Intro To Io Psychology: Final Exam

Front 1

What is the science of human and non-human behavior, cognition, emotion, and motivation?

Back 1

Psychology

Front 2

__________ psychology is the older branch and tended to take a management perspective of organizational efficiency through the appropriate use of human resources.

Back 2

Industrial

Front 3

__________ psychology is concerned with understanding behavior and enhancing the well-being of employees in the workplace.

Back 3

Organizational

Front 4

The largest organization in the U.S. comprised entirely of I/O psychologists is __________.

Back 4

SIOP

Front 5

I/O programs have a(n) __________ philosophy that requires professors to be active researchers who contribute to the knowledge base of the field.

Back 5

publish or perish

Front 6

__________ and __________ are considered the main founders of the field of I/O psychology.

Back 6

Hugo Musterberg; Walter Dill Scott

Front 7

Frederick Winslow Taylor was an engineer who studied employee __________ throughout his career.

Back 7

productivity

Front 8

The __________ impacted how organizations hire and treat employees and helped shape the field of I/O psychology.

Back 8

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Front 9

The basic philosophy of the ethical code is that psychologists should do their best to avoid __________ people through their professional work.

Back 9

harming

Front 10

The ethical code typically followed by I/O psychologists was developed and published by the __________.

Back 10

American Psychological Association

Front 11

I/O settings are typically classified as

Back 11

research or applied

Front 12

As of a 2006 SIOP survey, more I/O psychologists worked in this setting then any other.

Back 12

Universities

Front 13

professional societies that I/O psychologists belong to

Back 13

The Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP); Academy of Management (AoM); The Society for Occupational Health Psychology (SOHP)

Front 14

All of the following are journals where an I/O psychologist may publish

Back 14

Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology; Academy of Management Review; Journal of Applied Psychology

Front 15

The husband and wife team of Frank and Lillian Gilbreth study what type of workplace phenomenon?

Back 15

efficiency

Front 16

I/O psychology was first used by the U.S. military in which war?

Back 16

World War I

Front 17

The knowledge of being in an experiment causes an increase in performance. This is known as the:

Back 17

Hawthorne effect

Front 18

Which region has been historically most concerned with employee stress and health?

Back 18

Scandinavia

Front 19

In the United States, most I/O psychologists hold a __________ degree.

Back 19

Ph.D.

Front 20

An I/O psychologist is trained to be a _______________, meaning someone who is able both to conduct scientific research and to apply principles to problems of organizations.

Back 20

scientist-practitioner

Front 21

As of 2006, the membership of SIOP consisted of about what percentage of females?

Back 21

35%

Front 22

This ethical principle states that psychologists are fair and honest in their professional dealings with others.

Back 22

Integrity

Front 23

This ethical principle states that psychologists have a responsibility to use their skills to benefit society.

Back 23

Social Responsibility

Front 24

By making sure that they are qualified to do all the activities that they conduct as part of their job, an I/O psychologist is complying with which ethical principle?

Back 24

Competence

Front 25

What are the major functions of a professor in I/O psychology? What are the major functions of practicing I/O psychologists? How are they similar? How are they different?

Back 25

Major functions of professors include teaching courses, doing research, writing research papers, presenting at conferences, writing textbooks, and mentoring students. Major functions of practicing I/O psychologists include job analysis, surveying employee's opinions and feelings, designing selection and training programs, and development of psychological tests. Practicing I/O psychologists do many of the same things as their academic colleagues, including conducting research and teaching college courses. The major focus of a practice job, however, is the application of the findings and principles of the field. Much of the effort of I/O psychologists is directed toward enhancing the effectiveness and functioning of organizations.

Front 26

Explain how research gets published in I/O psychology. Why do professors need to publish research in academic journals and conferences?

Back 26

I/O researchers, most of whom are college professors, submit articles for possible publication to these journals. Their work is then sent to experts in the field for a critique. Articles are revised based on the critiques, and often several rounds of revision and resubmission will be necessary before an article is accepted for publication. Only 10 to 20% of submitted articles that survive a rigorous peer review process will be published in the best journals. Peer review helps maintain high standards for published work so that the best research makes it into print. College professors, particularly those without tenure, are under tremendous pressure to be successful at publication. I/O programs at most universities have a “publish or perish” philosophy that requires professors to be active researchers who contribute to the knowledge base of the field. A publication record in the best journals is a major determiner of career success for a professor, as reflected in the ability to find a job, earn tenure, get promoted, and receive raises.

Front 27

What were the findings of the Hawthorne studies? How did their results differ from what they had expected to find?

Back 27

The best known of the Hawthorne studies was the investigation of lighting-level effects. The objective of this study was to determine the lighting level that would produce optimal performance on a factory task. The researchers conducted an experiment in which a group of employees was taken to a special room where lighting levels were changed. Lights were made brighter and dimmer from day to day to see the effects on productivity. The researchers were surprised to find that over the course of the experiment, productivity increased and seemed to have little to do with lighting levels. The most frequently discussed reason is that knowledge of being in an experiment, or what has come to be called the Hawthorne Effect, caused increases in performance. It seems clear that social factors can be more important than physical factors in people's job performance

Front 28

How do countries around the world differ in their areas of study within the field of I/O psychology?

Back 28

The number of articles published in psychological research journals for each of the 25 topics by country of author can be found in Table 1.2. This table also lists the most frequently studied topics for each country. In Scandinavian countries (Finland, Norway, and Sweden), 53 percent of studies were concerned with employee health and stress, with additional studies covering related issues. In the United States these topics were found in only 5 percent of studies. Conversely, in the United States employee selection was the most popular topic, but it was unstudied in Scandinavia. This difference in focus on employee health versus selection mirrors societal differences in the value placed on employee productivity versus well-being. As Erez's results show, job stress is a research area that is international in scope. Many of the major developments have come from outside the United States. For example, there has been an important program of job stress research at the University of Stockholm in Sweden, and the journal Work & Stress, which is devoted to work in this area, is published in England.

Front 29

What factors are considered when determining if an applicant to an I/O graduate program will be accepted? What areas should an applicant be proficient in?

Back 29

Admission to American graduate programs is quite competitive, especially for the well established Ph.D. programs. Most schools base admission largely, but not exclusively, on undergraduate grade point average (usually just the junior and senior years) and Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores. Prior applied and research experience can be helpful. Letters of recommendation from faculty members are usually required. I/O graduate programs are challenging and require both communication (verbal and written) and mathematical skills. A solid background in basic mathematics (i.e., algebra) and statistics is a good start. Good basic communication skills, especially writing, are also valuable. It is always wise to take a course in I/O before making the choice to pursue this career. Finally, a good background in basic psychology will make things easier.

Front 30

Every study begins with a(n) __________.

Back 30

research question

Front 31

__________ variables are manipulated by the researcher, while __________
variables are assessed in response to that manipulation

Back 31

Independent, dependent

Front 32

__________ of results means that the conclusions of a study can be extended to other groups of people, organizations, settings, or situations.

Back 32

Generalizability

Front 33

A(n) __________ is a collection of people who receive a condition or manipulation different from the one of interest.

Back 33

control group

Front 34

__________ means that we choose the subject of our investigation by a nonsystematic method: Every possible subject of our study has an equal chance of being chosen to participate.

Back 34

Random selection

Front 35

A(n) __________ is the basic structure of a scientific study.

Back 35

research design

Front 36

__________ is a method for describing jobs and/or human attributes necessary to perform them.

Back 36

Job analysis

Front 37

A __________ is collection of duties that can be performed by a single individual.

Back 37

position

Front 38

The __________ job analysis provides information about the nature of tasks done on the job.

Back 38

job-oriented

Front 39

The __________ job analysis provides a description of the characteristics necessary for a person to successfully perform a job.

Back 39

person-oriented

Front 40

__________ reward employees for acquiring knowledge and skills needed to both improve performance and be promoted.

Back 40

Competency systems

Front 41

The concept of essential function is important in deciding whether or not to hire a(n) __________ person.

Back 41

disabled

Front 42

The specific behaviors contained in behavior-focused appraisal systems are collected with __________.

Back 42

critical incidents

Front 43

Job incumbents and supervisors are considered to be __________, people with detailed knowledge about the jobs.

Back 43

subject matter experts

Front 44

__________ is an informational system that is a computer-based resource for job-related information.

Back 44

Occupational Informational Network (O*NET)

Front 45

The __________ was developed by McCormick, Jeanneret, & Mecham (1972) for use in job analysis and contains 189 items dealing with the task requirements or elements of jobs.

Back 45

Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)

Front 46

__________ uses both interviews and questionnaires to collect information about KSAOs and tasks.

Back 46

Combination Job Analysis Method (C-JAM)

Front 47

The concept of __________ means that different but comparable jobs should be paid the same.

Back 47

comparable worth

Front 48

element of a formal job analysis, according to Brannick, Levine, & Morgeson

Back 48

Results in some sort of written product.; The procedure must be systematic.; The job is broken into smaller units.

Front 49

The individual parts that make up a task.

Back 49

activities

Front 50

The element of KSAO's that tells what a person is able to do on the job.

Back 50

Skill

Front 51

The element of KSAO's that tells what refers to what a person knows about a job.

Back 51

Knowledge

Front 52

This is the idea that certain actions must be able to be performed on the job. This concept is important in the legal system of the United States.

Back 52

essential functions

Front 53

This should be the first step in the design of an employee selection system.

Back 53

Person-oriented job analysis

Front 54

All of the following are sources of job analysis information

Back 54

A. supervisors
B. trained observers
C. job incumbents

Front 55

All of the following are approaches to collecting job analysis information mentioned in the textbook EXCEPT:
A. perform the job
B. observe the job
C. reading performance reviews
D. interview subject matter experts

Back 55

C. reading performance reviews

Front 56

This method of job analysis, developed by Banks, Jackson, Stafford, & Warr (1983), allows for the simultaneous assessment of the job requirements and a person's KSAOs.

Back 56

Job Components Inventory

Front 57

This method of job analysis, developed by Fine & Wiley (1971) uses both observation and interviews with SMEs to provide a description of a job and scores on several dimensions concerning the job and potential workers.

Back 57

Functional Job Analysis

Front 58

Which of the following is NOT one of the six domains listed in the O*NET database?
A. Worker requirements
B. Functional characteristics
C. Occupation characteristics
D. Occupation requirements

Back 58

B. Functional characteristics

Front 59

This method of job analysis contains a list of specific tasks that might be done on a job that is being analyzed.

Back 59

Task Inventories

Front 60

This refers to a family of quantitative techniques that are used to scientifically determine the salary levels of jobs.

Back 60

Job evaluation

Front 61

When conducting a job evaluation, these are considered the characteristics that will serve as the basis for the evaluation.

Back 61

Compensable factors

Front 62

What is the difference between tasks and KSAOs?

Back 62

Although they might seem to overlap, KSAOs and tasks are very distinct. A task
is something a person does. A KSAO is an attribute or characteristic required of the
person to do a particular task or tasks. Tasks define what is done on a job, whereas
KSAOs describe the sort of person needed.

Front 63

How can job analysis be used for vocational counseling?

Back 63

A number of vocational counseling tools exist to help individuals match their KSAOs to the KSAO requirements of jobs. Some of these tools attempt to match individual preferences and personalities to occupations that they would enjoy. Other approaches match individual capabilities to job requirements. Job analysis is particularly useful for matching KSAOs of people with occupations. Converse, Oswald, Gillespie, Field, and Bizot (2004) used job analysis to determine KSAO requirements for specific occupations. A battery of ability tests was administered to a sample of individuals, and their ability profiles were matched to the requirements for each of the available jobs. Scores of how well the individual KSAOs matched job requirements were computed in order to demonstrate the best and worst fitting occupation for each person.

Front 64

What are the four approaches to collecting job analysis information? Why would you use multiple approaches when conducting a job analysis?

Back 64

Four approaches to collecting job analysis information are to perform the job, observe the job, interview SMEs, or administer questionnaires to SMEs. Each of the four ways of collecting job analysis information has its own set of advantages and limitations in providing a picture of what a job is like. In practice, multiple ways are often used so that the limitations of one are offset by the strengths of another. For example, a job analyst might do the job to get a feel for the context and then administer questionnaires to get detailed information from a wide cross section of employees with the same job title.

Front 65

What are some of the advantages and disadvantages to using questionnaires for collecting job analysis information?

