Coursework on Reliability and validity

University Degree Business and Administrative studies

Important Factors to Be Considered In Job Selection Process

Running head: Important Factors to Be Considered in Job Selection Process

Important Factors to Be Considered in Job Selection Process

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Important Factors to Be Considered In Job Selection Process

Validity and reliability both are important factors for job analysis and job selection. Validity has lot of different meanings in the views of authors all around the world. Its not just one fixed perception. It is a very argumentative topic in the fields of educational and social research. So, we need to ponder on the different meanings regarding “validity”. One renowned and cited one is: “An account is valid or true if it represents accurately those features of the phenomena, that it is intended to describe, explain or theories” (Hamersley in 1987) (1)

Another one states: “Are we measuring what we think we are?” (Kerlinger in page 444-445 in 1964). (2)

It means that does the means of the assessment actually is accurate or not. And the other is that whether the means of assessment is actually measuring what it needs to measure. Face validity is the seeing to it that a particular test really measuring the criteria and phenomena. For the selection of a employee there is a process which includes Job Analysis, Recruitment and Selection. Job analysis is the analysis of the job and to see what the job needs, Ability, skills, work experience that a job needs and the nature of the job. The job analysis is there for job description and job specification so that a perfect employee could be found. So the question is how to find a good employee. Well, there are different procedures and ways to test the ability of the person regarding the job. Now these tests are very important but we don’t know that do these tests really give you of what you looking for? So to check the test’s ability to measure is done by validity.

Now coming to the definition of the “Reliability”, we talk in our every day life that this is reliable and that is reliable. Isn’t it? We say that is this source of the news is reliable or not? We say that my friend or that is reliable, meaning that some thing is dependable, reliable or trustworthy. But this meaning can not fit into the research meaning of reliability. So in research the word reliability means to be consistent and repeated, ma particular test that would give u an answer, the same answer again and again. Let’s see the example to be more specific about this definition and take an arbitrary label of X and take an examination of French language. We see that a person score 58 out of 100. Now we take another test, the same result appeared for this test too!!! Meaning that there was consistency in the marks that were obtained, we can now start to understand that how we get reliability after seeing the consistency in the two marks that were taken at different times. There are two parts in this score. One is “true score” and the other is the “error”. True score would be the level that a person can actually have. And the “error” is the error made in judging the marks.

Giving you an example of it, we can take the same example mentioned above. Let’s say that the person got 58 out of 100 in his French language course taken. But he /she might have a tremendous hold on French but was ill or might be unwell on the day of the assessment. He might be better than what the score tells you about the performance. Let’s say that the real result or the actual result should have been 75, it means that the error is 75-58= -17.

Now coming back to reliability, if we say that the score of the test was reliable, we should know that the score of the same person taken twice at different times would give the same result. But the question that rises over here is that why would result be the same? You should know that the true score remains the same and the error is taking as random and have different value. Some times you can even perform better because of the error. May be the person is fresh and all ready to give the test. (Assuming that here the ...

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Here we can also look at different definition cited by different writes around the world.

For instance Black and Champion states on page 234 to 236 in year 1976 that reliability is: “Ability to measure consistently”.

Another state that, reliability is “Accuracy or precision of a measuring instrument” Taken from Kerlinger in 1964 (page 430, 444 to 445). (4)

In Johnston and Pennypaker cites that reliability is: “Capacity to yield the same measurement…stability” (in 1980 page 190 to 191). (5)

Now lets see that which is the more important either validity or reliability? Well it is quiet difficult to answer as both of these are confused with each other. Some think that both validity and reliability are two different ideas but actually both are interlinked to each other or you can say that both are related with each another. I would like to discuss 4 different situations that may simplify the relation ship in front of you.

(6)

Measuring the perfect concept of a particular person means that your aim is right, meaning that you are hitting the center which is the red spot in the above shown pictures. But if u you have a bad concept of a person than it means that you are away from your target, away from the red dot.

