BY: Daniella C.

Aporador, RPm
Interviews vary on three main factors:
TYPES OF
INTERVIEWS ✓ Structure
✓ Style,
✓ and Medium
STRUCTURE
The structure of an interview is determined by the
questions being asked.

A structured interview is one in which

• the source of the questions is a job analysis (job-related questions)
• all applicants are asked the same questions, and
• there is a standardized scoring key to evaluate each answer

An unstructured interview is one in which interviewers are

• free to ask anything they want (e.g., Where do you want to be in five years?
What was the last book you read?)
• are not required to have consistency in what they ask of each applicant,
and may assign numbers of points at their own discretion.
• Tell me about yourself.
• What is your greatest strength?
• What is your greatest weakness?
• How will our company benefit by having you as an employee?
• Are you married? Single? Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?
• What is your favorite….
• What was the last book you read?
• Where do you see yourself 5..10… years from now?
• Why did you leave your last job?
• What do you really want to do in life?
• Give an example of an occasion when you used logic to solve a problem.
• Give an example of a goal you reached and tell me how you achieved it.
• Describe a decision you made that was unpopular and how you
implemented it.
• Have you gone above and beyond the call of duty? If so, how?
• What do you do when your schedule is interrupted? Give an example of
how you handle it.
• Have you had to convince a team to work on a project they weren’t thrilled
about? How did you do it?
• Have you handled a difficult situation with a co-worker? How?
• Tell me about how you worked effectively under pressure.
STYLE
The style of an interview is determined by the
number of interviewees and number of
interviewers.
• One-on-one interviews involve one interviewer
interviewing one applicant.
• Serial interviews involve a series of single
interviews.
• Return interviews are similar to serial interviews
with the difference being a passing of time
between the first and subsequent interview.
• Panel interviews have multiple interviewers
asking questions and evaluating answers of the
same applicant at the same time
• Group interviews have multiple applicants
answering questions during the same interview.
Medium
Interviews also differ in the extent to which
they are done in person.
• In face-to-face interviews, both the
interviewer and the applicant are in the same
room. It allow the participants to use both
visual and vocal cues to evaluate information.
• Telephone interviews are often used to
screen applicants but do not allow the use of
visual cues.
• Videoconference interviews are conducted at
remote sites.
• Written interviews involve the applicant
answering a series of written questions and
then sending the answers back through
regular mail or through email.
Problems with Unstructured
Interviews
• Poor Intuitive Ability: Interviewers often base
their hiring decisions on “gut reactions” or
intuition.
• Lack of Job Relatedness: the most common
questions asked by interviewers are not related to
any particular job
• Primacy Effects: information presented prior to
the or early in the interview carries more weight
than information presented later in the interview.
Most interviewers take at least five minutes to
make their decisions.
Problems with
Unstructured Interviews
• Contrast Effects: the interview performance
of one applicant may affect the interview
score given to the next applicant. In other
words, an applicant’s performance is judged
in relation to the performance of previous
interviewees. Thus, it may be advantageous to
be interviewed immediately after someone
who has done poorly.
• Interviewer-Interviewee Similarity: In
general, research suggests that an
interviewee will receive a higher score if he or
she is similar to the interviewer in terms of
personality, attitude, gender or race.
Problems with
Unstructured Interviews
• Interviewee Appearance: physically
attractive applicants have an advantage in
interviews over less attractive applicants
and applicants who dress professionally
receive higher interview scores than do
more poorly dressed applicants. The
appearance bias extends to weight, obese
applicants receive lower interview scores
than their leaner counterparts.
• Nonverbal Cues: the use of appropriate
nonverbal communication is highly
correlated with interview scores.
Appropriate nonverbal cues include such
things as smiling and making appropriate
eye contact
Creating Interview Questions
There are six types of interview
questions:
• Clarifiers
• Disqualifiers
• Skill-level determiners
• Past-focused
• Future-focused
• Organizational fit
Clarifiers

• Allow the interviewer to

clarify information in the
résumé, cover letter, and
application, fill in gaps, and
obtain other necessary
information.
Disqualifiers

• These are questions that must

be answered a particular way or
the applicant is disqualified. For
example, if a job requires that
employees work on weekends, a
disqualifier might be, “Are you
available to work on
weekends?” If the answer is no,
the applicant will not get the
job.
Taps an applicants level of expertise. For
example, if an applicant says she is proficient
in Microsoft Word, an interviewer might ask
some questions about the word processing
program. If an applicant claims to be fluent in
Skill-level Spanish, the interviewer might want to ask
her a few questions in Spanish.
determiners
Past-focused questions

