Activity Chap-1 for class participation for students
1. What would be the potential problems with a staffing process in
which vacancies were filled:
a. On a lottery basis from among job applicants?
b. On a first come-first hired basis?
2. What would be the advantages of using one of the above
processes?
3. Would it be desirable to hire people only according to the
person/job match, ignoring the person/organization match?
Why?
4. How are staffing activities influenced by training or
compensation activities?
5. Are some of the 13 strategic staffing decisions more important
than others? Which ones? Why?
Ethical Issues
◦ Issue 1
◦ As a staffing professional in the human resources
department or as the hiring manager of a work unit,
explain why it is so important to represent the
organization’s interests, and what are some possible
consequences of not doing so?
◦ Issue 2
◦ One of the strategic staffing choices is whether to pursue
workforce diversity actively or passively. First suggest
some ethical reasons for the active pursuit of diversity, and
then suggest some ethical reasons for a more passive
approach.
Activity Chap-2 for class participation for students
Do you agree that “the employer usually has the upper hand” when it
comes to establishing the employment relationship? When might the
employee have maximum power over the employer?
What are the limitations of disparate impact statistics as indicators of
potential staffing discrimination?
What are the differences between staffing in the private and public
sectors? Why would private employers probably resist adopting many of
the characteristics of public staffing systems?
Activity Chap-3 for class participation for students
What are ways that the organization can ensure that KSAO deficiencies
do not occur in its workforce?
What are the types of experiences, especially staffing-related ones, that an
organization will be likely to have if it does not engage in HR and
staffing planning?
Why are decisions about job categories and levels so critical to the
conduct and results of HRP?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing succession planning
for all levels of management, instead of just top management?
What is meant by reconciliation, and why can it be useful as an input to
staffing planning?
Ethical Issues
Issue 1
Does an organization have any ethical responsibility to share with
all of its employees the results of its forecasting of HR
requirements and availabilities? Does it have any ethical
responsibility not to do this?
Issue 2
Identify examples of ethical dilemmas an organization might
confront when developing an affirmative action plan (AAP).
Activity Chap-4 for class participation for students
What is the purpose of each type of job analysis, and how can the three
types described in this chapter be combined to produce an overall
understanding of work in an organization?
How should task statements be written, and what sorts of problems might
you encounter in asking a job incumbent to write these statements?
Would it be better to first identify task dimensions and then create
specific task statements for each dimension, or should task statements be
identified first and then used to create task dimensions?
What would you consider when trying to decide what criteria (e.g.,
percent time spent) to use for gathering indications about task
importance?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using multiple methods of
job analysis for a particular job? Multiple sources?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of identifying and using
general competencies to guide staffing activities?
Referring to Exhibit 4.18, why do you think HR professionals were not
able to very accurately predict the importance of many rewards to
employees? What are the implications for creating the EVP?
Ethical issues
Issue 1
It has been suggested that “ethical conduct” be formally
incorporated as a general competency requirement for any job
within the organization. Discuss the pros and cons of this
suggestion.
Issue 2
Assume you are assisting in the conduct of job analysis as an HR
department representative. You have encountered several
managers who want to delete certain tasks and KSAOs from the
formal job description having to do with employee safety, even
though they clearly are job requirements. How should you handle
this situation?
Activity Chap-6 for class participation for students
Traditional career paths emphasize strict upward mobility within an
organization. How does mobility differ in organizations with innovative
career paths? List three alternative career paths discussed in this chapter,
describing how mobility occurs in each.
A sound policy regarding promotion is important. List the characteristics
necessary for an effective promotion policy
Compare and contrast a closed internal recruitment system with an open
internal recruitment system
What information should be included in the targeted internal
communication message?
Exhibit 6.9 contains many suggestions for improving the advancement of
women and minorities. Choose the three suggestions you think are most
important and explain why.
Ethical Issues
Issue 1
Let’s say a company called MDN Inc. is considering two
employees for the job of senior manager. An internal candidate,
Julie, has been with MDN for 12 years and received very good
performance evaluations. The other candidate, Raoul, works for a
competitor, and has valuable experience in the product market into
which MDN wishes to expand. Do you think MDN has an
obligation to hire Julie? Why or why not?
Issue 2
Do organizations have an ethical obligation to have a succession
plan in place? If no, why not? If so, what is the ethical obligation
and to whom is it owed?
Activity Chap-7 for class participation for students
Imagine and describe a staffing system for a job in which there are no
measures used.
Describe how you might go about determining scores for applicants’
responses to (a) interview questions, (b) letters of recommendation, and
(c) questions about previous work experience.
Assume you gave a general ability test, measuring both verbal and
computational skills, to a group of applicants for a specific job. Also
assume that because of severe hiring pressures, you hired all of the
applicants, regardless of their test scores.
How would you investigate the criterion-related validity of the
test?
How would you go about investigating the content validity of the
test?
What information does a selection decision maker need to collect in
making staffing decisions? What are the ways in which this information
can be collected?
Ethical Issues
Issue 1
Do individuals making staffing decisions have an ethical
responsibility to know measurement issues? Why or why not?
