Assignment: Selection and Placement in Industry

Presented to: Miss Raheela Tariq

Presented by:

BBA-B (Group-4)

MUHAMMAD MEESUM 12L-4786

ABDUR REHMAN MALIK 12L-4743

SARA ASIF 12L-4788

ABDULLAH MALIK 12L-4742

HIRA TARIQ 12L-4776

ContentsSummary..........................................................................................................................................2

Introduction......................................................................................................................................3

Industrial and organizational psychology....................................................................................3

Personnel psychology..................................................................................................................5

Selection..........................................................................................................................................6

What are employees?...................................................................................................................6

Why does the industry hire employees?......................................................................................6

Job Analysis.................................................................................................................................7

Establishing Fair and Effective Hiring Practices....................................................................8

Job application.............................................................................................................................9

Tests...........................................................................................................................................10

Aptitude Tests:.......................................................................................................................10

Situational Judgment Tests (SJT):.........................................................................................11

In basket tests:........................................................................................................................11

Multimedia Computerized Tests:..........................................................................................11

Personality Tests:...................................................................................................................12

Interviews..................................................................................................................................12

Traditional interview:............................................................................................................13

Situational interview:.............................................................................................................14

Brainteasers interview:..........................................................................................................15

Placement.......................................................................................................................................16

Temporary job for assessment...................................................................................................17

Final personality assessment..................................................................................................18

Assessment of the effect of working environment................................................................18

Decision Making:.......................................................................................................................19

Decision making steps:..........................................................................................................19

Posing the Problem Correctly:...............................................................................................19

Permanent job............................................................................................................................20

Bibliography..................................................................................................................................21

SummarySelection and placement is a part of personnel psychology and personnel psychology is an

offshoot of industrial and organizational psychology. The main purpose or aim of personnel

psychology is the selection and assessment of the employees. As employees are the labour and

labour is one of the three basic elements of production. So no organization can succeed without

the proper employees. Hence an organization wants to hire the correct type of employee in the

first place to avoid any failure and to successfully meet its goals. Personnel psychology has the

branch of selection and placement to meet this specific need of the organizations.

1) Selection: It is the process of selecting the right type of employees for the industry the steps

involved in it are

Job analysis:Industry must determine the type of skills required and announce the vacancies.

Job Application:The person seeking employment must apply for the job if his skills match the

skills required.

Testing:Different type of tests such as aptitude test, situation judgement test, personality test,

etc. are conducted to determine whether the skills of the candidate match to those required.

Interviews: The candidate is asked real life questions and his or her qualities are is judged based

on the response showed.

2) Placement:After the candidate has fulfilled the selection criteria he or she has to be placed in

the industry based on the skills they have. The steps involved in doing so are.

Temporary job for assessment: The selected Candidates are tested in different working

environments to access their attitude and behaviour regarding the work assigned to them. This

determines if the employee is up to the employer’s acceptations and demand

Decision making:The final position of the selected candidate is decided on the basis of the

candidate’s performance.

Permanent Job:Finally the selected candidates are awarded permanent positions and

employment in the industry.

Introduction

The selection and placement in industry is a part of personnel psychology and personal

psychology is one of the 14 divisions of Industrial and organizational psychology (wikipedia).

This report will briefly describe this branch of psychology and cover some of the major aspects

of the process of selection and placement of employs in industry.

Industrial and organizational psychology

Industrial and organizational psychology (short form I/O psychology) is also known as “work

psychology”. It is concerned with the systematic and in-depth study of workplace behaviour.

Improving the workplace and performance, satisfaction and wellbeing of people is a major

contribution of industrial and organizational psychologists to an organization’s research.An

industrial and organizational psychologist investigates and identifies that how employee

behaviour and attitudes can be improved they also aid organizations by helping them recruit the

right type of employee needed for the job. This field is primarily related to human capital and

organizational behaviour.

As psychological approach differs from person to person, similar is the case with the

psychologists.

