CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Project Background

An online examination system for recruitment of staff is a web application that

establishes a network between the organization and applicants. The organization enters
on the site the questions they want in the exam. These questions are displayed as a test
to the eligible students. The answers inputted by the applicants are then evaluated and
their score is calculated and saved. This score then can be accessed by the inst to
determine the passes students or to evaluate their performance. Online Exams System
provides the platform but does not directly participate in, nor is it involved in any tests
conducted. Questions are posted not by the site, but users of the site.

According to Yu, Hsiao and Cho (2014), online examinations are convenient, and fast.
Online examination has three main purposes:

1. To allow test-takers at different places to take the test at the same time through the
online examination website.

2. Through careful planning and proper coding, enable tests, grading and to check
results on the website.

3. To integrate database with the program, allowing teachers easy addition of questions
and creation of tests.

The formulation of questions for a test is often treated with doubts and suspicions. In a
typical online examination system, the questions are strict and set with care. Although
the exam questions is in the multiple choice format (objectives), the questions are
chosen at random. All candidates have the same questions but the order of questions is
different. Since the order of the question differs on each computer, the motive in
candidates to cheat is reduced. Cheating at examinations is unacceptable. It is common
knowledge that people are likely to cheat in a network environment but this is wrong as
cheating at examinations is unacceptable as it affects the fairness of an examination.
This situation implies that to overcome the tendency to cheat is the major challenge in
online examinations. Despite the pitfalls, online examination is very important and
useful as it breaks the barrier of distance and different geographical location. Applicants
from all over the world can access the system thereby giving the examiners a good
chance to identify highly intelligent prospective staff.

Every organization is made up of employees, and before employees are recruited,

information pertaining to them is obtained, processed and analyzed after they have
applied to determine their qualification for employment into a given position. For every
position, there are certain skills and qualifications needed. The performance of the
individual is a function of employee ability, motivation and opportunity (Boxall &
Purcell, 2003).

Short-listing of employees also known as Recruitment and selection, forms a core part
of the central activities underlying human resource management: namely, the
acquisition, development and reward of workers. It forms an important part of the work
of human resource managers – or designated specialists within work organizations. It
has an important role to play in ensuring worker performance and positive
organizational outcomes. It is often claimed that selection of workers occurs not just to
replace departing employees or add to a workforce but rather to put in place workers
who can perform at a high level and demonstrate commitment. Recruitment is
important for organizations since it performs the essential function of drawing an
important resource, human capital, into the organization (Boxall & Purcell, 2003; Parry
& Tyson, 2008;). It has a strategic aim as it focuses on the need to attract high-quality
people in order to gain a competitive advantage (Parry & Tyson, 2008; Malinowski et
al, 2005). Recruiting people with the right abilities reinforces the organizational goals
(Boxall & Purcell, 2003).

Conducting examination before employees are recruited is very important as

their level of success in the exams will reflect their level of competence or ability.
Online examination widens the spectrum for organizations to reach out to more
applicants and to get the best. It is on this premise that this research study is set to
examine the design and implementation of an online examination system for
recruitment of staff.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Many organizations do not have competitive personnel and this negatively affects the
productivity and image of the organization. In addition, there is no effective structure
to recruit staff that is able to stand up to the responsibility of their duties. Many
organizations still adopt the manual method of recruiting and the applicants are limited
to those in their immediate environment. Also, many applicants find it difficult to get
to the examination centers due to distance and high cost of transportation. Organizations
are unable to reach out to a wide spectrum of applicants so as to be able to recruit the
best employees. The traditional examination for recruitment is usually characterized by
cheating which hampers the credibility of recruited employees. There is need for a more
effective system that is able to reach out to a wider spectrum of employees, breaking
the barrier of distance and cost and thereby promoting the recruitment of well qualified
staff.

1.3 Aims and Objectives

The following are the objectives of the study;

a. To design and implement an online examination system for the recruitment of

staff.

b. To identify the structure/characteristics of an online examination system for staff

recruitment.

c. To identify the benefits of an online examination system for the recruitment of

staff.

d. To find out the challenges/disadvantages of the adoption of online examination

system for the recruitment of staff.
1.4 Scope of Study

This study covers the design and implementation of an online examination system for
the recruitment of staff.

1.5 Significant of Study

The significance of the study is that it will bring to light the relevance of adopting online
examination system for employee short-listing or e-recruitment system and the need for
its adoption by organizations. It will help organizations solve the present challenges
they are facing in attracting eligible and professional employees by providing a software
system that processes the application of different applicants. It will also save them time
and cost of recruiting. In addition, other scholars seeking for valuable information on
the subject will find this research material relevant.

1.6 Limitation of Study

There might be some issues with internet connectivity from the applicant’s end.

1.7 Definition of Terms

Online: Refers to a system connected to the internet that can be accessed remotely from
any part of the world.

Examination: A test designed to assess somebody's ability or knowledge in a particular

subject or field.

Employment: The condition of working for pay

Application: A formal and usually written request for something such as a job, a grant
of money, or admission to a school or college

Short-list: To put somebody or something on a final list of candidates for a position or

award.

Recruitment: To enroll somebody as a worker or member, or to take on people as

workers or members.
Human resources: The field of business concerned with recruiting and managing
employees.

Management: The organizing and controlling of the affairs of a business or a sector of

a business.
 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

This chapter is concerned with the review of related literature, the contributions of other
researchers is examined in this chapter. It looks at:

 The Need for employee recruitment using online examination

 Steps involved in employee recruitment

 The concept of online examination

 Advantages of Using Online Examination System for Employee Recruitment

 Disadvantages of Using Online Examination for Employee Recruitment

2.1 The Need for Employee Recruitment Using Online Examination

Organizations make use of e-recruitment because of several reasons (Chapman &

Webster, 2003). These include:

1. Cost Savings

2. Ease of Use for Candidates

3. Larger candidate pool

4. Ease of use for the organization

5. Increasing the speed to hire

6. Success in finding candidates

7. Keeping ahead of competitors

Parry and Tyson (2008) studied the use and success of e-recruitment methods in the
UK. They conducted a six-year survey and performed qualitative interviews among HR
managers. The survey had 25,224 respondents over the six years, and represented 935
organizations per survey. Interviews were held to supplement the survey data with a
more in-depth view. Fifteen qualitative interviews were conducted with senior HR or
resourcing managers responsible for recruitment, and five additional interviews were
conducted with providers of online recruitment technology. They found from research
that cost effectiveness is the most important reason (75%) mentioned by organizations,
followed by ease of use for candidates (64%), a larger candidate pool (53%) and ease
of use for the organization (52%).

Galanaki (2002) performed a survey among a sample of 99 organizations, of which 34

organizations responded. This research found similar importance regarding reasons to
use e-recruitment, like cost effectiveness (46%), wide response rate (46%), reaching a
specific niche (42%) and reaching passive job seekers (38%). Pin et al (2001) found,
among 167 organizations, additional support for time savings (64%), lower recruitment
costs (51%) and 24hrs a day, 7 days a week online (51%).

2.2 Steps involved in Employee recruitment

The recruitment process begins with the identification of a vacancy where after the
recruiter receives authorization to fill in this vacancy (Chapman & Webster, 2003). In
order to do so, the vacant job needs to be carefully analyzed. Analyzing the job might
include determining the necessary knowledge, skills, and experience required to
perform the job appropriately and defining the required specifications. After identifying
and analyzing a vacancy, it can be placed in, for example, newspapers or other media
sources. Applicants can apply for vacancies by using the internet. Likewise, further
correspondence between organization and applicant depends on the internet to a large
extent. Cappelli (2001) describes the recruitment process in three steps. First, candidates
need to be attracted. This concerns using the organization’s reputation, product image,
online technology and other methods to draw as many potential applicants as possible
to the organization’s website. On the website, organizations can reinforce their human
resources brand and provide information about jobs and working conditions. The
second step in this process is sorting applicants. This relates, for example, to employing
sophisticated, standardized online tests to screen candidates, and winnowing the
applicant pool to a manageable number. Third, the contacts need to be managed quickly.
Due to the use of the internet, organizations are able to respond more quickly to a
desirable candidate. An e-recruitment process follows ideally from a systematic human
resource planning process, whereby an organization analyses and plans for the flow of
people into, though, and out of the organization (Chapman & Webster, 2003). Yet, there
is a fourth step, which does not belong necessarily to e-recruitment but to every
recruitment process. This concerns closing the deal (Cappelli, 2001). It refers to making
the phone call, setting up the meeting and shaking the hand. From this description, one
can notice that the e-element is absent. In this way, Cappelli (2001) highlights the
importance of the human touch at the end of the recruitment process. According to him,
human touch is increasingly neglected in e-recruitment processes but remains very
crucial.

2.3 Advantages of Using Online Examination System for Employee

Recruitment

It has a strategic significance as it puts emphasis on the need to attract high-quality

people in order to gain a competitive advantage (Parry & Tyson, 2008; Malinkowski et
al, 2005).

“To ensure successful application management for the applicant and for us as the
company, it is vital to have a transparent system of job listings and interested
candidates. To guarantee transparency, we need an application management system
that all personnel departments can efficiently and independently access. It would be
impossible to ensure this type of access at a company as large as Deutsche Post World
Net with resume folders and e-mail applications. That is why we work strictly with
online applications (Website Deutsche Post).”

A second outcome of successful implementation online examination for recruitment

concerns productivity benefits of e-recruitment. These are widely discussed in the
literature. If e-recruitment is successfully implemented, it might lead to efficiency
advantages like cost reduction and time saving (Cappelli, 2001) shows that lowering
recruitment costs is the number two advantage of e-recruitment. 51 % of their
respondents perceived cost savings as an advantage. Time saving include job posting
and processing time, which can be reduced by e-recruitment (Jones et al, 2002). Job
postings, applicant response, and processing of résumés can be done faster (Pin et al,
2001). Next to that, the immediacy of listing reduces the time taken for recruitment to
remove quality job candidates from circulation before other competitors have the
opportunity to act (Jones et al, 2003). This affects the hiring cycle. Time saving
advantages also influence cost reduction. Finally, e-recruitment system quality.
Regarding to this construct, interviewees perceived the system to be relevant. The
system provides users several tools through which they can perform and structure their
recruitment process. The online test or exams is an integral part of the system.

The SAP E-recruiting Business Case (2004) describes, among other things, the initially
expected benefits of the system. These benefits include, first of all, decreasing
recruitment costs by matching supply and demand, proactive recruitment of personnel,
decreasing the turnaround time of the recruitment process, and purposeful use of
recruitment channels. Secondly, the new system was expected to reduce the turnaround
time from 90 to 50 days. Finally, the time spent on resume handling was to be decreased
by at least 2.5 hours per resume.

2.6 Disadvantages of Using Online Examination for Employee Recruitment

Although there are aspects that influenced e-recruitment using online examination in a
positive way, the new technology also contributed negatively to the quality of the
recruitment process. Due to the increased administrative burden, there is less time left
to perform the key activity of recruitment, recruiting potential employees. Another issue
concerns the user-friendliness of the system. Because of its time-consuming and
cumbersome design, e-recruitment requires users to perform many tasks and to perform
illogical work processes. Yet, as recruiters state that this is a disadvantage, they
perceive it is worse that the system is applicant unfriendly. This refers to the system’s
extensive nature, to the ease of understanding of the system, and the effort required of
applicants.
 CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY
3.1 Design Consideration

The purpose of the system design phase was to develop a clear blueprint that would
satisfy all documented requirement for the system. The overall system design objective
was to provide an efficient, modular design that will reduce the system’s complexity,
facilitate change and result in an easy implementation. This blueprint provided interface
design models that are consistent, user friendly and will provide straightforward
transition through the various system functions.