• Sometimes referred to as
patterned behavior description
interviews (PBDI).
• Applicants are asked to provide
specific examples of how they
demonstrated job-related skills
in previous jobs.
• Situational questions, ask
an applicant what she
would do in a particular
situation.
• Collect critical incidents.
These incidents are then
rewritten into questions
that will be used during
the interview. It is
important that these
questions can be
answered with the
applicant’s current
Future-focused questions knowledge.
Organizational Fit
• Organizational-fit questions tap the
extent to which an applicant will fit into
the culture of an organization or with
the leadership style of a particular
supervisor.
• For example, some organizations are
very policy oriented, whereas others
encourage employees to use their
initiative. Some supervisors are very
task oriented, whereas others are more
person oriented.
• First step in conducting the interview is
to build rapport; do not begin asking
questions until applicants have had time
to “settle their nerves.”
Conducting • Once an applicant feels at ease, set the
the Structured agenda for the interview by explaining
the process. Point out that each
Interview interviewer will be taking notes and
scoring the answers immediately after
the interviewee has responded.
• After the agenda has been established, ask the interview
questions. It is important to score each answer after it has been
given.
• Once the questions have been asked, provide information about
the job and the organization. Such information might include
salary and benefits, the job duties, opportunities for
advancement, a history of the organization, and so on.
• Then, answer any questions the applicant might have.
• End the interview on a pleasant note by complimenting the
interviewee (“It was a pleasure meeting you”) and letting her
know when you will be contacting the applicant about job offers.
• At the conclusion of the interview, the scores from the questions
are summed and the resulting figure is the applicant’s interview
score.
THE END.
Successfully Surviving
the Interview Process
Training (Interview Training
and Practicing Interview) can
increase an applicant’s score
Successfully on structured interviews.
Surviving the
Interview
As research indicates that
Process there is a negative correlation
between interviewee anxiety
and interview performance.
Scheduling If they arrive late, the score will be
the Interview drastically lower.
Learn about the company. Recall that
one of the most commonly asked
interview questions (“What do you know
about our company?”) is used to
determine the applicant’s knowledge of
the organization.
Before the
Interview
Organizations are especially impressed if
an applicant knows its products and
services, future needs, major problems
faced, and philosophy or mission.
• Dress neatly and professionally, and adjust your
style as necessary to fit the situation.
On the day of • Avoid wearing accessories such as flashy large
the interview earrings and brightly colored ties. Hair should
be worn conservatively—avoid “big hair” and
colors such as purple and neons.
During the Interview
Nonverbal behaviors should include a firm handshake, eye contact,
smiling, and head-nodding.

Desired verbal behaviors include asking questions, subtly pointing out how you
are similar to the interviewer, not asking about the salary, not speaking slowly,
and not hesitating before answering questions. Keep in mind that first
impressions are the most important.

If you want to appear similar to the interviewer, look around the

office. Researchers found that the contents of an interviewer’s
office are often related to her personality and interests.
After the Interview

• Immediately following the interview, briefly

thank the interviewer for his/her time.
Cover letters tells an employer that
you are enclosing your résumé and
would like to apply for a job. Cover
letters should never be longer than
one page.
Writing Cover
Letters
Cover letters contain a salutation,
three-four basic paragraphs, and a
closing signature.
If possible, get the name of the person to whom
you want to direct the letter.

Salutation If you aren’t sure of the person’s name, call the company
and simply ask for the name of the person (have it spelled)
to whom you should send your résumé.

If the first name leaves doubt about the person’s

gender (e.g., Kim, Robin, Paige), ask if the person is
male or female so that you can properly address the
letter to Mr. Smith or Ms. Smith. Do not refer to the
person by his or her first name (e.g., Dear Sarah).
The opening paragraph should
be one or two sentences long The second paragraph
and communicate three pieces states that you are qualified
of information: the name of for the job and provides
the job you are applying for, about three reasons why.
and how you know about the This paragraph should be
job opening (such as a only four or five sentences
newspaper ad or from a in length.
Paragraphs friend).

The final paragraph closes

your letter and provides
The third paragraph information on how you can
explains why you are best be reached. Though your
interested in the particular phone number will be on your
company to which you are résumé, this paragraph is a
applying. good place to tell the
employer the best days and
times to reach you.
Above your signature, use words such
as “sincerely.” “Yours truly” is not
advised, and words such as “Love,”
“Peace,” or “Hugs and snuggles” are
strongly discouraged.

Signature

Personally sign each cover letter.

Avoid sounding desperate and don’t beg (I really
need a job bad! Please, please hire me!)

HR director Ge
Ge Beall Avoid grammar and spelling errors. Employers view cover
letters and résumés as examples of the best work applicants
provides job can produce. If your cover letter contains errors, an employer
will be concerned about the quality of your regular work.
applicants with Don’t discuss personal circumstances such as “I find myself
the following looking for a job because I am recently divorced.” Employers
are interested only in your qualifications.
tips about
cover letters: Ensure that you have used the correct name of the
organization throughout the letter. It is not uncommon when
sending out large numbers of cover letters to change the
company name in the address but forget to change it in the
body of the letter.
Writing a Résumés are summaries of an applicant’s
Résumé professional and educational history.
Views of Résumés

Résumés can be viewed in one of two ways: as a history of your life or as

an advertisement of your skills.

