The SIOP Exchange

The House that Management Consulting Built

By Paul Thoresen, SIOP Blogger

On the premiere episode, of House of Lies (a Showtime Original Series) “management consultants” are painted as soulless opportunists.  With the tagline Survival of the Slickest, this should not be very surprising to most. The show’s first episode portrays the main protagonist (played by Don Cheadle) attempting to win over clients with flattery, meaningless jargon, and several other less than productive tactics. Is this the general impression that the public holds for those who consult to management?

Search, Select and Hire Top Talents Using Vocational Interests

By Vivian Wing-Sheung Chan, SIOP Blogger

Which predictors do we usually use as indictors of job performance if we were selecting from a pool of job candidates? Cognitive ability?  Definitely. Personality? Oh, yes. Specifically, conscientiousness is a good one. Motivation? Yes. Vocational Interests? Vocation what?

 Are vocational interests useful predictors for selection?

 The answer is yes!

A recent article by Van Iddekinge and colleagues (2011) looked at 74 primary studies and examined the role of vocational interests on employee performance and turnover. The validity estimates for job and training performance is moderate and positive (.14 and .26 respectively). The validity estimates for turnover intentions and actual turnover is moderate and negative (-.19 and -.15 respectively).

Nominations Needed!

Nominations for APA Council of Representatives Close January 30

Nominations for two APA Council of Representatives positions end Monday, January 30. If you are an APA member, please take a moment to submit names.

These APA Council members represent SIOP's interests in APA and vote on APA initiatives and budget issues. Council reps also serve as members of the SIOP Executive Board. Those who are voting members of both SIOP and APA may submit nominations. The individuals who receive the most nominations will then be on the APA ballot. The vote to elect the new representatives will be conducted by APA. Nominations may be submitted through SIOP’s online portal, which opened January 4 and close January 30. The link was provided to eligible nominators via e-mail.

These positions involve required travel to APA Council meetings twice a year, once in February and once at convention. The SIOP Executive Board meets in Fall, Winter, and at the SIOP conference in April. The costs of travel are covered by APA/SIOP. The term runs for 3 years beginning January 2013.

 

Starting the Conversation – I-O Psychology and Humanitarian Work

By Jeff Godbout, Alex Gloss,  Joy Calleja, and Judith Marasigan de Guzman,  SIOP Bloggers

Being undervalued, underrepresented, and often, unrecognized, are states of affairs that many I-O psychologists are quite familiar with. While I-O psychologists often face many hurdles to being recognized, appreciated, and understood in for-profit settings, it might not be too far off the mark to say that they nearly always face these hurdles in the humanitarian aid and development world. Our anecdotal experiences in aid and development work have certainly validated the limited recognition and perceived applicability of I-O psychology to humanitarian aid and development.

How Selection Consultants Change the World

By Adam W. Hilliard, SIOP Blogger

Both now and in the past, you’d be farfetched to find a child without some dream of grandeur, whether it be saving the world as a secret agent, exploring new frontiers as an astronaut, or running a country as president. It’s not often that those dreams are truly realized, as we settle into our lives of happy stability and somewhat more…attainable visions. However, one of my early mentors wasn’t shy of encouraging that dream to stay alive, and for that I’m going to make the bold statement that selection consultants can and do change the world on a daily basis.

1.    Making managers’ and applicants lives easier – There are few things more stressful than the hiring process (aside from maybe the firing process) for managers. Is the candidate creatively “embellishing” their resume? What about on an interview?