Back 65

Advantages include being efficient and inexpensive, it shows differences among incumbents in the same job, they are easy to quantify and analyze, and it is easy to compare different jobs on common dimensions. Disadvantages include that they ignore the context in which the job is done, limit respondents to questions asked, require knowledge of job to design, and they are easy for incumbents to distort.

Front 66

What are the findings regarding reliability of job analysis techniques?

Back 66

Dierdorff and Wilson (2003) summarized the results of 46 studies that reported reliabilities for various job analysis methods. They found a mean test-retest reliability of .83, suggesting that people are quite consistent over time in making their job analysis ratings. Inter-rater agreement (whether or not different job analysts agree in their ratings) was somewhat lower, depending upon the types of raters (e.g., analysts vs. SMEs) and the dimensions being rated. Correlations among ratings by different people ranged from .48 to .81. Wilson, Harvey, and Macy (1990) found that test-retest reliabilities varied considerably for different rating scales, while some reliabilities were very high, others were unacceptably low. Sanchez and Fraser (1992) found that inter-rater reliabilities among job incumbents varied across different rating scales and also across different jobs. Taken together, the studies suggest that job analysis ratings can be reasonably reliable, although there are exceptions with task inventory ratings.

Front 67

What are the findings regarding validity of job analysis techniques?

Back 67

The best evidence for the validity of job analysis ratings comes from studies that compared different methods or sources of information, such as incumbents versus supervisors. Spector, Brannick, and Coovert (1989) summarized the results of nine studies that reported correlations among methods or sources that ranged from .47 to .94. The research on the validity of job analysis ratings suggests that they can provide useful information, but they are not perfect and are potentially subject to some biases because they are based on human judgment (Morgeson & Campion, 1997; Morgeson Delaney-Klinger, Ferrara, Mayfield, & Campion, 2004). Green and Stutzman's (1986) results emphasize that incumbents are not necessarily accurate in making their ratings.
Sanchez and Levine (1994) attempted to improve job analysis results by training incumbents in how to rate their jobs. Although their results were only partially successful, such training might prove useful in the future.

Front 68

A __________ is a standard against which you can judge the performance of anything, including a person.

Back 68

criterion

Front 69

A(n) __________ criterion is the way in which the theoretical criterion is assessed or operationalized.

Back 69

actual

Front 70

__________ is the extent to which the actual criterion assesses the theoretical criterion it is designed to measure.

Back 70

Criterion relevance

Front 71

The __________ criterion approach involves combining individual criteria into a single score.

Back 71

composite

Front 72

__________ consists of extra, voluntary things employees do to benefit their coworkers and organizations, such as volunteering to carry out extra tasks of helping a coworker.

Back 72

Contextual performance

Front 73

__________ measures are counts of various behaviors (e.g., number of days absent of work) or the results of job behaviors (e.g., total monthly sales).

Back 73

Objective

Front 74

__________ measures are ratings by people who should be knowledgeable about the person's job performance.

Back 74

Subjective

Front 75

__________ forms concentrate on specific instances of behavior that the person has done or could be expected to do.

Back 75

Behavior-focused

Front 76

People use __________ (categories or frames of reference) to help interpret and organize their experiences.

Back 76

schemata

Front 77

The objective of __________ is to familiarize raters with rater errors and teach them to avoid these rating patterns.

Back 77

RET, rater error training

Front 78

The use of multiple perspectives for manager feedback has been called __________.

Back 78

360 degree feedback

Front 79

Which is NOT a reason for I/O psychologists to appraise employees according to the textbook?

A. administrative decisions
B. determining favorite employees
C. employee development and feedback
D. criteria for research

Back 79

B. determining favorite employees

Front 80

A(n) _______________ criterion is the way in which the theoretical criterion is assessed or operationalized.

Back 80

actual

Front 81

This refers to the part of the actual criterion that reflects something other than what it was designed to measure.

Back 81

criterion contamination

Front 82

This means that the actual criterion does not adequately cover the entire theoretical criterion.

Back 82

criterion deficiency

Front 83

The _____________ approach does not combine the individual criterion measures, meaning that employees are judged on a variety of performance measures.

Back 83

multidimensional

Front 84

Which is not an objective measure of performance?
A. Number of accidents
B. Dollar amount of sales
C. Days late per year
D. Supervisor rating

Back 84

B. Attendance records

Front 85

If a manager is rating a subordinate on a list of behaviors based on if the ratee is better, worse, or the same as the stated behavior, he or she is MOST likely using which type of performance appraisal system?

Back 85

Mixed standard scale

Front 86

This type of subjective measure of performance appraisal asks raters to indicate for each item the amount of time the employee engaged in that behavior (i.e. 65% to 75% of the time)?

Back 86

Behavior Observation scale

Front 87

This type of rater error occurs when a rater gives an individual the same rating across all rating dimensions (i.e. communication and attendance) despite differences in performance across dimensions.

Back 87

halo error

Front 88

If a supervisor rated all her employees as having excellent performance, this would be an example of which type of rater error?

Back 88

leniency error

Front 89

Which of the following does the book suggest is a use for technology in regards to performance appraisal?

Back 89

monitoring of objective productivity

Front 90

Which of the following is not one of the six points of a legally defensible performance-appraisal system as suggested by Barrett and Kernan (1987)?
A. train raters in how to assess performance
B. rank employees from best to worst
C. provide counseling to poor-performing employees
D. perform a job analysis to define dimensions of performance

Back 90

rank employees from best to worst

Front 91

Explain the concept of dynamic criterion. What does previous research say about its usefulness?

Back 91

Variability of performance over time is referred to as the dynamic criterion, although it is the performance and not the standard that changes. The dynamic criterion idea has generated some controversy among I/O psychologists: Some believe that performance is stable, and others suggest that it is not (Schmitt & Chan, 1998). On the one hand, Deadrick and Madigan (1990) provide data with sewing machine operators in a clothing factory showing that performance was stable over short periods of time (weeks) but was not very consistent over long periods of time (months). On the other hand, Vinchur, Schippmann, Smalley, and Rothe (1991) found that job performance of manufacturing employees was reasonably stable over a five-year time span. Deadrick, Bennett, and Russell (1997) pointed out that employee performance tends to improve over time, at least early in an employee's tenure, and that the factors that determine performance of new employees are not necessarily the same as those that determine later performance improvement. Furthermore, Hofmann, Jacobs, and Baratta (1993) showed that different people have different patterns of performance over time. Some of their newly hired insurance salespeople tended to increase performance over the entire three-year study, whereas others increased at first and then leveled off. Looking at all these studies leads to the conclusion that people's performance over time can be variable, and that people differ in their patterns of performance variability.

Front 92

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of objective measures of performance.

Back 92

Using objective measures to assess job performance has several advantages. First, it can be easy to interpret the meaning of objective measures in relation to job performance criteria. Second, the quantitative nature of objective measures makes it easy to compare the job performance of different individuals in the same job. Third, objective measures can be tied directly to organizational objectives, such as making a product or providing a service. Finally, objective measures can often be found in organizational records, so that special performance appraisal systems do not have to be initiated. These data often are collected and stored, frequently in computers, for reasons other than employee performance appraisal, making performance appraisal a relatively easy task to accomplish. Unfortunately, objective performance measures also have several limitations. Many of the objective measures are not appropriate for all jobs. When jobs do not involve countable output, productivity is not a feasible measure of performance. Also, it is not always obvious what number is considered satisfactory performance. Data taken from records can be contaminated and inaccurate. Sometimes behaviors and productivity are attributed to the wrong person or are never recorded. People can also distort records by omitting bad incidents for individuals who are being favored, and employees might fail to report accidents and injuries.

Front 93

How are behavior-focused forms developed for use in performance appraisal?

Back 93

Because it focuses on specific behaviors, a form must be developed for a specific job or family of jobs. Step 1 is a job analysis that identifies the specific dimensions of performance, such as making arrests or writing reports for a police officer. Step 2 involves writing the descriptions of behaviors that vary in their effectiveness or ineffectiveness on the job. This can be done by collecting critical incidents from people who are knowledgeable about the job in question, such as employees who do the job or their supervisors. Critical incidents can provide examples that vary from extremely effective to extremely ineffective performance. Step 3 involves having judges (knowledgeable people) sort the descriptions of behavior into dimensions to verify that the descriptions reflect the intended dimensions. The final step is to have judges rate the descriptions of behavior along a continuum of effectiveness. With a BARS, these ratings allow for the placement of the descriptions along the scale for each dimension. With the MSS, the ratings are used to place statements into the three categories of good, satisfactory, and poor.

Front 94

Which is more effective, rater error training or frame of reference training? Why

Back 94

Results have been more promising with types of training other than RET. Those training procedures teach raters how to observe performance-relevant behavior and how to make judgments based on such observations. Day and Sulsky (1995) demonstrated promising results with frame of reference training, which attempts to provide a common understanding of the rating task. Raters are given specific examples of behavior that would represent various levels of performance for each dimension to be rated. Although these results are encouraging, more research is needed before we can confidently conclude that training can improve performance appraisal ratings, because most of the studies have been conducted in the laboratory with college student subjects.

Front 95

Discuss the other factors that can influence supervisors' ratings of their employees.

Back 95

Other factors can also affect the ratings given by supervisors, including supervisor feelings about the subordinate, supervisor mood, supervisor perceptions about subordinates' motives for performance, cultural factors, and the race of both the rater and ratee. The idea that supervisors give better ratings to subordinates they like is supported by research (e.g., Ferris, Judge, Rowland, & Fitzgibbons, 1994). The possibility that the mood of the rater at the time of appraisal can affect ratings has also been researched. In a laboratory study (Sinclair, 1988) results showed that participants in a depressed mood rated the professor's performance lower than subjects in the elated mood condition. The depressed participants were also more accurate and exhibited less halo. Managers' views of subordinate motivation can be a factor in their ratings of job performance, but interestingly such views can be subject to cultural factors. Interestingly, the race of the rater seems to have no effect on ratings for whites, but it does on ratings for blacks. As shown by Stauffer and Buckley (2005), black and white raters give similar ratings to whites, and rate blacks lower, on average, than whites. However, the difference between the ratings is much larger for white than black raters. If it is presumed that black raters would have less bias than white raters against black employees, and these findings suggest the possibility that white raters are biased against black employees. Of course, alternative explanations are that black raters are biased in favor of blacks and overrate them, or that both black and white raters are biased in favor of whites and overrate them relative to blacks.

Front 96

What are the six steps to a legally defensible performance appraisal system as suggested by Barrett & Kernan (1987)?

Back 96

In the United States there have been an increasing number of court challenges for performance-based employee actions, such as promotions and terminations (Latham et al., 1993). Barrett and Kernan (1987) suggested six components that should be part of a legally defensible performance appraisal system. The system should begin with a job analysis to derive the dimensions of performance for the particular job. The job analysis will ensure that the dimensions are job relevant. Raters should receive training in how the rating form is to be used to assess performance. To help minimize personal bias, upper management should review performance appraisals. Performance and the reasons for the employee action should be documented and recorded. It is easier to take action against an employee when the performance, good or poor, has been documented for a long period of time. This eliminates the appearance that the latest appraisal was given to justify a particular action affecting an employee. Finally, it is a good idea to provide assistance and counseling to employees whose performance is unsatisfactory. This shows that the organization has done everything possible for an unsatisfactory employee before taking action against him or her.

Front 97

A __________ is a standardized series of problems or questions that assess a particular individual characteristic.

Back 97

psychological test

Front 98

A(n) __________ gives the test taker almost unlimited time to take a test.

Back 98

power test

Front 99

A(n) __________ test assesses what one knows, whereas a(n) __________ test assesses what one is able to do.

Back 99

knowledge; skill

Front 100

(n) __________ is the predisposition or tendency to behave in a particular way across different situations.

Back 100

personality trait

Front 101

A(n) __________ is designed to predict whether an employee will engage in counterproductive or dishonest behavior on the job.

Back 101

integrity test

Front 102

A(n) __________ matches either the interest of the personality of the test taker to those of people in a variety of different occupations and occupational categories.

Back 102

vocational interest test

Front 103

The __________ biographical inventory is developed by administering a large number of potential items to a group of employees for a particular job.

Back 103

empirical

Front 104

A(n) __________ asks much more detailed background questions than a typical application form, like specific experiences about work and school.