Résumés written as a history of one’s life tend to be long and to list every
job ever worked, as well as personal information such as hobbies, marital
status, and personal health.

Résumés written as an advertisement of skills tend to be shorter and

contain only information that is both positive and relevant to a job
seeker’s desired career. This is the most commonly held today.
There are three rules to follow in writing
resume:
• The résumé must be attractive and easy to read. To achieve this, try
to leave at least an inch margin on all sides, and allow plenty of white
space; that is, do not “pack” information into the résumé. Physical
attractiveness is very important
• The résumé cannot contain typing, spelling, grammatical, or factual
mistakes.
• The résumé should make the applicant look as qualified as possible—
without lying. This is an important rule in determining what
information should be included. If including hobbies, summer jobs,
and lists of courses will make you look more qualified for this
particular job, then by all means, include them.
There are three main types of résumé:
chronological, functional, and
psychological.

Types of
Résumé Chronological résumés list previous jobs
in order from the most to the least
recent. This type of résumé is useful for
applicants whose previous jobs were
related to their future plans and whose
work histories do not contain gaps.
A functional resume focuses on your skills and experience and
de-emphasizes your work history. Employment history is
secondary to the abilities you have to offer. This basic resume
type is preferable if you have lapses in employment. The gaps
could occur for any number of reasons such as raising a family,
illness, or job loss.

It is also beneficial for new graduates who

A functional have limited employment experience or
resume people who are in the middle of a career
change.

Those who have had diverse occupations

with no focused career path will also find
this basic resume type helpful
The psychological résumé is This gives you a flexible
a combination resume you platform to list your
highlight both your skills
and traits and provide a
workplace assets and
chronological listing of your show what kind of
work experience. employee you are.
The
psychological
résumé However, you only have so
You don’t have to list
graduation dates, but if you
much space available. List
graduated summa cum
the most recent or
laude, or have achieved
advanced degrees first and
other high scholastic
work in reverse order. If
honors, don’t be modest
there are older courses
about listing them. This will
that are more specific to
set you apart from other
the position, list them first.
applicants
REFERENCES
A reference check is the process of confirming the
accuracy of information provided by an applicant.

, or potential for future success.

A letter of recommendation is a letter expressing an opinion

regarding an applicant’s ability, previous performance, work
habits, character, or potential for future success.
Reasons for Using References
and Recommendations
Confirming Details on a Résumé

It is not uncommon for applicants to engage in résumé fraud—lying on

their résumés about what experience or education they actually have.

Thus, one reason to check references or ask for letters of

recommendation is simply to confirm the truthfulness of information
provided by the applicant.
Marilee Jones, the dean of admission at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, resigned after admitting that she had lied
about having college degrees from three different universities.

Athletic director at Dartmouth University when a call from a

previous employer indicated that Harris did not earn the master’s
degree in journalism he had listed on his résumé.

Sandra Baldwin was forced to resign as chair of the U.S. Olympic

committee when it was discovered she had lied on her résumé
about having a Ph.D.
Checking for Discipline Problems

A second reason to check references or obtain letters of recommendation

is to determine whether the applicant has a history of such discipline
problems as poor attendance, sexual harassment, and violence.

Such a history is important for an organization to discover to avoid future

problems as well as to protect itself from a potential charge of negligent
hiring.
For example, a child-care center in California hired an employee without
checking his references. A few months later, the employee molested a
child at the center. The employee had a criminal record of child abuse
that would have been discovered with a simple call to his previous
employer. As one would expect, the court found the employer guilty of
negligent hiring because the employer had not taken “reasonable care”
in ensuring the well-being of its customers.

In Virginia, an employee of a grocery store copied the

address of a female customer from a check she had written
to the store. The employee later went to the customer’s
home and raped her.
PREDICTING JOB
PERFORMANCE
are commonly used because they are excellent predictors of
employee.

are easy to administer, and are relatively inexpensive.

Cognitive ability is thought to predict work performance in two ways:

by allowing employees to quickly learn job related knowledge and by
processing information resulting in better decision making.

Cognitive ability tests

Perceptual ability consists of vision (near, far,
Perceptual night, peripheral), color discrimination, depth
perception, glare sensitivity, speech (clarity,
Ability recognition), and hearing (sensitivity, auditory
attention, sound localization)
Psychomotor ability includes finger dexterity,
manual dexterity, control precision, multilimb
coordination, response control, reaction time,
arm-hand steadiness, wrist-finger speed, and
speed-of-limb movement
Psychomotor
Ability
Psychomotor abilities are useful for such jobs
as carpenter, police officer, sewing-machine
operator, post office clerk, and truck driver.
Physical Ability

• Physical ability tests are often

used for jobs that require
physical strength and stamina.
• Physical ability is measured in
one of two ways: job simulations
and physical agility tests.
Measure the extent to which
Predicting
an applicant already has a
Performance job-related skill.
Using
Applicant The two most common
Skill
methods for doing this are
the work sample and the
assessment centers.
With a work sample, the applicant
performs actual job-related tasks.