Guion (1965) defines I/O psychology as:

“The scientific study of the relationship between man and the world of work: ... in the process of

making a living"

(p. 817)

Blum & Naylor (1968) describes I/O as:

"Simply the application or extension of psychological facts and principles to the problems

concerning human beings operating within the context of business and industry"

(p. 4).

This branch of the field elucidated during World War 1, in response to the need to rapidly assign

new troops to duty station. Walter Dill Scott was elected as the president of American

Psychological Association (APA) in 1919 and was definitely the most prominent I/O

psychologist of that era. Although there are psychologists like James McKean Cattell (1895) ad

Hugo Münsterberg (1898) who gained prominence in World War 2.

This field of psychology has and is making a great contribution in the success of an organization

by improving its workplace and increasing efficacy, performance, satisfaction and wellbeing of

its people it is also a major part of human resource management studies. By far it has the

following sub-disciplines.

Personnel recruitment and selection

Performance appraisal/management

Individual assessment and psychometrics

Remuneration and compensation

Training and training evaluation

Motivation in the workplace

Organizational culture

Group behaviour

Job satisfaction and commitment

Productive behaviour

Counterproductive work behaviour

Leadership

Organizational change/development (wikipedia)

Personnel psychology

It is an offshoot of industrial and organizational psychology and deals mainly with the

appointment and assessment of the employees, some of the other aspects it covers are group

satisfaction, determination, and development of a good relation between the management and

workers. But it chiefly concentrates on selection, fair assessment, and rewarding of employees.

Some of its fields are job analysis and definition and measurement of job performance,

performance appraisal, employment tests, employment interviews, employee selection and

employee training, and human factors. It emerged at the end of 19th century with a goal to study

and understand work behaviour. One of the most influential figure in this field is a German

Psychologist Hugo Munsterberg who was a student of Wilhelm Wundt and had also worked

with William James. He wrote a book in this field named, Psychology and Industrial Efficiency

in which he proposed experimental methods as a solution to business problems.

This report will cover some two of its basic factors involved in hiring employees and those are:-

1. Selection

2. Placement(Wikipedia)

SelectionAs the success of an organization depends upon the output of its employees. They want to hire

the correct type of employee in the first place to avoid a chance of loss in the future.

What are employees?

The term "employee" denotes a specific andwell defined association of an individual with an

organization. Or simply a person who works under a contract of employment, whether oral or

written, and has accepted privileges and duties imposed under that contract is called an

employee. An employee contributes labour. The term labour latterly means a social group that

works for wage. It is one of the three main elements of production i.e. land, capital and labour

and is the combination of all human effort bothmental and physical used in the production

of goods and services. (the free dictionary) There are two main types of labour.

Skilled labour:It is any labour that has a specific skill or knowledge. A person belonging to the

skilled labour group might have attended a university or technical school or could have gained

those skill by experience.

Un-skilled labour: It is the part of labour related with a low skill level.A person belonging to

unskilled labour group has low education level.(Wikipedia)

Why does the industry hire employees?

Employees are needed to run an organization. As employees provide labour. The division of

labour is the basic needed in every organization as it is one of the three main elements of

production and there can be no production without labour or employees.To reach the goal of the

business organizations perform specific and main tasks and the employs perform the individual

tasks. The successful completion of the main task is directly dependent upon the performance

and success of the individual tasks. The performance and work of the employees directly suggest

that how well an organization is going to perform.

Hence organizations must be able to select the right type of labour to succeed in their goals.

Personnel psychology aids a lot in this aspect as employee selection is one of its primary part.

The main steps taken to select the right type of employee are

Job analysis

Job application

Tests

Interviews.

Job Analysis

Job analysis is the important part of successful employee selection efforts and performance

management initiatives. It involves the systematic collection about a job. Job-analytic methods

can be divided into two main approaches. One is the task-oriented job analysis. It is an

examination of the duties, tasks, and/or competencies required by a job. The second approach is

a worker-oriented job analysis which involves an examination of the knowledge, skills, abilities,

and other attributes required to successfully perform the work. These two approaches are not

mutually exclusive. Various job-analytic methods include competency modelling, which

examines large groups of duties and tasks related to a common goal or process, and practice

analysis, which examines the way work is performed in an occupation across jobs.

