aptitude tests.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: Although they are more complicated to develop and administer than written tests,
performance-simulation tests have higher face validity (which measures whether applicants
perceive the measures to be accurate), and their popularity has increased. The two best-known
are work samples and assessment centers.
LO: 2
32
66) In assessment centers, job candidates are evaluated as they go through several days of
exercises that simulate real problems they would confront on the job.
Answer: TRUE
LO: 2
67) In the past, organizations had to provide basic reading and math skills for their employees.
Improved educational standards have decreased that need over the past few decades.
Answer: FALSE
percent of high school graduates don't possess the basic work skills needed to perform in today's
workplace. The National Institute of Learning estimates this literacy problem costs corporate
America about $60 billion per year in lost productivity. Organizations increasingly have to teach
employees basic reading and math skills.
Topic: Training and Development
Objective: Basic Literacy Skills
LO: 4
68) Technical training has become increasingly important because of changes in organizational
design.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: Most training is directed at upgrading and improving an employee's technical
skills, increasingly important for two reasons: new technology and new structural designs in the
organization.
LO: 4
33
69) Most formal training revolves around employees simply helping each other out.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: Recent evidence indicates 70 percent of workplace learning takes place in informal
training, unstructured, unplanned, and easily adapted to situations and individuals, for teaching
skills and keeping employees current. In reality, most informal training is nothing other than
employees helping each other out.
Objective: Formal versus Informal Training
LO: 5
70) The most effective training is conducted through the use of standardized teaching techniques.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: The effectiveness of a training program can refer to the level of student
satisfaction, the amount students learn, the extent to which they transfer the material from
training to their jobs, or the financial return on investments in training. An effective training
program requires not just teaching the skills but also changing the work environment to support
the trainees.
Objective: Training Effectiveness
LO: 5
71) Employees will alter their job behavior to reflect the criteria that management uses to
evaluate their performance.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: Performance-evaluation systems influence behavior. The choice of a performance-
evaluation system and the way it's administered can be an important force influencing employee
behavior.
Objective: Evaluation Criteria
LO: 7
34
72) One explanation for why many employees may not be motivated is that the performance
evaluation process is often more political than objective.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: Some evaluators see the evaluation process as a political opportunity to overtly
reward or punish employees, demotivating the employee.
LO: 8
73) When a manager is evaluated on the cost per unit of production in his or her department, the
evaluation criterion being used is behaviors.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: If ends count rather than means, management should evaluate an employee's task
on outcomes such as quantity produced, scrap generated, and cost per unit of production for a
plant manager or on overall sales volume in the territory, dollar increase in sales, and number of
new accounts established for a salesperson.
Objective: Individual Task Outcomes
LO: 7
74) When a manager is evaluated on the degree to which he or she "has a good attitude," the
evaluation criterion being used is traits.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: Having a good attitude, showing confidence, being dependable, looking busy, or
possessing a wealth of experience are all traits. They may or may not be highly correlated with
positive task outcomes, but it's naïve to ignore the reality that organizations still use such traits to
assess job performance.
Objective: Traits
LO: 7
35
75) Using immediate subordinates in the performance evaluation process is contrary to recent
trends in the workplace.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: The latest approach to performance evaluation is 360-degree evaluations. These
provide performance feedback from the employee's full circle of daily contacts, from mailroom
workers to customers to bosses to peers.
Objective: Evaluating Employee Performance
LO: 7
76) Critical incidents as a method of performance evaluation focus on problem behaviors.

