The Globalization of Business: Trade and Business to Strategic Alliances - Essay Example

? Recruitment and Selection Submitted By Introduction 3 Current scenario For Toyota R & S policy 3 Nature and composition of workforce 4 Number of Applications Received and Positions Filled 5 Methods Used to Recruit Applicants 5 General Approach to Selection 6 Selection Devices or Methods Employed 6 Selection Devices Validated 7 Evaluation of Recruitment and Selection Methods 8 Integration of R & S in Strategic Management 9 R&S and Human Rights Principles 10 Other ways of R& S Process Evaluation 11 Recommendations to Improve R & S 12 Bibliography 13 Introduction In the 21st century, human capital has gained extreme importance and is one of the major sources of competitive advantage for an organization. The Human Resource Department, or the HRD, is mainly responsible for providing the precious human capital, implying HRD having a variety of responsibilities, and selection is one of them. Traditionally, selection was only responsible for matching candidates with particular job and job description. In today’s rapidly changing world and with the strategic focus, selection also needs to be strategic. Strategic selection demands a range of activities in the general stream of looking for candidates to fit in the jobs. It involves not only the job at hand but potential range of matches for the person in future jobs. Additionally, the enhancing reach of globalization demands much more flexibility and certain interpersonal and personal skills for a candidate to undertake the ever changing and challenging environment i.e. effective selection by the HR selectors. However, the basic match of candidates to the job description is of significant value because otherwise, achievement of organizational goals and attaining appropriate return on investment (on human capital) is not possible. In true terms, no training or motivation or praise can make individuals work beyond their capacity. Current scenario For Toyota R & S policy The globalization of business has shift from trade and business to strategic alliances, integration of businesses etc. This change has significantly affected the HR practices. One of the major challenges, which global organizations are facing today, is attracting global talent. Toyota, one of the largest shareholders of the global automobile market, is no exception when it comes to facing HR problems, particularly in the US, and in other countries as well where their business has grown. Over the years, the observation has been a general and massive shift of jobs from manufacturing and agriculture to service industry and telecommunication. US economy is moreover a services based economy with 80% of the jobs belonging to the services industry. The trend is expected to continue, resulting in increased demand for services industry jobs and reduced inclination towards agricultural or manufacturing units. Toyota being a manufacturing firm hence suffered from this trend. It meant for Toyota lesser pool of candidates available for recruitment and selection. Changing demographics, shortage of highly skilled and qualified specialist and legislative problems are some of the problems Toyota’s HR has to face globally. (Robert L Malthis, 2008) In order to handle this issue, Toyota should make use of various internal and external recruitment models. The forthcoming sections of this report discuss the various aspects of recruitment and selection model used by Toyota. Nature and composition of workforce Toyota believes in low cost and high performance, which is why the business has developed a proper recruitment and selection process that reflects Toyota’s philosophy. Toyota’s main objective is cost reduction and lean management but they believe in valuing their human capital. Same methodology is followed in recruitment and selection. There are a number of temporary and permanent employees in the organziation. Toyota also makes use of off shoring and outsourcing in countries where there is shortage of skilled labor such as USA and other North American countries. Sound procedures in recruitment and selection are utilized to meet scientific and professional and legal demands. Number of Applications Received and Positions Filled There is no hard and fast rule about the number of jobs annually announced; it is all dependent on the business needs. Before 2008 Toyota was growing rapidly hence more hiring needs but the global down turn and after the big loss of Toyota in 2008, when they recalled their cars because of technical faults, it costed the company millions of dollar. Subsequently, the business is currently into downsizing, and has had many lay-offs. Toyota owing to its big brand name on an average receives 40,000 job applications for each of the 5,000 jobs announced. Methods Used to Recruit Applicants Using effective recruitment technique is very important for any organization. Finding the right employee for an organization is critical for maintaining quality, and productivity; hiring the right employee saves the business money, causing a decline to the turn over, and at the same time, also reducing the time and cost associated to the futuristic hiring. Additionally, effective employment recruitment, if deployed, can enhance the pool of right candidates being applicants for the vacancy under consideration. Toyota utilizes the usual recruitment techniques namely career fairs, online application facility and maintenance of data base, employment agencies, internal recruiting and employee referrals. Foe effective recruiting you should always be recruiting whether you have vacancies or not. It will help you to develop a pool of candidates which you have already assessed. It reduces time in selecting a candidate when need arises. Toyota makes use of it. Toyota has a focused approach when it comes to minority recruitment, targeting prospect candidates at both, graduate and undergraduate level. Its recruiting process includes attending campus career fairs, corporate presentations and on-campus interviews. They also rely on extensive network of professional partnerships to help identify qualified candidates for job opportunities and internships throughout the company: In 2005 Georgetown Toyota completely redesigned