Thesis (MCom) --Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Organisations in a free market economy exist with the purpose to serve and provide the market
with products and services that the market values while at the same time satisfying the triple
bottom line of profit, people and planet. The extent to which an organisation will succeed in this
aim, however, depends to a large extent on the calibre of its workforce. Human resource
management represents a range of interventions with the purpose of contributing to an
organisation’s success, through the acquisition and maintenance of a high quality and competent
work force, as well as to ensure the effective and efficient use of human talent in a manner that
will add value to an organisation. Personnel selection represents one of these human resource
functions and thereby constitutes a critical human resource management intervention in as far as
it attempts to regulate human capital movement into, through and out of the organisation with
the expectation that this will result in increased employee job performance. Industrialorganisational
psychologists and human resources practitioners frequently use
psychometric/psychological tests in the selection process, which provide them with objective
information on complex constructs such as intellectual ability or personality, that are
hypothesised to be determinants of the level of job performance that selected applicants will
achieve. Accurate predictions can however, only be derived from measures of such
psychometric/psychological tests if the constructs they attempt to measure are in fact
determinants of job performance, if the tests provide reliable, valid and unbiased measures of
these constructs and the nature of the relationship between the predictor constructs and the
criterion construct is validly understood. Personality represents an influential determinant of job
performance. The Personality and Preference Inventory-Normative (PAPI-N) is a personality
questionnaire that is widely used in industry. This provides the essential justification for the
primary objective of this research, which was to evaluate the first-order factor structure of the
PAPI-N through a factor analytic investigation on a relatively large sample of the South African
working population.
The data used in this study was obtained from the data archives of Cubiks (Pty) Ltd, with written
permission from the intellectual property holder, to utilise the sample data for the purpose of this
research. The South African PAPI-N database comprised all respondents who were assessed by
Work Dynamics, the official distributor of Cubiks’s products and services in South Africa, in the
period 2007 to 2012. Item and dimensionality analyses were performed on the 20 subscales of
the PAPI-N as well as the Social Desirability scale. This was done to assess the success with which the subscales represented the underlying personality constructs. The results in the item
analysis revealed that in about 50% of the PAPI-N subscales concern arose about the extent to
which the items of the subscales responded in unison to systematic differences in a single
underlying latent variable. Results from the dimensionality analysis showed that 12 of the 20
personality dimension measures were compatible with the position that the items comprising
these subscales measure what they are designed to measure. In contrast, eight out of the 20
subscales failed the uni-dimensionality test.
A spectrum of goodness-of-fit statistics was used to evaluate the measurement model fit. The
measurement model’s overall fit was acceptable. The null hypothesis of exact fit was rejected
but the null hypothesis of close fit could not be rejected (p>.05). The fit indices reflected a close
fit in the parameter and a very good model fit in the sample. Although the measurement model
fitted the data closely, the factor loadings (although statistically significant) were generally of a
moderate degree. Approximately twenty-eight percent (27.78%) of the completely standardised
factor loadings fell below the critical cut-off value of .50. This would suggest that the individual
items generally (72.22%) do represent the latent personality dimensions they were designed to
reflect acceptably well, but that in a little bit more than a quarter of the items, less than 25% of
the variance in the item responses was due to variance in the latent variable it was designed to
reflect. Discriminant validity was also investigated. The results showed that PAPI-N, although
with some difficulty, permit the successful discrimination between the unique aspects of the
latent personality dimensions.
The results of the confirmatory factor analyses suggests that while the intention of the PAPI-N to
have sets of items reflecting specific primary personality factors succeeded, the subscale item
measures mostly hold a sizable amount of systematic and random error. Based on the above
findings, this personality measure should be used with caution in personnel selection in South
Africa. Nevertheless, this study serves to extend the understanding of the psychometric
properties of the PAPI-N on samples different from the UK sample on which it was originally
developed and standardised. Its findings should assist in eliciting the necessary further research
needed to establish the psychometric credentials of the PAPI-N as a valuable assessment
instrument in South Africa with confidence. Recommendations for future research are made. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Organisasies in ‘n vrye-mark ekonomie het ten doel om die samelewing te dien en om die mark
met produkte en dienste te voorsien wat waarde toevoeg, terwyl hulle terselfertyd die
driedubbele eis van wins, mense en die planet bevredig. Die mate waarin die organisasie in
hierdie doel slaag, hang egter in ‘n groot mate af van die kwaliteit van sy werksmag. Menslike
hulpbronbestuur verteenwoordig 'n verskeidenheid ingrypings met die doel om by te dra tot 'n
organisasie se sukses, deur die verkryging en instandhouding van 'n hoë gehalte en bekwame
arbeidsmag, sowel as om die doeltreffende en doelmatige gebruik van menslike talent te
verseker op 'n wyse wat waarde tot die organisasie toevoeg. Die keuring van personeel
verteenwoordig een van hierdie menslike hulpbronfunksies. As sodanig vorm dit 'n kritieke
menslike hulpbronbestuuringryping insoverre dit poog om die beweging van menslike kapitaal
in, deur en uit die organisasie te reguleer met die verwagting dat dit sal lei tot verhoogde
werksprestasie deur werknemers. Bedryfsielkundiges en menslike hulpbronpraktisyns gebruik
dikwels psigometriese/sielkundige toetse in die keuringsproses, wat hulle met objektiewe
inligting oor komplekse konstrukte soos intellektuele vermoë of persoonlikheid voorsien, onder
die veronderstelling dat hulle belangrike determinante is van die vlak van werkverrigting wat
gekeurde aansoekers sal bereik. Akkurate voorspellings kan egter slegs uit sodanige
psigometriese/sielkundige toetse afgelei word indien die konstrukte wat hulle probeer meet, in
werklikheid determinante van werkprestasie is, indien die toetse betroubare, geldige en onsydige
metings van hierdie konstrukte gee en indien die aard van die verwantskap tussen die
voorspellerkonstrukte en die kriteriumkonstruk geldig verstaan word. Persoonlikheid is 'n
invoedryke determinant van werkprestasie. Die Personality and Preference Inventory-Normative
(PAPI-N) is 'n persoonlikheidsvraelys wat algemeen in die bedryf gebruik word. Daarin lê die
regverdiging vir die primêre doel van hierdie navorsing, naamlik om die eerste-orde faktor
struktuur van die PAPI -N deur 'n factor-analitiese ondersoek op 'n relatief groot steekproef van
die Suid-Afrikaanse werkende bevolking te evalueer, geleë.