Answer: FALSE
executing a job effectively and executing it ineffectively. The appraiser describes what the
employee did in a situation that was especially effective or ineffective, citing only specific
behaviors, not vaguely defined personality traits. A list of such critical incidents provides a rich
set of examples to show the employee desirable behaviors and those that call for improvement.
LO: 7
77) The approach that compares each employee with every other employee and rates each as
either the superior or weaker member of the pair is called group order ranking.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: Group order ranking requires the evaluator to place employees into a particular
classification, such as top one-fifth or second one-fifth. If a rater has 20 employees, only 4 can be
in the top fifth and, of course, 4 must also be relegated to the bottom fifth.
Objective: Group Order Ranking
LO: 7
36
78) As the number of evaluators increases, the probability of attaining more accurate information
increases.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: As the number of evaluators increases, the probability of attaining more accurate
information increases. If an employee has had ten supervisors, nine having rated her excellent
and one poor, we can safely discount the one poor evaluation. By moving employees around
within the organization to gain a number of evaluations, or by using multiple assessors we
increase the probability of achieving more valid and reliable evaluations.
Objective: Multiple Evaluators
LO: 8
79) If raters make evaluations on only those dimensions which they are in a good position to rate,
this increases the agreement between raters and makes the evaluation a more valid process.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: To increase agreement among them, appraisers should evaluate only where they
have some expertise. They should thus be as close as possible, in organizational level, to the
individual being evaluated. The more levels that separate them, the less opportunity the evaluator
has to observe the individual's behavior and, not surprisingly, the greater the possibility for
inaccuracies.
Objective: Selective Evaluation
LO: 8
80) Due process systems provide individuals with adequate notice of what is expected of them.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: The concept of due process can be applied to appraisals to increase the perception
that employees are being treated fairly. Three features characterize due process systems: (1)
individuals are provided with adequate notice of what is expected of them; (2) all evidence
relevant to a proposed violation is aired in a fair hearing so the individuals affected can respond;
and (3) the final decision is based on the evidence and free of bias.
Objective: Due Process
LO: 8
37
81) The performance review should be designed more as a counseling activity than as a
judgment process, and it can best be accomplished by allowing the review to evolve out of the
employee's own self-evaluation.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: This is true, the performance review should be a counseling activity more than a
judgment process, best accomplished by allowing it to evolve from the employee's own self-
evaluation.
LO: 8
82) Evidence indicates that time pressures are the primary problem underlying work/life
conflicts.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: Time pressures aren't the primary problem underlying these conflicts. It's the
psychological incursion of work into the family domain and vice versa when people are worrying
about personal problems at work and thinking about work problems at home.
Objective: Work-Life Conflict
LO: 8
Robert has received authorization to add an assistant manager to his department. This person will
be working closely with Robert and must have excellent interpersonal as well as technical skills.
Robert wants to make certain that he maximizes the chance of choosing the correct individual
and is trying to decide on the most appropriate selection device.
83) Robert is considering administering written integrity tests to management candidates that
pass the initial screening. These tests will most likely help Robert to predict a candidate's
________.
A) propensity to react calmly under stress
Topic: Application of Selection Practices
Objective: Integrity Tests
LO: 2
38
84) Robert has decided to create a work sampling and let applicants demonstrate their abilities.
He should use this to evaluate candidates' ________ skills.
A) ethical
B) interpersonal
C) technical
D) reactive
E) associative
Answer: C
Explanation: Work sample tests are hands-on simulations of part or all of the work that
applicants for routine jobs must perform. Each work sample element is matched with a job-
performance element to measure applicants' knowledge, skills, and technical abilities.
LO: 2
85) The best means of evaluating the management skills of the applicants would be achieved
through ________.
A) use of an assessment center
B) verifying the applicants' job histories
C) work sampling
D) written personality tests
E) written basic literacy tests
Answer: A
LO: 2
39
You are involved in training and development for your division at WorldProducts, Inc. You want
to target some specific organizational problems through training.
86) Your organization is situated in an urban area where many students do not finish high school.
You will probably first have to address the skill category termed ________.
A) basic literacy
B) technical
C) interpersonal
D) problem solving
E) managerial
Answer: A
percent of high school graduates don't possess the basic work skills needed to perform in today's
workplace. Basic literacy skills will most likely need to be addressed.
Topic: Application of Skill Categories
Objective: Basic Literacy Skills
LO: 4
87) Your organization has reduced layers, flattening the organization. Your employees now need
to perform a wider variety of tasks. As a result, you need to provide employees with training to
help develop their ________ skills.
A) basic literacy
B) technical
C) interpersonal
D) problem solving
Answer: B
Explanation: As organizations flatten their structures, expand their use of teams, and break down
traditional departmental barriers, employees need mastery of a wider variety of tasks and
increased knowledge of how their organization operates. This creates a need for greater technical
skills.
LO: 4
40
88) You are implementing self-managed teams and quality-management programs. It would be
important to conduct training in ________.
A) basic literacy
B) technical skills
C) interpersonal skills
D) problem solving
E) interdependence
Answer: D
Explanation: Problem-solving training has become a part of almost every organizational effort to
introduce self-managed teams or implement quality-management programs. Problem-solving
training for managers and other employees can include activities to sharpen their logic,
reasoning, and problem-defining skills as well as their abilities to assess causation, develop and
analyze alternatives, and select solutions.
Objective: Problem-Solving Skills
LO: 4
89) WorldProducts is considering implementing employee ethics training programs. Some

