Aiding and Abetting Employer Discrimination: The Job Applicant's Role

Despite the complex nature of discrimination in employment, antidiscrimination legislation in most countries has placed almost exclusive responsibility on one party, the employer, who may base employment decisions on illegal grounds, by using personal information (such as age, gender, marital status, ethnicity, etc.) provided by job applicants. This study examined 107 real résumés from Australian managerial applicants to determine how much personal information is provided in résumés. It was found that although employers and recruitment consultants are prohibited from seeking personal information from applicants, this information is often either provided directly or indirectly by applicants in their résumés. Thus this paper suggests that job applicants aid and abet employer discrimination in the selection process. Methods to prevent or minimize discrimination in the recruitment and selection phases of the employment process are suggested.     

A Rose by Any Other Name: Identity and Impression Management in Résumés

Résumés provide critical information for organizations to make selection decisions and applicants with their first opportunity to influence decision makers. While résumés are intended to convey job relevant information, they also potentially provide information about applicants that could hinder their employment prospects. For example, many names give clues about an applicant’s sex or race, and previous research has shown this can have negative implications for historically disadvantaged groups. This creates an incentive for some people to engage in impression management regarding how they identify themselves in their résumé. The paper develops a typology for assessing the ethics of these attempts at impression management. Sample vignettes are provided to help explicate the proposed typology.     

Elections and selection: The role of political ideology in selection decisions

Political ideology is a central belief that drives individuals' behavior not just in the voting booth but also in other aspects of life. As political divisiveness in society has increased, the ramifications of this shift may permeate organizations ultimately affecting how individuals interact with one another. Through the lens of social cognition and person-organization fit, this paper considers the effect of political ideology of job applicants in selection decisions by discussing 1) the definition of political ideology and subsequent stereotyping, 2) the increasing divisiveness rooted in political ideology, 3) the implication in selection decisions influenced by political ideology, and 4) the consequences for firm level diversity. Further, a model is provided to illustrate the relationship of political ideology to various phases of the selection process. Propositions to foster further study of these phenomena are provided within.     

Applicant Identity Congruence in Selection Decision Making: Implications for Alejandro and Consuela

A scenario study was conducted to determine the impact of identity congruence on selection decisions. Participants were provided identical resumes for either Alejandro or Consuela followed by information from reference checks. Hypotheses were developed to test the impact of finding out information that called into question the Latino/a identity of the applicants. Results were strongest for gender and, consistent with the study's hypotheses, participants favored Alejandro prior to the reference check information. The results also demonstrated the importance of conducting reference checks as the evaluations between the applicants were equalized once the additional information was provided. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

An artificial intelligence algorithmic approach to ethical decision-making in human resource management processes

Management scholars and practitioners have highlighted the importance of ethical dimensions in the selection of strategies. However, to date, there has been little effort aimed at theoretically understanding the ethical positions of individuals/organizations concerning human resource management (HRM) decision-making processes, the selection of specific ethical positions and strategies, or the post-decision accounting for those decisions. To this end, we present a Throughput model framework that describes individuals' decision-making processes in an algorithmic HRM context. The model depicts how perceptions, judgments, and the use of information affect strategy selection, identifying how diverse strategies may be supported by the employment of certain ethical decision-making algorithmic pathways. In focusing on concerns relating to the impact and acceptance of artificial intelligence (AI) integration in HRM, this research draws insights from multidisciplinary theoretical lenses, such as AI-augmented (HRM^(AI)) and HRM^(AI) assimilation processes, AI-mediated social exchange, and the judgment and choice literature. We highlight the use of algorithmic ethical positions in the adoption of AI for better HRM outcomes in terms of intelligibility and accountability of AI-generated HRM decision-making, which is often underexplored in existing research, and we propose their key role in HRM strategy selection.     

Statistical Issues Arising in Disparate Impact Cases and the Use of the Expectancy Curve in Assessing the Validity of Pre-Employment Tests

Disparate impact cases concern the potential adverse effect seemingly neutral employment practices, such as passing a pre-employment test or possessing a fixed level of education, have on minority applicants. Their purpose is to eliminate discrimination by subterfuge, i.e., imposing a requirement that eliminates many minority individuals who could do the job but who do not meet the requirement. When a significantly higher fraction of applicants from minority groups fail the requirement compared to majority applicants, the requirement needs to be shown to be job-related. Statistical techniques used at the various stages of a disparate impact claim are described. Properties of the expectancy curve, which describes the utility of a pre-employment test and helps in defining a band of scores defining "equivalently skilled" applicants are discussed.     