Work For example, an applicant for a job as

Samples automotive mechanic might be asked to
fix a torn fan belt; a secretarial applicant
might be asked to type a letter; and a
truck-driver applicant might be asked to
back a truck up to a loading dock.
The In-Basket Technique
The technique takes its name from the wire baskets typically seen on office desks.
Usually these baskets have two levels: the “in” level, which holds paperwork that
must be handled, and the “out” level, which contains completed paperwork.

During the assessment center, examples of job-related paperwork are placed in a

basket, and the job applicant is asked to go through the basket and respond to the
paperwork as if he were actually on the job.

The applicant is observed by a group of assessors, who score him on several

dimensions, such as the quality of the decision, the manner in which the decision was
carried out, and the order in which the applicant handled the paperwork— that is, did
he start at the top of the pile or did he start with the most important papers?
Simulations

• Simulation exercises are the real backbone of the assessment center

because they enable assessors to see an applicant “in action.”
• Simulations, which can include such diverse activities as role plays
and work samples, place an applicant in a situation that is as similar
as possible to one that will be encountered on the job.
Leaderless Group Discussions

• In this exercise, applicants meet in small groups and are

given a job-related problem to solve or a job-related issue
to discuss.
• No leader is appointed, hence the term leaderless group
discussion. As the applicants discuss the problem or issue,
they are individually rated on such dimensions as
cooperativeness, leadership, and analytical skills.
PERSONALITY INVENTORIES
• PERSONALITY INVENTORIES ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY POPULAR
AS AN EMPLOYEE SELECTION METHOD BECAUSE THEY PREDICT
PERFORMANCE BETTER THAN ABILITY TESTS.
• PERSONALITY INVENTORIES FALL INTO ONE OF TWO CATEGORIES
BASED ON THEIR INTENDED PURPOSE:
• TYPES OF NORMAL PERSONALITY
• PSYCHOPATHOLOGY (ABNORMAL PERSONALITY)
•THE MOST WELL-KNOWN TEST OF THIS TYPE, THE 16PF
(PERSONALITY FACTOR), WAS CREATED BY RAYMOND
CATTELL AND IT CONTAINS 16 DIMENSIONS.
•NEO-PI R BY MCRAE AND COSTA
ALTHOUGH THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF PERSONALITY INVENTORIES
THAT MEASURE HUNDREDS OF TRAITS, THERE IS GENERAL
AGREEMENT THAT MOST PERSONALITY TRAITS CAN BE PLACED
INTO ONE OF FIVE MAIN PERSONALITY DIMENSIONS.
• POPULARLY KNOWN AS THE “BIG FIVE” OR THE FIVE-FACTOR
MODEL, THESE DIMENSIONS ARE:
• OPENNESS TO EXPERIENCE
• CONSCIENTIOUSNESS (RELIABLE, DEPENDABLE)
• EXTRAVERSION (OUTGOING, FRIENDLY)
• AGREEABLENESS (WORKS WELL WITH OTHERS, A TEAM PLAYER)
• NEUROTICISM-EMOTIONAL STABILITY (NOT ANXIOUS, TENSE)
•ONE OF THE CONCERNS ABOUT USING PERSONALITY INVENTORIES FOR
EMPLOYEE SELECTION IS THAT, BECAUSE THEY ARE SELF-REPORTS,
THEY ARE RELATIVELY EASY TO FAKE.
•THOUGH PERSONALITY INVENTORIES AREN’T THE BEST PREDICTORS OF
EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE, THEY ARE USEFUL IN TRAINING AND
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
INTEREST INVENTORIES
• AS THE NAME IMPLIES, THESE TESTS ARE DESIGNED TO TAP
VOCATIONAL INTERESTS.
• INTEREST INVENTORIES ARE USEFUL IN VOCATIONAL
COUNSELING (HELPING PEOPLE FIND THE CAREERS FOR WHICH
THEY ARE BEST SUITED).
INTEGRITY TESTS
• INTEGRITY TESTS (ALSO CALLED HONESTY TESTS) TELLS AN EMPLOYER THE
PROBABILITY THAT AN APPLICANT WOULD STEAL MONEY OR MERCHANDISE.
• SUCH EXTENSIVE USE IS DUE TO THE FACT THAT 42% OF RETAIL EMPLOYEES,
62% OF FAST-FOOD EMPLOYEES, AND 32% OF HOSPITAL EMPLOYEES HAVE
ADMITTED STEALING FROM THEIR EMPLOYERS
• ONE STUDY ESTIMATES THAT 50% OF EMPLOYEES WITH ACCESS TO CASH STEAL
FROM THEIR EMPLOYERS. ANOTHER STUDY FOUND THAT 48% OF RETAIL
SHRINKAGE IS DUE TO EMPLOYEE THEFT, 32% TO SHOPLIFTING
EMPLOYERS USED BOTH ELECTRONIC AND PAPER-AND-
PENCIL INTEGRITY TESTS TO SCREEN APPLICANTS.
HOWEVER, THE U.S. CONGRESS PASSED THE EMPLOYEE
POLYGRAPH PROTECTION ACT MAKING GENERAL USE OF
ELECTRONIC INTEGRITY TESTS, SUCH AS THE POLYGRAPH
AND THE VOICE STRESS ANALYZER ILLEGAL EXCEPT IN A
FEW SITUATIONS INVOLVING LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCIES AND NATIONAL SECURITY.
GRAPHOLOGY
•AN INTERESTING METHOD TO SELECT EMPLOYEES IS
HANDWRITING ANALYSIS, OR GRAPHOLOGY. THE IDEA
BEHIND HANDWRITING ANALYSIS IS THAT THE WAY
PEOPLE WRITE REVEALS THEIR PERSONALITY, WHICH IN
TURN SHOULD INDICATE WORK PERFORMANCE.
DRUG TESTING
• THE REASON FOR ITS HIGH USAGE IS EMPLOYEES ADMIT TO USING DRUGS
IN THE PAST MONTH AND HR PROFESSIONALS BELIEVE NOT ONLY THAT
ILLEGAL DRUG USE IS DANGEROUS BUT ALSO THAT MANY EMPLOYEES
ARE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DRUGS AT WORK.
• THEIR BELIEFS ARE SUPPORTED BY RESEARCH INDICATING THAT ILLEGAL
DRUG USERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO MISS WORK, ARE LIKELY TO USE
HEALTH CARE BENEFITS, ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE FIRED AND QUIT THEIR
JOBS , AND HAVE MANY ACCIDENTS ON THE JOB.
MEDICAL EXAMS
•IN JOBS REQUIRING PHYSICAL EXERTION, MANY
EMPLOYERS REQUIRE THAT A MEDICAL EXAM BE TAKEN
AFTER A CONDITIONAL OFFER OF HIRE HAS BEEN MADE. IN
THESE EXAMS, THE PHYSICIAN IS GIVEN A COPY OF THE
JOB DESCRIPTION AND ASKED TO DETERMINE IF THERE
ARE ANY MEDICAL CONDITIONS THAT WILL KEEP THE
EMPLOYEE FROM SAFELY PERFORMING THE JOB.
PERFORMANCE
EVALUATION
The first step in the
Determine the performance
appraisal process is
Reason for Evaluating to determine the
reasons your
Employee organization wants
to evaluate
Performance employee
performance.
To improve employee performance by
providing feedback about what
employees are doing right and wrong.
Providing
Employee
Training and Performance appraisal review is an
Feedback excellent time to meet with employees to
discuss their strengths and weaknesses.
But more important, it is the time to
determine how weaknesses can be
corrected.
• One important reason for
evaluating employee
performance is to provide a fair
Determining basis to determine an
Salary employee’s salary increase. It
would not seem fair to pay a
Increases poor-performing employee the
same amount as an excellently
performing one.
Another reason for evaluating performance is to determine
which employees will be promoted. Although it would seem
only fair to promote the best employee, this often does not
occur. For example, the policy in some organizations is to
promote employees with the most seniority.

Making Even though promoting employees on the basis of

Promotion performance or tenure seems fair, it may not always be smart.
Peter Principle—the promotion of employees until they reach
Decisions their highest level of incompetence.

If performance evaluations are used to promote employees,

care should be taken to ensure that the employee is evaluated
well on the job dimensions that are similar to those of the new
position
Unfortunately, providing feedback,
counseling, and training to
employees does not always increase
performance or reduce discipline
Making problems.
Termination
Decisions When performance management
techniques are not successful, the
results of a performance review
might suggest that the best course of
action is to terminate the employee.
Traditionally, employee

Determine Who Will performance has been

evaluated solely by
supervisors. Recently,
Evaluate however, organizations
have realized that

