Gatewood
HUMAN RESOURCE
SELECTION, 8E
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classroom use.
An Introduction to Selection
Chapter 1
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FOUNDATION FOR A
SELECTION PROGRAM
In today’s competitive business
environment, managers want to increase
the performance of their employees.
 Selection is the basis for employee
performance.
 Selection programs are useful if:

 1. They develop instruments that collect jobrelated information from applicants.
 2. This information is used appropriately.
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FOUNDATION FOR A
SELECTION PROGRAM (2)

Part I of this text will cover:
 1. The steps to be taken to develop a selection
program
 2. The various forms of job performance
 3. The steps necessary to identify worker
characteristics that lead to job success
 4. The specific legal demands of selection
(laws, executive orders, court decisions, etc.)
 5. The composition of recruitment programs
that will attract appropriate applicants
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certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
Definition of Selection

The process of collecting and evaluating
information about an individual in order
to extend an offer of employment.
◦ Such employment could be either a first
position for a new employee or a different
position for a current employee
◦ The selection process is performed under
legal and environmental constraints and
addresses the future interests of the
organization and of the individual
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Definition of SelectionCollecting & Evaluating Information

The selection specialist must
systematically collect information from
applicants about how much of the
necessary characteristics each possesses:
◦ WRCs (Work-related characteristics)
 Human attributes related to job performance,
including personality
◦ KSAs – (Knowledge, skills and abilities)
 A traditional term used in HR, excluding factors
such as personality
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certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
Definition of SelectionCollecting & Evaluating Information (2)
Distinguish between selection and hiring.
 Selection occurs when job-related
information is collected from applicants
and offers of employment are given to
those who possess the WRCs to do well
on the job.
 Often, hiring occurs when a job is offered
with no evaluation of the applicant’s jobrelated qualifications.

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certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
Definition of SelectionSelection for Initial Job and Promotion

Selection for an initial job:
◦ 1. Applicants are external to the organization,
commonly students, graduates, or unemployed
◦ 2. Recruited through formal mechanisms
◦ 3. These produce many applicants
◦ 4. When many applicants, costs are a factor; a
brief selection instrument will reduce to few
◦ 5. Remaining applicants undergo several steps
◦ 6. Decisions formalized by statistical means or
input by multiple people
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certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
Definition of SelectionSelection for Initial Job and Promotion

Selection for Promotion:
◦ 1. Candidates are internal to the organization.
◦ 2. A limited number or no formal recruitment
techniques are used.
◦ 3. Because the applicants are members of the
organization, there is much information about
them, including performance reviews, etc.
◦ 4. Often evaluation is informal, subjective. We
do not agree with subjective selection
decisions.
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certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
Definition of SelectionConstraints and Future Interests

Ideally, an organization makes selection
decisions with a great deal of control over
the number of applicants, the information
gathered and its evaluation; but:
◦
◦
◦
◦
Great fluctuations in the market of applicants
Economic conditions
Federal (EEO) and state laws
Future interests of both parties must be
considered
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certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
Definition of SelectionIs … Selection … Important?

The resource-based theory of
organizations holds that they can gain
advantage over competitors by having and
holding a valuable resource in short
supply
◦ A recent study concluded that selection and
training applied to even low-skill jobs could
yield returns in customer service, retention of
employees, and profits
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certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
Selection and
Other Human Resource Systems
Many systems are important for employee
performance, as shown in Figure 1.1
 To get the maximum benefit from these
HR systems, firms must design all systems
so they greatly enhance employees’ work
performance
 Selection is more closely related to
recruitment than to other HRM programs

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certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
Figure 1.1- Interaction of
Selection & Other HRM Systems
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certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
Developing a Selection Program

The adequacy of each step shown in
Figure 1.2, strongly determines the
adequacy of the selection process
◦ Job Analysis Information
◦ Identifying Relevant Job Performance
Measures
◦ Identification of Work-Related Characteristics
◦ Development of Selection Measures
◦ Validation Procedures
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Figure 1.2- …Development
of a Selection Program
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certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.
Constraints in
Developing a Selection Program

The essence of selection is prediction, but
◦ Limited Information on Applicants
◦ Applicant and Organization at CrossPurposes
◦ Measurement of Jobs, Individuals, and Work
Performance often not precise
◦ Other Factors Affect Work Performance
◦ Selection Research versus Selection Practice
◦ What is Selection Doing That’s Good for the
World?
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Constraints in
Developing a Selection Program (2)

Some important areas of selection:
◦ Big Data – increasingly growing and complex
testing and gathering of data
◦ The Magnitude of Demographic Group
Differences and their Effects – In measuring
the WRCs that applicants possess, there are
consistent differences among demographic,
ethnic and racial groups
◦ The Use of Internet-Based Selection
Measures
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Plan of this Book

This book is divided into four parts:
◦
◦
◦
◦
Part 1, Foundation for a Selection Program
Part 2, Measurement in Selection
Part 3, Selection Measures
Part 4, Using Selection Data
© 2017 Cengage Learning® May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a
certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use.