THE FUTILITY OF UTILITY ANALYSIS

In a study involving 143 experienced managers, utility analysis was found to influence managerial decision making, but not in the way intended by advocates of this technique. Utility analysis reduced the support of managers for implementing a valid selection procedure, even though the analysis indicated that the net benefits from the new procedure were substantial. In light of these findings, industrial/organizational psychologists are advised to reconsider their assumptions regarding the information managers use when managers make human resource policy decisions.     

THE FUTILITY OF UTILITY ANALYSIS REVISITED: WHEN EVEN AN EXPERT FAILS

The effect of utility analysis on managerial decisions regarding the use of a valid selection test was investigated. Experienced managers ( n = 41) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions. The control condition contained written advice to adopt new selection procedures from a hypothetical psychologist that included an explanation of validation procedures. The second condition contained the same written information and advice as the control condition plus written support of that advice from a hypothetical trusted adviser. The third condition contained all the material that was presented in the control condition plus a written explanation of utility analysis, an actual utility analysis showing that large financial benefits would flow from using the proposed procedures, and a video-taped presentation from an expert on utility analysis where the logic underlying utility analysis and its benefits were explained. The expert was then presented live to the audience to address any questions that might have arisen from the utility analysis or the video. An ANOVA revealed that the presentation of a positive utility analysis reduced support for implementing a valid selection procedure, even though the logic and merits of utility analysis as a decision-making tool were described by an internationally recognized authority.     

Teaching Job Interview Skills to Alcoholics: Implications for Future Employment Rates

Twenty-three inpatient alcoholics participated in a job-finding skills workshop. They demonstrated better job interview skills and a higher employment rate compared with a control group.     

THE CONTROL OF BIAS IN RATINGS: A THEORY OF RATING

Based on several years of research and a careful analysis of the rating process Wherry developed a theory of rating. An accurate rating is seen as being a function of three major components: Performance of the ratee, observation of that performance by the rater, and the recall of those observations by the rater. Cast in a mold of classical psychometric theory each of these components is seen as consisting of a systematic portion and a random portion. The systematic portion of each component is further broken down. The performance of the ratee is a combination of true ability or aptitude for the job and the influence of the environment. What the rater observes is a function the performance of the ratee and bias of observation and what the rater recalls is a result of those observations combined with a bias of recall. The development of the theory of rating unfolds by defining the various factors that affect each of these components in a series of linear equations. Various theorems and corollaries are proposed which should lead to a maximization of the true ability component of the ratee and minimize environmental influence and the bias and error components. The theorems and corollaries suggest testable hypotheses for the researcher in performance evaluation.     

Sexual Assault Programming for College Students

The authors discuss workshops designed to promote awareness of sexual assault and to provide education about such assault on college campuses.     

A QUANTIFIED APPROACH TO MEASUREMENT OF JOB CONTENT: PROCEDURES AND PAYOFFS1

Procedures used for developing a quantified job analysis system for 1710 exempt employees in a power utility firm are described. Factor analysis of these data yielded 60 job dimensions which were used to describe position and job profiles. These job profiles then served as the basic input into the development of job clusters, defined as jobs at the same organizational level which have similar job content. The usefulness of information in this format for selection, promotion, transfer, compensation and training decisions is discussed.     

LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR AND EFFECTIVENESS OF BEAUTY SALON MANAGERS

A field study was conducted in a chain of beauty salons to determine how the leadership behavior of salon managers is related to managerial effectiveness. Leadership behavior was measured with a new questionnaire that was filled out anonymously by subordinates. Strong correlations were found between some of the leadership scales and salon profits, sales increase, performance ratings, subordinate satisfaction, and role ambiguity. The results were consistent with managerial role requirements derived from an analysis of the leadership situation.     

OBTAINING VALID PREDICTORS BY MINIMIZING RATING ERRORS IN THE CRITERION1

The correlations between each of five predictors and supervisory ratings of job effectiveness were not significantly different from zero. On the basis of the job analysis that preceded the validation study, the author concluded that the low correlations between each of the five predictors and the criterion were not due to problems inherent in either the tests or the performance appraisal instrument. Rather, it was hypothesized that the low correlations were a result of rating errors made by supervisors. The results of an eight hour training program (Latham, Wexley, and Pursell, 1975) designed to minimize rating errors supported this hypothesis. Four of the five predictors correlated significantly with the performance ratings that were conducted after the supervisors had received the training.