members of senior management are opposed to these programs. Their opposition is most likely
based on which of the following beliefs?
A) Ethics training is almost nonexistent in today's workplace.
B) Ethics can be learned only through formal teaching programs.
C) Individual values systems are fixed at an early age.
D) Integrity cannot be taught by example.
E) Ethics programs help employees to recognize ethical dilemmas.
Answer: C
Explanation: Critics argue that ethics are based on values, and value systems are learned by
example at an early age. By the time employees are hired, their ethical values are fixed. Some
research does suggest ethics training does not have a significant long-term effect on participants'
values
Skill: AACSB: Analytic Skills; Ethical Reasoning
LO: 4
41
You have just been appointed as director of your company's corporate training division. The
CEO of your company has been displeased with your company's prior training programs, so you
are tasked with rehauling the entire training division. You convene a meeting of all training
division managers to decide on the types of training that the division will implement.
90) One of your managers is a firm supporter of e-training programs for employees in your
company's international offices. He touts the benefits of e-programs by stressing that ________.
A) e-training approaches have been proven to result in higher levels of knowledge assimilation
B) e-training is highly flexible and employees can complete the training at their convenience
C) many employees find solitary learning to be highly motivating
D) e-programs are easily accessible by employees who work outside of standard U.S. hours
E) because of their self-paced nature, e-programs are inexpensive to design and implement
Answer: B
Explanation: A positive aspect of e-training is that it increases flexibility because organizations
can deliver materials anywhere, anytime. It also seems fast and efficient.
Topic: Application of Training Methods
Objective: Off-the-Job Training
LO: 5
Alice Ann Jones is the new director of human resources and psychological services for a small
consulting firm in Mobile, Alabama.
91) Alice Ann's consulting firm makes extensive use of teams, encourages employee
involvement, and is very concerned with quality-management. An appropriate evaluation
technique for this firm would be ________.
A) written essays
B) trait evaluations
C) BARS
D) 360-degree evaluations
E) graphic rating scales
Answer: D
Explanation: The 360-degree evaluations provide performance feedback from the employee's full
circle of daily contacts, from mailroom workers to customers to bosses to peers. Because Alice
Ann's firm encourages employee involvement it would be a good evaluation technique.
Topic: Application of Performance Evaluations
LO: 7
42
You have recently gone to work for Goodvibes, Inc., a medium-sized firm that provides
temporary workers for organizations who are outsourcing such functions as accounting,
marketing, and training and development. Most Goodvibes employees are highly trained and
could work at almost any company of their choosing. Many employees work part-time or job
share so that they can have more control over how their time is spent. Goodvibes has instituted
many family-friendly programs in order to attract and keep these talented people.
92) Which of the following programs is Goodvibes likely to have instituted?

