Starla L. Ivey Dissertation Defense

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Starla L. IveyDissertation Defense

• Dissertation Committee
• Dr. Bob Stewart Dr. Kelly
  Wilkinson
• Dr. Craig Israelsen Dr. Deanna L.
  Sharpe
• Dr. James Laffey

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Introduction

• SCANS (1991)
• Competencies
• Resources
• Information
• Interpersonal skills
• Systems
• Technology

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Need for Study

• Claiborne (1992)
• Strains on finding qualified applicants
• Huber (1997)
• Increased difficulty in finding qualified
  applicants
• Richens (1999)
• Entry-level employees possession of SCANS
  competencies
• HR Guide (1999)
• Methods for assessing prospective employees

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Purpose

• Investigate the perceptions of human resource
  personnel with respect to workplace competencies
  possessed of job applicants and the factors
  employed when evaluating these skills in job
  applicants

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Research Question

• What is the level of workplace competencies
  possessed by prospective employees at various
  educational/skill levels as perceived by human
  resources personnel?
• Is there a significant difference among the mean
  workplace competencies possessed by prospective
  employees at various educational/skill levels as
  perceived by human resources personnel?
• What methods do human resource personnel utilize
  to assess workplace competencies possessed by
  prospective employees at various
  educational/skill levels?

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Methodology

• Independent Variable
• Levels of Educational/Skill
• Those who have completed less than a GED
  (laboring/elemental skill level)
• Those who have completed a high school
  diploma/GED or some college, but no degree
  (intermediate skill level)
• Those who have completed an associates degree
  (technical/paraprofessional skill level)
• Those who have completed a bachelors degree or
  beyond (manager/professional skill level)

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Methodology

• Dependent Variables
• The mean competency ratings for the skills
  possessed by prospective employees as perceived
  by human resource personnel about the five areas
  of workplace competencies
• Resources
• Information
• Interpersonal skills
• Systems
• Technology

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Methodology

• Sample
• 25 companies surveyed
• Instrumentation
• Questionnaire used in the study was based on the
  SCANS workplace competencies report (1993) and
  previous research conducted by Yang (1994) and
  Harrison (1996)

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Demographic Findings

• N number in the sample
• Not all employers hired at the less than GED
  (laboring/elemental) educational/skill level
• PERCENT OF TOTAL EMPLOYEES
• Slightly less than half of the current workforce
  was comprised of those who have completed a high
  school diploma or GED. Employees with a degree
  (educational/skill levels 3 and 4) made up
  another 46. Very small percentage have less
  than a GED.

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Demographic Findings

• AVERAGE SALARY
• data implies that as the educational/skill level
  of the prospective employee increases so does the
  average salary.
• RATIO APPLICANTS TO JOBS
• Educational/skill level 1 10.84
• Educational/skill level 4 26.36

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Research Question 1 - Findings

• What is the level of workplace competencies
  possessed by prospective employees at various
  educational/skill levels as perceived by human
  resources personnel?
• The data suggests that as the job applicants
  educational/skill level increases so does the
  level of workplace competencies possessed

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Research Question 2 - Findings

• Ho1 There is no significant difference in the
  mean workplace competencies possessed by
  prospective employees between two or more of the
  educational/skill levels as perceived by human
  resource personnel
• Testing at the .05 level using ANOVA, a
  significant difference between each
  educational/skill level and the mean scores on
  the skill domains was found
• Tukey HSD Post Hoc Test was utilized to analyze
  the differences among the educational/skill levels

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Research Question 2 - Findings

• Tukey HSD Post Hoc Test
• There was a significant difference among all of
  the educational/skill levels for each mean scores
  of the five workplace competency skill domains
  for job applicants, except for domain 2 between
  educational/skill levels 3 and 4.
• Job applicants at each educational/skill level
  possess differing amounts of workplace competency
  skills.

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Research Question 3 - Findings

• What methods do human resource personnel utilize
  to assess workplace competencies possessed by
  prospective employees at various
  educational/skill levels?
• The methods used to assess workplace competencies
  possessed by prospective employees at various
  educational/skill levels stayed the same,
  however, more specific/technical information is
  required at each successive level
• Each company used a combination of methods to
  assess the qualifications of the applicants and
  to increase the total validity of the screening
  process

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Additional Findings

• Human Resource Personnel perceived ..
• Decrease in the soft skills of job applicants,
  especially work ethic
• Short supply of hourly workers with high turnover
  in those positions

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Conclusions

1. Fewer employers are hiring job applicants who are
   at the less than GED educational/skill level
2. Those at educational/skill levels 1 and 2 make up
   over 50 of the workforce, however, the ratio of
   applicants to available positions is not enough
   to satisfy the current market demand
3. As educational/skill level of the prospective
   employee increases so does the level of workplace
   competencies and the hiring salary.

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Conclusions

• 4. The assessment methods do not differ for
  applicants at each educational/skill level,
  however, the type of information addressed
  becomes increasingly more technical and specific.
• 5. Companies utilize a combination of
  assessment methods
• 6. Employers are having difficulty hiring
  qualified applicant due to the following reasons
  decline in work ethic, fewer applicants, and
  skills need to be higher.

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Recommendations for Future Research

• 1. A study should be conducted to analyze the
  correlation between salary and workplace
  competencies within occupational groups.
• 2.  Further research is needed to determine the
  long-term success of students achieving various
  levels of workplace competencies.
• 3.  A study should be conducted that samples a
  larger number of companies.

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Recommendations for Future Research

• 4.  Further research is needed to more deeply
  investigate the assessment methods utilized by
  human resource personnel and their ability to
  predict valuable employees.
• 5.  As the workplace is an ever-changing dynamic
  setting, research on employability skills and the
  ability of applicants to fulfill positions should
  be continual. Future work in this area should
  correspond with business and industrys needs and
  how education can prepare workers for a
  competitive global market.