Ethical and Legal Considerations Paper

The ethical considerations that I believe you need to consider is if the test is a fair test. For example, if you administer a test that only is going to let one type of person through you are limiting the position to the point where it could be unfair for the candidates and limits the possibilities of people you will get. Another ethical thing you need to consider is the information you are trying to receive. If you were to administer a personality test because the last person you had didn’t mesh well with your team that isn’t very ethical. There are several legal considerations that you must consider. First you need to decide if the test you are giving is valid for the position you are giving it for. For example, it is valid to give a basic math test to someone that is applying for a bank position, or a typing test to a person applying for a data entry position. However, it wouldn’t be valid to give a switch them up by giving the basic math test to the data entry person because math skills do not apply to data entry so to do this would be against the law. Another thing one must do is if you decide to test for something valid you must give the test to every applicant that has made it to this step in the application process. If you do not you open yourself to a lawsuit for discrimination. For example, if you are giving swim tests for a lifeguard position you cannot just test someone because you think that they looks like they are less able to swim. Not only must you administer the test to every applicant you must do so in the same setting and time frame. This means that all applicants must have equal prep time, and the test should be given in the same location, under the same circumstances. In order to pick a valid test you should follow this process found on page 123 of our textbook: 1. Analyze the job, 2. Choose the tests, 3. administer the tests, 4. Relate scores and criteria, and 5. Cross-validate and revalidate. In step one you are analyzing the job this means to go over the job description and specifications in order to decide what you want a person in this position to accomplish. Then in step two you are choosing the tests in this step you are deciding which test or tests would be an accurate and fair measure of ability to accomplish what you decided in step one. Then in step three you are going to administer the tests give the tests to current employees if possible as well as applicants. Next in step four, relate scores and criteria, you are going to evaluate your scores and results. Lastly cross-validate and revalidate for step five. In order to do this you must make sure that your test is valid to the position and that it continues to be valid. In conclusion you need to make sure that when you are testing employees and applicants that you are considering the ethical considerations such as, is it a fair test and is the information you are gaining relevant to the position. You must also consider the legal considerations such as is the test valid, did I give it to everyone, and was it in the same environment and same conditions. Lastly it is advisable to follow the five step process.