Q. In what ways can managers use information on personality for job fit?

Suggested Resources

• Impression Management
  Many companies use scores from personality tests when evaluating job applicants. Meta-analytic evidence suggests that scores from well-developed personality tests are predictive of job performance and other organizationally relevant outcomes, with the strongest findings observed across settings for the trait of conscientiousness. A potentially important issue with many personality tests, however, is the accuracy of responses provided by applicants. The assumption is that applicants will respond to items in a manner consistent with their behavior, producing scores that indicate their trait standing. However, for many personality items it is possible for applicants to respond in a way that enhances their attractiveness to the hiring organization.
  [Citation: Heggestad, Eric D., and Leaetta M. Hough. "Impression Management." Encyclopedia of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. 2006. SAGE Publications. 5 Mar. 2010. <http://www.sage-ereference.com/organizationalpsychology/Article_n139.html>
  


• Encyclopedia of Industrial and Organizational Psychology
  Psychology is the scientific study of the human mind and behavior. Industrial/organizational (I/O) psychologists focus the lens of psychological science on a key aspect of human life, namely, their work lives. In general, the goals of I/O psychology are to better understand and optimize the effectiveness, health, and well-being of both individuals and organizations.
  


• "Reducing Counterproductive Work Behavior Through Employee Selection."
  By Charles N. MacLane and Philip Walmsley.
  Human Resource Management Review. Vol.20 (1) March 2010, p62-72.
  Counterproductive work behavior (CWB) has been a problem since organizations have hired employees. Recently, there has been increasing interest in explaining and addressing deviant behavior in the workplace. Our review of the research on CWBs shows a gap between theory development and the development of procedures to address deviant behavior. Moreover, studies in, for example, clinical psychology, have relevance for understanding CWBs, but cross-fertilization with other relevant literatures is not in evidence. We summarize the contributions of three relatively distinct lines of research. We contend that current dimensional personality theories should guide the implementation of interventions seeking to reduce CWBs. We describe validity studies that incorporate the development of employee selection procedures based on the assumption that CWBs should be anchored within a dimensional model and we present empirical results that support the utility of that model.