its recruitment and selection process to make it more competitive and compatible with the modern demands. Toyota hired the services of Select international for the supply of temporary workers. Select international is a leading provider to the many global companies the selection and development solutions. In addition to that there is a one stop centre made up of city and state employment offices called Central Kentucky Job Centre. General Approach to Selection The general approach to selection at Toyota is the combination of the statistical and judgmental approach. A candidate or prospective employee has to pass through several phases or steps before being finally selected. A candidate is statistically tested via the test conducted at the initial stage. At this level his technical as well as general intelligence, attitude and behavior is empirically tested. Once a candidate proves his worth and competency in the test only then the judgmental approach is applied to assess the candidate. For this method various interviewing techniques are applied. Job simulation technique is also used by Toyota for non managerial technical jobs. During interview a candidate is judged for his attitude, competency and for various personal traits are adjudged mainly by utilizing judgmental approach. Judgmental approach is more extensively applied for managerial jobs where competencies such as team work, leadership skills, problem solving skills, conflict management, effective communication and interpersonal skills become more important. (M.Catano, 2010) Selection Devices or Methods Employed New TMMK selection process consists of four steps. (Jeffery K Liker, 2008) EZ App recruiting is a 24/7 application and phone service which increases pool by 50% and can collect information anywhere, anytime. It also assesses key areas and screen out 30% of unqualified applicants. On site testing is both manual and computer based. A candidate is tested on three types of competencies personal such as team work, safety; problem solving etc. second is technical competency and third is risk assessment, turnover, theft, absenteeism etc. Select Interviewing TM Structured behavioral interview, consistent and valid methodology and training certificate. Job offer after health screening and background check. This process is followed for both temporary and permanent employees. Selection Devices Validated Validity refers to the legitimacy or correctness of the measure or process used to draw inferences about characteristics or attributes. The validity of any selection method used and the interpretation of the results depends if methods utilized are scientific. The scientific evidence obtained through a variety of data as well as the data collected as part of the validation effort provides the scientific proof of the validity of any method. Both the theory and the data collected try to establish a link between the test score and the candidate’s future job performance. The evidence of validity is the technical quality of the testing procedure which includes careful test development, test reliability, standardized test administration, fairness in test and scoring process along with other validity evidence. The major objective of validity is to ensure the effectiveness and relevance of the measures or methods used with job performance. The methods used by Toyota are scientific and hence the processes are analytical and not intuitive. Job analysis identifies KSAO’s and valid measures of KSAO’s are selected and the utility of these predicators are assessed before validation; decision making needs to be coherent. Implementation of the tools is system – wide. The whole method is evaluated empirically. It is based on structured procedures with consistency in process to maintain standards. Such scientific validation ensures defensibility of the system, increased production and effective employees. Toyota consistently reviews and improves its recruitment and selection methods based on scientific, empirical results to stay competitive and have consistent supply of effective employees. Its recruitment and selection process is in alignment with the expected results from potential employees. (Hari Das, 2007) The validation strategy used by Toyota is a unitary approach which involves all three validation content, construct and criterion validation. It tries to build relationship between cognitive ability, know how score, job performance score and the actual performance. Evaluation of Recruitment and Selection Methods Recruitment and selection methods used can be evaluated through the performance of the organization at large and at the individual level through the performance appraisal of each individual employee. The method used at Toyota is that the performance evaluation rating is linked with the behavior for performing key tasks. For example an employee was assessed a great team leader in the selection test after selection when his performance at job is assessed in annual performance appraisal does he depict the same trait? Sometimes the process is also conducted other way round just to check the effectiveness of test I evaluating the person. In this method employees of the organization whose skills and traits have already been identified through their work are asked to undertake the test. If the test correctly assesses an employee’s competency then the test is supposed to be effective. (Mondy, 2009) The selection criteria and scores for each characteristic should be used as a guide and not a definitive decision maker. A candidate who has lower skills and scores initially can become an efficient employee with time and training. At Toyota final screening decision for full employment is made after the probation period. During this probation period an employee is tested in real life work environment. Toyotas recruitment and selection practices are designed to find the best possible fit for the job. Code of ethics based on the CCHRA provides the ethical justification of the decision. Integration of R & S in Strategic Management Strategic HRM emphasizes the growing need of aligning human resource policies and practices with the corporate strategy for effective management and utilization of human resource at all levels of the organizations in