Chapter 10 - Internal Selection

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Chapter 10: Internal Selection

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Sample Answers for 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?

The use of seniority systems does put recent hires who make a strong contribution to the
organization at a disadvantage in terms of promotion. The typical argument in favor of
seniority systems is that such systems reward employees for their loyalty to the
organization. Moreover, seniority systems are typically open to all employees, so long as
they are willing to remain with the organization. Whether an organization prefers to take
each individual as they are at the present time, or take one’s history of behavior within the
organization into account when making decisions about selection, there clearly should be
upfront communication with all involved parties about how decisions will be made.

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?

The question hinges on whether it is more important to find individuals who can perform
well on a day-to-day basis as opposed to individuals who perform especially well when
being observed. It is possible that Vincent is a superior performer over the long haul
because he is better able to exert consistent effort on the job, whereas Peter does well
when he is being watched in an assessment center but is actually quite poor in less closely
supervised environments. It is possible, on the other hand, that the sales associate job is
different from the job of sales manager in certain respects that are measured in the
assessment center environment. On an ethical level, the organization also will want to
consider whether Vincent’s superior performance entitles him to the promotion as a
recognition by the organization of his extraordinary contribution to the organization, or if
Peter’s exceptional performance in the assessment makes him entitled to particular
consideration.

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Sample Answers to Discussion Questions

1. Explain how internal selection decisions differ from external selection decisions.

Sample Response: The data collection on internal applicants in their previous jobs often
offer greater depth, relevance, and verifiability than the data collected on external
applicants. This is so because organizations usually have much more detailed and in-depth
information about internal candidates’ previous job experiences. This makes it easier to
access data that are reliable about internal candidates than would be the case with external
candidates. In terms of relevance of past experiences, organizations may also have better
data with which to make selection decisions on internal than external candidates. The
experiences of insiders may more closely mirror the experiences likely to be encountered
on the new job than the experiences of outsiders. Another positive aspect of the nature of
predictors for internal selection is verifiability. Instead of merely relying on the opinion of
one person as to the suitability of an internal candidate for the job, multiple assessments
can solicited. By pooling opinions, it is possible to get a more complete and accurate
picture of a candidate’s qualifications.

2. What are the differences between peer ratings, peer nominations, and peer
rankings?

Sample Response: All three methods are peer assessments used to make promotion
decisions. With peer ratings, readiness to be promoted is assessed for each peer using a
rating scale. The person with the highest ratings is deemed most promotable. With peer
nominations, one relies on voting for the most promotable candidates. Peers receiving the
greatest number of “votes” are the most promotable. And, finally, peer nominations rely
upon a rank ordering of peers. Those peers with the highest rankings are the most
promotable.

3. Explain the theory behind assessment centers.

Sample Response: An assessment center is a collection of predictors used to forecast

success, primarily in higher-level jobs. It is used for higher-level jobs because of the high
costs involved in conducting the center. The theory behind assessment centers is focused
on the concern with predicting an individual’s behavior and effectiveness in critical roles,
usually managerial ones. Since these roles require complex behaviors, multiple KSAOs are
used to predict these behaviors. This means that multiple methods of assessing the
KSAOs, as well as multiple assessors, are required. In theory, the result of this type of
assessment should be higher validity than could be obtained from a single assessment
method or assessor.

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4. Describe the three different types of interview simulations.

Sample Response: One type of interview simulation is the role-play. In this type of
simulation, the job candidate is placed in a simulated situation where it is necessary to
interact with a person at work, such as the boss, a subordinate, or a customer. The
interviewer or someone else plays one role, and the job candidate plays the role of the
person in the position for which he or she has applied. A second type of simulation is that
of the fact-finding interview. Here the job candidate is presented with a case or problem
with incomplete information. It is the job of the candidate to solicit from the interviewer or
a resource person the additional facts needed to resolve the case. A third type of
simulation is the oral presentation. This method requires the job candidate to make some
type of oral presentation, such as a sales presentation to a simulated customer, or a
management presentation to a simulated board of directors.

5. Evaluation the effectiveness of seniority, assessment centers, and job knowledge as

substantive internal selection procedures.

Sample Response: Based on available research, seniority is considered to have high use,
low cost, high reliability, and high validity. The utility, reactions, and adverse impact of
seniority have not been assessed definitely be research conducted to-date. Assessment
centers are considered to be low on use, moderate on cost, and high in both reliability and
validity. Utility, reactions, and adverse impact are still not known with any certainty. Job
knowledge tests are low on use, moderate on cost, and high on both reliability, and
validity. Utility, reactions, and adverse impact for job knowledge are still unknown
quantities.

6. What steps should be taken by an organization that is committed to shattering the

glass ceiling?

Sample Response: One step is to make greater use of selection plans. Such a plan forces
an organization to conduct job analysis, construct career ladders or KSAO lattices, and
consider alternatives to many of the traditional methods of assessment used in promotion
systems. Another step is for the organization to back away from use of these traditional
methods of assessment as much as possible, in ways consistent with the selection plan.
This would mean a move away from casual, subjective methods, such as supervisory
recommendations, typical promotability ratings, quick reviews of personnel files, and
informal recommendations. In their place should come more formal, standardized, and job-
related assessment methods. Also, the organization can pay close attention to the types of
KSAOs necessary for advancement, and undertake programs to impart these KSAOs to
aspiring employees. Such developmental actions might include: key job and committee
assignments, participation in conferences and other networking opportunities, mentoring
and coaching programs, and skill acquisition in formal training programs.

