Labor

Hrm 530 Dis 1 and Dis 2

Labor is an essential component required for a business venture to be successful. Companies and entrepreneurial organizations are cautious about the kind of employees they hire. This results into human resource going out of its way to test potential employees to determine their capability before hire. Employee tests vary between organizations with some emphasizing on certain tests while ignoring others. These tests include biographical data test, cognitive ability test, integrity test, job knowledge test, personality test, physical ability test, and work samples and simulations test (Taylor, 2010). Decisions on the particular type of test to carry out should be preceded by decisions on the importance of employee testing and the specific employee trait an organization wants to investigate.

Employee Testing

Biographical data test evaluates different aspects of an employee which may include leadership skills, creativity, specific skills, interpersonal skills, and teamwork skills among others (Gravells, 2012). This test asks questions based on education background, work experience, and personal interests. It therefore enables employers determine if a potential employee is knowledgeable, skilled, and generally fashioned to work in that particular job sector.

Cognitive ability test is carried out to determine an individual’s ability in fast learning, level of logic, reasoning, and comprehension. This test basically measures basic mental abilities required for a specific company’s success. Mental abilities hence enable assess one’s aptitude or capability in solving employment-related problems through things like verbal or mathematical reasoning or perceptual abilities among others (Kummerow, Barger & Kirby, 1997).

Attitude and experience of an individual regarding honesty, dependability, trustworthiness, reliability, and social behavior are examined under integrity tests. Application questions regarding ethics either based on past experiences or possible future occurrences are asked to determine how a person would handle or has handled a particular situation. Therefore, a company asks questions that enable it determine the likelihood of a job applicant being dishonest, engaging in inappropriate behavior or antisocial behavior.

Personality tests enable employers determine if an applicant displays sanguine, melancholic, choleric, or phlegmatic temperaments. It determines personality traits and how they relate to work behavior, interpersonal relations and different work aspect satisfaction. These tests determine extraversion, conscientiousness, optimism, stress tolerance, emotional stability, service orientation, and pro-activity (Whitmore, 2009). Determining personality traits is essential in determining potential success of an applicant in company performance.

Job knowledge tests determine technical, professional expertise, and knowledge that is necessary for a particular job. These tests are therefore necessary in determining if an applicant can effectively and efficiently contribute to the success of a company.

Physical ability tests measures physical attributes and capabilities like strength and speed. Therefore, they use tasks that require physical ability performance to determine one’s capability level (Kummerow, Barger & Kirby, 1997). Work samples and simulations tests specifically measure specific job skills but depending on a company they may also measure general skills like analytical or organizational. Work samples are therefore about performance tasks and their similarity to the specific job description.

I believe cognitive-ability test and personality tests are the most important tests for any company. Determining the intelligence, mental ability and personality traits are more important for an organization in order for it to place applicants in the relevant job sector (Whitmore, 2009). Different personality temperaments have diverse character traits with strengths and weaknesses. Determining this is necessary for a company to determine if an applicant has the relevant skills required for a job or to enable it maximize on the strengths of any temperament for the success of the company. For example sanguine temperaments are sociable, impulsive and charismatic. Since they are people-oriented extroverts, they would be the best in the marketing field of a company. Intelligence and mental ability of an individual measured through the cognitive-ability tests are also quite important since they enable gauge the creativity, innovativeness and performance in relation to the job description. Cognitive-ability tests and personality tests are also cost effective to administer and they give valid inferences for most organizational outcomes (Kummerow, Barger & Kirby, 1997).

Employee Selection

Structured interview is used to measure job-related capabilities that an applicant has through inquiring on past behavioral experiences or behavior in proposed hypothetical situations. The format of this interview is standardized for all candidates with questions emphasizing on the specific skills and abilities required by a company. It is more personal and evaluates competencies in areas like interpersonal skills (Gravells, 2012).

In a situational interview, an individual is questioned on specific things that may happen on a job and how to handle them. The objective of questions in this interview is to show one’s ability in dealing with certain difficult situations or circumstances. Therefore, they give tangible evidence on the listed skills and accomplishments on one’s resume. Generally this interview displays a candidates success in solving problems, resolving conflicts, and making things happen.

Behavioral interviewing is aimed at discovering how an interviewee reacted to a specific situation related to employment. Therefore, this interview is purely based on past actions relating to employment situations unlike structured interview which also incorporates hypothetical situations to determine ones reaction in dealing with them. Past behavior and performance predicts future behavior and performance which is what employers use in determining if an applicant qualifies to be employed (Gravells, 2012). Questions under this interview hence ask how one behaved depending on the needed skills instead of how one will behave.

I believe structured interview is best amongst three other forms of interviewing. Format of this interview gives equal standardized opportunities to all applicants to give relevant accurate and consistent information depending on questions asked. Questions are also asked in a similar predetermined order hence responses are evaluated by same rating scale and standards. The standardization aspect is essential since a company gets to choose the best candidate for the job without bias (Whitmore, 2009). This interview is also not limited to situational and behavioral aspects as in situational and behavioral interviews. Therefore, employers get to assess other skills like interpersonal skills, mental abilities, and personal strengths which in most cases are not effectively investigated in situational and behavioral interviews. Final decision in selecting an employee from a pool of applicants should not be limited to the manager only. I believe the decision should be team work by all relevant human resource heads in order for a competent, non-biased, and skilled employee to be chosen (Whitmore, 2009). Leaving this vital decision to one person to make may pose several challenges like issues of the credibility and integrity of the decision made.

Therefore, employee testing and selection are vital aspects under the labor category that impact the success of a company over other companies in a similar market. Companies need to keenly handle this resource and manage it to their advantage. Profit maximization is greatly impacted by skills of employees.

References

Gravells, A. (2012). Achieving your TAQA Assessor and Internal Quality Assurer Award. Learning Matters.

Kummerow, J. M., Barger, N. J., & Kirby, L. K. (1997). Work Types. New York: Grand Central Publishing.

Taylor, S. (2010). Resourcing and Talent Management (5^th Ed.). Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Whitmore, J. (2009). Coaching for performance: Growing Human Potential and Purpose-the Principles and Practice of Coaching and Leadership (4^th Ed.). New York: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.