Now looking at the first picture, it shows that you are aiming for the dot but you are far away from the dot. This means that you are consistently and repeatedly measuring the wrong value of the person. The second picture shows that you are hitting the target randomly. You hardly ever hit the target but when you add it altogether you are getting the right answers for the group but not well for individuals. It means that you have a valid estimate about the group but you are not consistent through out. The third one shows that you are totally missing the target every time. It means that your test is nor valid nor reliable. And the last one is the perfect example of both valid as well as reliable.

Looking it in this way it means that both validity and reliability are in the same scale rather than being dissimilar. At one end of the scale we have validity and on the other we have reliability. On the validity end of the scale the concepts and capacity of the test are different. Where as on the reliability end the concepts and capacity is the same.

So both are important and have different important level at different times.

Here moving on we would discuss that how validity can be achieved and how it can not be achieved in the light of some examples. As we have discussed earlier that job analysis makes it easier for you to select. Now we would discuss that how we select the people who are applying for the job. Selection is the process to find a candidate that is best for the organization and its needs. This process should determine lot of factors which includes: Ability, Skills, and Knowledge. (7). Organization usually carry out studies to see to it that is the assortment method is VALID or not? For example a selection method can have an unsympathetic upshot on the minority group. For instance a company asks for masters’ degree in engineering. Now this selection requirement has an adverse effect on the marginal group. As they are less in number and wouldn’t come up with as many degrees as the majority group would come with. So these minority people would not get as much share in the company employment as would have been if they have been in majority group. If the firm goes on with this selection method than it means that they need to show that this selection way or requirement is VALID and giving the required results and not having any negative impact. There are lots of different selection methods that differ from firms to firms and organizations to organizations. The common ways to select a candidate are: interviews, tests, application forms, and reference checks. The application form is searching for the candidate’s educational background, pervious job know-how, physical state and other information to judge individual’s ability to accomplish an assignment. If a firm hires a candidate because of its grand educational back ground than this selection method may not appear to be a VALID one. Because you are forgoing the candidates other inquires too. For case in point his job experience or his physical health. Later it did prove that the candidate is not coming up to the firm’s requirement because of his/her low work experience.

Now looking into another job assortment method, which is interview. Mostly it is seen that the interviewer constitutes an unstructured interview and they can not get the required information they needed. So it has low validity. On the other hand there is a proper and structured interview which is help full to get the information that the interviewer is trying to get. So this would be known as valid selection method. So to achieve the validity in the interview the interviewer needs to plan a well structured interview to get the necessary fallout.

As we have discussed earlier that a reliability of a job is when it gives the same result again and again when it is applied by different Human Resource Managers at different time with unlike model of jobs. Here it is to be noted that “validity” of a job can not be achieved by the “reliability” of the job study method. Reliability asks you to plan out the test properly. Either it’s a questioner, check lists or job inventories. But the usage and the sense of the lingo should also be looked into as it is also crucial for a high level of reliability.

There are other factors too other than VALIDITY and RELIABILITY that affect the selection process. This includes work experience; see to it that how much your type of industry meets to the type of trade the candidate is applying from, than you have to look into the salary package you are offering and the candidate is asking for, other than this you also need to see that the candidate’s education is of which type. And last factor is of BFOQ. (Bona fide occupational qualification) (8).

Starting the discussion from the BFOQ, this is a justifiable qualification which allows the selector to select a person who is from a particular community, sex, religion or may be age.

Giving an example of it would be of a sect in ISLAM who calls themselves AHMADIS or QADIYANIS. The people of this community are not allowed to be hired on any influential government post, according to the LAW OF ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN.

Another example in modeling of woman the woman modeling company has to limit its self only to women to model for a particular brand for the women clothing.

Now coming to the industry types I think that the industry makes a lot of difference, if you are coming from another industry than you would have been molded to that particular industry’s ways. You adopt your self to the values of that particular industry. So it’s not that easy to adjust to some other industry. Ok, it is right that you may be a expert in a field, but it would take some time to get used to the other industry’s norms, timings, values and atmosphere. Here I would like to put an example in front of you so that you can understand it more easily. It is like you are a normal car racer and all of a sudden you are given the task to be in the FORMULA ONE racing competition. So it does not mean that if you are a racer you can race at any track and can drive any kind of care given to you. There is lot of difference between the two. (9)

Its not that one can not move from a particular industry to another but it means that it would be better for both the industry and the candidate to remain in the same field as were before. Like if one is an engineer at a local car shop than and he applies at and airline engineering department than he wont be able to get a job there most likely.

