Cognitive Abilities as used in the Hiring of Employees

Strong cognitive abilities are usually considered a very important and positive trait to seek when hiring new employees
Subject Human Resources Management (HRM)
Question
Case Assignment

Strong cognitive abilities are usually considered a very important and positive trait to seek when hiring new employees. However, one police department decided not to higher those who scored too high on acognitive skillsexam on the grounds that people who are too intelligent will not be satisfied with their job as a police officer and will end up quitting (Naish, 2013). This of course is a controversial policy that resulted in at least one lawsuit.

For this assignment we will be looking at individual characteristics that may predict job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and job performance for police officers. Being a police officer is a demanding job that required strong physical capacity, sharp mental capacity to deal with difficult and life-threatening situations, and strong interpersonal skills in order to effectively work with the communities they protect and serve. The issue of what traits to look for in police officer recruiting is a controversial one.

Review the background materials on individual traits, personality, and attitudes such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Then read these articles on law enforcement recruitment with the issues in the background materials in mind:

Naish, R. (April, 2013). Too clever by half. E. Learning Age, 8. [ProQuest]

Means, R., Lowry, K., & Conroy, D. (2011). Hiring: Background investigation,part 3. Law & Order, 59(3), 12-13. [ProQuest]

Reaume, S. (2009). Improved hiring for child protective investigators. Law & Order, 57(2), 19-20,22,24. [ProQuest]

Now suppose a police department has hiredyou as a consultant to come up with anexam to assess personality and other traits of applicants to the department. The department is looking to hire applicants who meet the following criteria:

Are likely to have strong job satisfaction and organizational commitment to the police department after they are hired.
Will be able to work effectively under stressful and sometimes life-threatening situations; can make good decisions under pressure.
Will be able to present a positive image of the police department in the communities they serve and maintain strong relations with community leaders.
Using whatyou’ve learned in the background about personality traits such as the Big Five Personality traits and factors that influence job satisfaction and organizational behavior, write a 4- to 5-page paper addressing the following issues:

Do you think cognitive abilities should be part of the exam?Do you agree with the police department mentioned in Naish (2013) that there should be an upper limit to cognitive abilities, or should the department try to hire those with the highest cognitive abilities?
What personality traits do you think will best predict a police officer’s ability to handle stressful situations in the field and make decisions under stress? Consider the Big Five traits as well as any other personality traits that you read about in the background materials. Be specific about what traits the departmentshould consider and why these traits will be associated with an ability to work under stress.
What personality traits will best predict an ability to work cooperatively with their coworkers as well as with members of the community they serve? Again, be specific about which traits the departmentshould consider and why these traits will be associated with a good ability to work with others
Module 1 – SLP
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN THE WORKPLACE
For the Session Long Project, you will be applying the concepts from the background materials to your own personal workplace experiences. For this assignment, think of two former or current coworkers that had unique personalities. Choose two people that you worked with closely enough that you were able to get a good idea of their personality traits and workplace attitudes.

Review the main personality traits and attitudes from the background materials, and think about how these apply to your two coworkers. Then write a 3-page paper addressing the following issues:

How would you describe the personalities of these two coworkers? Use the Big Five Personality traits and other traits from the background materials to describe their personalities the best you can.
How would you describe their workplace attitudes including job satisfaction and organizational commitment?
Do you think their personality traits impacted their workplace attitudes, or where other factors such as the work environment, job characteristics, etc. have a greater impact on their attitudes?