Systematic bias in job evaluation and market wages: Implications for the comparable worth debate.

Evaluated the consequences of systematic measurement errors in job evaluation and in wage distributions used as a criterion in the empirical validation of job evaluation. The way reverse regression combined with conventional regression could be used to identify systematic errors under a restrictive set of assumptions was also demonstrated. It was found that bias against female key or benchmark job wages had the generally hypothesized negative impact on predictions for female non-key job wages. However, systematic evaluation bias of female jobs does not necessarily serve to the wage disadvantage of all female jobs. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Determining important tasks within jobs: A policy-capturing approach.

The job holders' process for judging overall task importance was analyzed using a policy-capturing approach. Sixty incumbents of four jobs rated their respective tasks on five dimensions (e.g., task difficulty) and on the criterion, overall task importance. The results indicated that incumbents' judgments of importance were primarily reflective of task criticality and difficulty of learning the task. Composites of task importance formed from these two component dimensions were found to be more reliable and convergent with average ratings of overall importance than holistic judgments of importance or judgments of relative time spent. In addition, a Q-mode factor analysis indicated that most incumbents used a linear combination of task criticality and difficulty of learning the task regardless of the job they held, suggesting that a composite of these two measures may be generalizable across jobs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

AVA validity for textile workers.

How valid is the Activity Vector Analysis (AVA) for use with textile workers? "Blind predictions as to the probable on-the-job success of applicants for routine machine operational as well as other semiskilled and unskilled jobs in a large textile concern were made solely on the basis of AVA profiles. These predictions were in the form of numerical ratings on a job proficiency scale. Subjects were 142 new hires for various first line worker jobs over a period of 15 months. Several foremen, supervisors of the Ss, were asked to rate them on the job proficiency scale 30 days and 90 days after employment. Comparisons of the AVA analyst's predictions and raters' judgments were then made. Predictions made by the interviewer who actually did the hiring were also compared with the criterion ratings on a portion of the total sample… . On the basis of these findings it may be concluded that both the interview techniques and the AVA, when employed by a trained interpreter, are valid predictors of job success for the occupations studied. The data of the study also suggest that the predictive efficiency may be enhanced by combining these two procedures in the selection of textile workers performing routine operational tasks." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reliability artifacts in comparable worth procedures.

Comparable worth principles suggest that regression line differences between male- and female-dominated jobs be examined where pay is regressed on job evaluation point values. It is demonstrated that unreliable job evaluation measures could artifactually produce regression line differences between male- and female-dominated jobs, even when no such bias exists. A. S. Goldberger's (1984) reverse regression and other procedures are examined as alternative methods of determining bias, and it is shown that linear structural relations procedures provide accurate and nonbiased estimates of wage discrimination in comparable worth analyses. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of dimensional relevance on accuracy of simulated hiring decisions by employment interviewers.

Presented to 52 experienced employment interviewers (32 male and 20 female) videotaped simulated interviews with 2 applicants (APs) who were differentially qualified for 2 jobs. APs' qualifications and job requirements were manipulated to produce a match or mismatch between each AP and the 2 jobs. However, APs were about average in overall qualifications and were not significantly different in favorability. In a repeated measures design, half the Ss rated the APs on specific job dimensions relevant to the critical behaviors involved in the jobs, while the remaining Ss rated the APs on general job dimensions. Both rating procedures emphasized work behaviors but differed in the relevance of the work behaviors for the jobs under consideration. Results show that Ss who rated on the specific and relevant dimensions accurately discriminated between the more qualified and less qualified AP, whereas Ss who rated on the general job dimensions were not able to discriminate accurately between the 2 APs. There was also a trend for greater agreement among Ss who rated along specific job dimensions. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of the position analysis questionnaire for establishing the job component validity of tests.

Used quantitative measures of job components as the basis for estimation of the mean level of each of 5 aptitude constructs that were characteristics of incumbents in various types of jobs. The measures of the job components were job dimension scores, based on the Position Analysis Questionnaire, and the criterion for each construct for each job was the mean test score of incumbents on various tests considered to measure the same constructs, converted to a common metric. The possible relevance of such estimates to validity generalization—or what might be called job component validity—is discussed. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relative contributions of motivator and hygiene factors to overall job satisfaction.

Ratings of 4 motivator job aspects, 4 hygiene job aspects, and overall job satisfaction were obtained from 93 male Ss who were equally satisfied with both the motivator and the hygiene aspects of their jobs. 2 of the job aspects (work itself and opportunity for achievement), both motivators, were sufficient to account for the variance in overall satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the choice of scales for task analysis.