A) child care
B) elder care
C) relocation assistance
D) all of the above
Answer: D
Explanation: Others prefer ways to integrate work and personal life and help with time-based
stress reduction strategies, such as on-site child care, gym facilities, elder care, and company-
sponsored family picnics. Goodvibes would likely institute relocation assistance as well, which is
an information based stress reduction strategy.
Topic: Application of Managing Diversity in Organizations
LO: 9
93) To reduce the work-life conflicts faced by their employees, Goodvibes should spend less
effort helping employees with ________.
A) improving time management skills
B) segmenting their work and home lives
C) integrating their work and home lives
D) adjusting to a wide range of scheduling options
E) improving their job productivity
Answer: A
Explanation: Evidence shows that time pressures aren't the primary problem underlying work-
life conflicts. The psychological incursion of work into the family domain and vice versa when
people are worrying about personal problems at work and thinking about work problems at home
is what truly creates the conflicts.
Topic: Application of Managing Diversity in Organizations
LO: 9
43
94) Define the initial selection stage. Name and describe two substantive selection techniques
that you would use to select an employee for a job that requires a high security clearance.
Answer: Initial selection devices are the first information applicants submit and are used for
preliminary rough cuts to decide whether the applicant meets the basic qualifications for a job.
Application forms (including letters of recommendation) are initial selection devices.
Background checks, such as criminal background and credit histories, can be a part of the initial
selection process, and for a job that requires a high security clearance, it would be good to
eliminate non-qualifying applicants at this point. Letters of recommendation are another form of
background check, but are less effective as they are easily manipulated by the applicant in the
selection of who he chooses to write the letters.
[Students can choose and write about two substantive selection techniques of his or her choice,
but should mention the need for an integrity test.]
Quest. Category: Synthesis
LO: 1, 2
95) Describe informal training. Provide a workplace example of an informal training for
technical skills and another for problem solving skills.
Answer: Informal training is unstructured, unplanned training that takes place at the workplace.
Most informal training is nothing other than employees helping each other out. They share
information and solve work-related problems together. Informal training is easily adapted to
situations and individuals and is good for teaching skills and keeping employees current.
An example of informal training for the improvement of technical skills could be as simple as a
factory line worker helping another line worker solve a problem with one of the machines and
explaining how the machine works and how to solve the problem the next time it occurs. With
this informal training, the new line worker is made independent and, by understanding the
machine, can trouble shoot with different problems as well.
An example of informal training of problem solving skills could be an impromptu gathering in a

cubicle to discuss a problem that a programmer is having to crack a certain code. Together,
various programmers could problem solve to find the solution and train each other.
Objective: Training
LO: 4, 5
44
96) Imagine that you are a manager of a multifaceted manufacturing operation with a new crew
of twenty arriving for training. The crew is comprised of different types of learners. Describe a
training program comprised of three different sessions that would cater to four different
individual learning styles. State whether each of the training sessions would be on-the-job or off-
the-job training, and whether it is formal or informal.
Answer: [When describing the individual training designs, student answers will vary. Sample
answer is provided.]
In the first session, a good manager could introduce the skills needed for success in the
manufacturing line through a short, formal, and direct lecture provided by management. During
the lecture a visual aid and reading material with the information could be distributed. Using this
method would encompass the learning styles of the listener, the reader, and to a lesser degree the
observer (with the visual aid). Although lecture styles have a poor reputation, evidence shows
that they are surprisingly effective and would be a good introduction and ice-breaker. Because
this training is planned in advance and has a structured format it would be a formal, on-the-job
training.
In the second session the manager could assign small groups of trainees to follow a mentor for a
day and observe the job while it is being performed. This formal, on-the-job training would best
cater to the observer's learning style. At the end of the day, the mentor could allow each
participant to perform part of the work, therefore catering to the participant's style.
In the third session the manager could assign the training class an off-the-job, e-learning course
about safety. This would cater to the observer and listener. It would be formal, and yet flexible
and non-disrupting.
Objective: Training
LO: 5, 6
45
97) Yolanda is a valued employee in your department. She is positive and dependable but lacks
ambition and has stagnated in her position this year. She also is consistently late on deadlines,
although the work she turns in is usually flawless. Choose one of the performance evaluation
methods discussed in the chapter and use it to evaluate the three most popular sets of criteria for
Yolanda. Explain why your evaluation method is strong or weak, and how it could be improved.
Answer: [Student answers will vary. Sample answer is provided.]
Because the simplest evaluation method is to write a narrative describing an employee's