Back 104

biographical inventory

Front 105

A(n) __________ is a face-to-face meeting between one or more interviewers who are collecting information or making hiring decisions and an interviewee.

Back 105

interview

Front 106

__________ and __________ interviews have become increasingly popular when applicants are located at far distances.

Back 106

Telephone; videophone

Front 107

A __________ is an assessment device that requires people to demonstrate how well they can perform the tasks involved in a job under standardized conditions.

Back 107

work sample

Front 108

A(n) __________ measures how well a person is able to perform the tasks of a specific job.

Back 108

assessment center

Front 109

A(n) __________ exercise requires that the assessee pretend to be a particular person in a specific organized role.

Back 109

role-play

Front 110

One problem with assessment centers as they are currently conducted is that they __________ the assessor's ability to accurately assess dimensions.

Back 110

overload

Front 111

__________ selects the specific items given to test takers according to their individual ability level.

Back 111

Tailored testing

Front 112

The element of KSAO's that tells what a person is able to do on the job.

Back 112

Skill

Front 113

The element of KSAO's that tells what refers to what a person knows about a job.

Back 113

Knowledge

Front 114

Which of these types of tests is best to use in terms of increasing reliability and validity?

Back 114

multiple items

Front 115

This type of test is more cost effective because it is administered to many people at once.

Back 115

group test

Front 116

In this type of test, a test taker must choose one answer choice from several possible responses.

Back 116

closed-ended test

Front 117

If an applicant was given a test where they were asked to perform a task, such as a typing test, what kind of test would that be?

Back 117

performance test

Front 118

Tests of this type typically test abilities such as mathematical and verbal reasoning and are equivalent to IQ tests.

Back 118

Cognitive ability test

Front 119

This test assesses such things as ability to manipulate objects and use tools.

Back 119

Psychomotor ability test

Front 120

If you wanted to measure someone's values and attitudes (i.e. if they were introverted vs. extroverted), which of these types of tests would be BEST to use?

Back 120

personality test

Front 121

The ability to control and recognize emotions in oneself and in others would be considered which characteristic?

Back 121

emotional intelligence

Front 122

The _____________ integrity test assesses characteristics that have been found to predict counterproductive behavior.

Back 122

personality

Front 123

According to research, which work behaviors do integrity tests predict the WORST?

Back 123

theft

Front 124

The ______________ biographical inventory is developed by beginning with an analysis of KSAO requirements and then devising items that reflect them.

Back 124

rational

Front 125

Which is not a use of interviews as described in the book?
A. To get personal information that applicants would not put on an application
B. Make inferences based on their behavior in an interview situation
C. As an alternative to a written questionnaire to collect information
D. Determine suitability for a job based on the answers to the question

Back 125

A. To get personal information that applicants would not put on an application

Front 126

Which of these is a disadvantage to doing an interview as listed in the book?

Back 126

The interviewer can affect the answers of the interviewee

Front 127

Which is not a dimension that is scored in an assessment center?

Back 127

Management skills

Front 128

This assessment center task asks assessees to pretend that it is the first day of a new job and they have found a series of items to complete, such as memos and phone messages.

Back 128

in-basket exercise

Front 129

In this assessment center task, assessees are given a problem to solve together, with each being asked to play the role of a particular management position.

Back 129

leaderless group exercise

Front 130

A specific type of computerized tailored test that starts by giving the test taker an item of moderate difficulty and then gives them harder or easier questions depending on if they get questions correct.

Back 130

computer adaptive test

Front 131

What is the difference between a power test and a speed test? What are the advantages of each?

Back 131

A power test gives the test taker almost unlimited time to complete the test. A speed test has a strict time limit. It is designed so that almost no one could finish all the items in the allotted time. There are two ways in which the speed test is used. First, a speed test can contain challenging items that must be completed under time pressure. Some instructors use speed tests for classroom examinations under the presumption that the better prepared students will be able to answer the questions more quickly than the less well prepared students. The drawback to this use of speed tests is that test takers who are slow readers or writers are at a disadvantage. The second use is with a test that is designed to assess a person's speed in doing a particular task.

Front 132

What has research shown about the validity and usefulness of cognitive ability tests?

Back 132

Research has consistently shown that cognitive ability tests are valid predictors of job performance across a large number of different kinds of jobs (Bertua, Anderson, & Salgado, 2005). People who score well on cognitive ability tests tend to perform better on many jobs. Cognitive ability tests have a long history of use by large organizations for employee selection because of their efficiency and validity. In a survey of 703 SIOP members, Murphy, Cronin, and Tam (2003) found consensus among I/O psychologists that such tests are fair and useful for selection. On the other hand, the use of cognitive ability tests has been controversial because some minority groups (e.g., African Americans and Hispanics) score worse on average than do whites on these tests (see the discussion of adverse impact in Chapter 6). For this reason, the use of cognitive ability tests must be used cautiously, and only for jobs where their validity has been conclusively established and better options are not available.

Front 133

What have findings shown about faking on personality tests?

Back 133

Researchers frequently use personality tests to study many different aspects of people's behavior in organizations, but there are two major concerns about the use of personality tests for employee selection. First, there is the possibility that job applicants will fake responses to the test by answering the items in the manner they believe will put them in the most favorable light (Birkeland, Manson, Kisamore, Brannick, & Smith, 2006). When this happens, the scores for individuals who fake answers will not be valid, and the validity of the test itself will be compromised (Heggestad, Morrison, Reeve, & McCloy, 2006). Research has revealed, however, that attempts at distortion will not necessarily invalidate a personality test used for employee selection (Schmitt Ryan, Stierwalt, & Powell, 1995). It is conceivable that individuals who know how they should appear on the test will also know how they should behave at work to be effective.

Front 134

What is the difference between structured and unstructured interviews? Which is considered to be better based on previous research?

Back 134

There are two types of interviews conducted in organizational settings. During an unstructured interview, the interviewer asks whatever questions come to mind. It can be much like a conversation between the interviewer and interviewee in which the nature of the interaction between the two people determines in large part what is discussed. By contrast, during a structured interview, the interviewer has a preplanned series of questions that are asked of every person who is interviewed. This makes the interview relatively standard, although the interaction between the two people can still affect what gets discussed. Nevertheless, the use of a standard set of questions allows the interviewer to collect the same information about each interviewee. Research evidence supports the use of structured interviews in making employment decisions, but not necessarily the use of unstructured interviews. Ratings of interviewee employment suitability from a structured interview have been shown to predict future job performance across many different studies (Huffcutt & Arthur, 1994)

Front 135

How is a work sample different from a psychological test? How is a work sample conducted and how does it work?

Back 135

A work sample is like a psychological test except that it is designed to measure a higher level skill. A test measures a basic skill, such as eye-hand coordination or manual dexterity. A work sample assesses the skill in doing a particular task, such as driving a bulldozer, which is comprised of several basic skills performed in the context of a particular set of conditions. For some applications, the higher level skill may be more important to assess than the basic skills because a work sample indicates how well a person can actually do a particular task. A psychological test indicates whether people have the requisite basic skills that should in theory predict how well they could do the task, but not how well they can actually do it. The typical work sample gives the applicant the materials and tools necessary to accomplish the task. The applicant is instructed to complete the task quickly but accurately. A score is computed based on the accuracy with which the task is completed and the amount of time it took. For example, a person might be asked to disassemble and reassemble an electric motor or a small gasoline engine. A trained observer scores the test performance on accuracy and speed.

Front 136

What are the findings regarding the validity of assessment centers?

Back 136

Although the overall scores in an assessment center have been shown to be valid, questions have been raised about the construct validity of the individual dimension scores (Bowler & Woehr, 2006). In other words, we are not certain that the intended dimensions of the assessment center are actually what is being measured. Different exercises are designed to assess a common set of dimensions. Because the same dimensions are assessed across exercises, scores on corresponding dimensions from different exercises should correlate well. The problem with assessment centers is that the various dimension scores given to assessees within an exercise, such as an in-basket, are too highly correlated. Furthermore, the scores given to assessees on the same dimensions across different exercises are not correlated enough. The high correlations across dimensions within exercises suggest that assessors are assessing only a single dimension rather than multiple dimensions. One possibility is that assessors are able to judge only overall exercise performance rather than the individual dimensions. The low correlations between dimensions across exercises suggest that each exercise might assess a different characteristic.

Front 137

What are the pros and cons of the electronic administration of psychological tests?

Back 137

First, the test can be scored automatically as soon as the last item is answered, which can speed up the selection process. Second, a test can be put on a web site, allowing access from almost anywhere in the world. An applicant doesn't have to come to a particular testing site to take the test. Of course, steps must be taken to monitor test taking so that cheating doesn't occur. There are two major disadvantages (McBride, 1998). First, developing a computer testing system can be expensive and time consuming, although the increasing availability of off-the-shelf electronic assessments is reducing this cost. Hardware and software costs can be considerable, especially compared to the small cost of printed test booklets and pencils. The use of computer-scannable answer sheets, however, allows for cheap computer scoring of large numbers of tests, thus eliminating one advantage of computer administration. Second, computerized tests are not necessarily equivalent to printed tests, especially for speeded tests, which time how many correct items a person can do in a given interval. One such test is a clerical speed and accuracy test in which the test taker must compare two strings of letters and indicate whether or not they are the same.

Front 138

Demand is expected to __________ for jobs in manufacturing and mining, but demand should __________ for jobs in health-related fields and technology.

Back 138

decline, increase

Front 139

Effort to recruit good applicants should be based on a detailed specification of the __________.

Back 139

KSAOs

Front 140

The more __________ an organization can be, the better the chances that the person hired will be a good employee.

Back 140

selective

Front 141

Determining if a given predictor relates to a criterion requires a __________ which is a research study that attempts to show that the predictor relates to the criterion.

Back 141

validation study

Front 142

In a(n) __________, both the criterion and predictor scores are collected from a sample of participants at more or less the same point in time.

Back 142

concurrent validation study

Front 143

Cross validation is done to be certain that our results are not due to a __________.

Back 143

statistical error

Front 144

__________ means that the validities of selection devices are generalizable, or transportable, from job to job and organization to organization.

Back 144

Validity generalization

Front 145

It is possible to purchase __________ selection devices from psychological testing companies that offer validated tests for sale to organizations.

Back 145

off-the-shelf

Front 146

A(n) __________ program is where employees are allowed to choose their benefits from a long list of possibilities.

Back 146

cafeteria benefits

Front 147

The __________ of a selection device is the magnitude of the correlation between it and the criterion.

Back 147

validity

Front 148

A predictor is not necessarily the best choice for an organization, because the __________ of using the predictor might exceed the __________.

Back 148

costs, benefits

Front 149

The __________ changed the way organizations selected employees because it expanded legal protections against discrimination and provided a mechanism to enforce them.

Back 149

Civil Rights Act

Front 150

The law states that discrimination against anyone is illegal; certain groups have been the target of protection under the law. These groups are called __________.

Back 150

protected classes

Front 151

__________ is a practice that many organizations have used to increase the number of protected class members in targeted jobs.

Back 151

Affirmative Action

Front 152

For a successful selection procedure, what should be the first step in acquiring new employees?

Back 152

planning

Front 153

Which approach deals with the shifting nature of jobs, is more expensive, provides the least amount of harm to employees, and gives employees a marketable skill?

Back 153

training approach

Front 154

Which of the following is NOT a possible source for recruiting applicants according to the textbook?
A. walk-ins
B. advertisements
C. family referrals
D. web

Back 154

C. family referrals

Front 155

When selecting employees, this is the definition of a good employee, or put simply, an indicator of good performance.

Back 155

criterion

Front 156

Which method is NOT a method listed in the textbook to be used as a valid predictor of job performance?
A. psychological tests
B. application forms
C. work samples
D. interviews

Back 156

B. application forms

Front 157

What type of validation study would measure predictors, and then at a later time assess the criterion?

Back 157

predictive validity study

Front 158

An approach for eliminating applicants which requires a passing score for each predictor.

Back 158

multiple hurdles approach

Front 159

_______________ gives job applicants accurate information about the job and the organization.

Back 159

realistic job preview

Front 160

The study of how effective selection devices are for organizations and their overall effectiveness on organizational functioning is called:

Back 160

utility analysis

Front 161

The percentage of applicants who would be successful on the job if all of the them were hired is called:

Back 161

baserate

Front 162

The _____________ is the proportion of job applicants an organization must hire. It is calculated as the number of positions to fill divided by the number of applicants.