In the designing of this project, there were some considerations that had to be made and
analyzed in order for the system to work effectively and efficiently. These
considerations would help the proposed software achieve its intended objectives and
would satisfy the software development principles. These considerations include:

 Who is this software meant for?

 Who are the users/consumers of the proposed software?

 What are the minimum requirements for the efficiency for the proposed
software?

 What platform will the proposed software be implemented upon?

 How will the maintenance of the proposed software be carried out?

3.2 Summary of Project Methodology

According to Itsu (2018) Project Methodology provides tools to make the project
manager’s job a little easier. It contains definitions, guidelines, and templates for the
various project management activities needed to deliver successful projects. The main
methodology involves feasibility study, data collection, system analysis and design,
developing. The data considered necessary to build the system were collected and
analyzed. The methodology for the system design used here is the Waterfall Model.
One of the more traditional project management methodologies, Waterfall is a linear,
sequential design approach where progress flows downwards in one direction — like a
waterfall.

3.3 Data Source/Collection

The required data including department details, course details, student personal details,
semester details, exam details etc. were collected. The data collected would help
identify attributes, relationships, classes, entities/objects that describe, relate and
interact with the system. The data collection tools and techniques that were used are as
follows:

3.3.1. Interview

Interview is a powerful tool for data gathering since it allows the interviewer to probe
and clarify a number of issues. Face to face interview was used to interact with the
stakeholders and the users of the proposed system to obtain the data required for the
database management system.

3.3.2. Analysis of Current Student Complaint Management System

Purposes of the current Student Complaint Management System analysis are:

 To identify problems inhibiting the current student complaints management

system.

 To know how data is being managed.

 To examine the methods used in current student CMS.

 To know the data flow in the system.

The current student complaints management system was studied to get some useful
information for developing an effectual Student Database System. Currently, the
various departments manage student information independently in their own ways.
There are inadequate common, standardized process and program for capturing,
processing and storing student’s information. This has kept student information
fragmented in different departments and information provided to the various
departments by the students is characterized by discrepancies.

The various departments have systems in place to store and process student data but the
systems are not able to talk to each other (Interoperable). This makes it difficult for the
stakeholders to collate information of students across departments. On the other hand,
students are unable to know if their complaint are being resolved and attended to their
satisfaction.

3.3.3 Internet

I used this tool to argument my research work on the activities of other schools and to
also check other related works. This helped me in a very good and better way to
understand the needed modules to be included in the development of this project.

3.4 Hardware Requirement

 Intel Pentium IV processor or equivalent or higher

 512 MB Ram or Higher

 20 GB HDD or Higher

 Desktop computer or PC

3.5 Software Requirement

 PHP 5.5 or greater

 APACHE HTTP Server

 Microsoft Windows or Linux Operating system

 Intranet or Internet availability.

3.6 Design Architecture

The design used here is the Water fall model of the software development life cycle.
SDLC is a process followed for a software project, within a software organization. It
consists of a detailed plan describing how to develop, maintain, replace and alter or
enhance specific software. The life cycle defines a methodology for improving the
quality of software and the overall development process.

3.6.1 SDLC Models

There are various software development life cycle models defined and designed which
are followed during software development process. These models are also referred as
"Software Development Process Models". Each process model follows a Series of steps
unique to its type, in order to ensure success in process of software development.
Following are the most important and popular SDLC models followed in the industry:

 Waterfall Model

 Iterative Model

 Spiral Model

 V-Model

The other related methodologies are Agile Model, RAD Model – Rapid Application
Development and Prototyping Models.

I employed the use of the Water Fall Model. The Waterfall Model was first Process
Model to be introduced. It is also referred to as a linear-sequential life cycle model. It
is very simple to understand and use. In a waterfall model, each phase must be
completed before the next phase can begin and there is no overlapping in the phases. In
“The Waterfall" approach, the whole process of software development is divided into
separate phases. In Waterfall model, typically, the outcome of one phase acts as the
input for the next phase sequentially.

Figure 3.6.1 Waterfall Model

Sequential Phases in Waterfall Model

 Requirements: The first phase involves understanding what need to be design

and what is its function, purpose etc. Here, the specifications of the input and
output or the final product are studied and marked.

