Review Questions Chapter 4 Selection and Hiring Practices 1 What does the Civil Rights Act have to do with employment criteria a The 1964 Civil Rights Act specifically prohibits employers from refusing to hire someone because of that person s race color religion sex or national origin In addition an employer cannot limit segregate or classify his employees or applicants solely because of race color religion sex or national origin 2 What does the term bona fide occupational qualification mean a A bona fide occupational qualification BROQ is an essential job requirement or duty that creates the need to hire or to seemingly discriminate against certain people It may be used as a legal defense for employment practices that appear to violate Tittle VII 3 What is meant by Prima facie discrimination a Prima facie discrimination exists when an employment prerequisite disproportionately excludes a protected group from being hired The burden of proof now shifts from the plaintiff to the employer who must demonstrate a viable connection between the entrance and the actual job performance 4 What are the four ingredients necessary for a prima facie discrimination case a 1 Complainant must belong to a protected class b 2 Complainant must meet minimum entrance standards for the position c 3 The employer rejected the complainant even though the applicant met the minimum entrance standards d 4 The employer continued to hire other applicants 5 Outline the stages of the typical police selection process a The Application b The Written Psychological Exam c The Background Investigation d Polygraph Testing e The psychological Interview f g The Eligibility List h The Medical Check The Oral Board Interview 6 What do the terms weed out and screen in mean with regard to the psychological testing of police recruits a When psychological testing is used for weeding out purposes they work fine However these devices are not intended to make fine distinctions for screening in purposes For example in the case of Jordan vs City of New London an applicant was weeded out because the intelligence test score he achieved revealed he was over qualified for a police officer position 7 What are subjective performance measures Are they useful a Subjective performance measures are easy to devise and implement Police Departments can have supervisors rate subordinate officers on qualitative traits such a commitment loyalty to the agency ethics integrity ability to get along with others conscientiousness and job knowledge Supervisors grade officers as below average average or above average on each trait b Results show that subjective performance measures do not show any consistent patterns for being useful in predicting how well officers will perform on the job 8 What are objective performance measures Are they useful a Objective performance measures include things like number of arrests traffic citations issued citizen complaints calls answered and disciplinary actions b Results show that objective performance measures do not show any consistent patterns for being useful in predicting how well officers will perform on the job 9 What are behaviorally anchored rating scales BARS Are they useful How are BARS constructed a A BARS requires several construction steps First employees list all the things they normally do in a given position Second this list is pared down to what are considered essential or critical tasks Finally this list undergoes revision so that the final set of items encompasses everything an officer might encounter during a typical tour of duty b The BARS format is superior to subjective and objective performance measures however they are very time consuming to construct Additionally it is only recently that police agencies have turned to BARS as employee assessment devices 10 How do you explain the gap between pre employment psychological test scores and job performance a First critics might charge that researchers are using these psychological tests inappropriately Their intended purpose is to isolate deficient applicants These devices weed out misfits Expecting these tests to differentiate among normal profiled of screen in candidates foes far beyond the capabilities of these devices i Inwald Personality Inventory test designed specifically for law enforcement and corrections personnel b Second the simple passage of time One intrusion which invades the period between pre service testing and a later job evaluation is occupational exposure Shifts must occur in the recruit s personality if he she is to be a successful police officer 11 Describe the authoritarian personality a The authoritarian personality describes an individual who carries a narrow and unbending outlook about what is morally right and wrong An authoritarian is very rigid and dogmatic in his or her thinking Such a person holds political attitudes that border on the conservative has prejudicial attitudes towards minority group members and is quite domineering and cynical 12 What implications does the authoritarian personality carry for law enforcement a The point is that authoritarianism flourishes in the police environment and some people regard this trait as less desirable b The Zimbardo experiment produced a sudden transformation of normal college students into sadistic and power hungry ogres IS this happening to law enforcement 13 What are the 3 explanations for why police officers tend to be authoritarians a 1 Some writers claim that self selection is operative That is only authoritarians apply to become police officers b 2 Police agencies only hire people with authoritarian outlooks c 3 Personality adjustments required by the police occupation transform even the most reticent recruit into an authoritarian personality 14 What is the pathology of power a The Zimbardo Experiment transformed normal college students into these sadistic and power hungry individuals As guards in the experiment they had become enamored and enthralled with their new identities They worked extra shifts without pay and devised numerous ways to harass inmates and restrict sleeping eating and recreational activities The sudden transformation was termed pathology of power due to the overwhelming transformation that such an identity brought to these students so quickly 15 Have police agencies complied with recommendations to upgrade educational standards for a Most police chiefs blatantly ignored the recommendations from the 1967 President s incoming personnel
View Full Document
Unlocking...