Issue 2
Is it unethical for an employer to use a selection measure that has high empirical
validity but lacks content validity? Explain
Activity Chap-8 for class participation for students
A selection plan describes which predictor(s) will be used to assess the
KSAOs required to perform the job. What are the three steps to follow in
establishing a selection plan?
In what ways are the following three initial assessment methods similar
and in what ways are they different: application blanks, biographical
information, and reference and background checks?
Describe the criteria by which initial assessment methods are evaluated.
Are some of these criteria more important than others?
Some methods of initial assessment appear to be more useful than others.
If you were starting your own business, which initial assessment methods
would you use and why?
How can organizations avoid legal difficulties in the use of
preemployment inquiries in initial selection decisions?
Ethical Issues
Issue 2
Do you think employer have a right to check into applicants’
backgrounds? Even if there is no suspicion of misbehavior? Even if
the job poses no security or sensitive risks? Even if the background
check includes driving offenses and credit histories?
Activity Chap-9 for class participation for students
Describe the similarities and differences between personality tests and
integrity tests. When is each warranted in the selection process?
How would you advise an organization considering adopting a cognitive
ability test for selection?
Describe the structured interview. What are the characteristics of
structured interviews that improve on the shortcomings of unstructured
interviews?
What are the most common discretionary and contingent assessment
methods? What are the similarities and differences between the use of
these two methods?
What is the best way to collect and use drug-testing data in selection
decisions?
How should organizations apply the general principles of the UGESP to
practical selection decisions?
Ethical Issues
Issue 1
Do you think it’s ethical for employers to select applicants on the
basis of questions such as, “Dislike loud music” and “Enjoy wild
flights of fantasy,” even if the scales that such items measure have
been shown to predict job performance? Explain.
Issue 2
Cognitive ability tests are one of the best predictors of job
performance, yet they have substantial adverse impact against
minorities. Do you think it’s fair to use such tests? Why or why
not?
Activity Chap-10 for class participation for students
Explain how internal selection decisions differ from external selection
decisions.
What are the differences among peer ratings, peer nominations, and peer
rankings?
Explain the theory behind assessment centers.
Describe the three different types of interview simulations.
Evaluate the effectiveness of seniority, assessment centers, and job
knowledge as substantive internal selection procedures.
What steps should be taken by an organization that is committed to
shattering the glass ceiling?
Ethical Issues
Issue 1
Given that seniority is not a particularly valid predictor of job
performance, do you think it’s unethical for a company to use it as
a basis for promotion? Why or why not?
Issue 2
Vincent and Peter are both sales associates, and are up for
promotion to sales manager. In the last five years, on a 1=poor to
5=excellent scale, Vincent’s average performance rating was 4.7
and Peter’s was 4.2. In an assessment center that was meant to
simulate the job of sales manager, on a 1=very poor to
10=outstanding scale, Vincent’s average score was 8.2 and Peter’s
was 9.2. Assuming everything else is equal, who should be
promoted? Why?
Activity Chap-11 for class participation for students
Your boss is considering using a new predictor. The base rate is high, the
selection ratio is low, and the validity coefficient is high for the current
predictor. What would you advise your boss and why?
What are the positive consequences associated with a high predictor cut
score? What are the negative consequences?
Under what circumstances should a compensatory model be used? When
should a multiple hurdles model be used?
What are the advantages of ranking as a method of final choice over
random selection?
What roles should HR professionals play in staffing decisions? Why?
What guidelines do the UGESP offer to organizations when it comes to
setting cut scores?
Activity Chap-13 for class participation for students
What are the advantages of having a centralized staffing function, as
opposed to letting each manager be totally responsible for all staffing
activities in his or her unit?
What are examples of staffing tasks and activities that cannot or should
not be simply delegated to a staffing information system for their
conduct?
What would be the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing the
entire staffing system to a vendor?
In developing a report on the effectiveness of the staffing process being
conducted for entry-level jobs, what factors would you address and why?
How would you try to get individual managers to be more aware of the
legal requirements of staffing systems and to take steps to ensure that
they themselves engage in legal staffing actions?
Activity Chap-14 for class participation for students
For the three primary causes of voluntary turnover (desirability of
leaving, ease of leaving, alternatives), might their relative importance
depend on the type of employee or type of job? Explain.
Which of the costs and benefits of voluntary turnover are most likely to
vary according to type of job? Give examples.
If someone said to you, “It’s easy to reduce turnover—just pay people
more money,” what would your response be?
Why should an organization seek to retain employees with performance
or discipline problems? Why not just fire them?
Discuss some potential problems with downsizing as an organizations’
first response to a need to cut labor costs.
Ethical Issues
Issue 1
Imagine your organization is doing exit interviews and has
promised confidentiality to all who respond. You are responsible
for conducting the exit interviews. Your supervisor has asked you
to give her the name of each respondent so she can assess the
information in conjunction with the person’s supervisor. What
obligations do corporate HR employee have to keep information
confidential in such circumstances?
Issue 2
Firing an employee has numerous potential negative organizational
consequences, including the discomfort of the supervisor who
delivers the termination information, conflict or sabotage from the
departing employee, and the filing of a lawsuit. To avoid this,
many supervisors give problem employees unpleasant work tasks,
reduce their working hours, or otherwise negatively modify their
jobs in hopes that they will simply quit. What are the ethical issues
raised by this strategy?
