Individual Assignment 3: Detailed Specifications & Criteria

This document is designed to provide you with a more detailed description of the assessment
criteria and project specifications for Assignment 3. Please keep in mind that you are accountable
for the contents of this document when your Assignment 3 is evaluated.

Note: the pages indicated below (as well as in the Individual Assignment 3 Brief Description
document) are suggested minimum lengths. There are NO penalties for writing more; indeed,
you are more than welcome to do so! The number of pages indicated are merely there to inform
you as to what is the most likely minimum length in which a given deliverable can be properly
addressed.

Certain paragraphs of this document are identical to those found in the Individual Assignment 2:
Detailed Specifications & Criteria document; I have still included them, however, for the sake of
simplicity.

1. OVERALL APPROACH

This project is not - I repeat: NOT - supposed to be a theoretical, academic essay, but a real-life
documentation package or job aid. I am expecting you to offer specific choices and make specific
decisions, and not simply to offer me a summary of what the textbook already explains pretty well.
Don't tell me what and how you 'would' do something, but how you will do such a project
specifically; the emphasis is placed on the application of knowledge, and hence this project
should be treated as a documentation of several processes. You are expected to prepare it in such
a manner that if your manager wanted you to conduct an interview based on this material
tomorrow, you could do it by simply printing the 'package' and walking into the room ready to do
everything in real life - or, looking at it in another way, you would be ready to walk into the board
room to meet the VP ready to explain how and why you hired or refused a specific candidate,
without being afraid that your documentation might be challenged in court.

You must also keep in mind that these projects (both Individual Assignments 2 and 3) are not
designed to document the practices of an organization you are currently working for (or has worked
for in the past), but to compel you to experiment with new practices, principles, and models that
you have internalized within this course, and thus demonstrate your understanding of them through
specific application to specific problems. As such, the assignments will be assessed not based on
how closely they mirror the existing practices of an organization, but how closely they conform to
the so-called best practices (and HR principles) as they are described in the textbook and the
online content, and how well the proposed solutions fit in with the environmental and organizational
variables of The Wilson Brothers Limited. If you propose a questionable (or illegal) solution, it will
be marked down regardless of how much it may be 'accepted' in a real life organization. Yes, the
solutions must be realistic (including such details as budgetary limitations), but they also have to
showcase the best you have learned in our course..

Finally, keep in mind that the organization for which you are developing this project is The Wilson
Brothers Limited; you will find its description under ‘Assignments’ as a separate document,
through the link Comprehensive Case Scenario. Please make sure that you are offering solutions
and approaches that are optimized (and explicitly take into account) this company’s specific
context! Similarly, don’t forget that Assignment 3 is supposed to be a direct continuation of
Assignment 2 - the first details the recruitment phase, the second the selection phase - so please,
do not choose a different job/position or a different organization for this project.

INDIVIDUAL DELIVERABLES

A. Grammar & Spelling

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 Regrettably, our course does not allow room for teaching the foundations of college-level
business report writing. However, if you feel you are not familiar or comfortable with the
structure and process of writing such papers, I would strongly encourage you to check out one
of the many style- and grammar-guides available in book form in every bookstore. My personal
favourite is The Prentice Hall Reference Guide to Grammar and Usage from Muriel Harris, but
there are literally thousands of others (titled along the lines of 'Guide to College Writing' or
some such thing) that are equally useful, and they usually provide guidance not only on
grammar, spelling, structure, and style, but also on research, referencing standards, how to
structure cooperative projects, and a whole host of other important questions.

B. Introduction

Introductions usually serve two main (or classic) purposes: first, to gradually ease the reader
into reading the material, to establish a natural flow to the narrative so as to facilitate and
expedite the absorption of information by the audience; and second, to explicitly disclose and
communicate the environmental variables, to put in context the analysis and development of
the main deliverables.