Back 162

selection ration

Front 163

This case made it more difficult for individuals to win discrimination cases. It was an impetus for the Civil Rights Act of 1991.

Back 163

Wards Cove Packing Company v. Antonio (1987)

Front 164

This legislation protects individuals from discrimination on the basis of gender, national origin, race, and religion.

Back 164

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Front 165

One of the most important concepts embodied in the Uniform Guidelines is _______________ which refers to the impact on a protected class of a given selection practice.

Back 165

adverse impact

Front 166

This requires that an organization make adjustments for a disabled employee to perform the job.

Back 166

reasonable accommodations

Front 167

What is the best source for finding job applicants according to recent research? Why?

Back 167

The different sources of job applicants do not necessarily attract applicants of the same quality. Zottoli and Wanous (2000) reviewed 50 years of research on applicant sources and found consistent evidence that inside sources (employee referrals of friends and acquaintances, rehires of former employees, transfers from inside the organization) provided people who performed better and remained on the job longer, on average, than outside sources (advertising or employment agencies). Furthermore, employees hired through inside sources tend to be more satisfied with their jobs, likely because they have more realistic expectations about what the job will entail (Moser, 2005). Zottoli and Wanous (2000) suggested two reasons for the superiority of inside sources. First, such applicants receive more accurate information about the job and so prescreen themselves out of jobs for which they aren't suited. Second, recommenders will assess fit before suggesting someone for a job. Employees can have a personal stake in seeing good people hired in their own areas, and so they will attempt to screen out people who aren't suitable.

Front 168

How has technology impacted employee recruitment in recent years?

Back 168

Technology has been impacting recruitment in significant ways in the past few years. Web-based recruitment companies, such as Hotjobs.com and Monster, have been growing at phenomenal rates. A quick check of the Monster Web site on March 12, 2004 showed that more than 1.6 million applicants were checking the site every day, and more than 800,000 jobs were posted. A potential applicant can go to the Web site and search for a job for free; employers pay to post jobs. Web services of this kind do far more than just post jobs. They provide prescreening, online assessments, and systems to help manage recruitment. Furthermore, they are more efficient ways of searching for jobs than using printed sources such as newspapers. For example, Van Rooy, Alonso, and Fairchild (2003) did an experiment in which college students were asked to search for an accountant job using the Web or print media. The number of jobs they found was more than 25 times higher using the Web, and their reactions to the Web were more favorable.

Front 169

How do concurrent and predictive validity studies differ? Which one is better?

Back 169

In a concurrent validation study, both the criterion and predictor scores are collected from a sample of participants at more or less the same point in time. Usually, the participants are current employees who are assessed on both criteria and predictors. The employees' test scores would then be correlated with their most recent performance evaluations. If the two are related, we assume that scores on the predictor at the time of application for a job will predict later performance on the job. In a predictive validity study, the predictors are measured before the criterion. A sample of job applicants might be given the predictor assessment. They would then be hired and some time later assessed on the criterion or criteria. The time span between predictor and criterion assessment could be months or years. The predictor scores would be correlated with the criterion scores to see if the predictor can forecast later criterion scores. It might seem that the predictive design would be superior to the concurrent in validating predictors, because the predictive design tests the predictor on applicants rather than employees who already have been selected and trained. Research has shown, however, that the two designs are equally effective in validating predictors. This is good news for organizations, because predictive designs take a long time to conduct.

Front 170

Briefly describe what the regression approach to selecting employees is and how it works.

Back 170

The regression approach uses the score from each predictor in an equation to provide a numerical estimate of the criterion. With the computer sales job, an equation could predict the actual dollar amount of sales per month. Predictors for the job might be grade point average (GPA) in college and scores on the communication exercise. Both quantitative variables (GPA and exercise score) can be combined mathematically to provide predicted criterion scores (e.g., monthly sales). Individuals who are forecasted to have the best criterion scores would be the ones hired.

Front 171

When graphing the criterion and predictor to determine success rates, describe what each quadrant of the graph represents (i.e. which one is a false positive).

Back 171

The graph is divided into four quadrants. The upper right quadrant contains applicants who would have been hired if the predictor was used and would have been successful on the job. They are referred to as true positives. The lower right quadrant contains people who would have been hired if the predictor was used but would have been unsuccessful on the job. They are the false positives. The lower left quadrant contains people who would not have been hired if the predictor was used and would not have been successful. They are the true negatives. Finally, the upper left quadrant contains applicants who would not have been hired if the predictor was used and would have been successful on the job. They are the false negatives.

Front 172

Describe a few international differences in selection practices.

Back 172

Newell and Tansley (2001) noted that there were differences in selection practices across countries, even where job requirements and situations were similar, and furthermore that less valid procedures were often preferred over more valid ones. In the United States, anti-discrimination laws have shaped how selection must be done (see the discussion of legal issues in the next section). In many European countries, such as Germany and Sweden, unions are quite powerful, and they influence selection procedures much more than in the United States. In less wealthy countries, expensive assessments are not an option. Finally, there are cultural differences in values and what is considered important. For example, in some countries achievement is more important than symbols of status. In the former, the college grade point average would be considered more important than the status of the institution attended, but the opposite might be true in the latter. Marcus (2003) compared attitudes of college students toward different selection devices in France, Germany, and the United States, finding that Americans were most favorable toward biographical inventories, Germans were most favorable toward personality tests, and the French were least favorable toward integrity tests and interviews. Moscoso and Salgado (2004) found that Portuguese and Spanish college students were most favorable toward interviews and work samples and were least favorable toward integrity tests and getting jobs through personal contacts.

Front 173

What is the intention of affirmative action programs? What are some possible negative effects?

Back 173

The intent of an affirmative action program is to remedy the widespread problem of discrimination. Such programs should be introduced carefully, because they can have unintended detrimental effects on the groups they are designed to help. Madeline Heilman and her colleagues have found that women who are given preferential treatment in hiring can have a negative view of themselves and other women (Heilman, Kaplow, Amato, & Stathatos, 1993), and such negative views can affect self-confidence (Heilman & Alcott, 2001). This effect has been found with minority candidates as well (Evans, 2003). Furthermore, a person who is hired under affirmative action is likely to be seen as incompetent, and the stigma of affirmative action in the minds of co-workers is difficult to overcome (HeilmanBattle, Keller, & Lee, 1998). Research has also shown adverse effects on nonbeneficiaries when preferential treatment has been perceived as unfair—namely, as reverse discrimination (Heilman, McCullough, & Gilbert, 1996; Leck, Saunders, & Charbonneau, 1996).

Front 174

Briefly describe discrimination laws outside of the United States.

Back 174

How different countries approach their discrimination problems depends on the nature of those problems and the society. Pearn (1989) compared the situation in the United Kingdom and the United States in terms of laws and practices. Although the two countries have similar laws, Britain is far more lax in enforcement. This is in part because blacks make up a smaller percentage of the British population (only 5%) and in part because of differences in the legal systems of the two countries (Pearn, 1989). In 1995 the United Kingdom instituted the Disability Discrimination Act, which is much like the ADA in the United States. As in the United States, there is resistance by employers, especially those who have negative attitudes about the disabled and little knowledge of what the law actually requires (Jackson, Furnham, &Willen, 2000). South Africa began legal reforms in the 1970s, motivated in large part by labor shortages among the minority white population (Barling, Fullagar, & Bluen, 1986). In recent years, political action by the black majority has resulted in rigorous affirmative action rules throughout the society. Canada is much like the United States in terms of laws and vigor of enforcement. Although details may be different, organizations need to follow the same practices to avoid legal problems in Canada as they would in the United States. Ireland is a more homogeneous society than Canada or the United States, having fewer minority groups of sufficient size to push for legal protection. In Ireland discrimination is illegal on the basis of gender or marital status, but the law is silent about blacks or other minority groups (Federation of Irish Employers, 1991)

Front 175

A(n) __________ is conducted to determine which employees need training and what the content of their training should be.

Back 175

needs assessment

Front 176

Most organizational training is conducted with the expectation that employees will apply what they have learned on the job. This is called __________.

Back 176

transfer of training

Front 177

__________ means that the responses in the training situation are identical to those in the job situation.

Back 177

Identical elements

Front 178

__________ can be done smoothly without having to mentally monitor or pay attention to how they are performing.

Back 178

Automaticity

Front 179

__________ training refers to breaking a task into components that are learned one at a time. __________ training occurs when the same entire task is taught at one time rather than breaking it into individual components.

Back 179

Part, whole

Front 180

A(n) __________ is a meeting of trainees and a trainer to discuss the material in question.

Back 180

conference

Front 181

A(n) __________ is a type of simulation in which the trainee pretends to be doing a task.

Back 181

role play

Front 182

When multiple methods are combined (usually with the help of e-learning), __________ can be produced.

Back 182

blended learning

Front 183

__________ is a special kind of work relationship between two employees in which the more experienced one offers career guidance, counseling, and emotional support, and serves as a role model, to the less experienced one.

Back 183

Mentoring

Front 184

________ is concerned with the person's performance on the job rather than in the training setting.

Back 184

Performance level criteria

Front 185

__________ refer to how much the trainees liked the training and how much they believed they got out of it.

Back 185

Reactions criteria

Front 186

__________ refer to how much the trainees liked the training and how much they believed they got out of it.

Back 186

Reactions criteria

Front 187

A(n) __________ is the structure of a study, whether a study of training or some other phenomenon, that specifies how data are collected.

Back 187

design

Front 188

The development of a new training program should always include a(n) __________ component.

Back 188

evaluation

Front 189

What is the first step in developing an effective training program?

Back 189

conduct training needs assessment

Front 190

What is the last step in developing an effective training program?

Back 190

Evaluate training

Front 191

According to Goldstein a needs assessment should focus on all of these levels EXCEPT:
A. organization
B. job
C. person
D. business

Back 191

D. business

Front 192

4. Which of the following is NOT a design factor listed in the textbook as a means to enhance transfer of training?
A. general principles
B. feedback
C. blended learning
D. overlearning

Back 192

C. blended learning

Front 193

What design factor for the transfer of training teaches employees why something is done as well as how it should be done?

Back 193

general principles

Front 194

______________ is an important concept of learning that allows trainees to determine how well they are learning the material.

Back 194

feedback

Front 195

This type of training session is relatively short, spread out over time, and more effective in the long term.

Back 195

spaced training

Front 196

In this training method, specialized equipment or materials are used to portray a task situation.

Back 196

simulation

Front 197

This training technique refers to any training method that is self-paced and does not use an instructor.

Back 197

autoinstruction

Front 198

an employee who just started as a restaurant cook was learning by cooking the food, this would most clearly be an example of which type of training?

Back 198

on-the-job training

Front 199

________________ is most likely for higher level positions when the incumbent has significant performance deficiencies and the cost of finding a replacement is high.

Back 199

executive coaching

Front 200

The final type of criterion in a training program that deals with whether the training had its intended effects.

Back 200

results criteria

Front 201

What type of criteria would measure the skills and knowledge learned in training?

Back 201

learning criteria

Front 202

Which design assesses trainees before and after training?

Back 202

pretest-posttest

Front 203

Why is it important to set objectives before starting a training program?

Back 203

Unless you are clear about the purpose of training, it is difficult to design a training program to achieve it. Part of this step is to define the criteria for good training success. The objectives of training are based on criteria and should include a statement of what a trainee should know or be able to do after training. The training criterion is a statement of how achievement of the training objective can be assessed. The training objective of acquiring knowledge, for example, can be assessed by seeing if trainees can meet the criterion of achieving a cutoff score on a knowledge test. Criteria serve as the basis for the design of organizational training. Once we know what the training criterion is, we can design appropriate training to achieve it. Criteria also serve as the standards against which training programs can be evaluated, which we discuss in the section on training evaluation. Training objectives should be based on the results of the needs assessment.

Front 204

What trainee characteristics affect whether the training material will be learned?