101 incumbents of 25 service jobs rated their respective tasks on relative time spent, difficulty of learning, criticality, and overall importance. Although scale convergence varied as a function of job title, task criticality and importance ratings were similar and presented low to moderate levels of convergence with both time-spent and difficulty-of-learning ratings. Different composites of task importance were compared. All composites and the overall judgments of importance were moderately correlated with each other and showed similar levels of interrater agreement. Several conclusions regarding the choice of scales and the use of composites in task analysis are drawn. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of job evaluation methods: A "policy-capturing" approach using the Position Analysis Questionnaire.

Used a policy-capturing method of job evaluation, which involved the multiple regression weighting of numerical job analysis data obtained using the Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ), to predict compensation rates in 2 studies. In Study 1 compensation rates were derived and compared for 19 municipal government jobs using the policy-capturing and 4 conventional methods. The rates derived using the 5 methods intercorrelated between .82 and .95. In Study 2 PAQ data and job evaluation points previously determined using a point method were obtained for 131 jobs in a utility company. A stepwise regression analysis, used to select and weight PAQ factor scores to predict the job evaluation points, yielded a multiple correlation of .90. Because of comparable results and lower cost, the policy-capturing method was adopted in both organizations. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An investigation of the shape of learning curves for industrial motor tasks.

"Seventy learning curves from operators on twelve power sewing-machine operations were analyzed. Using the period of initial plateau as a criterion of learning, modified Vincent curves were established for each job, and separate composite curves for each of 2 groups including half the jobs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of person and job stereotypes on two personnel decisions.

Two studies investigated whether the effects of incumbent age on personnel decisions are different in a stereotypically older job than in a stereotypically younger job. In Exp I, 19 26–52 yr old managers were asked to make awards recommendations and overall evaluations for 18 hypothetical employees in 3 jobs that varied in age stereotype. Hypothetical employees varied in age and exhibited either a stereotypically older performance pattern or a stereotypically younger pattern of performance. Significant Job?×?Performance Pattern and Target Age?×?Pattern interactions were found in the awards exercises. In Exp II, 19 26–62 yr old managers were asked to make promotion decisions for 18 hypothetical employees in 3 jobs. Again, the Job?×?Pattern interaction was significant. Overall results suggest that when the pattern of performance is inconsistent with the age stereotype of the job, employees receive lower ratings than when behavior is consistent with the job stereotype. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of applicant sample on ratings of valid information in an employment setting.

Studied the effect of the previous job applicant upon ratings of test results for the following applicant. 2 informational aspects of the previous job applicant were varied: overall level of information favorability, and order of information within the previous job applicant. Interviewers were life insurance agency managers who through classroom instruction had been trained in the interpretation of test results. Results indicate that 55% of the criterion variance was accounted for by the test results while the favorability of the previous job applicant accounted for 4%. Thus, although the quality of the previous job applicant had a statistically significant effect on the evaluation of valid test results, its effect on the employment decision was negligible. By implication, the results also points to the necessity of building models on additional criteria than statistical significance. (25 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job needs, job satisfaction, and job behavior of women manual workers.

Administered a forced-choice questionnaire and unstructured interview to 2159 female workers and 236 female ex-workers associated with electronics firms to investigate their attitudes to various aspects of their jobs. 21% of the present workers and 36% of the ex-workers expressed overall dissatisfaction with their jobs, which were of a highly rationalized type. Analysis of responses indicate the overriding importance of the actual work done as a determinant of job dissatisfaction. Analysis of reasons for leaving given by the ex-workers indicate that voluntary labor turnover resulted mainly from job dissatisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Social factors related to job satisfaction, a technique for the measurement of job satisfaction.

Reviews the book "Social factors related to job satisfaction, a technique for the measurement of job satisfaction" by Robert P. Bullock (see record 195405020-000). This monograph is the report of a research study designed to discover the relationship of certain social factors to job-satisfaction and to employ these factors in a scale for the measurement of job-satisfaction. Two measuring instruments were prepared, a Job-Satisfaction Scale for use as a criterion and a Social-Factor Questionnaire. The instruments were pre-tested on a group of 53 male juniors and seniors in college, all of whom had held full time jobs. Validation was accomplished on this group and on two samples from an animal registration association. One hundred currently employed persons comprised the first sample and 124 ex-employees the second. The author deserves commendation for his adaptation of the Social Factor Questionnaire to the measurement of job-satisfaction and for his attempt to validate his instruments. Further research, however, is necessary before these results are generalized to other industries. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)