This article reviews North American selection procedures used to make employment decisions (hirink promotion, training, layoff and demotion) within public and private o~g a n i~a t i o n~ in Canada and the United States of America. We present the conclusions of several surveys of selection practices including those conducted by the International Personnel Management Association and the American Management Association. We summarize the literature on assessment centers, biodata, computerized assessment, education and experience criteria, individual assessment, education and experience criteria, individual assessment, integrity testing, interviews, job knowledge tests, physical and psychomotor tests and written tests. We also describe selection procedures being used for a variety of occupations from Air Traffic Controller to Telephone Operator. We conclude by describing future trends in personnel assessment in North America and predict greater collaborative research efforts between our two countries.
Hiring in the federal government is based on merit. Tools such as selection and language standards and assessment techniques foster the assessment of merit. Legislation entrusts the Public Service Commission of Canada with the authority to develop and administer these selection tools and this authority is, in turn, entrusted to the Personnel Psychology Centre (PPC). The PPC has four divisions: selection standards, test development and services, assessment services and programs, and language test development. The scope of the PPC mandate and each divisional area of responsibility are described to illustrate the state of I/O psychology within the Canadian federal government. The implications for the PPC of the increasing concern with test bias issues are also discussed. Ultimately, the role adopted by the PPC is one of linchpin between the theory and practice of I/O psychology. The effectiveness with which the PPC mandate is carried out depends on the effective assimilation of both the theoretical and the practical aspects of I/O psychology.
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