Executive Selection—What's Right … and What's Wrong

Although recent reviews of executive selection have catalogued much that we as industrial–organizational (I–O) psychologists are doing right in our research and practice, we are confronted with the facts that executive selection decisions are often, if not usually, wrong and that I–O psychologists seldom have a place at the table when these decisions are made. This article suggests that in our thinking we have failed to differentiate executive selection from selection at lower levels and that we have applied the wrong models. Our hope for the future lies not in job analyses, developing new tests, meta-analyses, or seeking psychometric validity, but in viewing executive selection as a judgment and decision-making problem. With the right focus, applying our considerable methodological skills should enable us to contribute toward making better judgments. When we have a better mousetrap, organizations (if not the world) will beat a path to our door.     

A Semantic Network Analysis of the International Communication Association

This article examines the structure of the International Communication Association (ICA) through semantic network analysis. Semantic network analysis examines the relationships among a system's components based on the shared meanings of symbols. Galileo analysis and Quadratic Analysis Procedure revealed that the semantic network for ICA based on paper titles presented to its divisions and interest groups at its 1991 conference had a high degree of correspondence with the affiliation structure reported by Barnett and Danowski. Both networks differentiated the humanistic divisions from the scientific, the mediated from the interpersonal, and the theoretical from the applied. The results are taken to be an indication of the validity of the procedures employed for determining semantic networks. Finally, results are interpreted in regard to Human Communication Research's relationship to its parent organization, ICA.     

EXAMINING SELECTION UTILITY WHERE COMPETING PREDICTORS DIFFER IN ADVERSE IMPACT

This paper discusses the roles of validity, cut score choice, and adverse impact on selection system utility using data from two concurrent validation studies. We contrast an assessment center and published aptitude test on several metrics, including validity, testing costs, adverse impact, and utility. The assessment center produced slightly lower validity than the aptitude test while costing roughly 10 times as much per candidate. In spite of these advantages for the aptitude test, the assessment center produced so much less adverse impact its operational utility would be higher given cut scores likely to be chosen in this organization. Potential concerns with applying net utility models to this type of situation are discussed in comparison to gross utility models.     

AN EXAMINATION OF LEADERSHIP AND EMPLOYEE CREATIVITY: THE RELEVANCE OF TRAITS AND RELATIONSHIPS

Creativity is becoming a topic of ever-increasing interest to organizational managers. Thus, there is a need for a greater understanding of the dynamics between the personal and contextual factors responsible for creative performance in work settings. In particular, there is a need to identify the role of leadership for creativity. Until now, creativity studies have examined leadership and employee characteristics from a single-domain perspective. Data from 191 R&D employees of a large chemical company were used to test a multidomain, interactionist creativity model of employee characteristics, leader characteristics, and Leader-Member Exchange (LMX). Results suggest that employee intrinsic motivation and cognitive style, LMX, the interactions between employee intrinsic motivation and leader intrinsic motivation, and between LMX and employee cognitive style relate to employee creative performance as measured by supervisor ratings, invention disclosure forms, or research reports. Implications for practicing managers and research on leadership and creativity are discussed.     

A Design for First Line Supervisory Training In Manpower Agencies

This article describes a training program to increase supervisory skills in manpower agencies. Supervisors taking part in this program were employed by a state manpower agency in Maryland and trainers were university faculty in rehabilitation counselor education. Reading material and structured assignments combining cognitive and affective material were given, but there was much freedom within the program for participant feedback. Some of these suggestions were used to revise the program as it progressed. Affective activities employed included relaxation, guided fantasy, role playing, and microcounseling. Participants' reactions ranged from satisfaction with the useful skills provided to resentment at the selection method for the training and the time involved, which made further progress impossible. The majority of the participants suggested recommendations for further training of this nature.     

Effectiveness of the GATB and Counseling Combined: Reducing Vocational Training Dropout Rates

Seventy-three male vocational trainees, aged 16 to 22 years, were assigned to one of two groups. The 36 trainees in Group 1 were assigned to a particular vocational course consistent with their GATB profiles and received 3 or more counseling sessions. The 37 trainees in Group 2 received neither prescreening nor counseling sessions but were assigned to their courses because of personal interest and in order to fill vacancies. A phi coefficient of .69, significant at the .01 level, between the combination preparation procedures (prescreening and counseling) and graduation from vocational course was obtained. Further analysis suggests that the combination of counseling and prescreening may reduce dropout rate to a greater extent than prescreening alone.