T.

Basahel

Identify and analyse the key developments in staffing, especially with regards to
recruitment and personnel selection practices. Analyse the findings of the author with
regards to the link between staffing theories and practices to organisational and
business unit effectiveness. Evaluate the models proposed by the author for closing
the gaps between research and practice

For this assignment you will need to read the following article:  

Ployhart, R.E. (2006) ‘Staffing in the 21st century: new challenges and strategic
opportunities’, Journal of Management, 32 (6), pp. 868–897, SAGE Premier [Online]. DOI:
10.1177/0149206306293625 (Accessed: 30 March 2009). 
http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/doi:10.1177/0149206306293625 

Assignment Week 4

According to some reports a great number of people are at least passively on the
lookout for work while others are very proactively on the hunt. The problem for most
firms is of recruitment rather than selection. Also a number of firms are grappling
with the problem of how to get a varied workforce. (Axelrod, Handfield-Jones, &
Welsh, 2001)

There is increasing acknowledgement that recruitment per se is a critical factor

independent of actual selection and is required not just to gain an edge but even for
basic survival. (Barney & Wright, 1998)

Recent studies conducted in 2005 indicated that the person organization fit and
aspects of the job or firm were the most robust indicators of many recruiting
procedures (Taylor & Collins, 2000).  A study in 2002 outlined the person
organization fit in terms of three of aspects- The person in relation to the job, the
group and the firm. (Breaugh & Starke, 2000)

At the time of recruitment, managers also look at aspects of complementary fit which
is a reference to psychological requirement completion or if the job matches and a
person’s desires. Aspects of supplementary fit such as value equality or if a firm’s
ethos and worth are akin to those of the persons. (Cable and DeRue, 2002)

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Recruitment indicators such as job aspects, hirer aspects, opinion of recruitment

procedure, considered substitutes and the expectations for hiring are linked with
candidate aspects such as the motive for job application, how attractive the firm is
intent of accepting and choice of job. (Cable and Edwards, 2004)

Further, the internet is increasingly being used as a tool by firms to hire recruits.
Though the internet was used for recruiting rather early on, it has gained increased
usage these days as a tool for recruiting. (Saks, 2005)

There have been a number of developments in the area of personnel selection as well.
Research on cognitive ability as an aspect of personnel selection has focused on the
manner in which cognitive capacities can be utilised without impacting racial
diversity. (Lievens and Highhouse, 2003)

With regard to personality, there have been some advances in comprehending the
mediators and moderators of the equation between personality and performance.
Studies have been conducted regarding the manner in which personality impacts team
performance. (Turban & Cable, 2003)

While selecting personnel, managers have to be careful about the prospect of

candidate fraud, skewed reactions and the impressions a person attempts to give. In
this context, the pros and cons of personality management have been subject to a great
deal of scrutiny. (Ryan and Ployhart, 2000)

Research has been done to analyse if situational judgement tests can be implemented
cross-culturally owing to the relatively contextual aspects of the judgement. Studies
have also been conducted on other methods of personnel selection such as work
samples, assessment centers and interviews. Research interest in using the internet for
personnel selection is increasing. Still, plenty of major concerns with internet testing
including validity, variations, usefulness and responses have not been addressed yet.
(Sanchez, Truxillo, and Bauer, 2000)

Analyse the findings of the author with regards to the link between staffing
theories and practices to organisational and business unit effectiveness.
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It is a widely acknowledged fact that the ability to recruit better workers enhances the
efficacy of a firm. According to the micro level research theory, the manner in which
individual traits such as knowhow , talents, capabilities and other aspects add to the
performance of a worker recruiting and hiring better employees contributes to
organizational effectiveness. The macro level research theory studies the manner in
which HR methods (for instance staffing) adds to the performance of a firm. (Steele
and Davies, 2003)

Multi level theory outlines the theoretical procedures for contextual and emergent
impacts. The contextual impacts percolate down from the higher to lower rungs in a
firm for instance altering the HR policies of a company transforms the behaviour of
the worker as well (Ryan & Ployhart, 2000). Emergent effects on the other hand move
from the lower to the higher levels. There can be two forms of emergence-the
composition and the compilation frameworks. The composition model refers to a lot
of similarity in the perceptions of employees regarding the firm; a firm level variable
is constructed as an outcome of common opinions of employees. The compilation
framework comes into force if there is considerable variation in the perceptions of
employees. (Karr, 2000)

