The "Peter Principle" is an example of a limitation regarding the use of performance appraisals in making internal staffing decisions.

It is based on the promotions of employees on the basis of their past job performances which can eventually lead to employees not being promoted when they don't perform well. This can then lead to positions being filled by incompetent individuals.

The best way to address the situation is to look more thoroughly at past job evaluations of an employee. Looking for known or unknown skills that match the postion that you are currently wanting to fill. Keep in mind that each supervisior has their own way of evaluating employees, which could lead to bias of some sort.

Taking a good look at the skills needed to perform a job and what the current skills are of a candidate would be very helpful in making a competent choice.

The "Peter Principle"

The "Peter Principle" is the principle that individuals rise to their lowest level of incompetence. This means that employees continue to be promoted based on their past performance until they become incompetent in a position. At that point, they stop being promoted.

In order to avoid the "Peter Principle," it is necessary to look deeper into the employee's current job performance when considering them for advancement. Such as:

• Look at the candidate's current job requirements and skill sets and seeing if they match with the job requirements and skill sets of the new position.
• If they don't, then you need to make sure the candidate has demonstrated the KSAOs needed in the new positon in a measurable way either in the current position, in past positions or with outside organizations (volunteer work).
• It is also important to know that performance appraisals can be unreliable and biased. No two supervisors will rate a person's performance the same way. So, it would be helpful to review several years' worth of performance appraisals.

After exploring these three areas, you will be better able to determine if the internal candidate will be successful in the new position. Thus, avoiding the "Peter Principle."

The "Peter Principle"

In the Heneman textbook, the Peter Principle is described as when people rise to their lowest level of incompetence, it illustrates another imitation with using performance appraisals as a method of internal staffing decisions. The argument behind the peter principle is that if companies promote based on past performance, the only time that people are not promoted is when they perform poorly. Eventually, companies will be internally staffed by incompetents.
A way to avoid the peter principle are to ask these questions when promoting internally:
-Who has exhibited the initiative to perform above and beyond the required job duties?
-Is the employee willing to take on a leadership role with additional responsibilities?
-Has the employee’s performance improved on a consistent basis or fluctuated?
-Does the employee exhibit leadership behaviors or have the capacity to perform well within key supervisor/management competencies?
Also make sure the candidate exhibits these competencies:
Respect and trust
Planning and organizing skills
Ability to manage, perform and delegate
Communication skills
Problem solving and decision making skills
Before offering a promotion to an employee based completely on past performance, take a step back and make sure the person is qualified over all for the advanced position

"Peter Principle"

The "Peter Principle" as stated in the Heneman text is described as that individuals rise to their lowest level of incompetence, illustrating another limitation with using performance appraisal as a method of an internal staffing decisions. It also argues that behind this "Peter Principle" organizations promote individuals on the basis of their past performance. So in other words as an employee continues to get good evaluations they continue to get promoted.

The problem with the "Peter Principle" is that employees might not know the job that they are being promoted to. So the company ends up with employees who don't know there jobs. What good will that do for the company?

Trying to avoid the "Peter Principle" would be not promoting employees on the basis of their performance appraisals but appointing employees by their knowledge and skills of the particular job. I think if you have openings in a company then the positions should be filled by employees who know the position. Also for receiving a good performance appraisal, the employee should be rewarded in other ways.

Glass Ceiling:

Refers to a "stifling of advancement" for women and minorities in the workplace.

The following are some causes of the barrier, known as the "glass ceiling."

• Internal recruitment practices - this could be resolved by eliminating "seniority based" promotions and replacing them with job related assessment methods.
• Biased performance ratings - instead of giving "well liked" employees raises without merit, you could instead, rate employees on their job performance, job knowledge and reliability.
• Not promoting because of judgments regarding whether or not a women has been able to find work/life balance - this could be resolved by addressing the company's belief's regarding what is needed to acquire a work/life balance.
• Denying women and minorities access to developmental assignments - By even distribution of new assignments between men and women, you can find what your employee's capabilities are. By following this practice, you will be able to make fair and educated decisions when considering all employees for promotion.

