AN EMPIRICAL APPROACH TO CRITERION SPECIFICATION IN GENERAL BUSINESS.

SOUGHT TO DISCOVER SPECIFIC BEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICS RELATED TO JUDGMENTS OF SUCCESS IN GENERAL BUSINESS ACTIVITIES. SUPERVISORY RATINGS OF 23 SPECIFIC CHARACTERISTICS AND OF 2 OVERALL MEASURES OF SUCCESS WERE OBTAINED FOR 230 UNIVERSITY OF IOWA GRADUATES EMPLOYED IN NONSPECIALIZED ASPECTS OF BUSINESS. ALL SS HAD BEEN OUT OF COLLEGE FOR 5-10 YR. MULTIPLE-REGRESSION ANALYSES SHOWED THAT 13 OF THESE RATINGS WERE SUFFICIENT TO ACCOUNT FOR THE ENTIRE SET OF VARIANCES AND COVARIANCES; 8 OF THESE 13 RATINGS MADE INDEPENDENT CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PREDICTION OF OVERALL RATINGS AND WERE THUS CONSIDERED TO BE ELEMENTS OF SUCCESS IN GENERAL BUSINESS. IMPLICATIONS ARE DRAWN FOR JOB RECRUITMENT, SELECTION, GUIDANCE, AND TRAINING. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)