Now let’s talk on the factor of SALARY. Let’s say a firm is ready to give around 3500 pounds for a job. Don’t you think that your previous salary should b at least between 2200 to 3000 pounds? Now if you come up for the interview and firm gets to know that your salary was 1800 pounds, than they most probably might not acknowledge you for the job as this would disturb the inner justice and balance regarding the pays. Some of the people might say that it’s good for the firm that they got a employee for a low salary. But here it is to remember that we are not looking into salary. It’s about the companies’ internal and external balance that should be maintained. One day an employee might turn up to you saying that a person from another organization is getting more than I am getting having a same amount of work experience.

Now we come to the factor of related experience. It would be easy to explain this with the example. Let’s say a firm wants to hire a HR manager (loan department) with a 3 years experience in this department only. Now you turn up for this vacancy and you have a 4 years experience. An HR manager can take care of any sphere in recruiting the employees and selecting them, but you can not take any risk, because the firm wants some one who has just been working in loan department and no where else.

Now we jump on the factor of hiring people from the local market. Companies often try to hire some one who has been in the local market rather than some one who has come from other city or area. There are several reasons for it. One is that it saves training and time. Secondly it is also easy for that person to adjust to the new firm. There are several advantages and disadvantages for internal recruitment and external recruitment. If a firm recruits internally than there are several advantages for it. When we say internal recruitment it means hiring some one on some other post within the firm. Advantages are that the candidate knows the values of the firm and is well aware of the norms. Secondly the firm knows what kind of person the employee is. Thirdly the cost of recruitment is not that much. Looking at the disadvantages first one is that as the employee belongs to the same firm newer ideas do not come up. Then there may be politics involved in selecting the candidate. Thirdly a costly training would be required and would be given to the candidate. Coming now to external recruitment, the first advantage is that the firm would get may be able to get newer thoughts. Secondly the new candidate who is from some other firm may have a wider experience in that field. Thirdly as the candidate is coming from a firm who is like us and is our competitor the firm would be able to get the information about that firm and trying to overcome and improve them in the area that is needed to be covered. Amongst the disadvantages first one we have is that there is a higher chance to make mistake by the new comer. As he is new to the firm and the job he/she might make a mistake. Secondly the new comer may start slowly with the work and may not be able to come up to the required expectations of the firm by starting slowly. Thirdly the amount to recruit that person would be higher than the cost required for the internal recruitment.

Reference checks are also an important factor for the hiring of a new employee. Here personal relationship counts a lot. In some firms personal relationship alter our decision for hiring some one. For instance a person who is relative of mine would be given more importance than others. Although this is not to be called as hiring on merit, but this is one of the dominant factors in job selection process.

The last thing which really matters with the selection of the employee is the required education with a good CGPA. A firm would look for some one who have a Masters degree from a reputed institute and have done it as full time, and than he/she also have the required experience. If this not available than some one who has taken his/her masters degree from not so reputed institution but should have more work familiarity and should have a stupendous CGPA. Other than this a selector is looking for leadership traits, your vow to the work assigned, you abilities to tackle to different kinds of troubles, and ways in would you would try to drive your firm to more profits and higher performances.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

A Comparative Discussion of the Notion of 'Validity' in Qualitative and Quantitative Research. Writer: Glyn Winter. Year: March, 2000. Volume 4.
A Comparative Discussion of the Notion of 'Validity'. Writer: Glyn Winter. Year: March, 2000. Volume 4.
4) And 5) taken from the above cited research paper.

6) Writer: William M.K. Trochim. Last revised on: 10/20/2006

7) Book: Management. Writer: David C. Martin. Published in 1998.

8) Book: Management. Writer: David C. Martin. Published in 1998.

9) Writer: Sanjeev Himachali. Article source: Article Source: