This in-depth study looked at a major manufacturing company during a year when management projected contract losses and massive lay-offs and terminations. The company's hourly employee culture indicated that the major automotive customers of the company were influential driving forces and would rescue the company from the dire management predictions. The principal major research question was to determine the accuracy of predictions based upon the company's hourly workers' culture versus management's predictions and actions based upon external sources.Another investigation area was the company management's actions to manifest their avowed "our employees are our most valuable resource and asset" belief statement. Similarly, would the Professional and Technician Equal Employment Opportunity job groups have the smallest percent of reduction, since the company's primary strength was purported to lie in its engineering and technical employees?Interviews, data collection and analysis, and monthly task force investigations and communications revealed the company culture was definitely more accurate than the numerous predictions made by management. As the "culture" predicted, the loss of the contracts did not occur. The company concluded the year with increases in total employment. Temporary lay-offs did occur during the year and management took numerous actions to help both retained employees and those being terminated or laid-off. Such actions included outplacement services, stress reduction programs, job placement and resume writing, and instituting communication networks and procedures and a Dispute Resolution Procedure. The company did show that the employees were valuable and important assets.The reduction numbers and percents for the Professionals (engineers) and Technicians were exactly opposite of what management typically avowed. The largest category reduced was the Technicians and the second-largest category was the Professionals.The company continued to be quite viable and the future outlook became optimistic, which coincides with the company culture that the major automotive customers will always be there needing the company's products.The company management took several steps to prevent their predictions from occurring, while hourly employees, using only history which is not a very dependable source for industry today, happened to be correct in this study.The primary conclusion was that the culture of the company's hourly workers was more accurate in predicting the future than management's predictions based on supposed knowledgeable external sources. It was recommended that internal cultural based predictions and externally based information be blended together for the most accurate predictions. This will provide all managements everywhere a better information base for making decisions, particularly strategic planning decisions. / Center for Lifelong Education

Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 47-06, page: 3544. Adviser: John R. Herbold. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 87-91).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2005. / Advisor: Dr. Deborah J. Ebener, Florida State University, College of Education, Dept. of Childhood Education, Reading, and Disability Services. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 23, 2005). Document formatted into pages; contains xiii, 114 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MComm)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Organisasies bestaan om skaars produksiefaktore te verander na bemarkbare goedere en dienste. Aangesien organisasies deur mense bedryf en bestuur word, is hierdie instellings grotendeels afhanklik van hul menslike produksiefaktor om hul hoofdoel te bereik, nl. om hul wins te vergroot. Organisasies poog om geskikte werknemers aan te stel wat sal voldoen aan die vereistes van 'n spesifieke pos of dit selfs sal oortref. In 'n werkswêreld wat konstant verander, vereis tegnologie en die kenmerke van die werkswêreld dat hierdie persone deurgaans ontwikkel word om by te bly met verandering. Personeelkeuring en –ontwikkeling is dus kritieke bedrywighede van die Bedryfsielkundige en Menslike Hulpbronpraktisyn. Die Takseersentrum is 'n gewilde meetinstrument wat dikwels gebruik word vir die doel van keuring of ontwikkeling. Hierdie gewilde assesseringsmetode word hoog aangeskryf vir sy vermoë om toekomstige werksprestasie te voorspel. Takseersentrums wat gebruik word vir keuring doeleindes, toon inkrementele geldigheid bo meetinstrumente van persoonlikheid sowel as kognitiewe vaardigheidstoetse. Al word takseersentrums internasionaal en hier in Suid-Afrika dikwels gebruik, word hulle ook dikwels gekritiseer op grond van die vraag of hulle werklik die dimensies meet wat hulle veronderstel is om te meet. Die konstrukgeldigheid van takseersentrums word dikwels bevraagteken aangesien lae diskriminante en konvergerende geldigheid, sowel as hardnekkige oefeningseffekte, navorsingsbevindinge oorheers. Hierdie vraag is die beweegrede vir die huidige studie. Die doel met hierdie studie is om die konstrukgeldigheid van 'n ontwikkelingstakseersentrum te ondersoek. 'n Geriefsteekproef is gebruik om die navorsing te doen. Die data is verskaf deur 'n private konsultasie maatskappy in die vorm van die takseersentrumtellings van 202 persone wat in 'n eendaagse sentrum geassesseer is. Die sentrum is ontwikkel vir 'n Suid-Afrikaanse bankinstelling en het drie hoofdoelwitte, nl. om kandidate te identifiseer vir die rol van 'n nuwe posbeskrywing, om werknemers na meer topaslike rolle te verskuif en om toekomstige ontwikkelingsgeleenthede vir alle deelnemers te verskaf. Twaalf vaardighede is deur vier verskillende oefeninge geëvalueer. Verskeie beperkinge is opgelê deur die aard van die geriefsteekproef deurdat die navorser geen invloed op die ontwerp van die takseersentrum gehad het nie. Die aanvanklike twaalf vaardighede kon nie afsonderlik ontleed word nie en moes gevolglik as subdimensies in hul onderskeie globale faktore gekombineer word. Dit het gelei tot vier enkeldimensie (ED) metingsmodelle wat eers ondersoek moes word om gesigswaarde van konstrukgeldigheid te bewys voordat oefeninge by die bestaande modelle gevoeg kon word. Die vier afsonderlike oefeninge is in een globale oefeningseffek saamgevoeg. As gevolg van die ontoereikende getal indikators in die datastel kon net twee van die vier ED-modelle oefeninge insluit en dit het gelei tot twee enkeldimensie-, enkeloefening-metingsmodelle (EDEO). Inter-itemkorrelatsies is in SPSS bereken, gevolg deur bevestigende faktorontleding van elke afsonderlike metingsmodel in EQS wat gebruik is om die interne struktuur van die dimensies te bestudeer. Met een dimensie as uitsondering, impliseer die uitslae van die CFA dat die indikators van die takseersentrum (d.w.s. gedragsbeoordelings) nie daarin slaag om die onderliggende dimensie te weerspieël soos dit veronderstel was om te doen nie. Nadat die saamgestelde oefeningseffek byvoeg is, het slegs een van die twee dimensies geloofwaardige uitslae met buitengewoon goeie modelpassing en parameterskattings wat dui op dimensie- eerder as oefeningseffekte. As gevolg van hierdie bevindings word die geldigheid van die ontwikkelingsterugvoer wat elke deelnemer na die evaluering ontvang het, ernstig in twyfel getrek. Met die uitsondering van een dimensie se resultate, bevestig die resultate van hierdie studie vorige navorsingsbevindinge. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Organisations exist by transforming scarce factors of production into goods and services. Since organisations are run and managed by people, these institutions are largely dependent on their human production factor to achieve their main goal of maximising profits. Organisations strive to appoint suitable employees who will meet, even exceed, the requirements of a particular job position. In a constantly evolving world of work, advancing technology and inherent features of the modern working environment necessitate ongoing development of these individuals in order to keep up with the changes. Personnel selection and development are therefore crucial activities of the Industrial Psychologist and Human Resource Practitioner. The Assessment Centre (AC) is a popular measuring instrument that is often used for either selection or development purposes. This popular method of assessment has received a great degree of praise for its ability to predict future job performance. ACs have also shown incremental validity over and above both personality and cognitive ability measuring instruments when used for selection purposes. Nevertheless, despite the frequent use of ACs both internationally and locally in South Africa, ACs have been widely criticised on the basis of whether they actually measure the dimensions that they intend to measure. The question has often been asked whether ACs are construct valid, since low discriminant- and convergent validity, as well as persistent exercise effects, seem to dominate research findings. This question serves as the driving force of the present study. The aim of this study is to examine the construct validity of a development assessment centre (DAC). A convenience sample was used to pursue the research objective. The data was received from a private consultant company in the form of the AC ratings of 202 individuals who were assessed in a one-day DAC. The DAC was developed for a South African banking institution and had three main purposes, namely to identify candidates who fit the role of a new job position, to reposition employees into more appropriate roles, and to provide future development opportunities to all participants. Twelve competencies were assessed by four different exercises. Several limitations were imposed by the nature of the convenience sample since the researcher did not have an influence on the design of the AC. The initial twelve competencies were not represented by a sufficient number of indicators and could consequently not be statistically analysed on an individual level. These dimensions therefore had to be used as sub-dimensions to be combined within their respective global (second-order) factors. This resulted in four single trait (ST) measurement models that had to be investigated first to provide face value of construct validity before adding exercises into the existing models. The four separate exercises were integrated into one global exercise effect. The insufficient number of indicators within the data set brought about only two of the four ST models to be examined for any existing exercise effects. The result was two single trait, single exercise (STSE) measurement models. Inter-item correlations were calculated in SPSS, followed by confirmatory factor analysis on each respective measurement model in EQS used to study the internal structure of the dimensions. With one dimension as the exception, the results of the CFA imply that the DAC's indicators (i.e. behavioural ratings) in each second-order factor, fail to reflect the underlying dimension, as it was intended to do. When adding the conglomerated exercise effect, only one of the two dimensions had plausible results with good model fit and parameter estimates that leaned towards dimension and not exercise effects. Based on these findings, serious doubt is placed on the validity of the developmental feedback provided to each participant after the completion of the DAC. With one dimension as the exception, the present study's results corroborate previous research findings on the construct validity of ACs.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Human Resource Management in the Faculty of Business at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology / This research examines staff perceptions of the recruitment and selection processes in a tertiary education setting in South Africa. It aims to determine if there is a correlation between these perceptions and the productivity of staff. The benefit of this research lies in the fact that tertiary education institutions are at the last rung of the ladder of any nation’s human capacity development initiatives. Thus, if the processes by which they recruit and select their staff are perceived to be flawed, the consequences in the fulfilment of their afore-mentioned mandate would be compromised. There are many tertiary educational institutions in the Western Cape province of South Africa. These include traditional universities, comprehensive universities, a university of technology and FET colleges. This study focuses on one particular tertiary institution in the Western Cape. Due to the position taken by the institute in the current study on privacy issues, the said institution will be referred to as “Institution X”. The research adopted a quantitative data collection and analysis approach because it was deemed to be the most effective, objective and unobtrusive in the circumstance. Data was collected from the population of academic and non-academic staff of an identified faculty within a campus of the institution. The population of this study was 370 staff and the actual sample size represented 30% of the population. Unfortunately the final actual sample size was 106 and not 111 as originally planned. The sample technique that was used for this study was a systematic sample. Therefore, every tenth name on the list that represented the population was selected. The data collection instrument was a researcher-developed, self-administered questionnaire (a Likert-type attitude scale). Ethical clearance was obtained from the institution. Furthermore, a clear statement of informed consent was contained in the questionnaire that was distributed to participants, in addition to clear instructions on how to complete the questionnaire with assurances of strict anonymity and confidentiality of the process. The research revealed that there is a relationship between employee perceptions of recruitment and selection and organisational productivity. Further studies can be initiated to investigate what strategies may be used for recruitment and selection in order to increase productivity, ways in which tertiary educational institutions can increase productivity using recruitment and selection processes and identify challenges and benefits of recruitment and selection processes with regard to productivity. Further studies can also evaluate the impact of recruitment and selection processes on an institution of higher learning.

An overview of the literature indicates that there is a real and pressing need to explore the concept of adverse impact in more detail. The Employment Equity Act of 1998 prioritises the issue of group representivity in staff selection and although there are merits in enforcing an Affirmative Action policy, an objective assessment of the inherent requirements of job applicants is still a constitutional and procedural outcome. There is no simple mechanism that can be used to determine the manifestation of adverse impact. However, evidence thereof can be most useful in securing fairness in selection and employment decisions. There is a distinct need to examine the matter of adverse impact and its implications in the South African context. South Africa is confronted with a labour force that is growing dramatically and changing significantly. The demographic trends in our dynamically changing labour markets are likely to amplify skill and ability differences between the resulting contradictory goals of equal opportunity based on individual merit and equal employment results for subgroups of populations. Three selection strategies of a communications company were used as a basis for the assessment of adverse impact. The total population of the Call Centre selection strategy was 150. Seven instruments and measures were utilised in the study, namely, a job analysis, pre-screening exercise, psychometric ability tests, role-play simulation, structured interview, job compatibility questionnaire and a performance evaluation. The total population of the Operator Services selection strategy was 139. Five psychometric instruments were utilised in the study. The total population of the Female Leadership Development Programme selection strategy was 471. Three psychometric instruments were utilised in the study. The Adverse Impact Model was applied to each of the aforementioned strategies. In terms of the definition, adverse impact exists if the selection ratio associated with a particular passing score on a test for one sub-group of job applicants is less than 4/5th’s or 80% of the selection ration for the largest sub-group of applicants. 13 The results of the study indicate that adverse impact occurred in the following instances. In the Call Centre selection strategy, there was evidence of adverse impact in the racial analysis in the ability testing stage. There was also evidence of adverse impact in the gender analysis during this stage. There was no evidence of adverse impact in either the racial or gender analyses during the interview stage. There was no evidence of adverse impact in the racial analysis during the appointment stage. There was however evidence of adverse impact in the gender analysis during the appointment stage. The Female Leadership Development Programme selection strategy revealed evidence of adverse impact in the racial analysis during the appointment stage. The Operator Services selection strategy revealed an adverse impact in both the racial and gender analyses during the testing stage. The issue of adverse impact is obviously controversial. However, data obtained from this process will provide for informative analysis.

The target of this dissertation work is the process of analysis of recruitment and selection of employees for a manufacturing company. The strength and weakness of this process depends on acquired information and knowledge. The contribution of this work consists of specific improvements and recommendations in this domain which can help increase the effectiveness in recruitment and selection of employees. The basis for the empirical part of this work consists of consultations with employees of the HR department and the analysis of internal materials. This system is compared with theoretical and generally valid principles. Questionnaire enquiry, with cooperation of new employees and employees of HR department, are used in the second phase. Respondents are asked about the satisfaction of the processes applied in hiring. Employees of HR department are questioned regarding the procedure used in hiring of new employees.

This thesis deals with the topic of trainee programs in the Czech Republic and focuses on a case study of selected organization, which is FARMTEC a.s. The aim of the work is to provide an overview of trainee programs in the Czech Republic and to evaluate the newly introduced trainee program in FARMTEC a. s. The first part defines the concepts and personnel activities associated with trainee programs. The thesis has two parts. In the first part, on the selected sample of companies and on the basis of the selected criteria, a trainee program analysis is carried out which provides an overview of the current situation in the field of trainee programs. The second part describes and evaluates the newly introduced trainee program at FARMTEC a.s. Based on its evaluation, suggestions for improvements are made, which relate to the promotion, the length and content of the program, the evaluation of the success of the program and its participants.

M. Tech. (Business Administration, Faculty of Management Sciences): Vaal University of Technology / Employers invest significant time and resources in employee selection. However, the effectiveness of the selection is not routinely measured. One measure of such effectiveness is employee turnover. Often selection processes do not identify the best applicant for the organisation. Employee selection techniques often lead to employee turnover because the focus is on filling vacancies rather than finding the best candidate. The human resources selection process is important to short-term and long-term success of an organisation because employees are generally regarded as the most valued assets. Selecting the candidates that fit best has an important impact on an organisation’s success. A well-designed and implemented selection process is one that optimises the selection process. Bad selection costs organisations significant money because of the need to reinvest in the selection process and new employee training. Selection is also important in order for an organisation to keep its competitive edge. However, affirmative action, equal employment opportunity and diversity are not to be considered separate actions or initiatives in the selection process as they are part of governmental requirements. As such, the increasing attention on human resource management in small and medium enterprises is a comparatively recent phenomenon. Organisations have realised that the continuance of business will depend on the quality and management of the human resources they possess. Research has shown that positioning the right person in the right position is one of the crucial issues in organisations. If this does not happen, the organisation will not only suffer financial losses, but it may also lose its competitive edge. The dearth of research into selection as a human resource practice in SMEs with particular emphasis on their employee turnover is probably due to the fact that HR practitioners, the managers and or owners of the SMEs, often ignore personnel or human resource issues, such as recruitment and selection, training and development, participation-enhancing work designs, formal dispute resolution and employee counseling. The majority of the empirical studies on human resources management practices (HRMP) in small businesses are still in an explorative stage and mainly descriptive. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the selection processes as a human resource management function on employee turnover in small and medium enterprises in Sunnyside, Pretoria. The research methodology used to conduct the study was a combination of a literature review and an empirical study. A non-probability sampling technique involving judgment and convenience sampling procedures was used. The research instrument was a five-point Likert interval scale, which had forty four items and was pretested with 10 persons who were not related to the research sample. The instrument was revised and a pilot survey of 30 questionnaires was administered to respondents one month prior to the main survey. Sections B, C and D were subjected to reliability analysis and the results indicated that the scale has a high reliability value with Cronbach’s alpha of (0.824), (0.520) and (0.910) for sections B, C and D respectively. The reliability analysis suggested that the scale of items C4, C11 and C12 should be reversed. On doing so the alpha value increased to 0.824. For the main survey, 300 questionnaires were administered of which 210 representing 84% response rate were usable for the data analysis. Furthermore, a descriptive analysis of section A was undertaken. Tables depicting frequencies and percentages were used to describe the demographic information of respondents. Inferential statistics, such as factor analysis and bivariate correlations were undertaken on items in sections B, C and D of the research instrument. The empirical investigation indicated that the effect of selection processes on employee turnover was composed of three underlying factors, namely: factors influencing selection procedures; techniques influencing selection procedures; and aspects effecting employee turnover in SMEs. The selection factors were found to be positively correlated to one another but had a negative correlation with the turnover factor. Significant statistical associations were found to be present between the factors and the size of the organisations, marital status, level of educational qualifications, ethnic classification, the extent of influence of the EEA on selection processes, the belief of what the selection process consists of and the frequency of selection process exercises conducted by the SMEs involved.