Performance supervisors see only

certain aspects of an
employee’s behavior.
• By far the most common type of
performance appraisal is the
supervisor rating
• Though supervisors may not see
every minute of an employee’s
behavior, they do see the end
Supervisors result. Likewise, a professor does
not see a student actually
research and write a paper but
infers the levels of these behaviors
by viewing the results—the
finished term paper.
• Whereas supervisors see the results of an
employee’s efforts, peers often see the
actual behavior. Peer ratings usually come
from employees who work directly with an
employee; a bank teller could be rated by
other bank tellers.
• Research found that high performers
evaluate their peers more strictly than do
low performers. This difference in ratings is
Peers probably because employees compare
others to themselves.
• Thus, the average employee does not
appear impressive to a high performer but
may do so to a less productive employee.
• Though peers may provide a unique view of
performance, employees tend to react
worse to negative feedback from peers than
from experts
• Subordinate feedback (also called upward
feedback) is an important component of
360-degree feedback.
• Subordinate ratings can be difficult to obtain
because employees fear a backlash if they
unfavorably rate their supervisor, especially
when a supervisor has only one or two
Subordinates subordinates.
• Subordinates’ feedback can be encouraged if
supervisors appear open to employee
comments, if the ratings are used for
developmental; and if the employee feels
competent to make the rating, feels there
will be no revenge for making honest ratings,
and will somehow benefit by providing
honest ratings
• Organizations also seek customer
feedback in the form of secret
shoppers— current customers who
Customers have been enlisted by a company to
periodically evaluate the service they
receive. In exchange for their ratings,
secret shoppers get a few dollars and
a free meal.
• Allowing an employee to
evaluate her own behavior and
performance is a technique
used by only a small percentage
Self-Appraisal of organizations
• Self-ratings has found what we
might expect to find: Employee
self-appraisals tend to suffer
from leniency
The next step in the
performance
Select the Best appraisal process is
to select the
Appraisal Methods to performance
criteria and
Accomplish Your appraisal methods
that will best
Goals accomplish your
goals for the
system.
Focus of the Appraisal Dimensions
• Once the types of dimensions have
been considered, the next decision is
whether to evaluate performance by
Use of Employee comparing employees with one another
Comparisons, Objective (ranking), using objective measures
Measures, or Ratings such as attendance and number of units
sold, or having supervisors rate how
well the employee has performed on
each of the dimensions
• To reduce leniency, employees can be compared with one another
instead of being rated individually on a scale. The easiest and most
common of these methods is the rank order. In this approach,
employees are ranked in order by their judged performance for each
relevant dimension.
• To make this process easier, paired comparisons can be used. This
method involves comparing each possible pair of employees and
choosing which one of each pair is the better employee
Employee
Comparisons
• A second way to evaluate performance
is to use what are commonly called
objective, or hard criteria. Common
Objective Measures types of objective measures include
quantity of work, quality of work,
attendance, and safety.
Evaluation of a worker’s performance in
terms of quantity is obtained by simply
counting the number of relevant job
behaviors that take place.

Quantity of
Work For example, we might judge a salesperson’s
performance by the number of units she
sells, or a police officer’s performance by the
number of arrests she makes. Even Oprah
Winfrey is evaluated on the number of
viewers who watch her show.
Quality is usually measured in terms of
errors, which are defined as deviations
from a standard.

Quality of Thus, to obtain a measure of quality, there must

be a standard against which to compare an
Work employee’s work. For example, a seamstress’s
work quality would be judged by how it compares
with a “model” shirt; a secretary’s work quality
would be judged by the number of typos (the
standard being correctly spelled words); and a
cook’s quality might be judged by how her food
resembles a standard as measured by size,
temperature, and ingredient amounts.
Attendance

A common method for Attendance can be

objectively measuring separated into three
one aspect of an distinct criteria:
employee’s performance absenteeism,
is by looking at tardiness, and
attendance. tenure.
Safety

Obviously, employees who follow safety rules

and who have no occupational accidents do
It can also be used for
not cost an organization as much money as employment decisions such
those who break rules, equipment, and
possibly their own bodies as promotions and bonuses.
TRAIN RATERS
The
effectiveness
of rater
training also Raters who receive frame-of- Frame-of-reference training
is a function reference training make fewer
rating errors and recall more
provides raters with job-related
information, practice in rating,
of training training information than do
untrained raters
and examples of ratings made
by experts as well as the
format. rationale behind those expert
ratings
Observe and
Document
Performance
Critical incidents are examples
The next step in of excellent and poor employee
the performance performance.
appraisal process
is for supervisors Such documentation is usually written
to observe in a critical incident log—formal
accounts of excellent and poor
employee employee performance that were
observed by the supervisor.
behavior and
document critical
incidents as they Critical incidents should be
communicated to the employee
occur at the time they occur
Second, Lastly,
First, documentation
documentation
documentation helps an
forces a supervisor helps organization defend
to focus on supervisors against legal actions
employee behaviors recall behaviors taken against it by
when reviewing when they are an employee who
performance ratings was terminated or
with employees.
evaluating denied a raise or
performance. promotion.
Once critical-incident logs have
been read and objective data
reviewed, the supervisor is ready
to assign performance appraisal
Completing ratings.
the Rating
Form While making these ratings, the
supervisor must be careful not to
make common rating errors
involving distribution, halo,
proximity, and contrast.
A common type of error in evaluating employee
performance involves the distribution of ratings on a rating
scale. Distribution errors are made when a rater uses only
one part of a rating scale.