order to achieve sustainable growth, competitive advantage which enhances organization’s effectiveness. This strategic integration demands that each of the key activities of HRM recruitment and selection, training and development etc. should be similarly integrated, and vertically and horizontally aligned with corporate objectives so that all the activities of the organization are directed towards achieving the same goal. Strategic recruitment and selection demands that hiring is done not only to fill a current gap or position, but to fulfill long term strategic objective. Toyota is an inward investment company which applies strategic approach towards recruitment and selection by hiring the right candidate for the first time rather than investing later to rectify poor selection decision. This strategic approach demands front loaded investment strategy. This strategic model is two way in its inherent nature. It gives potential candidates equality in process and provides a realistic preview of the job, role and organizational context so that the candidate can match their aptitude and interest with any vacancy through self assessment. Strategic recruitment and selection demands future oriented job analysis, job description and personal specification should be reflective of future as well as current demands. Advertising should be based on selection criteria and must be targeted. Candidate information pack should provide realistic job preview. Candidates should be facilitated with helpline. There should be emphasis on self selection and customized application form. Toyota follows all these requirements of strategic recruitment and selection. Toyota like all other organizations who follow strategic approach first identifies the strategic position of the organization. Strategic positioning can be determined by answering questions like where the company wants to be in future. What values do they take up? What is their vision? This strategic position is based on the scanning of external and internal environment and assessing organizational strengths and weaknesses as well as threats and opportunities. Based on this strategic positioning organizational structure is determined e.g. downsizing, merger etc. All Hr strategies are then based on this organizational structure. This is the philosophy and procedure which Toyota follows. (Hari Das, 2007) R&S and Human Rights Principles Code of ethics based on the CCHRA provides the ethical justification of the decision. Code of ethics of the Canadian Council for Human Resource Association has identified certain factors which safeguards the human rights. All certified HR professionals CHRP candidates and CHRP exam registrants have to commit to abide by the all the requirements of CCHRA. It ensures transparency, fairness and equality. Toyota supports, promotes and apply the principles of human rights equity, dignity and respect in the workplace. Toyota in its recruitment process incorporates human rights principles by providing equal opportunity to all the candidates. It is free of any biases whatsoever in terms of gender, race etc. it is fair and transparent in its assessment criteria through standardization of process to ensure equality and fairness. Toyota maintains strict confidentiality to ensure fairness in recruitment and selection process. Human rights principle is also followed by giving prospective employees a fair preview of the job and self selection. Toyota fulfills all the legal requirements. During the recruitment process it is made sure that the applicants has the legal right to work in the country and fulfills age criteria as well. Toyota adheres to any statutory act, regulation or By-law which relates to the field of human resource management. They themselves gather sound knowledge of legal requirements and make sure that their employees also have knowledge about them to avoid any legal violations. For example in USA there is legislation regarding hiring of Non- Americans. There is fixed quota in the US law to restrict hiring from other countries. US congress claims that they have done it to avoid illegal immigration. Toyota abides by all these regulations. Other ways of R& S Process Evaluation Recruitment and selection process should be continually evaluated to pin point any weak areas. The efficiency of R&S process can also be judged besides the performance of employee through the number of valid application the company receives for any job. It shows how successful the HR has been in attracting the right candidates. We can evaluate the selection process by asking these questions to ourselves. What went well? What was ineffective? Were the objectives achieved? Was the planning appropriate? What was the balance of talking time? What should be improved next time? Asking a selected applicant what he suggests for improving The R&S process can give us insight from the applicant’s point of view. Recommendations to Improve R & S I would suggest that especially for managerial level jobs there should be less emphasis on test score. More weightage should be given to the structured interview conducted by a panel of employees. Test should be as customized as possible for managerial level jobs to avoid generalizations. A potential employee can be more effectively judged through observation and valid interviewing techniques than the test score and previous academic qualifications which although are good indicators of employee performance. There should be more flexibility in them depending on the nature of job. For instance a job which requires good interpersonal skills and less cognitive abilities test score should be of lesser importance and test should be designed to test this specific ability but it can be more effectively judged in an interview. Bibliography Hari Das, A. T. (2007) Recruitment, Selection and Deployment of Human Resources: A Canadian Perspective. Canada: Pearson Education. Jeffery K Liker, M. H. (2008) Toyota Culture: The heart and soul of Toyota way. New York: McGraw Hill. M.Catano, W. H. (2010) Recruitment and Selection in Canada. Canada: Nelson education. Mondy, R. W. (2009) Humn resource management. New Delhi: Pearson education. Robert L Malthis, J. H. (2008) Human Resource Management. New York: Thompson South Western. Read More