Executive Selection —Response to Commentaries

My goal was to generate both heat and light in executive selection. Each of the commentaries adds some light to the context of executive selection as well as new issues, but none were very heated concerning my "rights and wrongs." I was surprised that no one addressed the central issues of character (although Smith & Howard strike a glancing blow) or the many paths to success in executive jobs; but either of those could be articles in themselves. We have begun a discussion–let the games begin!     

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.     

ANTECEDENTS OF INVOLUNTARY TURNOVER DUE TO A REDUCTION IN FORCE

This study examined antecedents to involuntary turnover due to a reduction in force. The authors used structural equation modeling and logit regression analysis with a sample of 194 salespeople to test an exploratory process model of involuntary turnover. Results showed that general mental ability and conscientiousness were indirectly correlated with involuntary turnover through job performance, whereas the relationship of tenure, gender, job involvement, sales volume, and supervisory ratings of job performance to turnover was direct. The results demonstrate that involuntary turnover decisions are significantly related to performance; however, other variables also influenced these decisions. Implications and future research needs are discussed.     

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.