Back 204

Individual differences in ability and motivation are important factors in learning (Herold, Davis, Fedor, & Parsons, 2002). Not everyone is equally able to learn specific tasks, and where one person is better able to learn cognitive tasks, another is more skilled at motor tasks. Not everyone has the same ability to learn a given task, and training needs to recognize these differences. In order to get each trainee up to a given level of knowledge, more training would be necessary for the low-ability trainees. A good strategy for training is to give each individual trainee the amount of training necessary to reach the training criterion. This can mean that some people get a lot more training than others. Attitudes and motivation can affect outcomes both in training and on the job (Noe & Schmitt,1986). People who do not wish to learn will not likely get much benefit from a training program. One of the most important factors that must be considered is how to motivate employees to do their best in a training situation. This can be done by giving external rewards for successful completion (e.g., promotion) or by making the training interesting to the trainees. People also differ in the best way to learn new material. Some are good at learning from a presentation, whereas others do well with written materials. Individual capacities and preferences for different types of training are important considerations and should be taken into account if possible. People who do not read well should be trained with verbal approaches. Others, who like to study and think about material, might do better with a written manual.

Front 205

Briefly describe modeling and the research findings regarding its effectiveness.

Back 205

Modeling involves having trainees watch someone perform a task and then having them model what they have seen. The model can be on a film or videotape. Models can show both effective and ineffective examples of behavior. This approach is often used for the training of supervisory skills, such as giving negative feedback to an employee who is performing poorly. The trainer's role is to encourage the trainees to try the approaches and to give them feedback about how well they imitated what they saw. Research on the modeling approach has provided support for its ability to train people in interpersonal skills, such as communicating with others. Taylor, Russ-Eft, and Chan's (2005) meta-analysis showed that modeling was effective in enhancing learning performance as assessed by both paper-and-pencil tests and simulations. Simon and Werner (1996) reported better learning with modeling than with autoinstruction or lecture in training U.S. naval personnel in the use of a new data processing system on a personal computer.

Front 206

How is the Web currently being used for training purposes? What are some of its advantages and disadvantages?

Back 206

Training materials can be put online so they are available to employees at all times. This makes training available whenever and wherever the employee comes across a situation in which the training is needed, rather than having to wait until a training session is available. This can be an advantage in jobs that involve a tremendous amount of information and rapid change, as in technology jobs (Rischall, 2001). Also, e-learning can be cost effective because it eliminates travel to attend training sessions and the need for live trainers, both of which can be expensive (Burgess & Russell, 2003). Research shows that e-learning can result in equivalent or even better learning than classroom instruction (Sitzmann, Kraiger, Stewart, & Wisher, 2006). One drawback is that completion rates are not always good. S. L. Cohen (2001) reports that of all who begin online training courses, fewer than 25% finish them.

Front 207

What is mentoring? What are its effects?

Back 207

Mentoring is a special kind of work relationship between two employees in which the more experienced one offers career guidance, counseling, and emotional support, and serves as a role model, to the less experienced one (Day & Allen, 2004). Mentoring can be thought of as a kind of training that not only orients new employees to the job but helps them develop their careers with the company over a considerable period (Young & Perrew´e, 2000). Research has shown that employees who are mentored, derive a number of benefits from mentoring, including better job performance, quicker promotion, better job attitudes, less turnover (Allen, Eby, Poteet, Lentz, & Lima, 2004; Underhill, 2006), and less conflict between demands of home and work (Nielson, Carlson, & Lankau, 2001). There are also benefits for the mentors, including personal satisfaction, enhanced job performance, recognition by others, and future loyalty of the protégés which can be helpful (Eby, Durley, Evans, & Ragins, 2006). Mentoring occurs quite naturally as relationships develop between people at work, but many organizations have formal mentoring programs in which mentors and protégés are assigned to one another (Raabe & Beehr, 2003).

Front 208

Briefly describe the steps necessary to evaluate a training program.

Back 208

Carrying out a training evaluation requires five steps. The first step is to define the criteria for evaluation. As we have discussed several times in this book, you must have criteria before you can evaluate anything. Criteria are the standards for comparison so that you can determine if training has been effective. Once criteria have been selected, a design for the study and the measures used to assess the criteria can be selected (steps 2 and 3). Step 4 is collecting the data for the study. Step 5 is analyzing the data and reaching conclusions about the effectiveness of the training program.

Front 209

What is a control group? Why is it used, and why is it difficult to utilize?

Back 209

A control group design compares employees who receive training to equivalent employees who have not been trained. To conduct a control group study, a group of employees is selected for the study. Half are assigned at random to the trained group, and the other half is the control group who receive no training. At the end of the training program, all employees in the study are assessed on the measures of interest. The comparison between the two subgroups of employees indicates the effects of the training in this design is more difficult to use in an organization because it is not always possible to assign employees at random to the two groups. In addition, there can be contamination if the trained employees tell the untrained control group employees what they have learned. However, this design is an improvement over the pretest-posttest when you wish to determine the effects of training. It helps control for the possibility that it was something other than training that caused the changes you observed in employees.

Front 210

______________ is generally defined as an internal state that induces a person to engage in particular behaviors.

Back 210

Motivation

Front 211

_____________ is the part of motivation that refers to the choice of specific behaviors from a large number of possible behaviors.

Back 211

Direction

Front 212

Work motivation theories are most typically concerned with the ______________, other than ability, that some people perform their jobs better than others.

Back 212

reasons

Front 213

______________ motivation theories deal with processes that are far removed from the behavior, but ______________ motivation theories deal with processes that are close to the behavior.

Back 213

Distal; proximal

Front 214

______________ states that motivation comes from the nature of the job, not from external rewards or job conditions.

Back 214

Two-factor theory

Front 215

______________ theory describes how rewards or reinforcements can affect behavior.

Back 215

Reinforcement

Front 216

______________ attempts to explain how rewards lead to behavior by focusing on internal cognitive states that lead to motivation.

Back 216

Expectancy theory

Front 217

__________ is the subjective probability that a given behavior will result in a particular reward.

Back 217

Instrumentality

Front 218

People with high ______________ believe they are capable of accomplishing tasks and will be motivated to put forth effort.

Back 218

self-efficacy

Front 219

______________ is where people's beliefs about their own capabilities lead them to perform better, as in a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Back 219

Galatea effect

Front 220

______________ are the rewards, or everything of personal value that an employee gets from working for an organization, including pay, fringe benefits, good treatment, enjoyment, and status. ______________ are the contributions made by the employee to the organization.

Back 220

Outcomes; Inputs

Front 221

The theory of motivation that has been the most useful for I/O psychologists is ______________.

Back 221

goal-setting theory

Front 222

____________ refers to how a person focuses their goals.

Back 222

Goal orientation

Front 223

A person who is ______________ oriented tends to follow the action process, setting goals, formulating plans, and then sticking with them until the goals are achieved.

Back 223

action

Front 224

Motivation has to do with all of the following EXCEPT:

A. direction
B. usefulness
C. persistence
D. intensity

Back 224

B. usefulness

Front 225

______________ refers to the motivation to continue engaging in a behavior over time.

Back 225

persistence

Front 226

This motivational theory is concerned specifically with rewards, environmental influences, and human cognitive processes.

Back 226

expectancy theory

Front 227

This motivational theory is a cognitive theory that explains how goals are translated into behaviors that persist until one reaches one's objective:

Back 227

action theory

Front 228

_______________ says that people are motivated to acquire certain categories of things, such as food or recognition.

Back 228

need theory

Front 229

These types of motivational theories are concerned with values rather than needs, beliefs, or reinforcements.

Back 229

justice theories

Front 230

According to two-factor theory, job aspects relevant to animal needs are called _______________ factors and include pay, supervision, co-workers, and organizational policies.

Back 230

hygiene

Front 231

ke's _______________ states that the probability of a particular behavior increases if it is followed by a reward or reinforcement.

Back 231

law of effect

Front 232

Vroom's theory of motivation includes _______________ which represents the amount of motivation a person has to engage in a particular behavior or sequence of behaviors that are relevant to job performance.

Back 232

force

Front 233

This represents the extent to which one wants or desires something.

Back 233

valence

Front 234

Research has found support for which aspect of Equity theory?

Back 234

underpayment

Front 235

_______________ is concerned with the fairness of the reward distribution process, as opposed to the results of the distribution.

Back 235

procedural justice

Front 236

If someone focused their goals on being able to produce a certain number of reports, which type of goal orientation would this be?

Back 236

performance orientation

Front 237

According to Locke & Henne (1986), all these are important factors for goal setting to improve job performance EXCEPT which of the following factors?
A. specific goals
B. easy to attain goals
C. feedback on progress toward goals
D. goal acceptance by the employee

Back 237

B. easy to attain goals

Front 238

This theory builds on goal-setting theory by focusing on how feedback affects motivation to maintain effort toward goals.

Back 238

control theory

Front 239

According to Maslow, how do needs motivate a person to action?

Back 239

According to Maslow, a need must be unmet to be motivating, and people are motivated by the lowest level need that is unmet at the moment. That is, if two levels of needs are unmet, the lower level need will dominate. Thus, a hungry person would not be concerned with danger and might risk stealing food even though the punishment for theft is severe. A person with unmet safety needs would not be concerned about going to a party and having a good time with friends. Maslow recognized, however, that there can be exceptions to the hierarchy, and that some individuals find certain higher order needs to be more important than lower level ones. Furthermore, many individuals in Western society have the first four needs met and may never have experienced deprivation of one or more of them, especially food. Therefore, the basic needs are not motivating

Front 240

How do incentive systems work? What does research say about their effectiveness?

Back 240

With incentive systems, rewards are contingent on individual units of productivity. For jobs with countable output, it can be relatively easy to institute incentive systems. For other jobs, there can be specific, measurable performance-relevant behaviors that could be quantified. Research has shown that rewards can be effective in enhancing job performance. Stajkovic and Luthans (2003) conducted a meta-analysis of 72 studies of the effects of rewards, both monetary and nonmonetary, on job performance. They found that reward systems, on average, result in a 16% increase in performance, but monetary rewards had a bigger impact on performance (23%) than nonmonetary. Although rewards can enhance job performance under some conditions, such conditions do not always exist in organizations (Coch & French, 1948). Additional influences by other employees, constraints in the environment (e.g., inadequate equipment), and the indifference of employees to some types of rewards can result in the failure of incentive systems.

Front 241

What are some uses of expectancy theory? Does research support its utility?

Back 241

Expectancy theory can also predict a person's choice of behavior from two or more options. Suppose that you have a dinner date, and you must choose between working overtime and going on the date. For each possible course of action, there will be an expectancy, valences, and instrumentalities. Thus, there will be a force to work overtime and a force to go on the date. The course of action with the greater force is the one, in theory, that you will take. There has been research support for the predictions of expectancy theory. Studies have shown that performance is related to the individual components of expectancy theory, as well as to the multiplicative combination (Van Eerde & Thierry, 1996). In the typical study, a sample of employees is surveyed and asked to indicate their expectancies that they can perform the job, as well as their valences and instrumentalities for each of a number of possible outcomes. In addition, supervisors are asked to provide job performance ratings for each employee. The total force score is then correlated with performance.

Front 242

What is self-efficacy theory and how does it differ from expectancy theory?

Back 242

Self-efficacy theory states that motivation and performance are determined in part by how effective people believe they can be (Bandura, 1982). In other words, people with high self-efficacy believe they are capable of accomplishing tasks and will be motivated to put forth effort. People with low self-efficacy do not believe they can accomplish tasks; they will not be motivated and will not put forth the effort. In a way, this is like a self-fulfilling prophecy in which one behaves in a manner that fulfills one's initial belief. The self-efficacy concept is concerned with specific tasks or courses of action, and people vary in their self-efficacy across different tasks. Self-efficacy is much like the concept of expectancy. The major difference is that expectancy is concerned with a specific activity at a particular point in time, whereas self-efficacy is concerned with the general feeling that a person is or is not capable in some domain of life, such as playing tennis. Self-efficacy theory and expectancy theory are compatible in predicting that people will do well at tasks when they believe they can succeed. Expectancy theory also considers the influence of rewards on motivation, a subject that is not addressed by self-efficacy theory.

Front 243

Briefly explain Equity theory.