 System Design: The requirement specifications from first phase are studied in
this phase and system design is prepared. System Design helps in specifying
hardware and system requirements and also helps in defining overall system
architecture. The software code to be written in the next stage is created now.

 Implementation: With inputs from system design, the system is first developed
in small programs called units, which are integrated in the next phase. Each unit
is developed and tested for its functionality which is referred to as Unit Testing.
  Integration and Testing: All the units developed in the implementation phase
are integrated into a system after testing of each unit. The software designed,
needs to go through constant software testing to find out if there are any flaw or
errors. Testing is done so that the client does not face any problem during the
installation of the software.

 Deployment of System: Once the functional and non-functional testing is done,

the product is deployed in the customer environment or released into the market.

 Maintenance: This step occurs after installation, and involves making

modifications to the system or an individual component to alter attributes or
improve performance. These modifications arise either due to change requests
initiated by the customer, or defects uncovered during live use of the system.
Client is provided with regular maintenance and support for the developed
software.

All these phases are cascaded to each other in which progress is seen as flowing steadily
downwards (like a waterfall) through the phases. The next phase is started only after
the defined set of goals are achieved for previous phase and it is signed off, so the name
“Waterfall Model”.
 CHAPTER FOUR

RESULT
A web-based Test for staff recruitment management system intended to track and store
complaint records is the outcome of the project after a critical analysis, design, building
and testing of the system. Evaluation was properly done to ensure that the system meet
all the requirements and specifications. A stringent plan to monitor the implementation
of the new system is laid-out and the entire project documented. Finally, the new system
is deployed and users will receive some training to understand the new system. The new
system would run alongside the old system until the new system is proven to be effective
and efficient.

4.1. Technologies Used

HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP programming language are used to create an interface
that allows the front-end user to interact freely with the system. PHP is an object-
oriented programming language and it is flexible and user friendly because it allows the
software developer to design the system with less code using Cascading Style Sheet
(CSS), manipulate and graphically design the system. PHP is an HTML-embedded
scripting language and is very powerful behind the scenes scripting language that
visitors would not see. When you visit the PHP webpage, the web server processes the
PHP code. It then sees which part it needs to show to visitors (contents and pictures)
and hide the other stuff (file operations math calculations, etc.) then translate the PHP
to HTML. After the translation into HTML it sends the webpage to the visitor’s web
browser. MySQL is also chosen to create the database for the back-end user since it is
extensively used third generation database management system.

4.1.1. Steps Involved in Database Creation

The following steps were followed to create the database in MySQL: Create the
database file in PhpMyAdmin Create a table in PhpMyAdmin Set up different fields
which will be used in the table Insert dummy data into table Browse to view records in
the table.
4.1.2. Forms Creation and Connection to the Database

HTML is used to create the forms and the ‘filename.php’ file created will process the
HTML form information.

Before data can be accessed in a database, a connection to the database must be created.
In PHP this is done with MySQL_Connect() function.

For example:

<?php

define('DB_SERVER','localhost');

define('DB_USER','root');

define('DB_PASS' ,'');

define('DB_NAME', 'emma-amobi_1');

$con = mysqli_connect(DB_SERVER,DB_USER,DB_PASS,DB_NAME);

// Check connection

if (mysqli_connect_errno())

echo "Failed to connect to MySQL: " . mysqli_connect_error();

?>

The example above is a simple PHP script used to connect to the MySQL database
server. The die part will be executed if the connection fails.
4.1.3. Hardware Requirements

Processor: Pentium IV

Ram: 512 MB RAM

Hard Disk: 80 GB Hard disk

4.1.4. Software Requirements

Operating System: Microsoft XP or later

Database: MySQL database Server or better still WAMP server

Application Software: Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP)

