Reference no: EM133045117

An offshore bank is looking to hire a senior trader in foreign exchange in the Treasury Department. The recruitment advertisements had attracted a number of candidates. After the initial shortlist, five applicants were invited to attend a selection and interview meeting. The candidates completed a series of tests and activities. At the end of the assessment, two candidates were placed on the decision list. 

Data from previous hires had indicated four qualities that define a successful foreign exchange trader. These qualities are, in order of importance: 

1. Decisiveness; - make immediate, on-the-spot decisions 

2. Discipline; - compliance with policies, rules, procedures, regulations 

3. Accountability; - responsible, answerable for own actions, decisions 

4. Awareness; - perceptive, alert, mindful, of (market) situation, context 

All candidates participated in an exercise on forex trading designed to evaluate these four attributes. 

The first candidate John Wong was evaluated by means of a RANKING method. The recruiting interviewer-assessor ranked the candidate's performance on the four behaviours. Rank 1 indicated that the candidate was judged to have demonstrated that specific attribute most strongly, and Rank 4, least among the four behaviours.

Table 1 presents the Rank scores for John Wong. 

Table 1 

A seven point Likert-type RATING method was used to evaluate the second candidate, Alex Nair, in a separate assessment meeting. A score of "7" reflected the highest level of competency and a score of "1" the lowest competency level. 

Table 2 presents the rating outcome for Alex Nair. 

Table 2 

Question 3 

a) Explain the measurement concept(s) underlying the TWO (2) assessment methods. 

b) (i) Distinguish between the TWO (2) methods of evaluating the performance of the candidates on the assessment task. 

(ii) Analyse the TWO (2) assessment methods and explain which method offers a better perspective of the candidate's performance on the forex trading exercise? 

Many companies may not have work sample assessment, cognitive, performance tests and psychometric profiling in their selection toolkit. The interview, however, remains an essential component in the hiring process. 

c) (i) Describe what an interview measure. Discuss how the interview may enhance the selection process. 

(ii) Critique the reliability and validity of the interview as an assessment method of choice.