Introduction
Google used to look for people with straight-A report cards and double 800s on their SATs to determine if they would be a good fit for their organization but have since moved to more drastic measures to ensure a good match between the employee and Google’s high octane organizational culture. Google has employed personality testing to help them make decisions about hiring by making applicants fill out an elaborate online survey that explores their attitudes, behavior, personality and biographical details going back to high school in an attempt to ensure a good PE fit with the organization.

Compare and Contrast
Looking at the textbook I selected for this course, Organizational Behavior 10th edition by Kreitner and Kinicki, personality testing is defined as a tool for making decisions about hiring, training, and promotion. The text further points out that personality testing has some issues and constraints. The ideal way to do a personality test is to have a professional psychologist administer the test and interpret the results which are intended to remain confidential. Other issues the textbook noted that are of concern with the personality testing are faking, cheating and illegal discrimination.
In reviewing the article titled “Google Answer to Filling Jobs Is an Algorithm”, published in the New York Times on January 3, 2007, there are some comparisons to the text, but there are also some contrasts as well. Google’s use of personality testing is in line with the text definition as Google is using the personality testing as a tool to make decisions about hiring. However, this may be where the comparisons end. Google does not employ a professional psychologist administer the test and interpret the results. Google asks job applicants to fill out an elaborate online survey that explores their attitudes, behavior, personality and biographical details going back to high school.4 The answers are then fed into a series of formulas created by Google’s mathematicians that calculate a score from zero to 100 which is then used to predict how well a person will fit into the culture at Google.4 It is unclear in the article if Google keeps the test data confidential and only shares the overall score so I am unable to determine if how Google’s personality testing compares to the textbook.
Even though Google’s hiring approach is backed by academic research showing that quantitative information on a person’s background is a valid way to look for good workers, it is still to be determined if the personality testing at Google will be subject to faking, cheating and illegal discrimination over time as described in the text. It also appears that the testing at Google includes questions that are not typically associated with personality testing referred to in the text. Examples of some of these questions are: What magazines do you subscribe to? What pets do you have? Michael Mumford, a psychology professor at the University of Oklahoma who specializes in talent assessment, said that this sort of test was effective, but he cautioned that companies should not rely on oddball factors, even if they seemed to correlate to good performance.4

Level of Analysis
The impact of the using personality testing at Google can be seen using level of analysis which can help the managers at Google analyze and alter their behavior. The three levels of analysis important to the study of OB are: Individual, Group, and Organizational.2

Individual Level of Analysis
Before using personality testing to aid in hiring at Google, they made decisions based on grades and interviews which was not a reliable way of hiring the right people. Now, Google is using personality testing to help them make decisions about hiring by making applicants fill out an elaborate online survey that explores their attitudes, behavior, personality and biographical details going back to high school in an attempt to ensure a good PE fit with the organization. The answers are fed into a series of formulas created by Google’s which calculate a score from zero to 100 meant to predict how well a person will fit into its culture.
This is done in an attempt to increase productivity and reduce absenteeism and turnover. Employees that fit better into the organization will have higher job satisfaction and commitment to their organizations and lower intentions to quit when their personal characteristics and values match or fit the job requirements.1 When the employee is a good fit it can help with the employees attitudes and job stress.

Group Level of Analysis
Google was happy with the current culture and group dynamics and wanted to know how to ensure new individuals would interact with the groups the same way. To accomplish this Google did a study of the personality types that correspond to the leadership styles and level of results at the group level they wanted to mimic. This was done by asking every employee who had been working at the company for at least five months to fill out a 300-question survey. Afterwards Google created several surveys they believe will help them find candidates in engineering, sales, finance, and human resources. Using the personality test and comparing the results from people that already fit well in the organization will help Google maintain or improve the group dynamics, reduce intergroup conflict and result in better communication at the group level.

Organizational Analysis
The data from Google’s survey of the employees who had been working at the company for at least five months was compared with 25 separate measures of each employee’s performance. The performance measures included employee’s reviews, both by supervisors and peers, and their compensation.4 One score was what Google called “organizational citizenship,” which are the things employees do that are not technically part of their job but makes Google a better place to work. Google is using the personality test to try and create an organizational culture where everyone goes above and beyond to make the organization a better place to work. This is evident in fact that only 4 percent of Google’s work force leaves each year which is less than other Silicon Valley companies. This will aid in the company increasing customer satisfaction and ultimately increasing their financial performance.