Job analytic data can be collected through both qualitative and quantitative methods. This data

then provides information about job-relevant selection procedures, performance appraisals or

training programs. Additional uses of job-analytic information include job evaluations for the

purpose of determining compensation levels and job redesign.

Establishing Fair and Effective Hiring Practices

An employer’s selection practices try to identify and hire the most suitable applicants. Job

analysis information helps employers accomplish this goal by identifying selection criteria, such

as the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) needed to perform a job successfully. A

corporation’s managers and human resource (HR) professionals can then use this information to

create the appropriate selection devices (e.g., interview questions, tests). This approach to

selection is legally required.

Hence, when an employer faces discrimination charges, he must convince the court that the

company’s selection criteria are job- related. To support this type of claim-relatedness, a firm

must demonstrate that the challenged selection practice was developed on the basis of job

analysis information.(Englewood cliffs)

Figure: Centrality of Job Analysis

Source: Adapted from J. Ghorpade (1988). Job analysis: A handbook for the HR director. Englewood cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, p. 6

Job application

A job application is something that a person seeking employment fills out that tells the

employers of his aptitude and persuading him that he is the best candidate for the job. It is filled

out on a paper using a pen or pencil but it is now becoming increasingly online. There are

questions in the job application that require a person’s responses. A job application has the

signatures of the applicant which assure the employer that all the information is true. It also

contains all the information and contacts of the applicant, education and trainings and any

previous job experiences. It shows the employers what a person has done or can do. It should

contain such information that would encourage an employer to give the applicant an interview. It

is different from a resume because a resume is made by the applicant himself and the job

application is given to the applicant to be filled out by the employer

Tests

Following tests are devised to test the different attributes of the applicants:-

Aptitude Tests:

Aptitude tests are written tests that are designed to predict thinking, logical reasoning,

temperament, problem solving and knowledge of the candidates. These tests include the

following components:

Verbal and Grammar

Mathematics

Problem Solving

Reasoning

Data Checking

Fault Diagnosis

IQ

Aptitude tests are mostly held online. Candidates getting good scores are then selected for a

particular job, or have to give further tests or interviews. The time limit is quite short and hardly

a few candidates end up attempting every question. Aptitude tests are basically concept based

rather than straight forward. They test the skills of the applicants with a diverse range of

questions.

Situational Judgment Tests (SJT):

SJT consist of problem solving questions, testing on-the-job problems and dilemmas. Each

question has a thought provoking scenario, and the candidates have to select the most effective

action to solve the particular problem. They are meant to test mental abilities and work related

leadership and decision-making, because making the correct decisions is what is essentially

required for an organization. In turbulent work environments, it is not unusual for employees to

find themselves in precarious situations; hence these tests accurately predict how the person

would act in these scenarios. If the person opts for the right decisions he would give the

impression that he is quite suitable for the position/job.

In basket tests:

They are tests in which the employee has to deal with a number of problems at one time which

checks his priorities, time management and how can he organize and deal with the problems at

hand. In basket testing provides the candidates with different on-work problems and situations to

see if they are reliable and efficient for the job. The candidates are tested by providing them with

a set of problems to evaluate their skills. It is a common test used by companies and governments

in hiring different people.

Multimedia Computerized Tests:

Instead of the regular paper and pencil tests now companies have started using multimedia

testing in which with the help of images videos animations and graphics you test an employee’s

effectiveness. It reduces cost; the time utilized and gives immediate results. The multimedia tests

add diversity to testing with increased stimuli in the form of audio, video and animations. These

tests are much compact and reliable as compared to written tests. The testing environment is also

comfortable as, a few individuals are tested at a time. Results of the test are usually announced

soon after they end.

Personality Tests:

Personality tests are often used in the hiring process to check the attitude and nature of the

applicants. The main fields they circle around are:

Visionary

Confidence

Self-control

Communication

Rationality

Sociability

Personality of a person is highly effective in determining whether such a person is fit for the job

or not. The personality which suits the work environment will in-turn be more resourceful and

beneficial for the organization.(Wikipedia)

Interviews

To ask questions from a candidate of his real life experiences that will promote the factual

answers, and focus on future answers, and focus on the future competencies and abilities.

