2003 IMTA Proceedings - International Military Testing Association

ASSESSING PERSON-ENVIRONMENT (P-E) FIT
WITH THE FUTURE ARMY 46
Chad H. Van Iddekinge, Ph.D., Dan J. Putka, Ph.D., and Christopher E. Sager, Ph.D.
Human Resources Research Organization
Alexandria, VA, USA
cvaniddekinge@hummro.org
INTRODUCTION
Personnel selection measures are typically designed to assess the knowledges, skills, and
attributes (KSAs) critical to performance in the job of interest. Although important, job
performance is not the only criterion of concern to most organizations. For example,
organizations like the U.S. Army are interested in reducing personnel attrition through their
selection and classification systems. Traditional KSA-based measures, however, seldom predict
both performance and alternative criteria such as attrition.
In recent years, personnel researchers have turned to measures of person-environment (P-
E) fit to predict outcomes other than job performance. Recent studies indicate that scores on such
measures are related to various work-related intentions and attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction,
organizational commitment, turnover intentions), as well as to actual behaviors such as
absenteeism and turnover (e.g., Cable & DeRue, 2002; Saks & Ashforth, 1997; Verquer, Beehr,
& Wagner, 2001). Although there is widespread interest in P-E fit within the civilian selection
literature, the use of fit measures has yet to be extensively reported in the military literature.
This paper attempts to address this gap by describing the development of P-E fit measures
for Select21, a project sponsored by the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and
Social Sciences. The objective of Select21 is to develop and validate selection measures that will
help the Army select, classify, and retain enlisted Soldiers with the characteristics needed to
succeed in the future Army. The Select21 P-E fit measures we developed are intended to assess the
match between the work-related values and interests of prospective Soldiers and the
values/interests the Army provides first-tour Soldiers now and in the future. In this paper, we
describe a novel approach to developing P-E fit measures to predict Soldiers’ attitudes and career
decisions. We begin by describing the constructs measured in these instruments.
46 In D. J. Knapp (Chair), Selecting Soldiers for the Future Force: The Army’s Select21 Project. Symposium
conducted at the 2003 International Military Testing Association (IMTA) Conference, Pensacola, FL. The views,
opinions, and/or findings contained in this paper are those of the authors and should not be construed as an official
U.S. Department of the Army position, policy, or decision.
549
45 th Annual Conference of the International Military Testing Association
Pensacola, Florida, 3-6 November 2003