Work Values, Cognitive Strategies, and Applicant Reactions in a Structured Pre-Employment Interview for Ethical Integrity

Abstract

Workplace ethics has become an increasingly important topic since the 1960s. Companies emphasize ethical behavior; schools and professional groups devote many resources to applied ethics training. However, very little research has explored the use of pre-employment selection measures to influence organizational ethics. This article describes initial construct validation of a structured ethical integrity interview. The article reviews evidence relating to cognitive and impression management strategies used when college students encounter an ethical integrity interview in a simulated job applicant setting.

Program Directors' Perceptions of Admission Screening Measures and Indicators of Student Success

“…with validity coefficients being high enough sometimes to rival cognitive ability measures (Hollwitz & Pawlowski. 1997;Pawlowski & Hollwitz, 2000). Structured interviews are frequently characterized by the use of the same question across interviews.…”

Beyond the basic background check: hiring the “right” employees

“…Every year, US organizations administer nearly three million paper and pencil tests in pre‐employment screening to find out applicants attitudes about rule compliance, impulse control and counterproductive behavior (Pawlowski and Hollwitz, 2000). Advocates for such tests argue that the validity of the tests is high and unless new research shows otherwise, these tests are something companies should continue to conduct and invest in to protect assets (Steiner, 1990).…”

“…Another alternative to pencil and paper honesty testing would be a face to face structured interview with the line of questioning focused on integrity. These interviews raise the defensibility of pre‐employment ethics screening by overcoming the prohibition of written tests in some states (Pawlowski and Hollwitz, 2000). Additionally, this method circumvents sophisticated executives from trying to guess the “right” answer, or picking a dishonest response (Krohe, 2006).…”