strengths, weaknesses, past performance, potential, and suggestions for improvement, that is how
I am going to evaluate Yolanda.
The three most popular sets of criteria are individual task outcomes, behaviors, and traits.
Task outcomes: Yolanda is a valued employee who consistently turns in high quality work. Her
work requires little quality assurance and, therefore, I can rely on Yolanda when I know that
there will not be a lot of time to re-check the work.
Behaviors: Yolanda is dependable in completing her work, although she is often late with the
product. She has recently become stagnant in her position and shows little ambition.
Traits: Yolanda is a positive and upbeat team player, helping to create a good work environment.
And, as I said earlier, she is very dependable at completing her work, although with some delay.
This evaluation is a general evaluation of Yolanda, but it is only one person's opinion and
depends on the person's ability to express Yolanda's strengths and weaknesses. It doesn't provide
any methods for improvement and evaluated on a global job performance, rather than job
specificity. I think Yolanda would, in general, be rather defensive and the evaluation might be
harmful to the environment and relationship.
Objective: Performance-Simulation Tests versus Written Tests
LO: 7, 8
46
98) Describe the role of assessment centers in the employee selection process.
Answer: A more elaborate set of performance simulation tests, specifically designed to evaluate
a candidate's managerial potential, is administered in assessment centers. In assessment centers,
line executives, supervisors, and/or trained psychologists evaluate candidates as they go through
one to several days of exercises that simulate real problems that they would confront on the job.
Based on a list of descriptive dimensions that the actual job incumbent has to meet, activities
might include interviews, in-basket problem-solving exercises, leaderless group discussions, and
business decision games. For instance, a candidate might be required to play the role of a
manager who must decide how to respond to ten memos in his or her in-basket within a two-hour
period.
Quest. Category: Critical Thinking
LO: 2
99) Describe the advantages and disadvantages of the selection interview.

Answer: Not only is the interview widely used, it also seems to carry a great deal of weight.
That is, the results tend to have a disproportionate amount of influence on the selection decision.
The candidate who performs poorly in the employment interview is likely to be cut from the
applicant pool, regardless of his or her experience, test scores, or letters of recommendation.
Conversely, all too often, the person most polished in job-seeking techniques, particularly those
used in the interview process, is the one hired, even though he or she may not be the best
candidate for the position.

LO: 2
47
100) What are the three most popular sets of criteria for evaluating employee performance?
Answer: The three most popular sets of criteria for evaluating employee performance are
individual task outcomes, behaviors, and traits.
a) If ends count, rather than means, then management should evaluate an employee's task
outcomes. In many cases, it's difficult to identify specific outcomes that can be directly
attributable to an employee's actions.
b) It's not unusual for management to evaluate the employee's behavior.
c) The weakest set of criteria, yet one that is widely used by organizations is individual traits.
They are weaker because they are farthest removed from the actual performance of the job itself.
Objective: Criteria for Evaluating Employee Performance
LO: 7
101) Who should perform employee evaluations?

Answer: With many of today's organizations using self-managed teams, telecommuting, and
other organizing devices that distance bosses from their employees, an employee's immediate
superior may not be the most reliable judge of that employee's performance. Thus, in more and
more cases, peers and even subordinates are being asked to participate in the performance
evaluation process. Also, increasingly, employees are participating in their own performance
evaluation. In most situations, in fact, it is highly advisable to use multiple sources of ratings.
Any individual performance rating may say as much about the rater as about the person being
evaluated. By averaging across raters, we can obtain a more reliable, unbiased, and accurate
performance evaluation.
Objective: Evaluators
LO: 7
48
102) How can an organizational culture adapt to work-life conflicts in their evaluation
processes? Explain why evaluations cause work-life conflict, and describe two culture-change
strategies that companies today use to alleviate the work-life conflict.
Answer: Time pressures aren't the primary problem underlying work-life conflicts. The
psychological incursion of work into the family domain and vice versa when people are worrying
about personal problems at work and thinking about work problems at home. The stress caused
by performance evaluations for both management and the employee can be eliminated through
objective evaluations. Two culture change strategies in the area of evaluation are to tie manager
pay to employee satisfaction and to focus on employees' actual performance, making evaluations
based on quantifiable goals and not "face time." For example, Monsanto and Best Buy encourage
employee evaluations to be based on quantifiable goals and results, regardless of where or at
what time work is completed.
Objective: Work-Life Conflict
LO: 8, 9
103) Describe and discuss three substantive selection devices uses to assess job candidates once
they have passed an initial screening.
Answer: Selection devices include written tests, performance simulation tests, and interviews.
a) Typical written tests are tests of intelligence or cognitive ability tests, personality tests,
integrity tests, and interest inventories. Managers have come to recognize that there are valid
tests available and they can be helpful in predicting who will be successful on the job.
Applicants, however, tend to view written tests as less valid and fair than interviews or
performance tests.
b) What better way is there to find out if an applicant can do a job successfully than by having
him or her do it? That's precisely the logic of performance simulation tests. The two best-known
performance simulation tests are work sampling and assessment centers. The former is suited to
routine jobs, whereas the latter is relevant for the selection of managerial personnel.
c) Of all the selection devices that organizations use to differentiate candidates, the interview
continues to be the most common. Not only is the interview widely used, it also seems to carry a
great deal of weight.
Objective: Selection Devices
LO: 2
49
104) Briefly explain three of the four types of written tests that are typically used in the
employee selection process?
Answer: Typical written tests include tests of intelligence or cognitive ability tests, personality
tests, integrity tests and interest inventories.
a) Tests in intellectual ability, spatial and mechanical ability, perceptual accuracy, and motor
ability have proven to be valid predictors for many skilled, semiskilled, and unskilled operative
jobs in industrial organizations. Intelligence tests have proven to be particularly good predictors
for jobs that require cognitive complexity.
b) Personality tests are relatively inexpensive and simple to use and administer. Organizations
use numerous measures of the Big Five traits in selection decisions.
c) As ethical problems have increased in organizations, integrity tests have gained popularity.
These are paper-and-pencil tests that measure factors such as dependability, carefulness,
responsibility, and honesty.
LO: 2
105) Compare and contrast the two types of selection interviews.