Back 243

The theory posits that employees form psychological comparisons of their own outcome/ input ratios to those of other employees. That is, employees will psychologically evaluate how much they receive from the job (outcomes) in relation to their contributions (inputs), which is represented as the ratio: Employees compare their ratios to the ratios of people they choose for comparison. These comparison people, or others, might be employees doing the same job inside or outside the organization. They might also be people who have different types of jobs. The comparison involves the entire ratio and not the individual outcomes or inputs. Thus, one may believe a situation is equitable even though one's outcomes are less than one's inputs. It is only when one believes that one's ratio is different from other people's ratios that inequity exists. This difference can be in either direction. That is, an employee who believes that other people get more outcomes for their inputs can experience underpayment inequity. When an employee believes that other people are getting fewer outcomes for their inputs, this is an instance of overpayment inequity.

Front 244

What do research findings say about goal setting?

Back 244

Goal-setting theory is well supported by research (Locke & Latham, 1990). Not only have its propositions been the subject of considerable research, but goal setting is a popular means of increasing job performance. For example, Klein, Wesson, Hollenbeck, and Alge (1999) describe a meta-analysis of 83 studies, showing that greater goal commitment is associated with better performance. The theory and research surrounding goal-setting theory underscore important factors (shown in Table 8.2) that should be incorporated into a goal-setting program. Yearta et al. (1995) noted that most goal-setting studies involve single goals, such as increased production in a factory. They showed that with more complex jobs and multiple goals, performance was lower when goals were difficult. Doerr, Mitchell, Klastorin, and Brown (1996) showed that group goals were better than individual goals for increasing speed of production in a fish processing plant (see Research in Detail). Ambrose and Kulik (1999) listed several drawbacks of goal setting. The most important were that employees sometimes focus so much on the goals that they ignore other equally important aspects of the job, and goals can conflict so that working on one prevents achieving another. Finally, Drach-Zahavy and Erez (2002) discussed how difficult goals can actually lead to worse performance when stress is high. Putting all this together suggests that difficult goals work best when situations are relatively simple (single goals and simple jobs) and there are low levels of stress.

Front 245

Describe action theory and how it works to motivate people to action.

Back 245

Action theory describes the action process linking a hierarchy of cognitions both to actions and to feedback from the environment. It begins with an initial desire to accomplish or have something, and that desire leads to specific goals and objectives to acquire it. These goals in the workplace are often tied to tasks (similar to tasks in a job analysis) that define the nature of what the individual employee is supposed to accomplish at work. The theory points out that there is an important distinction between external tasks and internal tasks. An external task is assigned by the organization to the employee, whereas an internal task is chosen by the employee. An important element is the redefinition process whereby the employee translates an external task to an internal one. In other words, the employee changes the assigned task to suit him or herself. The next step after goals are set is to translate them into plans. Plans are specific steps chosen to accomplish the goals, and are specifications of actions and sequences of actions. Next, the plan is executed, and execution involves actions. Finally, the person receives feedback either from the environment itself or from other people. This feedback indicates whether progress is being made toward the goal.

Front 246

__________ is an attitudinal variable that reflects how people feel about their jobs overall as well as about various aspects of the jobs.

Back 246

Job satisfaction

Front 247

The __________ approach treats job satisfaction as a single, overall feeling toward the job.

Back 247

global

Front 248

__________ is the extent to which people see themselves as autonomous and focus on their own interests and needs rather than those of others.

Back 248

Individualism

Front 249

__________ is a scale of global job satisfaction that contains items that do not reflect the various facets of the job.

Back 249

Job in General Scale (JIG)

Front 250

According to the job characteristics theory, the five core characteristics define the __________, or complexity and challenge, of a job.

Back 250

scope

Front 251

__________ is the tendency for an individual to experience negative emotions, such as anxiety or depression, across a wide variety of situations.

Back 251

Negative affectivity (NA)

Front 252

The __________ approach states that job satisfaction will occur when there is a good match between the person and the job.

Back 252

person-job fit

Front 253

Many studies have shown that dissatisfied employees are __________ than satisfied employees to quit their jobs.

Back 253

more likely

Front 254

Studies have found that dissatisfied employees reported more __________, such as sleep problems and upset stomach, than their satisfied counterparts.

Back 254

physical symptoms

Front 255

__________ is how satisfied one is with one's life circumstances.

Back 255

Life satisfaction

Front 256

__________ is another popular attitudinal variable in the work domain. It is strongly related to job satisfaction, but it is distinctly different.

Back 256

Organizational commitment

Front 257

__________ concerns the occupation or profession rather than a particular organization, like organizational commitment does.

Back 257

Occupational commitment

Front 258

The required expression of certain emotions at work is called __________, recognizing that it can take effort for employees to maintain the appearance of positive feelings.

Back 258

emotional labor

Front 259

According to the textbook, which is NOT considered a common job satisfaction facet?
A. pay
B. supervision
C. social support
D. co-workers

Back 259

C. social support

Front 260

According to Hofstede's cultural values (2001), this refers to the extent to which an organization focuses on achievement and job performance as opposed to health and well-being of employees.

Back 260

masculinity

Front 261

If a culture is very comfortable with unpredictability in their environment, then they will be low on this cultural value.

Back 261

uncertainty avoidance

Front 262

This refers to how tolerant people within a culture are of power and status differences among levels of an organization or society.

Back 262

power distance

Front 263

What scale, developed by Smith, Kendall, & Hulin (`969), assesses these five facets: work, supervision, pay, co-workers, and promotion opportunities?

Back 263

Job Descriptive Index

Front 264

Which characteristic concerns the freedom employees have to do their jobs as they see fit?

Back 264

autonomy

Front 265

_______________ is the overall complexity of a job, computed as a combination of all five individual characteristics.

Back 265

Job scope

Front 266

Which characteristic refers to whether or not people believe they are in control of the circumstances in their life?

Back 266

locus of control

Front 267

Hackman and Oldham's theory (1976) describes this characteristic as a person's desire for satisfaction of higher order needs?

Back 267

growth need strength

Front 268

In which of the following situations would you find the highest levels of job satisfaction?

Back 268

high growth need strength, high job scope

Front 269

Which type of commitment exists when the employee must remain with the organization because of a need for the benefits and salary or inability to find another job.

Back 269

continuance commitment

Front 270

_______________ occurs when the employee wishes to remain with the organization because of an emotional attachment

Back 270

Affective commitment

Front 271

How satisfied are people with their jobs overall and specific facets of their jobs?

Back 271

Surveys show that the majority of Americans like their jobs (e.g., SHRM, 2003), but this doesn't mean they like all aspects of their jobs equally. Americans are typically very satisfied with their supervisors, their co-workers, and the nature of the work they do. They are less satisfied with the rewards, such as pay, promotion opportunities, and fringe benefits. Marion-Landais (1993) found that Dominicans were more satisfied than Americans when both were working for branches of the same multinational company but in their own countries. Spector, Cooper, Sanchez, O'Driscoll, Sparks, et al. (2001) compared job satisfaction levels among managers in 24 countries and found significant differences.

Front 272

What does research say regarding the use of global vs. facet measures of satisfaction?

Back 272

Patricia Cain Smith, the developer of the JDI and JIG, argues that they are separate (Ironson et al., 1989). Many researchers, however, treat the sum of facet scores as an indicator of overall job satisfaction. Each MSQ item reflects a specific facet, so that the total score is a sum of facets. This is justified by the fact that facets often correlate well with overall job satisfaction. For example, Ironson et al. (1989) found a .78 correlation of the JIG with the JDI Work scale. On the other hand, the summing of subscale scores presumes that all facets have been assessed and that each makes an equal contribution to global satisfaction. It seems unlikely that each facet has the same importance to every individual. Thus, the sum of facets is an approximation of overall job satisfaction, but it may not exactly match the global satisfaction of individuals.

Front 273

How does pay relate to job satisfaction?

Back 273

Although pay is associated to some extent with global satisfaction, as might be expected it relates even more strongly with the facet of pay satisfaction. Brasher and Chen (1999) surveyed recent college graduates and found that their level of starting pay related more strongly to pay satisfaction (correlation = .36) than to global satisfaction (correlation =.17). Furthermore, the fairness with which pay is distributed, or equity, is a more important determinant of pay satisfaction than the actual level of pay (Williams, McDaniel, & Nguyen, 2006). All this leads to the hypothesis that if we compare the pay and pay satisfaction of people across different jobs, we will find little or no correlation. People who make more money are not necessarily more satisfied when they have different jobs. Spector (1985) found a mean correlation of only .17 between salary level and pay satisfaction in three samples of employees who held different jobs. Rice, Phillips, and McFarlin (1990) found a much larger .50 correlation between pay and job satisfaction in a sample of mental health professionals holding the same jobs. Pay satisfaction is affected by how an individual's salary compares to others in the same job rather than to people in general. In their meta-analysis, Cohen-Charash and Spector (2001) found that distributive and procedural justice (see Chapter 8) were strongly correlated with pay satisfaction, with correlations of .58 and .45, respectively (see Table 9.7).

Front 274

How does justice relate to job satisfaction

Back 274

Both forms of justice are linked to global and facet job satisfaction in the Cohen-Charash and Spector (2001) meta-analysis. Overall job satisfaction and facet satisfactions of pay, supervision, and nature of work correlated significantly with both forms of justice. Note that for pay satisfaction, distributive justice had a larger correlation than procedural justice. This suggests that the distribution of pay is more important for satisfaction than the procedures for distribution, although both are certainly important. For supervision satisfaction, procedural justice is more important than distributive justice, perhaps because it is the supervisor who decides on the procedures by which assignments and rewards are allocated.

Front 275

Briefly discuss the personality component of job satisfaction.

Back 275

Some people are predisposed to like their jobs, whereas others are predisposed not to like them. Newton and Keenan (1991) did a similar study, but found evidence that job environment, as well as personality, is important. They studied a group of British engineers during their first four years on the job after college. They also found consistency in job satisfaction over time, but in addition, they found that engineers who changed jobs increased their satisfaction. Dormann and Zapf (2001) conducted a meta-analysis of such studies showing that job satisfaction was far more stable over time when people remained on the same job (mean correlation = .42) than when they changed jobs (mean correlation = .18). Thus, although personality may have contributed to satisfaction, job conditions were also important. Even stronger evidence for personality consistency across time was provided by Staw et al. (1986), who studied people's job satisfaction over the span of decades (see Research in Detail). They found that personality assessed in adolescents predicted job satisfaction up to 50 years later.

Front 276

Briefly discuss findings of the relationships between age, gender, and ethnicity with job satisfaction.

Back 276

Meta-analytic studies involving multiple samples and thousands of employees have failed to find gender differences (Witt & Nye, 1992). Greenhaus, Parasuraman, and Wormley (1990) found no significant gender differences in their study, even though the distribution of jobs in their sample was not the same for both genders—males were more likely to have managerial/professional jobs, and females were more likely to have clerical jobs. This suggests that women may be happier with lower pay and responsibility than men, perhaps because their expectations are lower about what they will receive, or because they compare themselves to other women who are in similar circumstances. Many studies have shown that older workers are more satisfied with their jobs than younger workers (e.g., Siu, Lu, & Cooper, 1999). Brush et al. (1987) calculated a mean correlation between age and job satisfaction of .22 in their meta-analysis. Two large sample surveys, found a curvilinear relation between age and job satisfaction. For these countries, job satisfaction at first declines with age, reaching the lowest level at around age 26 to 31, and then increases through the rest of the working career. Birdi et al. found evidence that older workers have better conditions and greater rewards at work, and Warr (2001) suggested that as people become older, they tend to value different things at work. Several studies have compared the job satisfaction of black and white employees in the United States. Some of these studies have found that blacks have slightly lower satisfaction (e.g., Greenhaus et al., 1990), although Brush et al. (1987) reported no racial differences in their meta-analysis of 21 studies. Studies that have found differences in satisfaction have also noted differences in other variables, suggesting that job experiences might differ in at least some organizations.

Front 277

Discuss the relationship between job satisfaction and absence? What evidence is given for why it is so small?

Back 277

Conventional wisdom suggests that absence from work is a by-product of employee job dissatisfaction. People who dislike their jobs will be more likely to miss work than people who like their jobs. Several meta-analyses have looked at this question, and they show that the connection between job satisfaction and absence is inconsistent and usually quite small. For example, Farrell and Stamm (1988) found correlations of –.13 and –.10, respectively, between absence and global job satisfaction using two different measures of absence. One possible reason for the small relation between satisfaction and absence is that a person can be absent for many reasons (Kohler & Mathieu, 1993), including employee illness, family member illness (especially children), personal business, and fatigue, as well as just not feeling like going to work. Satisfaction might be associated with absence caused by not feeling like going to work, but it is not likely to be associated with absence caused by serious illness. Thus, overall absence is not likely to have a strong relation with job satisfaction. If reasons for absence are considered, however, relations should be stronger (Kohler & Mathieu, 1993).

