Management 4315, Spring, 2006 (Section: 25145) Human Resource Staffing and Planning

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1 Management 4315, Spring, 2006 (Section: 25145) Human Resource Staffing and Planning Class Times & Location Monday and Wednesday, 6 pm to 7:20 pm Room 301, College of Business Final Exam: Wednesday May 10, Room pm 9:45 pm Textbook: Gatewood, Robert D., & Field, Hubert S. Human Resource Selection, 5 th Ed Richard A. Posthuma, J.D., Ph.D. Associate Professor College of Business Administration Office: COBA Room 249 Department Office with mailbox: COBA 230 Office Phone: rposthuma@utep.edu Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday 9:30 am to 11:30 am and many other times with or without an appointment

2 Course Objectives General Overview. To provide a friendly environment and challenging information and materials so you can obtain knowledge and skills related to the staffing and selection of human resources. The topics covered are the legal issues, measurement, reliability, validity, strategies for decision-making, job analysis, job analysis techniques, KSAs and competencies, biodata, employment interviews, ability tests, personality tests, work samples, assessment centers, integrity testing, and drug testing. The learning objectives for these topics fall into six hierarchical categories. They are, from the lowest to the highest: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. Each is more fully explained below. 1. Knowledge. This category deals with the student s remembering, either by recognition or recall, the material ideas, or issues presented in the text, lectures, and class exercises. For example, students who are able to remember which federal statutes prohibit which types of employment discrimination will have obtained some degree of knowledge of the material. 2. Comprehension. This category of mastery deals with the ability to understand, translate into other words, interpret, and extrapolate ideas and concepts presented in the class. For example, students who can take a concept like the predictive validity of printed selection tests and explain it in their own words or in another language will have obtained a degree of comprehension of the concept of predictive validity. 3. Application. Application is the ability to apply an abstract concept in a new way or into a different situation. For example, students who can design a valid structured job interview for a given job specification will have obtained a degree of skill of application of the material. 4. Analysis. Analysis consists of breaking down material into constituent parts, detecting the relationships between the parts, and determining how those parts are organized. For example, students who analyze a selection process and see how the number of recruits affects the selection ratio which, in turn, affects the validity of a selection process will have achieved a level of mastery of some of the relationships between the parts of the employee selection process. 5. Synthesis. Synthesis involves the ability to put together different elements, parts, or abstract concepts into a coherent whole pattern or structure. For, example, a student who can design a human resource selection process for a new or growing business, will have mastered a degree of the synthesizing skill. 6. Evaluation. Evaluation is the ability to apply standards or criteria to make judgments about the value of something. For example, students show a certain level of evaluation skill when they can evaluate a group of job applicants who differ on various attributes (e.g., race, sex, language ability, intelligence, personality, work experience); and then decide which candidate(s) should be hired to best help the employer achieve its hiring and corporate objectives (e.g., EEO compliance, productivity, work relationship factors).

3 Illustration of Learning Objectives Sample Questions and Answers The following are sample questions and answers from the material in this course that illustrate these six types of learning objectives. 1. Knowledge What is the regulatory agency in Affirmative Action Programs? a. Personnel Fair Contract Compliance Program b. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission c. Interstate Commerce Commission d. Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs The correct answer is d 2. Comprehension What is disparate impact? e. Selection standards are applied uniformly, but the net result is to produce differences in the selection of various groups. f. Certain groups are treated negatively because of race, religion, color, sex, etc. g. Different standards are applied to various groups even though there may not be an explicit statement of discrimination h. Certain groups are treated negatively because of job-related factors. The correct answer is a 3. Application Could ABC parts warehouse legally institute a pre-employment drug screen test in El Paso, Texas? Yes, pre-employment drug tests are generally always lawful so long as the employee s privacy rights are respected during the drug testing process and the test is not administered in a discriminatory fashion. For truck drivers, DOT regulations will also require random drug testing. 4. Analysis

4 Describe the necessary conditions for performing a criterion-related validity study. There should be a job that is reasonably stable and not in a period of change or transition. Relevant and reliable criterion that are free from contamination must be available or it must be feasible to develop them. It must be possible to base the validation study on a sample of people and jobs that is representative of people and jobs to which the results will be generalized. Also, there must be a large enough sample of people on whom both predictor and criterion data have been collected or will be available. 5. Synthesis Summarize the major conclusions of validity generalization studies and describe the implications for human resource management practice. First, it is not necessary to validate every test for every organization. If the test and the organization are sufficiently similar to those included in the validity generalization study, then the test results show that the test should be valid. Second, mental ability tests predict job performance in most jobs. However, the degree of their validity depends on the complexity of the job. For more complex jobs mental ability tests are better predictors. However, many people question these results because of the correction formulas used in validity generalization studies may overestimate the validity of the tests. These results suggest that mental ability tests may be good predictors for most jobs. However, since they often have adverse impact against blacks and Hispanics, it s probably best to use them only in situations where disparate impact will not be an issue. 6. Evaluation What business conditions or factors would induce you to consider the use of honesty tests? What alternative actions (other than honesty tests) might you consider to address the same business conditions or factors? If our business was experiencing high rates of theft or illegal activities (illegal drug use), then we might consider using honesty tests. It is also important to consider the negative reactions to these tests of job applicants. Thus, we would need sufficient numbers of job applicants to make up for those who might drop out of the application process. This is often a problem in retail operations. We might also consider some type of personality test to measure the trait of conscientiousness, which is highly correlated with honesty. We might also do extensive background checks. In addition, we might institute electronic monitoring of employee performance in the workplace, after giving them notice of our intent to do so. Grading Summary

