The Journal of applied psychology
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Inferences about the relationships between scores on selection tests and measures of job performance are often made on the basis of an assessment of the match between the content of the test and the content of the job. However, there is little evidence that these test-to-job comparisons have any bearing on the criterion-related validity of selection tests. The authors show that conclusions reached in analyses of cognitive tests-that content matching is largely irrelevant to criterion-related validity-can be generalized to most sets of selection tests (e.g., psychomotor and performance tests, interview ratings, biodata scores, knowledge tests, work sample tests) that are positively correlated with one another and with the criterion. When the universe of potential predictors shows positive manifold, almost all possible sets of test batteries will yield similar outcomes and show similar validities, regardless of whether the content of these tests matches the content of the job.
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In this study, the authors contribute insight into the temporal nature of work attitudes, examining how job satisfaction changes across the 1st year of employment for a sample of organizational newcomers. The authors examined factors related to job change (i.e., voluntary turnover, prior job satisfaction) and newcomer experiences (i.e., fulfillment of commitments, extent of socialization) that may strengthen or weaken the job satisfaction pattern. ⋯ However, examination of moderating factors revealed that individuals who reported less satisfaction with their prior job and those having more positive experiences on the new job, such as greater fulfilled commitments and a higher degree of socialization, were most likely to experience this pattern. Findings from this study offer important implications for theory and research on changes in newcomer attitudes over time as well as practical insight on key factors that shape the pattern of job attitudes as individuals enter and experience a new workplace.
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Surprisingly few data exist concerning whether and how utilization of job-related selection and training procedures affects different aspects of unit or organizational performance over time. The authors used longitudinal data from a large fast-food organization (N = 861 units) to examine how change in use of selection and training relates to change in unit performance. Latent growth modeling analyses revealed significant variation in both the use and the change in use of selection and training across units. ⋯ Selection and training also affected financial performance, both directly and indirectly (e.g., through service performance). Finally, results of a cross-lagged panel analysis suggested the existence of a reciprocal causal relationship between the utilization of the human resources practices and unit performance. However, there was some evidence to suggest that selection and training may be associated with different causal sequences, such that use of the training procedure appeared to lead to unit performance, whereas unit performance appeared to lead to use of the selection procedure.