I don't know if the glass ceiling will ever be eliminated. I think that some men percieve themselves as being the "provider" of the family and will always want to be superior to women in the workplace. On the other hand, there will always be women that want to excel and should be given the chance to do so.

The Glass Ceiling

The "glass ceiling" is a term used to characterize strong but invisible barriers for women and minorities to promotion into the higher levels of the organization. First, let me say I do not agree with Shell's comments. They call it an invisible barrier for a reason. The culture of a company starts from the top of the organization down. If the top executives of any organization do not believe in promoting women and minorities, then it won't happen, especially in organizations where Affirmative Action policies do not have to be followed. A minority can want it bad enough and be as goal-oriented as any top male or white manager, it simply will not happen if the executive levels of management do not "buy" into it. I believe there are more organizations out there than we want to believe exist. Think of the age of some of the top executives of the major corporations. Most I would say are in their 60's, which means they grew up in the 1950's and 1960's when most women stayed home. So, I think that Affirmative Action is a good plan to force some organizations into a new mindset. I also think the tide is beginning to change with younger management taking over the top executive roles as the current executives retire. According to the Henneman text, women in the officials and managers EEO category is still only 36% overall; and it is estimated that minorities fall along the same percentage.

The Glass Ceiling

As stated in the Heneman text, the "glass ceiling" is a term used to characterize strong but invisible barriers for women and minorities to promotion in the organization, particularly to the highest levels.
To make an assumption on glass ceilings I guess I would have to say that I haven't been personally affected by it. But sometimes I think that the "glass ceiling" card gets played when it is convenient. Yes, men sometimes seem to have it all but please if women and/or minorities want it bad enough and are goal oriented they can also have it. We live in a great country and we can succeed. The question is whether or not we want to? We have so much that is offered in the United States to women and most definitely minorites that we are the fools when we dont take advatage of it.
As for "glass ceilings" we have built and created them so if you want to blame someone when you think that they are there, blame yourself! Break the glass !

The Glass Ceiling

The definition of a glass ceiling is an invisible barrier that determines the level to which a women or other member of a demographic minority can rise in an orgainization.
Although the expression of the glass ceiling is a metaphorical phrase, many women and other minorities find it very real when confronted with it. It is a sexist attitude that is found often in a male dominent organization that is geared towards females. In regards to the corporate ladder,it sets a limit to how far someone can advance. Sometimes it is real and sometimes it is implied that it is impossible to break through. I feel that in this day and age, where more women are becoming increasingly successful, in some cases, surpaasing the success of their male coworkers, the glass ceiling is diminishing. The fact that we almost had a female president and that we do, for the first time in history, have a non-white president is proof that the glass ceiling may someday be completely shattered!

Advantages and Disadvantages of a Closed Internal Recruitment System

Advantages:

• very efficient
• least expensive (time and cost minimal)
• no interviews of internal candidates, saving management time and effort
• can get someone to start in the position quicker
• more apt to find applicant with specialized KSAs
• bring in new "blood" with fresh ideas

Disadvantages:

• high legal risk because of closing the process off to minorities and female candidates
• legal risk -- better be confident there are no qualified internal candidates
• can't identify hidden talent
• morale of existing staff could suffer due to feelings of being left out of the process

The Advantages and Disadvantages of a Closed System

Advantages:

• It is very efficient
• There are few steps to follow
• Time and cost is minimal
• Employee can start more quickly
• Are able to find people with specialized KSA's

Disadvantages:

• The morale of staff will be effected
• Inaccurate files
• Good candidates may be overlooked

The Advantages and Disaadvantages of a Closed Recruitment System

The adavantages of a closed recruitment system are:

• Very efficient.
• Only a few steps to follow.
• Time and cost are minimal.
• A closed system offers the quickest response to filling a vacancy.

The disadvantages are:

• It is only as good as the files that are kept showing the candidates' KSAO's.
• Qualified candidates may be overlooked.
• May lead to high legal costs if minorities and women do not have equal access to jobs.
• May cause low moral or a disgruntled worker if an employee who feels he/she was qualified for the position but was not considered.The hiring manager will have to explain specifically why that person was not considered.