Die data wat in hierdie studie gebruik is, is verkry uit die data-argiewe van Cubiks (Pty) Ltd, met
die skriftelike toestemming van die intellektuele eiendiom-eienaar, om die steekproefdata aan te
wend vir die doel van hierdie navorsing. Die Suid-Afrikaanse PAPI-N databasis bestaan uit al
die kandidate wat geassesseer is deur Work Dynamics, die amptelike verspreider van Cubiks se
produkte en dienste in Suid-Afrika, in die tydperk 2007-2012. Item en
dimensionaliteitsontledings is uitgevoer op die 20 subskale van die PAPI-N, sowel as die sosiale wenslikheidskaal. Dit is gedoen om die sukses te bepaal waarmee die subskale die onderliggende
persoonlikheidskonstrukte verteenwoordig. Die resultate van die itemontleding het getoon dat
ten opsigte van sowat 50 % van die PAPI-N subskale, kommer bestaan oor die mate waartoe die
items van die subskale in harmonie reageer op sistematiese verskille in 'n enkele onderliggende
latente veranderlike. Resultate van die dimensionaliteitontleding het getoon dat 12 van die 20
persoonlikheidsdimensiesmetings versoenbaar is met die standpunt dat die items waaruit hierdie
subskale bestaan, meet wat hulle ontwerp is om te meet. In teenstelling hiermee het agt uit die 20
subskale nie die uni- dimensionaliteitstoets geslaag nie.
A verskeidenheid pasgehalte-maatstawwe is gebruik om die pasgehalte van die metingsmodel te
ondersoek. Oorkoepelend was die pasgehalte van die metingsmodel aanvaarbaar. Die
nulhipotese van presiese passing is verwerp maar die nulhipotse van benaderde passing is nie
verwerp nie (p>.05). The pasgehalte-maatstawwe het gedui op ‘n benaderde passing in die
parameter en baie goeie modelpassing in die steekproef. Ofskoon die metingsmodel benaderde
passing getoon het was die faktorladings (alhoewel statisties beduidend) oor die algemeen matig
in omvang. Ongeveer agt-en-twintig present (27.78%) van die volledig gestandaardiseerde
faktorladings was kleiner as die kritieke afsnywaarde van .50. Dit suggereer dat die items oor die
algemeen (72.22%) wel die latent persoonlikheidsdimensies wat hul geoormerk is om te
reflekteer, bevredigend reflekteer. In ‘n klein bietjie meer as ‘n kwart van die items is minder as
25% van die variansie in die itemresponse te wyte aan variansie in die latent veranderlike wat
die item ontwerp was om te reflekteer. Diskriminantgeldigheid was ook ondersoek. Die resultate
dui daarop dat die PAPI-N, ofskoon nie sonder problem nie, wel die suksesvolle onderskeid
tussen die unieke aspekte van die persoonlikheidsdimensies moontlik maak.
Die resultate van die bevestigende faktorontleding dui daarop dat, terwyl die bedoeling van die
PAPI-N om stelle items te hê wat spesifieke primêre persoonlikheidsfaktore reflekteer geslaagd
was, die subskaal-itemmetings meestal 'n aansienlike hoeveelheid sistematiese en toevallige fout
bevat. Gebaseer op die bogenoemde bevindinge, moet hierdie persoonlikheidsmeting met
omsigtigheid gebruik word in personeelkeuring in Suid-Afrika. Nietemin, dra hierdie studie by
tot ‘n groter begrip van die psigometriese eienskappe van die PAPI-N op steekproewe wat
verskil van die Verenigde Koninkryk steekproef waarop dit oorspronklik ontwikkel en
gestandaardiseerd is. Die bevindinge sal help om die nodige verderde navorsing te ontlok wat
nodig is om die PAPI-N met vertroue as 'n waardevolle meetinstrument in Suid-Afrika te vestig.
Aanbevelings vir toekomstige navorsing word gemaak.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/96754 |
| Date | 04 1900 |
| Creators | Wilbers, Lizelle |
| Contributors | Theron, C. C., Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Industrial Psychology. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 212 pages |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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