Work Psychology - Essay Example

?WORK PSYCHOLOGY by First Work Psychology Part A In order to write the job as well as theperson specification for the position of a recruitment specialist, first and foremost a job analysis was conducted. Job analysis is a term used to refer to the process of obtaining and collecting information about the essential aspects that are related to a particular job or task, and this process is motivated by a purpose (Bohlander, 2010, p. 155). Various pieces of information are gathered while conducting a job analysis including activities performed by the incumbent, machinery, and stationery that is utilized by the incumbent, operational schedule as well as physical requirements of the incumbent and the desired knowledge, skills and abilities of the incumbent who is performing a particular task. Several advantages of conducting a job analysis have been figured out especially in relation to human resource management, now it is considered the most important in the sphere of selection and hiring. This is because once the recruiter has the information regarding the requirements of a job, then only the recruiter can post an advertisement regarding a vacant position if he/she wants to ensure that the right pool of applicants are attracted by the advertisement. Job analysis even assists the recruiter in testing the required KSAs of the applicants during initial interviews and assessments. The method used to create the job description for the position of a recruitment specialist was a job analysis interview. This interview was conducted by the incumbent himself, and during the interview insight regarding the activities performed by the incumbent and the information regarding KSAs required to perform the job were obtained from the incumbent. Another method of conducting a job analysis is through observation. The person responsible for conducting a job analysis observes the incumbents while he/she performs the duties and responsibilities of a job. The observer even takes into consideration the skills and knowledge used by the person performing the job. Another technique that can be used to conduct a job analysis is a critical incident technique (Gatewood, 2008, p. 318). While using this technique, the job analyst differentiates between good and poor incidents or performances of the job while the work is being done by the position holder. The fourth technique that is used to perform a job analysis is a functional job analysis which has been devised by Sidney Fine (Gatewood, 2008, p.318). While using this method the job analyst needs to obtain two forms of information. The analyst needs to identify the tasks performed by an incumbent, and how those tasks are being performed. Part B There are several methods through which the HR department can conduct the process of selection. The use of a selection tool or a technique is mainly dependant on the tasks that are to be performed by an incumbent and the person’s specification. One of such methods is the ability test(s); this method is used to measure the abilities of the applicant, and this measure can be used to test various abilities including the ability to communicate and think creatively. Ability tests can include cognitive ability tests that are used to measure such an applicant’s ability as the ability to conduct interviews. The ability tests can be quite effective in analyzing the job performance of an incumbent if the ability test is consistent with the job analysis of the vacant position. Through various studies the validity of general cognitive ability (g) for the purpose of analyzing the job performance has been tested (Woods, 2010, p.198). Results have shown that the individuals that have scored a higher level of g are those individuals who have the ability to adapt to changes as they can learn at a faster pace and can absorb an ample amount of information at the same time. Other ability tests such as work sample tests have been used and have even proven to be highly efficient as these tests help in direct measuring how well a particular task is conducted by the applicant (Woods, 2010, p. 198). For example, in case of hiring a recruitment specialist, the recruiters can obtain a sample test of interviewing skills by making the applicant conduct interviews with job applicants, and this can help the recruiters with measuring how well the applicant communicates with the applicants. Personality characteristics are one of the most important elements that are assessed while selection decisions are made. In order to assess personality of an individual personality tests are used, and these tests help with conducting an assessment of the candidate’s traits. Traits are defined as characteristics of an individual that are long lasting as well as reliable. Personality tests have lost their importance and are quite preferred when assessing the behaviour of applicants for a particular job. This is so because taking into consideration individual’s traits for the purpose of selection has legal implications, and the traits are not said to be related to the job performance. For the purpose of conducting personality test, the big five model of personality is used while making selection decisions for different vacant positions (Brett, 2002, p. 254). The big five model proposes five personality traits that are preferred for the purpose of making selection decisions. The personality test can be used for the purpose of making selection decision for the position of a recruitment specialist. A good recruitment specialist is one who is highly sociable since he/she needs to interact with different individuals including line managers and applicants, they have to be highly tolerant in order to listen to the applicant during interviews, they should be highly dependable since his/her selection and initial screening will lead to successful hiring of an individual, he/she needs to be quite emotionally stable in order to conduct the process of initial screening in an unbiased manner and should be ready to face new challenges as they will face different kinds of applicants for different positions. One of the most common tools used while making selection decisions is selection interviews, but it has experienced a high level of criticism for being less reliable as compared to other selection tools. Job interviews are even criticized as different interviewers assess applicants in a different manner, and interviewers have even been found to assess applicants in a biased manner. Interviewers tend to base their entire selection decision on the basis of the first impression, a single interview session or on the first few moments of the interview. Due to this interviewers fail to gather enough information regarding a particular applicant, and they base their decisions on this limited amount of information. Another common criticism of job interviews is that similar questions are asked by the interviewers and the applicant is already prepared to answer those questions. Job interview questions are of two types, the unstructured and structured questions. In case of structured questions, the recruiter has a set standard of questions that he/she uses while conducting the interview session, and in the unstructured interviews, the interviewer tends to use the information provided by the applicant to ask the applicant further questions. During selection interviews, two different types of questions related to the job are asked in order to assess the performance or job related ability of the applicant. The interviewer uses situational questions to obtain information regarding how a particular applicant may operate under a given scenario (Catano, 2009, p. 447). The interviewer may even use job knowledge questions to figure out whether the applicant has the basic knowledge of a particular position and whether the educational information provided by him/her in their resumes is consistent or not (Catano, 2009, p. 447). Part C Job Description Job Title: Recruitment Specialist Reports To: Human Resource Manager Purpose: Conducting recruitment activities in order to attract a pool of applicants which will assist line managers in selecting desired candidates for vacant positions. Responsibilities and Duties: 1. To communicate with line managers to obtain an understanding of job requirements and specifications. 2. To apply assessment tools and conduct interviews to verify and evaluate competency. 3. To conduct salary based negotiations with selected applicants. 4. To manage the applicant database. 5. To create strategies for a recruitment purpose to meet staffing requirements. 6. To remain updated regarding vacant positions and job descriptions. Specification Minimum Bachelor’s degree with Majors in Human Resources. Minimum one-year experience of recruitment activities. Informed with legal and ethical policies of Human Resources. High in interpersonal skills and should have the ability to communicate and understand people. Highly fluent in both written as well as spoken English. Ability to work in a team. References Bohlander, G., and Snell, S., 2010. Managing human resources. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Brett, J. and Drasgow, F., 2002. The Psychology of work. Hoboken: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Catano, V., 2009. Recruitment and selection in Canada. Toronto: Nelson Education. Gatewood, R., Feild, H., and Barrick, M., 2008. Human resource selection. Mason, Ohio: Thomson/South-Western. Woods, S., and West, M., 2010. The psychology of work and organizations. Andover, UK: South-Western Cengage Learning. Read More