(Maine, 2006)

What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of a "closed system?"

Advantages:

• A closed system is very efficient because there are only a few steps in the process and the time and costs are minimal


• A closed system offers the quickest response


• When there is an opening that requires a narrow and specialized KSA set, a closed system may be able to identify these people quickly

Disadvantages:

• With a closed system, you are risking the morale of your current employee's


• A closed, system does not allow for finding hidden talent amongst your current employee's


• A closed system, does not enhance fairness within the company


• With a closed system, not all employee's are made aware of promotional opportunities


• If the company does not update employee files on a regular basis, then qualified individuals may be overlooked.


• Choosing candidates through a closed system, may put the company at risk for not following the guidelines for hiring females or people of ethnic backgrounds.

Debbie

The relationship of Job Relatedness to Job Analysis

To understand the relationship between job relatedness and job analysis, a person needs to understand the definitions of each. Job relatedness is the criteria used to determine whether a person will be hired, fired, transferred, promoted etc. Job analysis is the process of studying jobs in order to gather, analyze, synthesize and report information about job requirements. Job analysis and the information it provides serves as the basic foundation on which successful staffing systems are developed. In this regard, job analysis is fundamental and is essential to job relatedness. Job analysis and the information it provides, such as KSAO's, competencies, tasks and requirements, is an integral part of the job relatedness criteria used by an organization to acquire and retain an effective workforce.

By Susan

Job analysis is the process of studying jobs in order to gather information relative to the importance and duties of the position. Job relatedness is an important part of that process, too, because it determines the knowledge, skills and abilities that a candidate needs to perform the job. These KSA's are different for each position. For instance, one of the requirements for an administrative assistant position would probably be to type 50-60 wpm but you would not see a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering requirement on that job description. On the other hand, you would probably not see a typing requirement on a chemical engineer's job description. So, in other words, job relatedness is an essential part of the total job analysis process.

Job Relatedness to Job Analysis

How to relate job relatedness to job analysis. To define job analysis is the process of studying jobs in order to gather, analyze, synthesize, and report information about job requirements. So to relate job relatedness to job analysis you need to be able to dissect the job and analyze it. Job relatedness is what is relative to a job. What other jobs can be categorized together with it. How they relate to each other. Once the job has been analyzed you can then see where it can fit whithin your company. You can see how it relates to other jobs within the company. Usually one job relates to another job and so on.

Describe the relationship between job-relatedness and job analysis, how do they inter-relate?

There must be a job analysis in order to confirm job-relatedness.

By conducting a job analysis, you are gathering and analyzing information to form job requirements.

The job analysis relates to job-relatedness because it sets the guidelines on what KSA's and competencies are needed for a particular job and is helpful in conducting interviews and selecting the right person for the job. This information can be of great help if legal issues present themselves. So, by having a good "JA"/"JR" in place, you are making sure that your company is meeting ADA requirements.

D. Bille

You guys are awesome!
DB

What is the Importance of Job Analysis to the Selection Process?

Job analyis is important because it begins the process of dissecting a position(job) into elements that can be defined and measured. Job analysis includes the development of a job description which will accurately show the purpose of the job, the essential functions/job duties, and what knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) will be required for the job. It also lists who the position reports to and defines the job into a salaried or hourly category. Having a job description is essential to the selection process because only candidates who have the skills and abilities that most closely match the description will be considered for the job. In a sense it is the best way to select a candidate. Without the job analysis process, a manager would have a difficult time establishing what the employee's job duties would be and, furthermore, how to measure the success of the individual in those job duties. The risk would be great for hiring the wrong person if you did not define the necessary skill sets. This would, undoubtedly lead to terminations and high turnover. An effective organization cannot be successful without a proper job analysis being performed for all positions.