One kind of distribution error is called leniency error,

because certain raters tend to rate every employee at the
upper end of the scale regardless of the actual performance
Distribution of the employee.

Errors A central tendency error, which results in a supervisor rating

every employee in the middle of the scale.

A strictness error, rates every employee at the low end of

the scale.
Halo Errors
• A halo error occurs when a rater allows either a single
attribute or an overall impression of an individual to
affect the ratings that she makes on each relevant job
dimension.
Proximity errors occur when a rating made on one
dimension affects the rating made on the dimension that
immediately follows it on the rating scale.

Proximity
Errors The difference between this error and halo error is in the
cause of the error and the number of dimensions affected.
With halo error, all dimensions are affected by an overall
impression of the employee. With proximity error, only the
dimensions physically located nearest a particular
dimension on the rating scale are affected; the reason for
the effect, in fact, is the close physical proximity of the
dimension rather than an overall impression.
Contrast Errors

The performance rating one person receives can be influenced by the performance of a previously
evaluated person

Such contrast errors can also occur between separate performance evaluations of the same
person. That is, the ratings received on one performance appraisal will affect the ratings made on
an appraisal six months later. Contrast effects occur only when the person making the evaluation
actually sees the employee perform and rates the employee during both rating periods.

If a new supervisor reads that an employee’s previous evaluations were excellent but she observes
poor performance by the employee, she will probably continue to give excellent ratings—even
though the employee’s performance deteriorated. Smither and his colleagues call this rating error
assimilation.
Legal Reasons for Terminating Employees
• There are only four reasons that an employee can be legally terminated: probationary period, violation of
company rules, inability to perform, and an economically caused reduction in force (layoffs).
• Probationary Period In many jobs, employees are given a probationary period in which to prove that they
can perform well. Employees can be terminated more easily during the probationary period than at any
other time.
• Violation of Company Rules Courts consider five factors in determining the legality of a decision to
terminate an employee for violating company rules. The first factor is that a rule against a particular
behavior must actually exist. Though this may seem obvious, organizations often have “unwritten” rules
governing employee behavior. These unwritten rules, however, will not hold up in court.
• For more tenured employees, however, the organization must make a reasonable attempt to change the
person’s behavior through progressive discipline; to correct his-her behavior.
• Discipline can begin with something simple such as counseling or an oral warning, move on to a
written warning or probation, and end with steps such as reduction in pay, demotion, or termination.
• For violations of some rules, progressive discipline is not always necessary. It is probably safe to say
that an employer can terminate an employee who steals money or shoots someone at work
Reduction in Force (Layoff )
Employees can be terminated if it is in the best economic interests of an
organization to do so.
DESIGNING AND EVALUATING
TRAINING NEEDS
Training is the systematic acquisition of skills,
rules, concepts, or attitudes that result in
improved performance

No employee has the “complete package”—that is, every

technical and interpersonal knowledge and skill perfected;
there is always room for improvement. The ultimate purpose
of employee training is to increase an organization’s profits.
Organizational Analysis
The purpose of organizational analysis is to determine those
organizational factors that either facilitate or inhibit training
effectiveness.

For example, an organization may view training as important but may not
have the money to fund its training program

A properly conducted organizational analysis will focus on the goals that the
organization wants to achieve, the extent to which training will help achieve those goals,
the organization’s ability to conduct training (e.g., finances, physical space, time), and
the extent to which employees are willing and able to be trained (e.g., ability,
commitment, motivation, stress)
The purpose of a task analysis is to use the job
analysis methods: to identify the tasks performed
by each employee, the conditions under which
these tasks are performed, and the competencies
(knowledge, skills, abilities) needed to perform the
Task tasks under the identified conditions.

Analysis
Once the tasks and competencies for a job have
been identified, the next step is to determine how
employees learn to perform each task or obtain
each competency.
The third and final step in the needs analysis
process is determining which employees need
training and in which areas.

Person
Analysis Person analysis is based on the recognition that
not every employee needs further training for
every task performed. To determine the
individual training needs for each employee,
person analysis uses performance appraisal
scores, surveys, interviews, skill and knowledge
tests, and/or critical incidents.
Another excellent on-the-job training method is job
rotation, in which an employee performs several
different jobs within an organization.

Learning Job rotation is especially popular for managerial

training because it allows a manager trainee to
through Job experience and understand most, if not all, of the jobs
Rotation within the organization that his subordinates will
perform

Aside from increasing employee awareness, the main

advantage of job rotation is that it allows greater
flexibility in replacing absent workers.
With apprentice training, an individual
usually takes 144 hours of formal class
work each year and works with an expert
for several (usually four) years to learn a
particular trade.
Apprentice
training Apprenticeships are good for both the
apprentice and the expert. The apprentice
learns a valuable trade, and the expert or
the organization gets inexpensive labor—
usually one half the cost of expert labor.
Typically takes one of two forms: experienced
employees working with new employees and
professional coaches who work with all
employees.