Text Editor: Notepad++, Sublime Text, Jet brains PhpWebsstorm or VScode

Web Brewers: Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari

4.2. Linking Internal Database to the Web

A series of middleware and other software products has been developed to help users
gain access to organization’s legacy data through the web. For example, a user with a
web browser might want to search the web-based student database for student
information. The figure below illustrates how the user might access the database over
the web. The user would access the student database website over the internet using
web browser on his or her personal computer. The user’s browser would request data
from the student database, using HTML commands to communicate with the web
server. Because many back-end databases cannot interpret commands written in HTML,
the web server would pass this request for data to special software that translate HTML
commands into SQL so that they could be processed by the DBMS working with the
database. The DBMS receives the SQL request and provides the required data. The
figure also shows that the middleware working between the web server and the DBMS
is an application server running on the dedicated computer.
 Fig 4.1 Linking internal database to the web

4.3. Implementation

Implementation includes all the activities that take place to convert from the old system
to the new. A proper implementation is required to provide a dependable system to meet
the requirements. An improper installation may affect the success of the automated
system. The most appropriate approach used was to run the old and new system in
parallel. This offers high security, because even if there is a flaw in the automated
system, the manual system can be depended on.

4.4. How to Access the System

 Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome or Internet Explorer can be used to access the
web-based Complaint Management system.

 Follow the steps below to access the homepage:

 The page can be displayed by typing the URL address in the address field on the
browser.

 Valid password and login Id are required on the login page to access the system

4.5. Testing

Testing is a process of checking the software performance. The testing phase is

debugging the errors encountered after the system functions as a whole. The testing
includes testing a system dividing it into smaller entities, testing the looping of these
small entities and working of system as a whole in actual user environment.

Thorough testing was done to ensure that the system produces the right results. It was
time consuming to test the system because data must be carefully prepared, results
reviewed and corrections made in the system.
4.6. Maintenance

The system will be maintained periodically through effective monitory and evaluation.
This will go a long way to help identify and debug emergency production problems and
address them accordingly. A considerable amount of time would be spent to effect
changes in data, files, reports, hardware and software.
 CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION

The Latin maxim ―QUIDQUID INITIUM HABET FINEM HABET‖ means

―WHATEVER HAS A BEGINNING HAS AN END‖. This research work is in its
concluding stage. The importance of research work in academics cannot be over
emphasized. It broadens the horizon of students in their area of studies with focus on
the research topic.

The integrated online examination system for recruitment of staff which captures and
maintains longitudinal data of staffs would provide an accurate and reliable data about
staff. The system is free of errors and very efficient and less time consuming due to the
care taken to develop it. All the phases of software development cycle are employed
and it is worthwhile to state that the system is very robust. Provision is made for future
development in the system.

5.1. Recommendation

Nothing is perfect in this world. So, we are also no exception. Although, we have tried
our best to present the information effectively, yet, there can be further enhancement in
the Application. We have taken care of all the critical aspects, which need to take care
of during the development of the Project. Like the things this project also has some
limitations and can further be enhances by someone, because there are certain
drawbacks that do not permit the system to be 100% accurate.

Since online examination system for recruitment of staff is very broad, the scope of this
project covers only a small aspect of online examination system for recruitment of staff
due to the fact that the stipulated two months within which the project is expected to be
executed is too short. Students who are interested in building database system should
be encouraged to work on other aspect of staff information system in that all the
available related staff database system could be linked together. The department of
biostatistics should add programming to the courses offered and it should be made
compulsory and run for both semesters. This move will go a long way to help them do
their project without any difficulty. This report could be useful to any person who wants
to do a project on similar topic.

In this research work, we have developed an overall solution to the examination

administration problem in ESUT. It provides a user friendly platform of multiple
choice questions examination. It can be used for academic purpose, professional
certifications, staff promotion examination, Post UTME entrance examination, etc.

The online examination system is developed using PHP, HTML, CSS and
JAVASCRIPT. We have used My SQL Server for the database design. The actual
coding was done using C#. The system has reached a steady state where all bugs have
been eliminated. The system would be operated at a high level of efficiency and all
the stakeholders and user associated with the system understands its advantage.
The system solves the problem it was intended to solve as requirement specification.