A field study of rental market discrimination across origins in France

Discrimination against particular groups in the housing market increases search costs and limits optimal matching, thus resulting in economic and social inefficiencies. This paper tests for the existence of discrimination in the French rental market against individuals with names which signal their connection to five immigrant groups (Northern Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Turkey, Poland, Portugal-Spain) by implementing an online field study using one of France's largest online advertisements website. The results show that applicants with foreign sounding names coming from Northern Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and Turkey are 16 to 22 percentage points less likely to receive a response than applicants with French names or names associated with Poland, Portugal or Spain. In addition, when applicants with foreign sounding names from any origin receive a response, it is significantly more likely to be negative or include a request for more information than responses to emails including French sounding names. Finally, we find some geographic differences in response rate differentials that are correlated with differences in the local income and share of immigrants. This provides evidence that landlords use names as a proxy for economic and other sociodemographic characteristics.     

Too smart for their own good? A study of perceived cognitive overqualification in the workforce

This study examined the concept of cognitive overqualification, the possession of a higher level of cognitive ability than is required for a given job. Among 156 US based customer service representatives, cognitive overqualification was found to be associated with job dissatisfaction, but was only weakly related to measures of job and training performance. The results of this study provide support for the common practice among personnel managers to reject overqualified job applicants, as these individuals may be more likely to develop negative job attitudes, although not necessarily in anticipation of their poorer job performance.     

Is good character good enough? The effects of situational variables on the relationship between integrity and counterproductive work behaviors

The literature on integrity testing in personnel selection has reported impressive validities for predicting counterproductive work behaviors (CWB), but has seldom taken into consideration the possible influences of situational variables once job applicants are hired. This study examined the main effects and interaction effects of two situational variables, employee engagement and security control norms, on the relationship between integrity and CWB admissions. Based on data collected from a census sample of job incumbents from a large international retail company, all three variables were found to be moderately related to CWB, incrementally valid when aggregated, and together led to a lower rate of false positives than that yielded by integrity alone. In addition, employee engagement and security control norms each moderated the relationship between integrity and CWB when integrity was low, but did not influence CWB when integrity was high. The implications of these findings on personnel selection methods are discussed.     

Personalauswahl durch Self-Selection-Strategien: Traditionelle Konzepte und Ansätze zu deren Weiterentwicklung

Economic literature deals with self-selection strategies to overcome quality uncertainty in the application process. Self-selection strategies are beased on the informational impact of an applicant’s preference of a contract within a set of different contracts. If applicants of different qualities prefer different contracts, a seperating equilibrium occurs. In reality self-selection strategies are rarely used by companies. This paper analyses two possibilities to develop theoretical approaches so that they may be useful devices in practical staff selection.     

Risk Aversion,the Disposition Effect,and Group Decision Making: An Experimental Analysis

This article reports a laboratory experiment comparing the behavior of individuals and groups in terms of their susceptibility to the disposition effect. A total of 174 students took part in six experimental sessions in which they made decisions individually, in pairs, or in three‐person groups. It was observed that the disposition effect was attenuated when the decisions were made in groups of two or three members. It was also noted that the attenuating effect of group decision making was the result of a reduction in the proportion of gains realized, indicating that the groups were less risk averse than individuals. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sequential optimization three-way decision model with information gain for credit default risk evaluation

To categorize credit applications into defaulters or non-defaulters, most credit evaluation models have employed binary classification methods based on default probabilities. However, while some loan applications can be directly accepted or rejected, there are others on which immediate accurate credit status decisions cannot be made using existing information. To resolve these issues, this study developed an optimized sequential three-way decision model. First, an information gain objective function was built for the three-way decision, after which a genetic algorithm (GA) was applied to determine the optimal decision thresholds. Then, appropriate accept or reject decisions for some applicants were made using basic credit information, with the remaining applicants, whose credit status was difficult to determine, being divided into a boundary region (BND). Supplementary information was then added to reevaluate the credit applicants in the BND, and a sequential optimization process was employed to ensure more accurate predictions. Therefore, the model’s predictive abilities were improved and the information acquisition costs controlled. The empirical results demonstrated that the proposed model was able to outperform other benchmarking credit models based on performance indicators.     

Into the void: A conceptual model and research agenda for the design and use of asynchronous video interviews

Asynchronous video interviews (AVIs) are a form of one-way, technology-mediated, selection interviewing that continue to grow in popularity. An AVI is a broad method that varies substantially in design and execution. Despite being adopted by many organizations, human resources professionals, and hiring managers, research on AVIs is lagging far behind practice. Empirical evidence is scarce and conceptual work to guide research efforts and best practice recommendations is lacking. We propose a framework for examining the role and impact of specific design features of AVIs, building on theories of justice-based applicant reactions, social presence, interview anxiety, and impression management. More precisely, our framework highlights how pre-interview design decisions by organizations and completion decisions by applicants can influence reactions and behaviors during the interview, as well as post-interview outcomes. As such, we offer an agenda of the central topics that need to be addressed, and a set of testable propositions to guide future research.     