Importance of Job Analysis to the Selection Process

Job analysis is considered the crutch of HR. It is the process of studying jobs. Gathering, analysing, synthesizing, and then reporting on one thing is part of the process. There is no set process to be followed but there are some key issues:

• Purpose- the purpose of job analysis should be clearly identified and agreed upon. Since the process is designed to yield job information the organization should ask specific reasons why?
• Scope- the issue of the scope is to include which jobs to include in the job analysis process. It should be based on 5 different scopes. 1- the importance of the job to the organization 2- the number of job applicants 3- whether it is an entry level position 4- the frequency with job requirements 5 the amount of time that has passed since the last job analysis,
• Internal Staff or Consultant- the organization may use its own staff or external consultants for job analysis.
• Organization and Coordination- any job analysis project whether it is conducted internally or with externally, requires careful organization and coordination.
• Communication -keep clear and open communication with everyone in the the job analysis process.
• Analysis, Synthesis, and Documentation- once all the information is collected it must be analyzed and synthesized through different procedures and statistics.
• Maintenance of the System- it does not end with the completion of the project. The mechanics of the process will be put into place and maintained over time.
• Example of Job Analysis Process- due to the fact that there is no best way to the process we must design our own job analysis process to fit our own situation.

Job analysis is important because it gives us a clear description of what we are looking for in the selection process. Its what we want or desire for our company.

The importance of job analysis to the selection process

To understand the importance of job analysis to the selection process, you need to understand what job analysis is. Job analysis is a process used to identify and determine detailed job duties and requirements and the importance of these duties for a specific job. The important concept of the analysis is that it is conducted on the job not the individual person. It is a collection of information of the duties and tasks, the environment of the job, the tools and equipment used, relationships such as supervision given and recieved and the requirements such as knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and the competencies required to perform the job.
The importance of job analysis to the selection process is that it can be used to identify or develop several things such as:
-Job duties that should be included in the posting of vacant positions whether advertised internally or externally.
-Apprpriate salary levels for the positions to assist in determining what salary to offer a candidate.
-Minimum requirements (education and/or experience) for screening applicants.
-Important interview questions to determine the ability to handle the environment, tools and relationships of the job
-Selection tests that would be appropriate and valid ( written tests, oral tests and job simulations).
-Applicant appraisals to confirm if the candidate has the appropriate KSA's and competencies for the job.
-Orientation materials neccesary for applicants/new hires.
In the selection process it is important to understand what a specific job entails to ensure that it is being filled by a candidate that is qualified to meet all the criteria to promote productivity and success to the company.

What is the importance of Job Analysis to the Selection Process?

Job Analysis is the foundation of Human Resources. A company must have complete knowledge of what a particular job entails in order to build a job description.

To conduct a job analysis, you will need to do the following:
-Make a task statement
-Task Dimensions
-Determine the importance of the task (essential functions)
-Determine what KSAO's are needed to perform the job
-Job content (job relations to other jobs)

The task statement describes the behaviors or work activities that an employee engages in while performing the job.
-Start with an action verb
-What the employee does
-What is being produced? What is the expected output?
-What materials, tools, procedures or other is to be used in order form the employee to focus on
their tasks?

Task Dimensions are optional but may provide important information.
-Characteristics
-Too many dimensions (if so, the employee might be working too hard)
-Groupings should make sense

Decisions:
- Determining the importance of statements
-What is the time spent doing the tasks that make up the job
-To be able to use information in disability or return to work situations.

KSAO's in order to perform the job:
-Oral communication
-Spread sheets
-Computer Skills
-Knowledge of office equipment
-Knowledge of employment law and recruitment practices (HR Generalist)
-Managers should have KSAO knowledge of his/her employee

Organization Chart
-Who reports to who?

An employee's KSAO's contribute to the individual's success and the employee's competency contributes to the company's success.

All in all, in order for a company to experience employee and company success, they must perform a job analysis so that they have the knowledge needed to hire correctly ensuring that the company will then be able to maintain a proper workforce.

D.Bille

Great Job, everyone!!!!!
Debbie

4 Concepts of Independent Contracting

What is the difference between independent contracting and employees? To find out the answer about their differences you should look at the type of their relationships. You must ask some important questions and here are only a few that I am going to mention.

6. Is there an ongoing relationship with the worker? if you answer yes it is considered that you are or will be an employee. An independent contractor will most likely not have an ongoing relationship with you. Yes you might keep hiring them for their particular area of expertise but they are not an employee. Whereas an employee will be committed to you day in and day out so long as they continue to be employed by you.