The components multi of the multi level theory involve the procedures of human
capital emergence and human capital benefits which facilitate the employing of better
workers through certified choice mechanisms which can enhance the performance of
a firm. Micro level studies result in better quality individual level choice outcomes
while macro level studies make the assumption that HR practices impact firm
performance (Avery & McKay, 2006). Multi level staffing frameworks permit
analysts to forge diverse models of human resources. By forging formulations of
emergence, analysts can more properly express the framework and operation of
different kinds of human resources for instance, composition or compilation
frameworks (Williamson, Lepak, & King, 2003). Moreover, multi level staffing
frameworks adopt a varied method so that they can indicate the economic use and
benefits of staffing compared to more conventional forms and manifestations of utility
studies. On a more specific basis, multi level staffing has anticipated that human
resources are a very important factor which can determine the manner in which a
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company will perform or in other words human resource benefit. On the other hand a
number of utility frameworks would weigh this equation in terms of the total sum of
the person’s performance related contributions. Besides, as opposed to utility
research, formula derived approximations are not required as such for multi level
staffing since the human resource benefit is symbolic of the linkage between human
resources and the performance of the firm. (Dineen, Ash, & Noe, 2002)

Multi level staffing models do not nullify the significance of single stage recruitment
or selection research. On the contrary, their aim is to take forward this work by
making clear the equation between individual aspects and organization or firm
aspects. This it is a reference to the problem of value which staffing managers and
users are being confronted with. Thus is this sense, the multi level model gives some
way of indicating the worth of staffing by looking at the equations between individual
differences with individual consequences or firm level results.

References:
Avery, D. R., & McKay, P. F. 2006. Target practice: An organizational impression
management approach to attracting minority and female job applicants. Personnel
Psychology, 59: 157-187.
Axelrod, E. L., Handfield-Jones, H., & Welsh, T. A. 2001. War for talent, Part 2. The
McKinsey Quarterly, 2: 9-12.
Barney, J. B., & Wright, P. W. 1998. On becoming a strategic partner: The role of
human resources in gaining competitive advantage. Human Resource Management,
37: 31-46.
Breaugh, J., & Starke, M. 2000. Research on employee recruiting: So many studies,
so many remaining questions. Journal of Management, 26: 405-434.
Cable, D. M., & DeRue, D. S. 2002. The convergent and discriminant validity of
subjective fit perceptions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87: 875-884.
Cable, D. M., & Edwards, J. R. 2004. Complementary and supplementary fit: A
theoretical and empirical examination. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89: 822-834.

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Cable, D. M., & Turban, D. B. 2003. The value of organizational reputation in the
recruitment context: A brand equity perspective. Journal of Applied Social
Psychology, 33: 2244-2266.
Cable, D. M., & Edwards, J. R. 2004. Complementary and supplementary fit: A
theoretical and empirical examination. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89: 822-834.
Dineen, B. R., Ash, S. R., & Noe, R. A. 2002. A web of applicant attraction: Person–
organization fit in the context of Web-based recruitment. Journal of Applied
Psychology, 87: 723-734.
Karr, A. R. 2000. A special report about life on the job and trends taking shape there.
Wall Street Journal, 4(April): A1.
Lievens, F., & Highhouse, S. 2003. The relation of instrumental and symbolic
attributes to a company’s attractiveness as an employer. Personnel Psychology, 56:
75-102.
Ryan, A. M., & Ployhart, R. E. 2000. Applicants’ perceptions of selection procedures
and decisions: A critical review and agenda for the future. Journal of Management,
26: 565-606.
Saks, A. M. 2005. The impracticality of recruitment research. In A. Evers, O. Smit-
Voskuyl, & N. Anderson (Eds.), Handbook of personnel selection: 47-72. Oxford,
UK: Basil Blackwell.
Sanchez, R. J., Truxillo, D. M., & Bauer, T. N. 2000. Development and examination
of an expectancy-based measure of test-taking motivation. Journal of Applied
Psychology, 85: 739-750.
Steele, C. M., & Davies, P. G. 2003. Stereotype threat and employment testing.
Human Performance, 16: 311-326.
Taylor, M. S., & Collins, C. J. 2000. Organizational recruitment: Enhancing the
intersection of theory and practice.
In C. L. Cooper & E. A. Locke (Eds.), Industrial and organizational psychology:
Linking theory and practice: 304-334. Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell.
Williamson, I. O., Lepak, D. P., & King, J. 2003. The effect of company recruitment
Web site orientation on individuals’ perceptions of organizational attractiveness.
Journal of Vocational Behavior, 63: 242-263.