In life in general, and in human resource management in particular, whether a step, action,
decision, or tool is the 'right one' for a problem largely depends not only on the nature of the
problem, but also on the environment (organizational and otherwise) in which this problem
occurred and needs to be resolved. Based on the above, in your introduction you have to
provide a description of a) what you are going to do, what your objectives are, and how - using
what strategy - you will proceed to achieve them, and b) a short summary of the organization
(The Wilson Brothers Limited) with all its relevant details

C. Interview Plan

An Interview Plan (or sequence of events) is not the same as a Transcript. The former is an
agenda, a blueprint you intend to follow during the interview, and as such it should be
presented and structured accordingly (bulleted/numbered lists and such come to mind); the
Trancript is a record of what was actually said and done during the interview you conducted
with a person of your choice in real life.

Generally speaking, the Interview Plan itself should not be longer than a single page (excluding
the interview questions) so I think it gives a pretty good indication of the details required. I
would start with something like "invite in the candidate to sit down - offer coffee - etc.", and end
with something like "inform the candidate about the timeline of response - escort the candidate
out - etc."

As a rule of thumb, there is an acronym that can be used to structure your plan, usually
referred to as G.A.S.P.:

G.reeting
A.cquiring Information
S.upplying Information
P.arting

You can integrate several other deliverables (e.g. BDI questions, BARS, Competencies, etc.)
into your plan if you choose to do so, but it might become very unwieldy - and people who do
so often forget to provide details as to how they intend to finish and wrap up the interview in the
end - so you can provide the rest of the deliverables broken out into different sections, if you
wish.

D. Competencies

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 Please remember that Competencies are not the same as single, individual KSAO's. The
definition of competencies is groups of interrelated behaviours necessary for successful
performance on the job. This means that whatever competency you develop, it cannot be a
single skill, piece of knowledge, etc. such as '60 wpm' or 'education' or 'experience' (the
latter two of which are totally meaningless anyway). This is a common error, but easy to avoid
if you keep in mind that competencies must be defined first (much like a word entry in a
dictionary, hence the concept of competency dictionary) in at least a paragraph or two before
they can be applied for Human Resources purposes. If you need more information on this,
please don't forget to consult my messages in the 'Got a question?' forum.

To get the maximum on this section, you must develop a minimum of 6 (six) competencies, at
least one competency for each of the three categories; each competency must be presented
with both a name/label and a proper definition; and the appropriate category for each
competency must be indicated explicitly. Without providing proper definitions, I will have no
idea what you mean e.g. by something like 'Team Work Competency' or 'Communication
Competency'. What are the specific KSAO's/behaviours that make up this competency?

Also, try to stay away from proficiency scales. There is nothing wrong with them, but they can
easily confuse a student when s/he is just starting out with this tiered framework, so unless you
feel very secure about your mastery of this material, you might want to leave them for another
day.

Finally, the definitions for these competencies must be your own creations, and not 'sampled'
or copied from the Internet or other (often internal company) documents. Although you are
welcome to consult other documents, using text from them verbatim is not the equivalent of
original work; and if you are forced to use text verbatim, you must reference it properly, or else
it will be considered a case of plagiarism.

E. BDI questions

To get the maximum on this section, you must develop a minimum of 6 (six) main BDI
questions (each question accompanied by its own - 2 or 3 - probing questions), and each main
BDI question you create must directly relate to (in other words: test for) a specific competency
you indicated and defined - and only one. If you place the competencies with their definitions in
a different section than the BDI questions, it is perfectly fine, but you must clearly indicate
which question test for which competency.

While most people find the concept of Behaviour Descriptive Interviewing easy to understand,
when it comes to applying these concepts many students have difficulty formulating good
questions. One way to overcome this problem is using the method called S.T.A.R. (or
S.O.A.R.A.):

S.ituation
T.ask (in the S.O.A.R.A. model, it is referred to as O.bjective)
A.ction
R.esults
(in the S.O.A.R.A. model, there is an additional step called A.ftermath)

Suppose we wanted to test an applicant’s organizational competency (most likely a Core or

Functional competency) via BDI. The question would go something like this:

One of the most important competencies in this position is the ability to organize and prioritize
(or, for the linguistic purists: priorize) a multitude of tasks and deliverables on a daily basis. Tell
me about a time when you had to deal with several projects and competing priorities
[SITUATION] and you did not have sufficient time to do all of them [TASK/OBJECTIVE]. How
did you cope with the situation? What did you do, and why? [ACTION] What were the results
of your action, that is, how did you solve the situation? Would you do the same thing again?