Interview is an art and technique to find a right person for every job. It is never a simple process

meaning that it is like to read a person how he or she respond in the field. Many candidates who

applied for some kind of a job, portrayed themselves as a superhero or a superstar, but didn’t

coincide with the figure which they portrayed. To overcome that problem interviews are

designed to judge a person on the basis of their qualities, abilities and future competencies.

There are several kind of interview that are used to judge the different perspectives of a

candidate’s personality.

There are primarily there are three types of interviews:

Traditional interview

Situational interview

Brainteaser interview

Traditional interview:

These questions are like:

Do you prefer to work alone or in groups?

What kind of book do you read?

If you could invite the three persons living or dead, to lunch whom would you like to invite and

why?

If your life had a theme song, what would it be?

In this kind of interview format it is very easy to answer a question and candidate is very

comfortable with these kinds of questions. But in some cases the candidate may become

frustrated because they feel that their true strength is not coming through.

From an interviewer’s point of view these questions are so familiar with the answer with the

answer that they can almost recite them word by word with the candidate.

Situational interview:

“The interview that contains the traditional questions like situational i.e. scenario, hypothetical

and what or if questions”

These are also referred as a scenario based interviewing.

The scenario based questions are like

You and a co-worker are jointly working on a project. The two of you divided up work in a

manner you both agreed to; however your co-worker has not been doing the work she agreed to

do. What would you do?

How would you handle a situation where you had conflicting information with which to make a

decision?

How would you handle an employee who was not performing up to expectation?

There is an advantage of using this technique. A person can match the candidates answer

according to the set standard. This technique is also helpful in telling us that the candidate is well

aware of the process that should be used to address certain situations.

The disadvantage of using this technique is that people might not do what they say. Usually

candidate knows the right way to solve the problem but unfortunately suffers from the condition

of knowing the right path versus walking on it.

Brainteasers interview:

“The technique which is used to demonstrate the candidates analytical thinking skills when

practical experiences is not available”

This interview technique is usually used to hiring the candidate for the higher rank seats i.e.

manager, technical position etc.

This may include the questions like

Why are manhole covers round?

How would you weigh an airplane without using scale?

What does all the ice in the hockey ring weigh?

The main advantage of using this technique is that it provide the opportunity to gauge the

candidate’s reaction to the playfulness and innovation that can be inherent in brainteasers

questions. It is like a brain gymnastics and it provides an interviewer the chance to eavesdrop on

candidate‘s thinking processes. It also tell the person that how technical is a person as well as it

highlights the rational and logical thinking problem solving and decision making skills and

facilities.

The brainteaser interview is like a “TORTURE TOOL”(Hoevermeyer)

Placement

After the employee has been selected and recruited, the confusion of placement arises. Placement

is basically related to the process of assigning and selecting the staff for filling up the vacancies

for the sake of serving in an organization. It a system of assigning a specific job to each

candidates being selected by the firm. It involves giving a particular rank and responsibility to an

individual. It implies contrasting the needs and requirements of a job with the qualifications of

the candidate. Correct placement is no way less important than the perfect and accurate selection.

Even a competent employee may be inefficient and may become dissatisfied with his

performance if out on a wrong job.

Correct placement helps to increase the efficiency and dissatisfaction of employees being hired.

It is proved by experience that placement of an employee on the right place results in

improvement and efficiency of morale and performance, reduces absenteeism and employee-

turnover, leads to better use of machines, equipment and materials and keeps the employee

satisfied. While placing employees on job, the requirements of both the firm and the employee

should be taken into account.

A good and effective and worth practicing system of follow-up helps to avoid wrong placement.

That is, follow-up is a process in which the work of the employee is assessed at the regular and

frequent intervals and the performance is recorded in his service record.

Placements are important for employment agencies, especially executive search firms, a type of

Employment Company that is specially made for recruiting executive personal or companies in

different firms.

