drug

  

     Why are drug tests a controversial component of the personnel selection process? What are some of ways in which organizations can avoid problems associated with drug testing? Your response should be at least 75 words in length. You are required to use at least your textbook as source material for your response. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations.

  

CHAPTER 6 Selecting Employees and Placing Them in Jobs 173

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1. Extroversion
2. Adjustment

3. Agreeableness
4. Conscientiousness

5. lnquisitiveness

Sociable, gregarious, assertive, talkative, expresslve

Emotionally stable, nondepressed, secure. content

C0urte0us, trusting, good-.natured, tolerantf co0perative, forgiving

Dependable. 0rganized, persevering, thorough,
a chievem ent-oriented

Curious, ima ginative, artistically sensitive. broad-minded, playful

l”abi* *.l
Five Maior PersonalitY
Dimonsions Measured bY

Personality lnventories

: research projects.lz Ways ro address this probiein include using trained interviewers
i rather- than ,rru.yr, coliecting information about the applicant from several sources,

u’rJi.rrir-rg
“pfti.u””

k.to* tf,”t several sources rvili be-used’31
A recenr siudy forrr.l rhar 35 percent of U.S. organizations use personality tests

i o,hen selecting persor-rnel.l4 Orl”‘reason is organizatiot-ts’ greater-use of teatnwork,
: r1,6ere personjity .or-rt1i.ts can be a significant problern. Tiaits such as agreeableness
,i, ar,r.l conscienriousness have been

“rroli”t”d
wiih effective teantwork.s5 In additior’t,

‘ on orgalization might try ro select team rnembers rvith simiiar traits and values in
: ord.r1,, promor. u”urrorlg culture lvhere people work together harmoniously, gr they

instead might look for a diversity of personalities and values as a way to promote

: debate and creativity.S6

, Honesty Tests and Drug Tests
No matrer nhat employees’ personalities may be like, organizations want employees

to be honest a’-‘d to behave safell” $oms organizations are satisfied to assess these

qualities based on judgments from reference checks anrl interviervs- Others investi-

gare rhese .hnrr.t”iirti”.s more directly thror-rgh the use of honesty tests and drug tests’

The rnost famous kind of honesty rest is the polygraph, the so’calied lie detector

resr. Hlru,ever, in 19BB the passage oithe Polygraph Act banned ttre use of poiygraphs

for screening job candidui”r. At a result, testing services have developed paper’
and-p.encil f,o.”rq, (or integrity) tests. Generally these tests ask appiicants directly
about their attirltdes tolvarcl1lreft and their ou,n experiences with theft. Most of the

research into rire validity of these rests has been conducted by the tesring companies,

but eviclence sLlggesrs they do have some ability to predict such behavior as theft of

the ernployer’s ProPertY. ”
A, cor1.”.n, ablut iubstance abuse have grown duting recenl c{ecades, so has the

use of drug testing. As a neasure of a person’s exposure to drugs, chemical testing has

hlgh reliJllity aird validity. However, these tests are controversial ibr several rea-
sons. Some people are concemed that they invade individr-rals’ privacy. Others object

from a l.g”i p.rrp..tive. When ali applicants or ernployees are subject to testing,
whether or r-rot th”y have shown evidence of drug use, the rests might be an unreason-

able search and seirure or a violation of due process. Taking urine and blood sarnples

involves invasive procedures, and accusing sotneone of drug use is a seriotts fiIatter’

Ernployers coniiclering rhe use of drLr”q tests should ensure that their drug-testing
programs conform to solne general rules:’o

o Admir-rister rhe rests sysrematically to ali applicants for the same job.

‘ (Jse drug testing for jobs that involve safety hazards’o Have u ,.por, If th” t.rults sent to the appiicant, along r.vith information about
horv to appeal the results and be retested ifappropriate’

r Respect Lpph.ur-rtr’ prirracy by conducting tests in an environment that is not
intrusive and keeping results confidential.

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174 PART 2 Acquiring and Preparing Human Resources

Anorher wali organizations can avoid some of the problerns with drug testing is to
replace those tests with impairment testing of ernpioyees, also called fitness’for’duty
reidng. These testing programs measure rvhether a worker is alert and mentally able to

perfoim critical tasks ar the time of the test. The test does nor investigate the cause of

any irnpairment-whether the employee scores pooriy because of illegal drugs, alco-
hol, prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines, or simple fatigue. For example,
Bowles-Langley Technology has developed a test that measures alertness by presenting
ernployees with exercises that involve interacting with graphics, much like piaying a
video game. The test measures various responses including reaction time and hand-
eye coordination. For a cost of about $5 or $10 per worker per fflonth, companies can
verifi, that employees such as pilots and truck drivers are able to fly or drive safeiy.
Because the tests can be accessed online, they are available to workers in a variety of
situations.l9

Medical Examinations
Especially for physically demanding jobs, organizations may wish to conduct medi-
cal examinarions to see that the applicant can meet the job’s requiremenls. Employ-
ers rnay also rvish to establish an employeet physical condition at the beginning of
employment, so that there is a basis for measuring whether the employee has suffered
a work.related disabllity later on, At the same time, as described in Chapter 3, organi-
zarions may nor discriminate againsr individuals r,vith disabilities who could perform

a job with reasonable accommodations. Likewise, they may not use a measure of size
oi rtr.r,grh that discriminates against women’ unless those requirements are valid in
predicting the ability to perform a job. Furthermore’ to prolect candidates’ privacy,
medical .”u* must be related to job requirements and may not be given urtil the
candidate has received a job offer. Therefore, organizations must be careful in how
thel ,,.ne trediqal exarcrtnations. Manl organirzatiorrs nrake selection decistons {itst and
t\err cor.{uct t\e exant to corrttrn t\at t\re ernp\o1ee cat\tarr{\e t\e 1o\’ s;’rin arr’,
rqt:ssu\\txctqNst{turrsssteq.s:tle\.\rsrtrtgt\e’\se.st\\e\rq{qLNrs’ts”-*::i'””

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rep”rese.,tatives of the employer to obtain information and evaiuate the applicant’s
qualifications; The “Did You Know/” box shows some of the ways iob applicants creat’e

unfavorable impressions wirh interviewers. l,ffhile the applicanr is providing in{orna’

tion, he or she is aiso forming opinions about rvhat lt is like ro work for the organiza’
tion. Most organizations use interviewing as part of the selection process’ In fact, this
merhod is used more rhan any orher.

lnterviewing Techniques
lnci:rvien, fechniques includb cholces aboit tlte type or qiiestlonit ro asx aha ffiehurn’

ber ofpeople who conduct the interview. Several question types are possible:

o In a nondirective interview, the intervierver has great discretion in choosing
questions. The candidate’s repiy to one quesrion may suggest other questions ro

ask. Nondirective interviews typically inciude open-ended questions about the

focus on
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respcnsibflrty

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Nondirective
lnterview

A se[ection interview
in which the
interviewer has great

discretion in choosing
questions to ask each
candidate.

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