BA 208 Chapter 15 power point

1. 10 e
Chapter 15
Selecting Employees
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Learning Objectives, 1
• Discuss common roles for supervisors in the selection process
• Distinguish between job descriptions and job specifications,
and explain how they help in selecting employees
• List possible sources of employees
• Identify the steps in the selection process
• Discuss how a supervisor should go about interviewing
candidates for a job

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Learning Objectives, 2
• Define types of employment tests
• Summarize the requirements of antidiscrimination laws
• Explain how hiring decisions are affected by the Americans
with Disabilities Act, or A D A
• Describe the requirements of the Immigration Reform and
Control Act, or I R C A, of 1986

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Roles of Supervisors in the Selection Process
In small organizations, a supervisor may have great latitude in
selecting employees to fill vacant positions
Supervisor works to some extent with the human resources
department
• Might try to identify candidates who are cooperative and skilled in
problem solving or who have helped a team achieve good results in
the past
• If a team is making the selection, the supervisor as team leader needs
to understand the principles of selection so that he or she can coach
employees in carrying out the selection process
• Prepares job descriptions and job specifications

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Job Descriptions and Specifications
Job description: List of the characteristics of a job
• Includes the job title, duties involved, and working conditions
Job specification: List of the characteristics desirable in the
person performing a given job, including educational and work
background, physical characteristics, and personal strengths
• Types of characteristics
• Knowledge
• Skills
• Abilities
• Other characteristics related to the successful performance of the
essential tasks

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Table 15.1: Contents of the Job Description and
Job Specification
Job Description Job Specification
Job title Education
Location Experience
Job summary Skills: technical, physical, communication,
and interpersonal
Duties Training
Productivity and quality standards Judgment and initiative
Machines, tools, and equipment Emotional characteristics
Materials and forms used Physical effort
Relationships: supervision and working
conditions
Unusual sensory demands, such as sight,
smell, teams, if any
Source: Samuel C. Certo and S. Trevis Certo, Modern Management, 12th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc, 2012.

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Recruitment
• Process of identifying people interested in holding a particular
job or working for the organization
• Involves looking for candidates from both inside and outside
the organization

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Internal Recruitment
Promotions and opportunities to work in a new department or at
different tasks can be sources of motivation for employees
Promoted or transferred employees are already familiar with the
organization’s policies and practices
Can be accomplished through:
• Job postings
• Employee referrals

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Looking Outside the Organization
New hires bring fresh ideas and skills that the organization may
lack
Ways to identify qualified candidates outside the organization
• Advertising
• Employment agencies
• Online job sites and blogs
• Schools

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Figure 15.2: The Selection Process
Jump to Figure 15.2: The Selection Process, Appendix

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Screening from Employment Applications and Résumés
Initial screening is conducted by the human resources
department, and the supervisor makes the final decision
• Involves comparing résumés with the job description and
eliminating those who do not qualify
• People recommended by the supervisor are rarely screened out

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Interviewing Candidates
Objectives
• Assessing each candidate’s interpersonal and communication skills
• Seeing whether the supervisor and employee are comfortable with
one another
• Learning details about the information provided by the candidate in
his or her application or résumé
• Providing the candidate an opportunity to learn about the
organization

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Who Should Interview?
• Initial interview is conducted by someone in the human
resources department
• Supervisor may participate in later interviews
• In some instances, team interviews may be conducted to see
how a candidate interacts with a team
• Parts of an interview may be automated using technology

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Figure 15.4: The Interviewing Process
Jump to Figure 15.4: The Interviewing Process, Appendix

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Ways to Prepare for an Interview
• Review the job description
• Review the applicant’s résumé or job application
• Arrange for an appropriate interview location

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Interview Conditions
Good interview conditions
• Privacy and freedom from interruptions
• Comfortable seating
Interviewers should:
• Consider sitting at a small table, not behind a desk, to create a less
formal setting
• Offer coffee and make general conversation before beginning the
interview

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Content of the Interview, 1
Commonly asked questions
• Why do you want to work for our company?
• What kind of career do you have planned?
• What have you learned in school to prepare for a career?
• What are some of the things you are looking for in a company?
• How has your previous job experience prepared you for a career?
• What are your strengths? Weaknesses?
• Why did you attend this school?
• What do you consider to be one of your most worthwhile
achievements?
• Are you a leader? Explain
• How do you plan to continue developing yourself?