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 Why or why not? [RESULTS]

No, you do not need to explicitly indicate the S.T.A.R. elements in your work the way I did
above, but they do need to be somewhat identifiable/recognizable.

S.T.A.R. (S.O.A.R.A.), by the way, is an even more useful tool if you apply it when answering
BDI or Situational Interview style questions yourself. The biggest problem with BDI is that as an
applicant, one finds it really hard to keep their answers short, focused, and on track. If you
spend a few minutes to prepare for the interview focusing on those dozen or so KSAO’s that
are most likely to come up, S.T.A.R. (S.O.A.R.A.) can be your best buddy in developing and
organizing your thoughts into a neat, concise, and impressive structure - which is the best way
to impress an interviewer and thereby win the position.

Please remember that Situational Interview questions are not the same as Behaviour
Descriptive Interview questions. Although both are based on situations, the former tests for
KSAO's through posing a theoretical scenario ('What would you do...') whereas the latter is
asking about a past situation ('What did you do...'). Although S.I. questions are just as useful
and functional as BDI, and though I welcome one or two SI questions in your project as an
'extra' or 'bonus', please keep in mind that your task is to develop BDI questions.

Finally, don't forget that what makes a question proper BDI is not merely that it asks about the
past! Asking a candidate something like 'How did you like university?' or 'Can you do this and
that?' or 'Have you ever had to do a rush job?' can in no way be considered proper BDI
questions.

F. Interview Rating Sheet (BARS)

The Rating/Scoring Sheet/Scale you develop and use to assess the candidate you interview in
real life must be a BARS, which stands for Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scale. To get the
maximum on this section, you must develop a minimum of 6 (six) separate sets of anchors -
one set for each of the 6 main BDI questions - where each set has at least 2 (preferably 3)
different values (e.g. 1 and 10, or 1, 3, and 5) and each value is anchored (as in: set firmly and
stably) by a specific description of scenario-specific behaviours/KSAO's. A single set used for
all main questions and without different individual anchors for each and every different value of
each and every main question - e.g. something like '1=Poor, 2=Average, 5=Above average' -
does not constitute a BARS, and as such it is not acceptable.

When preparing a BARS, the most common problem is that students may develop a
reasonable BDI-style questionnaire, but they apply to it a non-behaviourally-anchored rating
scale – which is a big no-no if you have taken this course. Fortunately, the textbook offers
several very good examples of Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scales. In the 7th edition they
can be found on page 417 (Table 9.1), page 419 (Table 9.2), and page 420 (Table 9.3). Alas,
in the 8th edition only one (less than stellar) example is provided on page 389 (Table 9.2) but I
will remedy this with better explanations and examples posted in the ‘Questions for your
Facilitator’ forum soon. Please consult them carefully, and develop your own accordingly.

Also, please remember that a BARS is not the same as a Behavioural Observation Scale. On
the latter, you list a series of individual behaviours, and tick them off as you observe the person
being evaluated; on the former, you identify/define groups of behaviours as sample answers for
two or three different values for each of the questions, and then compare the given answers as
a whole to these groups, to see which description falls the closest to the answer the candidate
has given.

Finally: you cannot provide behavioural anchors to questions that do not solicit a behavioural
response, so please do not try. If you ask a standard 'general' non-behavioural question such
as "How do you feel you would be an asset to our organization?" you cannot attach a BARS to
it, because it is not asking for specific behaviours demonstrated within a specific scenario.