Front 278

A(n) __________ is a collection of two or more people who interact with one another and share some interrelated task goals.

Back 278

work group

Front 279

These __________ communicate via e-mail, instant messaging, telephone, web-camera, and other technologies.

Back 279

virtual teams

Front 280

__________ roles arise from group interaction rather than from the formal rules and specifications of organizations.

Back 280

Informal

Front 281

__________ are unwritten rules of behavior accepted by members of a work group.

Back 281

Norms

Front 282

All the time and effort expended on activities not directly related to production or tasks accomplishment are referred to as __________.

Back 282

process loss

Front 283

The noninteracting individuals are referred to as a __________. Their output reflects the output of a given number of individuals.

Back 283

nominal group

Front 284

__________ is where people do not put forth as much effort in a group as they would if they were working alone.

Back 284

Social loafing

Front 285

__________ is a phenomenon that occurs when groups make decisions that individual members know are poor ones.

Back 285

Groupthink

Front 286

__________ is the introduction of new ideas, procedures, or products into a team.

Back 286

Innovation

Front 287

__________ diversity consists of more visible attributes, such as age, gender, and race-ethnicity.

Back 287

Demographic

Front 288

The __________ is an alternative system whereby an entire product is assembled by a small team of employees.

Back 288

autonomous work team

Front 289

__________ refers to any of a number of activities designed to enhance the many different aspects of the functioning of work groups or teams.

Back 289

Team building

Front 290

All of the following are specific properties of a work team EXCEPT:
A. There must be common task goals and objectives.
B. The actions of individuals must be interdependent and coordinated.
C. Performance of individuals must be measured separately.
D. Each member must have a particular, specified role.

Back 290

C. Performance of individuals must be measured separately.

Front 291

______________ roles are specified by the organization and are part of the formal job description.

Back 291

Formal

Front 292

According to Jackson & LePine (2003), what is the first thing to happen to norm violators?

Back 292

They are informed.

Front 293

_____________ is (are) the sum of the forces attracting group members and keeping the group together.

Back 293

Group cohesiveness

Front 294

This refers to the shared understanding among team members of the task, team, equipment, and situation.

Back 294

Team mental model

Front 295

The idea that people perform better on simple tasks in front of others is called:

Back 295

social facilitation

Front 296

An example of this kind of task would be the total output of all cashiers' sales at a supermarket.

Back 296

additive task

Front 297

According to social loafing theory, a group of people pulling a weight would exert ______________ force per individual then if they were working alone.

Back 297

less

Front 298

This is a group technique that is supposed to result in improved performance with a problem solving or idea generating task.

Back 298

brainstorming

Front 299

This deviation from the group mean refers to the idea that the group is more extreme than the mean of its individuals.

Back 299

group polarization

Front 300

This is a group of employees who meet periodically to discuss problems and propose solutions relevant to their jobs. It is typically comprised of people with similar jobs in manufacturing organizations.

Back 300

quality circle

Front 301

What is team commitment and why is it important?

Back 301

Team commitment is the strength of an individual's involvement in a team, and consists of the acceptance of team goals, willingness to work hard for the team, and desire to remain on the team (Bishop & Scott, 2000). Therefore, we might expect that high team commitment would be associated with high team performance, low turnover, and team satisfaction. Research has found support for at least two of these expectations. Bishop, Scott, and Burroughs (2000) found in an automobile parts manufacturing company that work team performance was positively related to team commitment. Bishop and Scott (2000) studied sewing machine operators and found that their team commitment was related to coworker and supervisor satisfaction, as well as organizational commitment. Van Der Vegt, Emans, and Van De Vliert (2000), in a study conducted in the Netherlands, reported significant positive correlations of team commitment with general job satisfaction and team satisfaction (See International Replication).

Front 302

How does the presence of others affect performance?

Back 302

Performance was better in the presence of others in some studies but worse in other studies. The most widely accepted explanation for these results was put forth by Zajonc (1965), who noticed that the type of task determined if performance was enhanced or inhibited by the presence of others. He suggested that the presence of others increases physiological arousal, which has effects on task performance. Performance is improved (the social facilitation effect) by other-induced arousal when the task is simple or well learned, such as bicycle riding. On the other hand, performance is decreased (the social inhibition effect) by other-induced arousal when the task is complex or new to the individual, such as solving a complex mathematics problem. These results suggest that for complex tasks, people should be given private space that allows them to keep their arousal levels relatively low. For simple tasks, the arousal produced by the presence of others can enhance performance, but other people can also be a distraction in the workplace, leading to poorer performance.

Front 303

Briefly discuss electronic brainstorming. What do findings suggest are the advantages over traditional brainstorming?

Back 303

Electronic brainstorming has been shown to enhance performance in an idea generation task using computers (Dennis & Valacich, 1993). Individuals are asked to enter ideas in a computer rather than write them down. This technique was found to produce performance equal to or better than that of nominal groups (the combined output of individuals who worked alone) and better performance than groups of individuals who shared their ideas. In Gallupe et al.'s (1991) computer brainstorming study, subjects were aware that several people were working on the same task at the same time and that as ideas were entered in the computer, they would be seen by everyone. Individuals were not known to one another, which may have reduced the social anxiety that could have inhibited performance in an interacting group. Gallupe, Cooper, Gris´e, and Bastianutti (1994) conducted a study that showed how electronic brainstorming produces better performance, in part, because people do not have to wait their turn to speak. They can type their responses as they think of them. This suggests that process loss is responsible for the poorer performance of interacting groups as compared to computer or nominal brainstorming groups.

Front 304

What causes groupthink to occur and how can it be avoided?

Back 304

According to Janis, groupthink is likely to occur in highly cohesive groups with strong leaders when the social pressures to maintain conformity and harmony in the group take precedence over sound decision making. The likelihood of groupthink is increased when decision making groups isolate themselves from outside ideas and influences. Janis (1972) offers several suggestions for avoiding groupthink. Two major themes appear throughout these suggestions. First, group leaders should serve as impartial moderators in group meetings rather than attempt to control the decision alternatives that are recommended. Second, group members, at every stage of the decision making process, should critically evaluate decision alternatives and continually seek information that might support or refute the wisdom of a decision. Groups should periodically break into smaller subgroups to discuss critical issues, and members of the decision making groups should discuss issues with subordinates. These actions can help groups avoid being caught in a cycle of groupthink that can result in making the wrong decision.

Front 305

What team KSAOs relate to team performance?

Back 305

Research has shown that at least some KSAOs that predict job performance for individuals also predict for teams. For example, the higher the mean cognitive ability in a team (computed by averaging team member scores), the higher the team performance is likely to be (Stewart, 2006). To be a good team member requires knowledge of teamwork (Hirschfeld, Jordan, Field, Giles, & Armenakis, 2006). Such knowledge concerns how individuals can effectively work together in teams and how good working relationships with others can be developed. An effective team member has good social skills (Morgeson, Reider, & Campion, 2005). Beyond knowing how to work in teams, one must have skills in communication and how to influence others. Certain personality characteristics make people particularly suited to teamwork. Individuals whose values are collectivistic, as opposed to individualistic performed better in teams (Jackson, Colquitt, Wesson, & Zapata-Phelan, 2006).

Front 306

What is an autonomous work team and how does it work?

Back 306

An autonomous work team is an alternative system whereby an entire product is assembled by a small team of employees. The details of how autonomous work teams operate vary from organization to organization. One such system, described by Hackman and Oldham (1980), was implemented by the Butler Corporation when it opened a new grain dryer plant. At Butler each grain dryer is assembled by an autonomous work team. Each team is responsible for managing itself and for product assembly. Each member of the team learns each operation, so that after about 18 months on the job every employee can assemble an entire dryer. The team is responsible for the quality of the finished product, which it must test before sending it out of the plant. If a dryer is defective after it is placed in use on a farm, a team member may have to make a service call to fix it. The role of supervisors is different at Butler. There are few of them, and their major function is to offer advice and training to team members. The approach is participative, with frequent staff meetings and an advisory committee made up of members from different teams.

Front 307

__________ is the extent to which one person can influence another to do something.

Back 307

Power

Front 308

__________ power is the power inherent in a supervisor's job title.

Back 308

Legitimate

Front 309

__________ power is the ability of the supervisor to punish subordinates with disciplinary action.

Back 309

Coercive

Front 310

__________ is the extent to which one is able to influence others to engage in behavior beneficial to oneself or to the organization.

Back 310

Political skill

Front 311

The __________ approach is concerned with what leaders do rather than what their personal characteristics might be.

Back 311

leader behavior

Front 312

__________ is the amount of concern that supervisors show for the happiness and welfare of their subordinates.

Back 312

Consideration

Front 313

__________ asks the leader to think about the person with whom he or she has had the most trouble working, that is, the coworker with whom he or she would least like to work..

Back 313

Least Preferred Scale (LPC)

Front 314

__________ concerns the amount of power and influence the leader has over subordinates

Back 314

Situational control

Front 315

__________ style involves seeking input from subordinates and allowing them to participate in decision making.

Back 315

Participative

Front 316

The __________ theory focuses on the subordinate-supervisor dyad rather than on the supervisor and the work group

Back 316

leader-member exchange

Front 317

Many explanations have been advanced for the __________ phenomenon that symbolizes women's difficulty in getting beyond the lower levels of management.

Back 317

glass ceiling

Front 318

This type of power is based on the knowledge and expertise that a supervisor has.

Back 318

expert

Front 319

If you listened to your supervisor because you liked and identified with them, that would be an example of which type of power?

Back 319

referent

Front 320

This type of power derives from the ability of the supervisor to give promotions and raises to their subordinates.

Back 320

reward

Front 321

This means for gaining political power involves trying to diffuse another faction's opposition by allowing its members to participate in the decision.

Back 321

Co-optation

Front 322

All of the following are characteristics of sexual harassment EXCEPT:
A. It is unwanted.
B. Creates a hostile and intimidating work environment
C. It is directed towards a female
D. Interferes with a person's job performance

Back 322

C. It is directed towards a female

Front 323

This is the oldest approach to studying leadership. It is based on the assumptions that some people make better leaders than others and that it is possible to identify what makes a good leader.

Back 323

Trait

Front 324

Which of these situations would result in the most grievances according to the research on the Leader Behavior approach?

Back 324

high consideration, high initiating structure

Front 325

This theory states that leadership is a function of both the person and the situation. It includes an instrument of motivational structure called the Least Preferred Coworker scale.

Back 325

Contingency

Front 326

Fiedler (1978) developed a training program for leaders called _____________, which led to better performance for trained supervisors.

Back 326

Leader Match

Front 327

According to the leader behavior approach, this is the extent to which the supervisor defines his or her own role and makes clear what is expected of subordinates.

Back 327

initiating structure

Front 328

This theory is more complex than Fiedler's in that subordinate performance and job satisfaction result from the interplay of situational characteristics, subordinate characteristics, and supervisor style.

Back 328

Path-Goal Theory

Front 329

This leadership style from path-goal theory is similar to consideration and involves showing concern for the needs and welfare of subordinates.

Back 329

supportive

Front 330

The _______________ model is a prescriptive model indicating the supervisory approach that is expected to be most effective in a particular situation when making decisions.

Back 330

Vroom-Yetton

Front 331

A _____________ leader is one who leads by inspiring others to adopt high goals and strive to achieve them. They can articulate a vision for their followers and encourage them to pursue it.

Back 331

transformational

Front 332

What is political power and how can it be acquired?

Back 332

Yukl's (1989) sources of political power are concerned specifically with power in organizations. According to Yukl, political action is the process by which people gain and protect their power within the organization. He outlined three means by which political power is achieved and maintained in organizations. Control over decision processes involves controlling and influencing important decisions in the organization, such as the allocation of resources. This sort of power can be achieved by serving on appropriate committees (e.g., finance) or taking on the right tasks (preparation of the budget). Forming coalitions means entering into agreements with others to support your position in return for support of the others' positions. Co-optation involves trying to diffuse another faction's opposition by allowing its members to participate in the decision. The hope is that this will make it difficult for them to remain in opposition.

Front 333

What are some of the consequences of sexual harassment for the organization where it takes place?