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Content of the Interview, 2
• Why did you select your major?
• What can I tell you about my company?
All questions must be relevant to performance of the job
When the interviewer has asked enough questions to gauge the
candidate’s suitability for the position, he or she should give the
candidate a chance to ask questions
• Should close the session by telling the candidate what to expect
regarding the organization’s decision about the job

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Interviewing Techniques
Structured versus unstructured interviews
• Structured interview: Based on questions the interviewer has
prepared in advance
• Unstructured interview: Interviewer has no list of questions
prepared in advance but asks questions on the basis of the
applicant’s responses
Questions in an interview can either be open-ended or closed-
ended
• Open-ended questions: Questions that give the person responding
broad control over the responses
• Closed-ended questions: Questions that require a simple answer,
such as yes or no

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Errors to Avoid While Conducting Interviews
• Making decisions based on personal biases
• Halo effect
• Giving candidates a misleading picture of the organization

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Employment Tests
Help understand whether a candidate has the necessary skills to
do the job
Types of employment tests
• Aptitude tests: Measure a person’s ability to learn skills related to
the job
• Proficiency tests: Measure whether the person has the skills
needed to perform a job
• Psychomotor tests: Measure a person’s strength, dexterity, and
coordination
• Personality tests: Identify certain personality traits
• Drug tests

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Conducting Background and Reference Checks
Employers check references to verify that the information
provided in a job application or résumé is correct
• Background checks can save the organization from hiring an
unqualified person and protect the organization from lawsuits
Human resources may contact schools or former employers, or
the company may pay an employee screening company to do a
background check
• Kinds of references
• Personal
• Academic
• Employment

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Figure 15.5: Examples of Restrictions on
Background Checks
Source: Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, “Employment Background Checks,” Fact Sheet 16, rev. June 2004, March 2014,
www.privacyrights.org.
Jump to Figure 15.5: Examples of Restrictions on Background Checks, Appendix

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Making a Selection Decision
Final decision of whom to hire is usually up to the supervisor
Human resources department or the supervisor offers the job to
the selected candidate
• Person who offers the job is responsible for negotiating pay and
fringe benefits and settling on a starting date

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Physical Examination
Experts advise that employers request a physical exam only after
a job offer is made
• Requesting a physical exam after the job offer reduces the risk of
someone suing the company for refusing to hire him or her because
of a disability
Helps determine if the candidate is physically able to fulfill the
job requirements
Determines whether the candidate is eligible for company-
offered insurances

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Legal Issues: Antidiscrimination Laws, 1
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Employers may not
discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national
origin in recruiting, hiring, paying, firing, or laying off employees,
or in any other employment practices
• Enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967: Prohibits
employers from discriminating on the basis of age against people
over 40 years old
Rehabilitation Act of 1973: Prohibits the federal government
from refusing a job to a disabled person if it does not interfere
with the person’s ability to work

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Legal Issues: Antidiscrimination Laws, 2
• Americans with Disabilities Act, or A D A, of 1990: Prohibits
employers in government and the private sector from
discriminating against a qualified person with a disability
• Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978: It is unlawful to
discriminate on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related
medical conditions
• Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Act of 1974: Federal
contractors are required to make special efforts to recruit
disabled veterans and veterans of the Vietnam War
• Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008: It is illegal
to discriminate against a qualified person because of genetic
information

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Table 15.3: Disability Status under the Americans with
Disabilities Act
Disability includes Disability does not include
Substantial limitation preventing a person
from conducting a major life activity
Cultural and economic disadvantages
Physical and mental impairments Common personality traits, such as
impatience; pregnancy
Severe obesity, or weight in excess of 100
percent of the norm or that arises from a
medical disorder
Normal deviations in weight, height, or
strength
History of using drugs as the result of an
addiction
• Temporary or short-term problems
• Illegal drug users disciplined for
current abuse
• Illegal drug use that is casual or not
related to addiction
Source: From “What Constitutes a Disability?” Nation’s Business, June 1995, U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Note: People with disabilities are protected from employment discrimination only to the extent that their disability does
not prevent them from performing the essential functions of the job.

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Affirmative Action
• Plans designed to increase opportunities for groups that
traditionally have been discriminated against
• Along with using training to create a pool of qualified
applicants, some companies recruit at schools where many
students are members of racial minorities

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Workplace Accessibility
Organizations that comply with A D A have the advantage of a
large pool of potential workers
Companies that do hire qualified workers with disabilities are
rewarded with dedicated employees
Complying with A D A requires supervisors to:
• Review and revise job descriptions
• Avoid asking if the candidate has a physical or mental condition that
would prevent him or her from doing his or her job

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Accommodations for Employees with Disabilities
Employers must make accommodations for employees with
disabilities if the necessary accommodations are readily
achievable
• Readily achievable: Easy to carry out and possible to
accomplish without much difficulty or expense
Extends to:
• Wheelchair accessibility
• Accommodations for those with impaired sight and hearing
• Arthritis, high blood pressure, and heart disease

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Immigration Reform and Control Act, or I R C A, of 1986
• Forbids employers to hire illegal immigrants and requires
them to screen candidates to make sure they are authorized
to work in the United States
• Requires the employer to verify the identity and work
authorization of every new employee

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Purpose of Employee Selection Laws
Ensure that all persons have equal opportunities to all jobs
regardless of certain characteristics, including religion, race,
veteran status, age, gender, and disability