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 G. Hiring Decision

The Hiring Decision provided need to be explicitly based on the results of the BARS (and other
evaluation methods, e.g. tests, if you decided to utilize such instruments during the selection
phase) and it must offer a specific decision on a specific candidate, not a theoretical
scenario of how you 'would' make a decision. In addition, it must provide a detailed
explanation/ reasoning as to why and how you made this decision; and this reasoning must
comply with legal standards and best practices.

Yes, you CAN make a definitive decision even if you had only one candidate in total. The very
reason we are using BARS (an absolute rating scale) as opposed to relative rating systems
(where you compare the candidates to each other, instead of an absolute set of criteria or
standards) is so we can hire people who do qualify for the job - as opposed to hiring people
who are 'the least unqualified' for a job, and hence merely 'satisfice'.

H. Transcript

As far as the Transcript is concerned, I am expecting no more than about 2 pages. A good
interview would have at least 8-9 questions: say, 1 question for each competency, 6 in total;
plus 2-3 'generic' questions such as "tell me what you know about our company" or "what
attracted you to this position" or "how do you feel your education and experience relate to the
requirements of this position" etc.

You can summarize your intrerviewee's responses somewhat, but you should not be so brief
as to border obscurity. As a rule of thumb, if your interviewee is giving you long answers, one
strategy is to write down the most important or most illustrative 1-2 sentences from the answers
given to each question verbatim, and just list the rest of the major points below the sentences
in bulleted form if you feel more comfortable with that.

2. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

"Will I be penalized for the answers given by my interviewee? If s/he gives an irrelevant or
stupid answer, will that affect the transcript or my mark on the paper?"

Not at all. Some students, indeed, take this opportunity to interview completely unqualified or
outright 'terrible' candidates for this assignment, and it is completely fine with me. I am looking for
evidence of professional expertise in my students, and not in the candidates.

The issue at hand is not how good or poor your candidate or his/her answers are, but how you
handle them during and after the interview; how you score and assess them; how you probe for
better answers if/when you feel it is appropriate; what kind of decisions you make based on those
answers and your stated objectives; how sound a reasoning you offer to back up your decision, etc.

"What kind of format do you expect for this paper? Can I use bulleted lists or tables, or do I
have to write in proper paragraphs?"

Since this assignment is a 'package deal', I am not terribly concerned about the actual format or
structure you follow - except, of course, for the requirements for Table of Contents, Introduction,
and referencing standards. As for the rest, the structure and format, the way you present the
deliverables is up to you. You can use lists, tables - anything really, as long as it provides some
kind of utility value, and is in alignment with the deliverable's function and intended purpose (which
means that e.g. an Interview Plan that takes the form of a whole-page margin-to-margin
uninterrupted narrative is not the best idea...).

You can list your competencies by categories and with definitions on one page, then list your
questions on a separate page specifically indicating which question tests for which competency,

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 and then provide the interview transcript in yet another section, and the interview plan again in
another section; or you can combine all into a single section; or you can combine any number of
elements with each other, etc. The only thing I ask here is that you integrate all your partial
deliverables into a single (or at most two) document/file. I can accept two files - students often
combine their BARS and BDI questions into a single item that is developed in MSExcel, which is
hard to properly integrate into an MSWord document without messing up its formatting - but that
should be the most.

3. REFERENCING

While Assignment 2 definitely benefited from some external research, Assignment 3 calls for
absolutely original, individual solutions and deliverables that are developed from scratch, and
hence there should be no need for referencing. If you do end up using external sources beyond
mere consultation, and use text from them verbatim (which is not the optimal solution) the exact
same conditions and criteria apply as in Assignment 2; please refer to point 3 (3. REFERENCING)
in the Individual Assignment 2: Detailed Specifications & Criteria document for further details. As
before, using any continuous text from any outside source - that is longer than, say, 4 words
- without proper referencing is considered plagiarism, and therefore results in a '0' mark on
the paper, as well as a permanent note in the student's academic record.

All the best,

- Robert

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