204 Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofi t Organizations
Murphy (1996), the editor of Individual Differences and Behavior in
Organizations , noted that research in industrial/organizational psychol-
ogy from the mid - 1960s to the mid - 1980s can be roughly categorized as
research on the relationship between scores on written-ability tests and
job performance and other research. What was overlooked in scholar-
ship was the relationship between individual employees ’ behavior in the
organization and how their behavior affected the organization ’ s outcomes.
Variables such as whether employees work to advance the goals of the
organization, the organizational experience, the climate and culture of
the organization, the quality of interpersonal relations within the orga-
nization, the amount of confl ict within the organization, and whether
employees identify with the organization are characteristics that are impor-
tant to job performance.
Murphy (1996) further stated that current theories of job performance
suggest that the performance domain is multifaceted and that it is likely
to include dimensions that are not highly or even positively correlated.
Individual difference domains that contribute to effective job performance
include cognitive ability, personality, orientation (values and interests), and
affective disposition (mood, affect, temperament). Given today ’ s team -
oriented environment, a variety of individual behaviors bear directly on
accomplishing the goals of the organization. These include not only indi-
vidual task performance but also nontask behaviors such as teamwork,
customer service, organizational citizenship, and prosocial organizational
behaviors. These behaviors may not be included in an individual ’ s job
description, yet they are crucial to the effective functioning of the organi-
zation. Individual differences in ability, personality orientation, and affec-
tive states might affect any or all of these variables. Next we will look at
some examples of other variables that often affect performance and are
becoming important in HRM selection research.Practical Intelligence
More than two decades ago, Sternberg (1985) recognized the importance
of practical intelligence, defi ning it as how people deal practically with
different kinds of contexts: how they know and use what is needed to
behave intelligently at school, at work, or on the streets. He suggested
that practical intelligence and tacit knowledge play a role in job success.
Practical intelligence is often described as the ability to respond effectively
to practical problems or demands in situations that people commonly