Answer: The unstructured interview–short in duration, casual, and made up of random
questions–is not a very effective selection device. The data gathered from such interviews are
typically biased and often only modestly related to future job performance. Without structure, a
number of biases can distort results. These biases include interviewers tending to favor
applicants who share their attitudes, giving unduly high weight to negative information, and
allowing the order in which applicants are interviewed to influence evaluations.
Using a standardized set of questions, providing interviewers with a uniform method of

recording information, and standardizing the rating of the applicant's qualifications reduce the
variability in results across applicants and enhance the validity of the interview as a selection
device. The effectiveness of the interview also improves when employers use behavioral
structured interviews. This interview technique requires applicants to describe how they handled
specific problems and situations in previous jobs. It's built on the assumption that past behavior
offers the best predictor of future behavior.
LO: 2
50
106) Describe and discuss the four general skill categories addressed by most employee training
activities.
Answer: Four general skill categories typically offered by organizations are basic literacy,
technical, interpersonal, and problem solving.
a) Organizations increasingly have to provide basic reading and math skills for their employees.
Most training is directed at upgrading and improving an employee's technical skills.
b) Technical training has become increasingly important today for two more reasons - new
technology and new structural designs. Almost all employees belong to a work unit.
c) To some degree, their work performance depends on their ability to effectively interact with
their co-workers and their bosses.
d) Managers, as well as many employees who perform nonroutine tasks, have to solve problems
on their job. When people require these skills but are deficient in them, they can participate in
problem-solving training.
Objective: Types of Training
LO: 4
107) What purposes do performance evaluations serve in organizations?

