The Goals and Objectives of the Firm - Research Paper Example

Why is the term "recruitment" often used incorrectly? What is the correct term? Expand on the whole process for filling a job vacancy In any organization filling up a job vacancy requires many stages of development which begins with evaluating the goals and objectives of the firm. There are many stages that are used while recruiting and selecting personnel for an organization. These need to be developed accurately as an organization is run by these personnel and their level of contribution is directly related with the productivity of the firm. Recruitment and selection Recruitment and selection can play an important role in shaping the efficiency and effectiveness of an organization and its performance. Recruiting and selecting the right amount of people in the right proportion Recruitment is often confused with selection. This is not true as there is a clear distinction between them. So, instead of using the term recruitment alone it would be more appropriate to use the terms recruitment and selection together. Recruitment is the first stage, selection comes after that. These are two interrelated terms. While hiring the best personnel for an organization, the process of job analysis has to be done very carefully. This is important as this process determines the kind of activities that would be included in the job profile and helps to select the people having the qualities that would satisfy the job requirements. The process of filling a job vacancy Filling up of job vacancies is not a one man job as it requires the help from many other departments. These are mentioned below: Attracting the applicant The first stage in this process is attracting the candidates for the job (Armstrong, 2006, p. 414). Attracting basically means to identify, evaluate and reach out to the available talent pool. Here a brief idea about the job is given stating the duties and requirements for the job (Armstrong, 2006, p. 418). The advertisement should also include the essential personal characteristics in the form of drive, determination and belief (Armstrong, 2006, p. 418). The advertisement should end with information on how to apply for the job post. Candidates should be specified about the various means like telephone or e mails that can be used for applying for the job. These advertisements for a job vacancy can be published in leading newspaper classifieds, television, internet etc (Armstrong, 2006, p. 418). Sifting the applications After the publication of the application, there would be a number of applications for the job. Here the process of sifting or sieving the application forms starts to choose the best applications for the job. This is done by listing the applications on a control sheet using parameters like the name, the date of submission of the application letter etc. After this, proper letters are dispatched to the candidate asking them to submit proper documents like a resume which can be done electronically (Armstrong, 2006, p.425). Recruitment Recruitment is the process of attracting individuals who might be suitable for the specific job (Bach, 2005, p.117). The process of attracting the candidate and sifting them from the bunch of application forms are included in this process. Recruitment begins with a systematic review of the company’s requirements (Bach, 2005, p.118). After this a thorough analysis of the job is done which is known as job analysis. Job analysis is directed towards discovering, understanding and describing what t the work force should do at work (Brannick & Levine, 2007, p.1). Job analysis is the process that determines the responsibilities that are expected from the job. It also mentions the type of knowledge, skills and expertise that can be expected from the people hired. Appropriate strategies should be developed while conducting job analysis as it helps in the recruitment and selection processes. Job analysis helps to gather information on factors like human behavior, performance standards, requirement and work activities. It is divided in two sub parts – job description and job specification. Job description mentions the requirements of recruitment, selection, orientation (Edward, 2010, p.119), while job specifications help to determine the kind of people needed for the particular job. Job description is a brief written description of the job profile. It usually contains information on job titles and other naming, the mission or objective statements and the duties and responsibilities expected from them (Brannick & Levine, 2007, p.4). It provides Information to people who are unaware about the job. Job specifications will explain the minimum acceptable qualities that will be required while doing the jobs (Khurana, Khurana & Sharma, 1990, p.49). It states that the candidate must possess the required educational qualification, training, experience, talent and other abilities. Besides this, job specification would specify on the physical features, psychological aspects, personal features, social attributes etc (Khurana, Khurana & Sharma, 1990, p. 50). Selection Selection is the final stage in the recruitment and selection cycle. Here the employer shortlists the candidates who qualify in the recruitment process. Selection procedure cannot be always held in the positive sense as there are chances of rejections of some of the candidates. While conducting the selection processes