Back 333

Sexual and other forms of employee harassment are serious matters that organizations should attempt to control. They often reflect a general climate of abusiveness in which racial, sexual, and general harassment occur together (Berdahl & Moore, 2006). When supervisors and other employees engage in certain forms of harassment, they can get their organizations into legal difficulties. The costs of legal problems, however, are probably quite small in comparison to the hidden costs to organizations. Sexual harassment can be stressful, leading to job dissatisfaction (Lapierre, Spector, & Leck, 2005), psychological strain (O'Connell & Korabik, 2000), and lowered physical health (Willness, Steel, & Lee, 2007). It should be kept in mind that actual cases of sexual harassment were not identified, and that from cross-sectional surveys one cannot be certain that harassment was the cause of strain. It is possible that employees who were under strain were more likely to perceive situations as harassing. However, there is enough evidence from the study of various forms of employee mistreatment to suggest that sexual harassment and other forms of abuse can have serious detrimental effects on people.

Front 334

What are the findings on participation from the leader behavior approach?

Back 334

In the United States, participatory practices have been linked to both job performance and job satisfaction, but the linkages are not always strong (Wagner, 1994). Part of the reason for small effects might have to do with the areas in which employees are allowed to participate. Sagie and Koslowsky (1994) found larger relations between perceived participation and job satisfaction when the participation involved deciding how to implement a change at work rather than whether or not to implement it in the first place. They concluded that it is important to consider the kinds of decisions appropriate for subordinate participation. Bragg and Andrews (1973) conducted a study in which the supervisor of a hospital laundry department changed from an autocratic to a participative style. Over the next 18 months there were positive effects on attendance, job performance (a 42% increase), and job satisfaction. Reasons why participatory styles sometimes succeed and sometimes fail are complex and may relate to the situations under which they are tried.

Front 335

Discuss how in-group individuals differ from out-group individuals. How are they treated by supervisors?

Back 335

The cadre, or in-group, consists of subordinates who are trusted and influential members of the work group. The supervisor treats them with consideration and adopts a participative style with them. The hired hands, or out-group, by contrast, are subordinates who are supervised with a directive style and are given little input into decisions. These relationships evolve over time, with characteristics of subordinates affecting the category in which they find themselves. To become part of the cadre, a subordinate must be perceived as dependable and hard working. In return for cadre status, a subordinate must be prepared to exert effort on the job beyond the minimum expected.

Front 336

What does research say about transformational leadership and its effects? Can it be trained or is it an innate quality?

Back 336

Research on transformational leadership shows that it relates to several subordinate variables that are important for organizational functioning. For example, individuals who perceive their supervisors to be transformational tend to be high on job performance (Keller, 2006), job satisfaction (Judge & Piccolo, 2004), organizational citizenship behavior, organizational commitment, and perceptions of justice (Pillai, Schriesheim, & Williams, 1999). They also report less intention of quitting (Bycio, Hackett, & Allen, 1995). Furthermore, although it might seem that transformational leadership is innate; researchers have been successful at training people to exhibit the behaviors. Those who received the transformational training were rated by trained observers to be higher on transformational leadership than the controls. Barling, Weber, and Kelloway (1996) were able to successfully train bank managers to be more transformational, and showed that training had an impact on the financial performance of their branches.

Front 337

What biases are at work for women working or seeking to work in management?

Back 337

The bias explanation has to do with the attitudes and stereotypes of those at the top levels of organizations who make decisions about hiring. Research by Virginia Schein and her colleagues (Schein, Mueller, Lituchy, & Liu, 1996) demonstrated how subtle stereotypes about characteristics of men and women put women at a disadvantage for management selection. They asked people to describe the characteristics of managers, men, and women and found that the description of managers overlapped with the descriptions of men but not the descriptions of women. It was concluded that the reason a woman might have difficulty getting promoted is that she is not seen as having the characteristics necessary for the position. It is not that the decision maker is consciously discriminating against women. Rather, the male candidates seem to fit the requirements for the job better than the female candidates. According to this view, equal access to high-level management jobs will require attitude change on the part of those who do the hiring. Furthermore, this phenomenon seems to be universal, for they found similar results in China, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Front 338

How do individualistic and collectivist cultures differ in their leadership preferences?

Back 338

Ensari and Murphy (2003) asked students from a collectivist (Turkey) and an individualist (U.S.) country to read varied descriptions of manager behavior and performance, and then rate how transformational the leader was. The Turkish students' ratings were influenced most by the performance of the managers, whereas the American students focused mainly on behaviors. To the extent that perceptions of transformational leadership affect employee attitudes and behavior, this suggests that the specific behaviors of managers are more important in the United States than Turkey, where results are paramount.

Front 339

__________ is a family of techniques designed to help organizations change for the better.

Back 339

Organizational development (OD)

Front 340

__________ is an organizational change technique that is based on goal setting.

Back 340

Management by objectives (MBO)

Front 341

__________ is an OD technique that involves conducting a survey of employee attitudes and opinions and then feeding back the results to the entire organization.

Back 341

Survey feedback

Front 342

__________ theories explain how existing organizations work.

Back 342

Descriptive

Front 343

__________ initially developed by Max Weber in the 1800's, is a classical theory of the structure of an organization.

Back 343

Bureaucracy theory

Front 344

The efforts of different individuals are coordinated through a network of hierarchical supervision, or __________.

Back 344

chain of commands

Front 345

__________ assumes that long-term employment is the basis of effective organizations.

Back 345

Theory Z

Front 346

__________ consists of the equipment, materials, tools, and other nonhuman objects in the organization.

Back 346

Technology

Front 347

__________ is the idea that the social and technological systems should be designed to fit as well as possible.

Back 347

Joint optimization

Front 348

__________ is to commute to work without leaving home by using computers and other technology to communicate with coworkers and others.

Back 348

Telecommute

Front 349

The _____________ is the catalyst for change within an organization. He or she is an expert in working with an organization to improve their functioning.

Back 349

change agent

Front 350

Which of the following is not one of the Five Steps of implementing a management by objectives program as listed in the book?
A. Managers are trained to set goals
B. Goal attainment is evaluated
C. Supervisors hold goal-setting meetings with subordinates
D. Employees tell top management what the goals should be

Back 350

Employees tell top management what the goals should be

Front 351

______________ refer(s) to the many techniques designed to enhance the functioning of work teams. Specific examples of this include t-groups and autonomous work teams.

Back 351

Team building

Front 352

This is an intervention designed to enhance the communication and interpersonal skills of individual employees through the use of specific group exercises.

Back 352

t-group

Front 353

________________ theories indicate how organizations should operate

Back 353

prescriptive

Front 354

This theory is concerned with the interpersonal aspects of an organization and describes how the attitudes of managers towards subordinates determine the organizational practices that are adopted.

Back 354

Theory X/Theory Y

Front 355

If an organization was being described in terms of how it is importing its energy and maintaining homeostasis, it is mostly likely to be described by which theory?

Back 355

Open systems Theory

Front 356

When different tasks are given to different people throughout the organization, this is an example of:

Back 356

division of labor

Front 357

s refers to the number of subordinates who report to each supervisor.

Back 357

span of control

Front 358

______________ describes employees involved directly with the organization's main purpose. ______________ describes employees who support the activities of a those people.

Back 358

Line, Staff

Front 359

This concerns who handles work problems when they arise.

Back 359

unit of control variances

Front 360

What has previous research shown to predict employees' acceptance of change?

Back 360

Employees who must change their behavior or use new equipment and techniques effectively must be willing to accept the change rather than resist, and must commit to making it successful (Herscovitch & Meyer, 2002). Individual employee and organizational factors combine to determine people's willingness to accept change. On the individual side, people who are flexible and like to try new things are likely to accept change (Choi & Price, 2005). People who have had positive experience with change in the past will be more likely to accept it in the future (Cunningham, Woodward, Shannon, MacIntosh, Lendrum, Rosenbloom & Brown, 2002). On the organizational side, transformational leaders can effectively encourage followers to accept change (Bommer, Rich, & Rubin, 2005; Groves, 2005). Of particular importance is the leader's articulation of a vision that is consistent with the change. Wanberg and Banas (2000) noted how sufficient information about change and participation by employees in the process were associated with employee acceptance of change within U.S. government agencies over a 14-month period. Klein, Conn, and Sorra (2001) studied change in 39 U.S. manufacturing plants and found that sufficient financial resources and support from management were associated with successful change efforts.

Front 361

What does research say about the effectiveness of management by objectives (MBO)?

Back 361

Research on MBO has supported its use as an effective means of increasing organizational performance. Rodgers and Hunter (1991) conducted a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of MBO. They found positive effects on employee productivity in 68 of the 70 studies they reviewed. They combined results of 23 of the studies indicated an average increase in productivity of 39% as a result of the program. Rodgers and Hunter (1991) did an additional analysis in which they separated the 23 studies into three groups based on the extent to which top management was committed to the MBO program. As shown in Table 14.1, organizations with the highest levels of management commitment had far better results than those with the lowest levels (57% vs. 6% increase in productivity). The high success rate found by Rodgers and Hunter (1991) is probably an overestimate of how well MBO has worked across the many organizations in which it has been tried. These studies likely represent some of the better efforts at implementing MBO. Many organizations have made attempts to implement MBO without full management commitment or necessary resources. Such half-hearted attempts are likely to have little effect on the organization, with employees setting easy goals and exerting little effort toward achieving them.

Front 362

What can be concluded about the effectiveness of organizational development?

Back 362

The many different approaches to OD make it difficult to define precisely what a legitimate OD program is. Many programs involve more than one technique, including some combination of the four discussed in this section. Another problem is that research on an entire organization is difficult to accomplish. Perhaps the most reasonable conclusion is that OD programs can be effective if properly applied and supported by top management. Meta-analyses have found that many OD techniques are effective (e.g., Guzzo, Jette, & Katzell, 1985; Neuman et al., 1989). Except for T-groups, there have been few reports of detrimental effects on organizations. The majority of large corporations in the United States seem to believe in the value of OD. In a survey of Fortune 500 companies, McMahan and Woodman (1992) found that most had internal OD professionals who were actively working to improve their organizations. Thirty-eight percent of the companies had OD staffs of six or more people, and 14% had staffs of 21 or more.

Front 363

Briefly describe Theory X/Theory Y?

Back 363

McGregor (1960) considers Theory X to represent the conventional view of the manager's role and the nature of subordinates. He noted eight propositions that represent beliefs widely held by managers. They include the idea that managers are responsible for organizing the human and nonhuman (e.g., equipment, money, supplies, and tools) elements of the organization and that they should direct and motivate subordinates. The worker is viewed as indifferent to the organization's needs, lazy, unmotivated, and not very bright. This belief leads managers to adopt one of two strategies. The hard approach is to use coercion and threats and to supervise closely, an approach that results in employee resistance, such as counterproductive work behavior and restriction of output. The soft approach is to be permissive and avoid conflict with subordinates, which leads to an ineffective organization. Theory Y is McGregor's preferred management view, which he believes will lead to more satisfied employees and more effective organizations. It has four propositions, which cover both the role of managers and the nature of subordinates. According to Theory Y, managers are responsible for organizing rather than directing the various human and nonhuman elements of the organization. Subordinates are capable and not inherently unmotivated or unresponsive to organizational needs. It is the responsibility of managers to arrange conditions so that employees can fulfill their own goals by directing efforts toward organizational goals.

Front 364

Briefly compare how the theories listed in Chapter 14 in the textbook relate to one another?

Back 364

Each of the four theories we have discussed is distinct, and each tends to focus on different aspects of organizations. There are some common ideas and connections among them, however. The rigid structure of the bureaucracy lends itself to a rigid Theory X approach. In a bureaucracy each person's job is clearly defined, with the individual having relatively little autonomy or discretion. This tends to be associated with the leadership style defined as Theory X, which includes close supervision and nonparticipative approaches. Sociotechnical systems theory applications tend to be consistent with Theory Y ideas. One of the main sociotechnical systems approaches is the autonomous work team (see Chapter 12). The idea is to give employees autonomy and discretion in how they do their jobs. This assumes that management adopts a trusting view of employees. One cannot allow someone discretion without being confident that he or she will do the job properly. Thus, the application of sociotechnical systems theory requires a Theory Y philosophy that employees can be trusted to do the job.