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Application #1: Changing a Promotion System - Bioglass, Inc.

1. What is the likely cause of CSD’s problems?

The major cause of CSD’s problems seems to be that they did not realize that the “logic of
prediction” was not an appropriate way of viewing the selection decision in this case.
Specifically, Tom’s past performance as a sales associate should not have been viewed as a
valid predictor of his future performance as a manager. The KSAOs required for success
as a sales associate (e.g., sales techniques) are very different than the KSAOs needed to
succeed as a manager (e.g., delegation, providing feedback, setting goals).

2. How might CSD, and Bioglass more generally, make better promotion decisions in
the future? Be specific.

CSD and Bioglass could make more valid selection decisions in the future by focusing on
the assessment of the person/job match. That is, the main thrust of evaluating applicants
for a given position would be to assess the KSAOs of each applicant and compare those
with the KSAO requirements for the joPast job performance as indicated by performance
appraisals and recommendations should not be weighed heavily unless the KSAOs
required of the past job correspond closely with the KSAOs needed for the job being
applied for.

A second step which could be taken to improve the selection decision process would be to
incorporate additional assessment methods into the process that are specifically designed
to assess the KSAOs needed for the job in question. Specific examples of appropriate
assessment methods for managerial jobs could be cognitive ability tests, peer
recommendations, skill inventories, job knowledge tests, and assessment centers.

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3. In general, what role should performance appraisals play in internal selection

decisions? Are there some cases in which they are more relevant than others?
Explain.

In general, performance appraisals should only play a role in the internal selection process
if the KSAOs associated with the job which is being filled are similar to the KSAOs of an
applicant’s past/current jobs. Even if this is the case, the use of performance appraisals in
making internal selection decisions must be done with great care and caution. A major
reason for exercising caution in using performance appraisals in the internal selection
process is that there can be tremendous differences in the performance ratings given to
various employees independent of their actual performance levels. There can be significant
differences in the rating styles and performance standards between managers (e.g., lenient,
strict, etc.). Thus, making direct comparisons between employees based on their
performance ratings may lead to making erroneous selection decisions. As previously
indicated, performance appraisals are more appropriate to use when the KSAOs of the
past/current jobs held by applicants match those required for the job being applied for.

Application #2: Promotion from Within at Citrus Glen

1. Drawing from concepts presented in the measurement chapter, how could Mandy
more formally evaluate SSI's assessment process, as well as the alternative presented
to her by Vin?

Basically, Mandy should conduct a formal validation study to assess the degree to which
scores on the assessments and the recommendations from SSI possess predictive validity.
That is, do the individuals who perform well in the SSI assessments and are recommended
for specific positions at Citrus Glen actually perform well on the job? This will require
Mandy to obtain valid performance ratings for employees who have been promoted based
on SSI's recommendations. If there is a moderate to strong positive correlation between
the individuals' SSI scores and their job performance, then this suggests to Mandy that
SSI's assessment center is valid.

A second issue is whether SSI's assessment center process is worth the $5,500 per
individual who Citrus Glen sends to them. One important consideration here is, What is
the cost of not hiring the right candidate for a given job" If the cost of not hiring the right
person is viewed as being extremely high, as it might be for a high-level management
position, then the SSI cost may be justified.

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Vin's suggestion that another assessment process might be just as good (or very close to
it) and a lot less expensive is worth considering. In this case, Mandy should ask Vin to
help her to develop an alternative assessment process that might include the administration
of some personality and cognitive ability tests. Vin could be retained as a consultant to
then independently administer the alternative process to all of the individuals who are
being sent to SSI and to make his own hiring recommendations. The results of the
alternate assessment process could be compared with those from SSI to evaluate their
relative validity. Vin should also develop some estimates of the cost of administering the
alternate process per applicant. If the alternate process possesses a comparable level of
validity and it is significantly less expensive, then Mandy may want to bring the assessment
process back in-house.

2. Construct a scenario in which you think Mandy should continue her business
relationship with SSI. On the other hand, if Mandy decides on an alternative
assessment process, what would that process be? How would she evaluate whether
that process was effective?

If the formal evaluation of SSI's assessment process is found to be valid, but Mandy is still
concerned about the cost of using the service, then she should consider using SSI only for
"key positions" at Citrus Glen. Obviously, Mandy will need to develop a process for
determining which jobs are actually "key jobs," but this could be an effective strategy for
reducing the overall costs associated with the process.

In terms of a potential alternative process and how to evaluate it, one possibility was
outlined in the response to question #1 above.

3. Citrus Hill considered expanding their operations into the Caribbean and Latin
Americ One of Mandy's concerns is how to staff such positions. If Citrus Hill does
expand its operations to different cultures, how should Many go about staffing such
positions? Be specific.

One key decision that has to be made here is whether to send employees from the home
country (U.S.A.) to staff positions in the company's international operations or to hire and
train host country (local) employees to perform these jobs. Assuming that Citrus Glen
wants to use home country employees for staffing positions abroad, then it is important
that the assessment process it uses for making selection decisions assess the following
critical qualifications: adaptability, appropriate personality tests, and simulations and
interviews of relevant work situations in international work assignments. The key is that
the assessment process must consider other factors beyond technical skills in order to
establish good person/job and person/organization fit.

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