there are certain rules that must be followed by the employer. Firstly, selection must be done after conducting interviews of the candidates. These interviews must be conducted by people who have the required skills and expertise in the area (French & Rumbles, 2010, p.176). Traditionally, unstructured forms of interviews were held by the employers which were ineffective in many ways. The information gathered out if it were often ambiguous and did not reflect the true capabilities of e candidates (Bach, 2005, p.131). So, the structured approach of conducting interviews was started. This was more informative than the former approach. Here a critical behavioral analysis of the candidate is done where the candidate is asked to explain his views when put in certain situations (Bach, 2005, p.131). Another form of interview process is the content analytical process. Here the focus is placed on assessing each individual who considers himself superior than the others (Bach, 2005, p.131). Assessment centre Assessment centers are not any physical centers. Rather it refers to a number selection tools used to recruit and select from a group of talent pool by multiple assessors over a period of one to four days (Bach, 2005, p.136). Assessment centers use technique like psychometric tests. The most important feature of psychometric tests is that they simulate the actual working condition s for the candidates. This simulation provides an image of the actual job scenario for the applicants. Here they are assessed on their job related behaviors (Bach, 2005, p. 136). For hiring in managerial jobs, methods like in tray exercise and group decision making are done. In the in tray exercise, a candidate is given a list of memos, letters, reports etc and is asked to provide his views on priority and other issues within a strict time schedule. This is conducted to assess the candidate’s planning g and problem solving abilities (Bach, 2005, p. 136). In the group decision making method, candidates are grouped together in small numbers and are asked to discuss on a topic. This method assesses the candidates on their interpersonal skills and leadership qualities (Bach, 2005, p. 136). Selection through assessment centers can offer a number of benefits to the employers as well as the candidates. Recruiting and selecting through the assessment centers can validate the selection process more than any other form (Bach, 2005, p. 137). It can also provide an idea to the candidates about the job conditions. It can give an opportunity to the candidate to gather more information about the organization (Bach, 2005, p. 137). Post selection methods After selecting the right candidates for the job, the next stage includes conducting induction sessions and training and development programs. Orientation and induction programs are important as it helps the new recruits to understand and inculcate the values of an organization (Bach, 2005, p.277). Through these sessions the candidate should be made aware of the goals and objectives of the firm (Khurana, Khurana, Sharma, 1990, p.162). The candidate is informed about his role, responsibilities and position. These sessions should try to change and modify all negative sentiments in the candidate (Khurana, Khurana, Sharma, 1990, p.162). Training and development programs are conducted to improve the efficiency levels of the candidate. Trainings are of two type- hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are the physical and technical skills that are measurable. While soft skills are the attributes relating to personal development and are often difficult to quantify (Smith & Mazin, 2004, p. 64). Trainings can also be on the job and in house trainings. In house trainings can be conducted by experienced managers of an organization (Smith & Mazin, 2004, p. 68). There can also be external training classes which can provide quality learning experience to the new recruits. Conclusion Recruitment and selection are two interdependent terms used while filling up job vacancies. It forms the core part of most of the activities of human resource management. While recruitment helps in gaining access to the talent pool, selection helps to sieve the best talent from the lot. Many intermediary stages like job analysis, induction, training and developmental programs are included here. Proper assessment of the candidate and conducting a fair selection procedure contributes largely in achieving the goals and objectives of the firm. Works Cited Armstrong, Michael. A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. Kogan Page Publishers, 2006. Print. Top of Form Bottom of Form Bach, Stephen. Managing Human Resources: Personnel Management in Transition. Wiley-Blackwell, 2005. Print. Brannick, Michael T., and Edward L. Levine. Job Analysis: Methods, Research, and Applications for Human Resource. Sage Publications, Inc. 2007. Print. French, Ray, and Sally Rumbles. Recruitment and Selection. 2010. Web. 11 July 2012. Khurana, Ashok, Khurana, Parveen, and Hira Lal Sharma. Human Resource Management, Konark Publishers Pvt., Ltd, 1990. Print. Pavur, Edward. “Use Job Descriptions to Support Leadership.” Psychology is the Manager Journal, (2010) 13.2, pp.119-122. Print. Smith, Shawn, and Rebecca A. Mazin. The HR Answer Book: An Indispensable Guide for Managers and Human Resources. AMACOM, 2011 . Print. Rumbles Recruitment and Selection Ray French and Sally Rumbles Read More