5 Grades are based on the student s demonstrated ability in all six of the educational objectives listed above. The allocation of points is summarized in the table below. Evaluation Objectives Attendance & Participation Report: Design an HR Department and a Selection Process Midterm Final Exam Points Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation Other Total Points ,000 Class attendance and participation is important because it enhances learning for both you and other students through participation in discussions. You can earn up to 200 points by coming to class and participating in class discussions. Class participation points are awarded for students who participate in class discussions, ask thoughtful questions, and present their opinions on topics related to the class. Thoughtful questions are those that are related to the course material and show that the student has thought about what they read or what was said in class. Thoughtful questions might include comparisons of one concept with another, how the course materials apply to the student s personal experiences, how the student might apply ideas in class to a real world setting, etc. The points that a student can earn for class participation are combined with other points they might earn for in-class exercises, attendance, etc. To earn these points make sure you've read the assigned materials before coming to class and come to class every day with your opinions, ideas, and a question or two about the topic we will be discussing. The total that you can earn for participation and attendance is 200 points. Thus, if you miss some points because of unavoidable absences, you can make them up through class participation. There will be a mid-term test and a final comprehensive examination. Questions on tests and the final will be based on information in assigned readings, class lectures, handouts, and discussions. Grade Scale Total Points Grade 900-1,000 = A = B = C = D 599 or less = F Oral Presentation (10 Points Extra Credit) In this assignment each student will pick one term from the subject index at the back of the textbook. The student will read aloud the term and a definition of that term that the student has written. Then the student will describe the term in his or her own words. Finally, the student will answer three or four questions from the class or the professor about the term. The 10 points are earned by completing this assignment.

6 Report Design a HR Department/Selection Process (200 points) Each student will write a 5 page memo that describes how they would set up a selection process. It should be written like a standard formal business memo. It should be single spaced in 12 point Arial font with one-inch margins on all sides. Assume that you are the newly hired HR Manager for a warehouse and distribution center in either El Paso, Texas. The facility will be opened on November 1, You will do all of the hiring from the local labor pool. You will need a total of 1,000 employees distributed across the following classifications: Warehouse Manager: 1 Assistant Warehouse Managers: 2 Supervisors: 25, Office Manager: 1 Bookkeeping Accountants: 4 HR Assistants: 2 Office Clerical: 7 Receptionist 2 Maintenance Lead workers: 4 Maintenance Local Truck Drivers (not semi-tractor), 100 Truck Drivers (not semi-tractor, border crossing) Order Checkers: 100 Order Picker-Packers 627. One of the four pages should be an Excel spreadsheet that has columns and rows with job titles and pay ranges. It should identify the various stages of the selection process, tests, yield ratios, etc. The cells should contain projected pass rates and numbers of applicants at each step. Another one of the four pages should be an Excel spreadsheet that does an applicant flow analysis for your company s affirmative action plan. Points are earned for application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation as shown above. Twenty (20) points will be deducted for each typographical, spelling, or grammatical error.

7 Course Outline Date Chapter Focus Assignment 1/18 Introduction Read Syllabus 1/23 1 Introduction Study Chapter 1 1/25 2 Legal Issues Study Chapter 2 1/30 2 Legal Issues Study Chapter 2 2/1 3 Measurement Study Chapter 3 2/6 4 Reliability Study Chapter 4 2/8 5 Validity Study Chapter 5 2/13 5 Validity Study Chapter 5 2/15 6 Decision Making Study Chapter 6 2/22 6 Decision Making Study Chapter 6 2/27 7 Job Analysis Study Chapter 7 3/1 8 Job Analysis Applied I Study Chapter 8 3/6 9 Job Analysis Applied II Study Chapter 9 3/8 Midterm Exam 3/13 Spring Break 3/15 Spring Break 3/20 10 Bio Data I Study Chapter 10 3/22 11 Bio Data II Study Chapter 11 3/27 12 Interviews Study Chapter 12 3/29 12 Interviews Study Chapter 12 4/3 13 Ability Tests Study Chapter 13 4/5 13 Ability Tests Study Chapter 13 4/10 14 Personality Study Chapter 14 4/12 14 Personality Study Chapter 14 4/17 15 Assessment Centers Study Chapter 15 4/19 16 Integrity Testing Study Chapter 16 4/21 16 Integrity Testing Study Chapter 16 4/26 17 Measuring Job Performance Study Chapter 17 5/1 17 Measuring Job Performance Study Chapter 17 5/3 Make Up and Review for Final Turn in Report 5/10 Final Exam Starts at 7 PM

8 Academic Honesty: UTEP Policy: Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or part to another person, taking an examination for another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or the attempt to commit such acts. Regents Rules and Regulations, Part One, Chapter VI, Section 3, Subsection 3.2, Subdivision Because scholastic dishonesty harms the individual, all students, and the integrity of the university, policies on scholastic dishonesty will be strictly enforced. Disability: UTEP Policy: If you feel you may have a disability that requires accommodations, contact the Disabled Student Services Office at , go to the Union Bldg. East, Room 106, or e mail dss@utep.edu.