7. Does the business set the work hours or a schedule? Again if the answer is yes than you area an employee. Usually an independent contractor will set their own schedule or time when they will report to the job site. They fit you into their schedule, not you fit your self into theirs.

8. Does the worker work there full time? Again if the answer is yes you are an employee not an independent contractor. an independent contractor will work until the job that they were hired to do is completed and then move on to another. An employee will go to work day in and day out.

13. Does the business have the right to fire the worker at will? If the answer is yes than you are an employee. The independent contractor works for the particular job. If the employee does something that the employer does not agree with than you are fired. The independent contractor has an agreement with you. If you don't like their work well then I guess you can let them go but its not the same. You don't owe them anything.

No. 15 Does the business pay travel expenses?As an employee, the company would be responsible to either provide the employee with a travel advance or reimburse the employee for expenses incurred while traveling for business purposes. However, as an independent contract the cost of travel expenses would be built into the contracted price. It is important to pay the employee for travel expenses because it is considering work time not personal time.

No. 18 Can the worker realize a profit or loss?An employee is paid an agreed-upon wage and is paid weekly, biweekly or monthly. The wage can fluctuate based on hours worked. The independent contractor estimates and quotes his price. If the final cost is over the estimate, he is in a loss situation. If he estimates high, and the final cost is lower than the estimate he gets the profit. The company is responsible to pay the final agreed upon price.

No. 10 Is the worker required to do things in a certain way? An employee probably has some flexibility in the way they accomplish their job tasks but it must adhere to company policies and standards. An independent contractor, on the other hand, sets his own standards and follows business practices set by industry standards and codes.

4. Must the services be rendered personally by the worker? An employee would be the only one providing the services to the company. The independent contractor could hire sub-contractors to get the work done and the company would not be concerned as long as the job was done according to the written contract.

Colleen

Four Differences Regarding Independent Contractors and Employees

1) If you are an 'ee, than there is a chance that you will receive some training regarding your job duties. The Independent Contactor will not need to be trained because he/she will be hired for the expertise and knowledge that he/she already possess.



2) An 'ee that works in an office setting, would not be required to bring in the "tools" necessary to do their job. Example: computer, fax, typewriter, paper, etc..... However, an Indpendent Contractor would have to bring the tools needed to complete his/her work for the day.



3) When you are an 'ee of a company and have decided that you no longer want to work for them, you may give notice at any time (it's considerate to give proper notice) for whatever reason. However, Independent Contractors have to abide by the contract that they have signed until the job is completed.



4) Independent Contractors must have proof of insurance in order to be considered to be hired for a job. When employed by a workplace, you as an 'ee will most likely be provided with different insurance options.

DB

Independent Contractors VS Employees

To understand the differences between Independent Contractors and actual Employees, you should look at the different concepts that distinquish the differences and understand them.
Here are 4 concepts to look at:
1) Is the worker paid by the hour, week, or month? If the answer is YES, then the person is more likely an emplyee. Independent contractors usually bid on a job and are paid just for that particular job
2) Does the business provide training? If the answer is YES, then the person is an employee. Independent contractors do not recieve training from the company, they get it elsewhere.
3)Can the worker be terminated at will? If the answer is YES, then the person is an employee. Independent contractors sign a contract. They can only be terminated if they fail to hold to the provisions of the contract.
4)Can the worker terminate at will? If the answer is YES, then the person is an employee. An independent contractor can only terminate his/her position if the company does not hold to the provision of the contract.
An organization needs to treat employees and independent contractors differently and to understand how they are different. This is important because if you treat an independent contractor like an actual employee, they may expect to have the benefits of an actual employee and the department of labor may agree that they are an employee especially if there is a labor complaint, harassment suit or a discrimination suit. The company may be held responsible if the independent contractor is treated like an emplyee

By Susan Colbert

Colleen and Susan,
Great job on creating your accounts!
Can't wait to "blog" with the team!
DB

Hello Team Members!
Just test driving the blog.
Talk to you soon!