Experienced Employees as Coaches. In this form

of coaching, a new employee is assigned to an
Coaching experienced employee. Coaching can be highly
effective, allowing the new employee the chance
to learn from a job expert.

Mentoring is a form of coaching. A mentor is a veteran in

the organization who takes a special interest in a new
employee and helps him not only to adjust to the job but
also to advance in the organization. Typically, mentors are
older and at least one level or position above the employee
being mentored.
Employee Motivation
• Industrial psychologists generally
define work motivation as the internal
force that drives a worker to action as
well as the external factors that
encourage that action. Ability and skill
determine whether a worker can do the
job, but motivation determines whether
the worker will do it properly.
Researchers have found three individual
difference traits that are most related to work
motivation: self-esteem, an intrinsic motivation
tendency, and need for achievement.
Self-esteem
• The extent to which a person views himself
as valuable and worthy. Korman theorized
that employees high in self-esteem are more
motivated and will perform better than
employees low in self-esteem.
• According to Korman’s Consistency theory,
there is a positive correlation between self-
esteem and performance. That is, employees
who feel good about themselves are
motivated to perform better at work than
employees who do not feel that they are
valuable and worthy people.
The theory becomes somewhat complicated in that there are
three types of self-esteem:

Chronic self-esteem is a person’s overall feeling about himself.

Situational self-esteem (also called self-efficacy) is a person’s feeling about himself in a

particular situation such as operating a machine or talking to other people.

Socially influenced self-esteem is how a person feels about himself on the basis of the
expectations of others

This method is based loosely on the principle of the self-fulfilling prophecy, which states that an individual will
perform as well or as poorly as he expects to perform.

So if an employee believes he will always fail, the only way to break the vicious cycle is to ensure that he
performs well on a task. This relationship between self-expectations and performance is called the Galatea
effect.
Another approach to increasing employee self-
esteem is to train supervisors to communicate
a feeling of confidence in an employee. The
idea here is that if an employee feels that a
manager has confidence in him, his self-
esteem will increase, as will his performance.
Supervisor
Behavior Such a process is known as the Pygmalion
effect. In contrast, the Golem effect occurs
when negative expectations of an individual
cause a decrease in that individual’s actual
performance.
When people are intrinsically motivated,
they will seek to perform well because
they either enjoy performing the actual
tasks or enjoy the challenge of
successfully completing the task.
Intrinsic
Motivation People who are intrinsically motivated
don’t need external rewards such as pay
or praise. In fact, being paid for
something they enjoy may reduce their
satisfaction and intrinsic motivation
A theory developed by McClelland suggests that employees
differ in the extent to which they are motivated by the need
for achievement, affiliation, and power.

Employees who have a strong need for achievement are

motivated by jobs that are challenging and over which they
Needs for have some control

Achievement In contrast, employees who have a strong need for affiliation

and Power are motivated by jobs in which they can work with and help
other people.

Finally, employees who have a strong need for power are

motivated by a desire to influence others rather than simply
to be successful
ERG Theory
• Aldefer developed a needs theory that has only three levels: existence,
relatedness, and growth—hence the name ERG theory.
• Existence Needs: Include all material and physiological desires (e.g., food, water,
air, clothing, safety, physical love and affection). Maslow's first two levels.
• Relatedness Needs: Encompass social and external esteem; relationships with
significant others like family, friends, co-workers and employers . This also means
to be recognized and feel secure as part of a group or family. Maslow's third and
fourth levels.
• Growth Needs: Internal esteem and self actualization; these impel a person to
make creative or productive effects on himself and the environment (e.g., to
progress toward one's ideal self). Maslow's fourth and fifth levels. This includes
desires to be creative and productive, and to complete meaningful tasks.
Incentives
Financial Rewards-Financial incentives can be used to motivate better worker performance
either by making variable pay an integral part of an employee’s compensation package or
by using financial rewards as a “bonus” for accomplishing certain goals

Recognition - Rather than providing financial incentives, many organizations reward

employee behavior through recognition programs

Travel -Many organizations are offering travel rewards rather than financial rewards.

Pay for Performance also called earnings-at-risk (EAR) plans, pay-for-performance plans pay
employees according to how much they individually produce
Profit-sharing programs provide employees with a percentage of profits
above a certain amount.

The typical gainsharing program works as follows. First, the company monitors
performance measures over some period of time to derive a baseline. Then productivity
goals above the baseline are set, and the employees are told that they will receive
bonuses for each period that the goal is reached. At the end of each reporting period,
bonuses are paid on the basis of how well the group did.

With stock options, employees are given the opportunity to purchase

stock in the future, typically at the market price on the day the options
were granted.