Answer: Performance evaluations serve a number of purposes in organizations.
a) One purpose is to help management make general human resource decisions. Evaluations
provide input into such important decisions as promotions, transfers, and terminations.
b) Evaluations also identify training and development needs. They pinpoint employee skills and
competencies that are currently inadequate but for which remedial programs can be developed.
c) Evaluations also fulfill the purpose of providing feedback to employees on how the
organization views their performance.
d) Furthermore, performance evaluations are the basis for reward allocations. Decisions as to
who gets merit pay increases and other rewards are frequently determined by performance
evaluations.
LO: 7
51
108) Describe and discuss the two most popular forced comparison methods of performance
evaluation.
Answer: The two most popular comparisons are group order ranking and individual ranking.
a) The group order ranking requires the evaluator to place employees into a particular
classification, such as top one-fifth or second one-fifth. This method is often used in
recommending students to graduate schools.
b) The individual ranking approach rank-orders employees from best to worst. If the manager is
required to appraise 30 employees, this approach assumes that the difference between the first
and second employee is the same as that between the twenty-first and twenty-second. Even
though some of the employees may be closely grouped, this approach allows for no ties. The
result is a clear ordering of employees, from the highest performer down to the lowest.
Objective: Forced Comparisons
LO: 7
109) Describe and discuss work sample tests and assessment centers and the contexts in which
they can be used effectively.
Answer: Work sample tests are hands-on simulations of part or all of the job that must be
performed by applicants. By carefully devising work samples based on specific job tasks,
management determines the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for each job. Then each work
sample element is matched with a corresponding job performance element.
Work samples are widely used in the hiring of skilled workers, such as welders, machinists,
carpenters, and electricians. The results from work sample experiments are impressive. Studies
almost consistently demonstrate that work samples yield validities superior to written aptitude
and personality tests. A more elaborate set of performance simulation tests, specifically designed
to evaluate a candidate's managerial potential, is administered in assessment centers. In
assessment centers, line executives, supervisors, and/or trained psychologists evaluate candidates
as they go through one to several days of exercises that simulate real problems that they would
confront on the job. Based on a list of descriptive dimensions that the actual job incumbent has to
meet, activities might include interviews, in-basket problem-solving exercises, leaderless group
discussions, and business decision games. The evidence on the effectiveness of assessment
centers is impressive. They have consistently demonstrated results that predict later job
performance in managerial positions.
Objective: Performance-Simulation Tests
LO: 2
52
110) Explain why performance evaluations should be improved. Discuss some suggestions for
improving performance evaluations.
Answer: The performance evaluation process is a potential mine field of problems. For instance,
evaluators can unconsciously inflate evaluations, understate performance, or allow the
assessment of one characteristic to unduly influence the assessment of others. Some appraisers
bias their evaluations by unconsciously favoring people who have qualities and traits similar to
their own. And, of course, some evaluators see the evaluation process as a political opportunity
to overtly reward or punish employees they like or dislike.
Although there are no protections that will guarantee accurate performance evaluations, the
following suggestions can significantly help to make the process more objective and fair.
a) The use of multiple evaluators is recommended. As the number of evaluators increases, the
probability of attaining more accurate information increases. By moving employees about within
the organization so as to gain a number of evaluations or by using multiple assessors, we
increase the probability of achieving more valid and reliable evaluations.
b) Appraisers should evaluate only those areas in which they have some expertise. This
precaution increases the interrater agreement and makes the evaluation a more valid process.
c) In addition, evaluators should be trained. If you can't find good evaluators, the alternative is to
make good evaluators. There is substantial evidence that training evaluators can make them more
accurate raters.
d) Finally, employees should be provided with due process. The concept of due process can be
applied to appraisals to increase the perception that employees are treated fairly. Three features
characterize due process systems:
i. Individuals are provided with adequate notice of what is expected of them;
ii. All evidence relevant to a proposed violation is aired in a fair hearing so the individuals
affected can respond; and
iii. The final decision is based on the evidence and free of bias.
LO: 8
53

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Organizational Behavior, 14e (Robbins/Judge)

Chapter 17 Human Resource Policies and Practices

2) Which of the following is the most common method of initial selection?

12) Work sample tests are widely used in hiring ________.

20) What is a common contingent selection method?

34) How would a participator best absorb information?

38) Performance evaluations are used to ________.

44) Which of the following is not a standard method of performance evaluation?

48) One reason to consider graphic rating scales is ________.

58) Work-life conflicts became noticeable in the 1980s when ________.

76) Critical incidents as a method of performance evaluation focus on problem behaviors.

89) WorldProducts is considering implementing employee ethics training programs. Some

92) Which of the following programs is Goodvibes likely to have instituted?

An example of informal training of problem solving skills could be an impromptu gathering in a

Because the simplest evaluation method is to write a narrative describing an employee's

99) Describe the advantages and disadvantages of the selection interview.

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 558-560

101) Who should perform employee evaluations?

105) Compare and contrast the two types of selection interviews.

Using a standardized set of questions, providing interviewers with a uniform method of

107) What purposes do performance evaluations serve in organizations?

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