Placement is very significant in in the HR process because it improves employee morale,

supports in reducing employee turnover, reduces absenteeism, and reduces accident rates, as well

in avoiding a mismatch between the employee and the job. Usually the process starts after an

applicant is selected, the offer is made to him and it is accepted. Once the employee is selected

and placed on an appropriate job, the process of making him aware with the job ant the

organization is known as induction. This process of placement includes

Internship

Personality

Working environment

Decision making

Permanent job.

Temporary job for assessment

It is almost like an internship, the selected candidates get a chance to gain experience and get

tested at work in an office or a firm for a specified period of time. Normally an assessment job is

for periods from one week to three months. These are either part-time or full-time depending

upon the conditions. The selected candidates are placed in different environments to be assess in

which field and under what circumstances they perform best and also to know that they meet the

requirements of the employer. The personality and the effect of working environment are the key

factors determined in the assessment. If the candidate is not given any permanent position even

then the experience gained is valuable to the candidate as, it exposes them to the practical

application of their knowledge in the real work environments, and it can form part of their CV to

attract their future employers.

Final personality assessment

The emotional, attitudinal and behavioural responses of an individual combine to form the

personality. The range personality traits can be classified into five major categories also known

as “Big Five” personality dimensions. They are commonly known as Neuroticism, Extraversion,

and Openness to Experience, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. These traits are widely

taken into regard for personality variables and work related outcomes. Personality can affect the

outcome of a candidate’s tests in at least two ways: through direct trait inference of the

applicant's personality by the tester during the test, and by the influence personality has on a

number of behaviours that occur prior to the test that can be related to success of the test. Both of

these processes are likely to be assessed during the temporary job assessment.

Assessment of the effect of working environment

Working environment basically means the conditions and the environment in which an employee

has to work. It involves things such as: the organization of work and work activities; training,

capabilities and acceptability; health and safety; and working time. The salary is also an

important aspect of the working environment. A positive working environment is essential to

ensure the best output by an employee. When you hire a new employee he is not acquainted with

anyone else of the employees you already have so the first thing he needs would be a friendly

environment where he can work and feel at home. You would have to give him enough space in

which he can work comfortably. Establishing trust is another important goal when you hire new

members in your team. Not only the firm but the employees themselves need to do something to

make the environment positive and friendly. For example, each one of the employees must feel

valued and should have his right to question and suggest openly. He would have to stick with

every member the team already has. The employees must not involve their personal life in his

work. A comfortable environment is essential for fair assessment.(htt1)

Decision Making:

Decision making is regarded as the mental processes resulting in the selection of a course of

action among several alternative scenarios. Timely and well considered decisions can make

one’s future successful and secure. Decision making about a job is a tricky one. There are many

things that should be kept in mind while making a decision about both giving a job to someone

and deciding which job to take. Following are some decision making steps that need to be

followed:

Decision making steps:

Outline your goal and your outcome

Collect data

Brainstorm all the options

List every aspect of each option

Make the decision

Take action to implement it

Learn from the decision(Wikipedia)

Posing the Problem Correctly:

In order to approach a problem, decision makers need to consider the outset of the problem. Also

during the decision making period, the nature of problem tends to change as the problem itself

can change or the decision maker’s insight to that problem can change.

Managers in an organization can decide on various grounds to select a candidate suitable for the

job. The HRM department usually takes care of this problem. There are various things that are to

be kept in mind while choosing the best candidate for the job. The qualifications, experience,

devotedness of the employee are the most obvious of them all. All these things when put into

consideration by the HRM department, leads them to make a centralized decision.

Permanent job

Those candidates who pass and fully satisfy the entire selection and placement criteria are then

offered a permanent place in the organization under a contract. It is this point at which the

employment procedure is completed and the candidate becomes an employee and a part of an

organization.

Bibliography(n.d.). Retrieved from wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_and_organizational_psychology#Personnel_recruitment_and_selection

(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.execu-search.com/services/temporary-staffing

Englewood cliffs, N. (n.d.). A handbook for the HR director.

(n.d.). High impact interview questions. In V. A. Hoevermeyer.

the free dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/employee

wikipedia. (n.d.).

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decision_making