Identifying “best” applicants in recruiting using data envelopment analysis

Selecting the most promising candidates to fill an open position can be a difficult task when there are many applicants. Each applicant achieves certain performance levels in various categories and the resulting information can be overwhelming. We demonstrate how data envelopment analysis (DEA) can be used as a fair screening and sorting tool to support the candidate selection and decision-making process. Each applicant is viewed as an entity with multiple achievements. Without any a priori preference or information on the multiple achievements, DEA identifies the non-dominated solutions, which, in our case, represent the “best” candidates. A DEA-aided recruiting process was developed that (1) determines the performance levels of the “best” candidates relative to other applicants; (2) evaluates the degree of excellence of “best” candidates’ performance; (3) forms consistent tradeoff information on multiple recruiting criteria among search committee members, and, then, (4) clusters the applicants.     

Matching managers to strategies: Point and counterpoint

In recent years, an emerging and increasingly popular theme in the strategic management literature has been that the selection of general managers should be tied directly to the strategies of business units they will oversee. Because different strategies imply different priorities and the need for different skills, such a proposition has obvious intuitive appeal. Beyond intuitive appeal and supporting conceptual arguments, recent empirical research on whether matching general managers to strategies “pays off” in terms of more effective strategy implementation has also yielded positive results. Despite this evidence, several arguments exist for why it may not always be feasible, necessary, or desirable to match general managers to strategies. Thus, there is need for a point-counterpoint “debate” on the subject of matching general managers to strategies. Based on a review of the relvant literature, logical reasoning, as well as some case evidence, this paper is intended to be such a debate undertaken by the author with himself. It is hoped that such a dialectical analysis will open up new avenues for productive research and also enable corporate executives to make better “managerial selection” decisions.     

Professional/management relations: Imagery vs. action

Managers and professionals have images about what professionalism involves. These images are used in personnel decisions and in other evaluation situations. The images used by professionals have multiple dimensions, many of which do not correspond to conventional stereotypes. The variable of power is of critical importance in developing and maintaining professional images. If management seeks to enhance the image of its personnel who are labeled professionals, it runs some risk of losing control of these personnel. The imagery of professionalization is viewed as developing more fully after individuals leave their professional training.     

The national internal labor market encounters the local labor market: Effects on employee retention

Formal salary systems are commonplace among medium to large-sized firms and within the United States government. However, there is little evidence regarding the costs, if any, of such systems. This study analyzes the effects on retention within the United States Air Force from an inflexible wage system failing to adequately compensate personnel for local compensating wage differentials. Using location-specific Air Force personnel records, I compare the differences between military and civilian wages, by occupation, across locations to determine if local labor markets play a significant role in the stay or leave decisions for personnel. Results show that rigid wage constraints do in fact impose costs on the firm through increased turnover in locations that fail to adequately adjust wages for the cost of living and amenities.     

Privacy and Personnel Selection: Reciprocal Rights and Responsibilities

Previous models of invasion of privacy in selection have stressed applicant rights to the exclusion of applicant responsibilities, and have slighted organizational incumbents' needs to acquire accurate knowledge about prospective co-workers. To correct this imbalance, a reciprocal model, enumerating and justifying possible rights and responsibilities of applicants, organizational management, and organizational incumbents, is postulated. This normative model is contrasted with the current mistrust that characterizes many selection interactions. Propositions suggesting ways of gaining the information that organizations require, while still respecting the privacy needs of applicants, are advanced. Tentative suggestions for how human resource professionals could initiate these positive changes are suggested as well.     

浅谈速写中的视觉训练

文章从构图意识培养、工具的选用及写生和从线到面过程中的视觉训练三个方面来探讨速写中的视觉训练,旨在要求每一位从事艺术设计的专业人员要养成用"专业的目光"观察周围的一切的习惯。     

Factors affecting the effectiveness and acceptance of electronic selection systems

There has been a rise in the use of electronic selection (e-selection) systems in organizations. Given the widespread use of these systems, this article reviews the factors that affect their effectiveness and acceptance by job applicants (applicant acceptance), and offers directions for future research on the topic. In particular, we examine the effectiveness and acceptance of these systems at each stage of the selection process including (a) job analysis, (b) job application, (c) pre-employment testing, (d) interviewing, (e) selection decision-making, and (f) evaluation and validation. We also consider their potential for adverse impact and invasion of privacy. Finally, we present some implications for e-selection system design and implementation.