Name:

Course & Section: BSPSY 3101

Finals: Homework 1

CASE 1:
Dorothy Bryant was the new recruiting supervisor for International Manufacturing Company in
Salt Lake City, Utah. One of Dorothy’s first assignments was to recruit two software design
engineers for International. Design engineers are hard to recruit because of the difficulty of their
training and the high demand for them. After considering various recruitment alternatives,
Dorothy placed the following ad in a local newspaper with a circulation in excess of 1,000,000:
Employment opportunity for Software Design Engineers
2 positions available for engineers desiring career in growth industry.
Prefer recent college graduates with good appearance.
Good credit rating
Apply Today! Send your résumé,
in confidence, to: D. A. Bryant
International Manufacturing Co., P.O. Box 1515
Salt Lake City, UT 84115
More than 300 applications arrived in the first week, and Dorothy was elated. When she
reviewed the applicants, however, it appeared that few people possessed the desired
qualifications for the job.
Questions:
1. Dorothy overlooked some of the proper recruiting practices, which resulted in an excessive
number of unqualified people applying. What are they?
Dorothy Bryant must write the job description carefully in placing an ad in a newspaper
or other media advertisement. The language in your job ad could reveal a lot about the person
you’re intending to hire. If your ad looks and reads like everything else out there, don’t be
surprised if the candidates you attract are average as well. There is no clear job specification
provided by Dorothy Bryant for the candidates. She needs to provide more detailed job
requirements if she wants the advertisement to be more successful. She needs to have stated the
amount of education and expertise needed for the post. Bryant should not have included a
needless condition like "excellent appearance" or any other because it is clearly discriminatory
and should not be done. The way you speak to people reading your job ad is just as important as
the message you’re sending.

2. Are there any hiring standards that should be avoided? Identify them and explain why they
should be avoided.
She should avoid including "good appearance and good credit rating" as a job
requirement in the advertisement. To begin with, design engineer applicants are not required to
have a "good appearance," nor, according to my understanding, a "good credit rating," because
the job is based on skill and ability to do the job rather than good credit or appearance. It's
understandable that you're looking for someone who possesses all of the necessary qualifications
for your open position. Make sure that you are reasonable when compiling a list of these skills.
Many candidates will be turned off if the list of required skills is interminable. They will be
discouraged to apply if they do not feel they meet the requirements on your list. This is why it's
useful to divide skills into two categories: required and desirable/good to have, with the essential
job skills falling into the first.

3. What recruitment sources and methods might have been used to have generated a better
applicant pool for the two software design engineer positions for International Manufacturing?
Defend your recommendations.
Bryant should focus on social media (Facebook, LinkedIn), job fairs where you can meet
potential employees who are interested in the job offers, and colleges and universities where
most colleges and universities have people who train a specific skill, such as "designing
engineers". In methods of recruitment, Bryant should post her ad on social media platforms like
Facebook, LinkedIn, and etc. She should attend job fairs, present her company, and speak with
potential employees who are interested in the position. Finally, she should seek out promising
applicants by contacting college and university staff, faculty, and administrators. To avoid and
reduce the number of unqualified candidates, Bryant may include a brief instruction in the
middle of the job posting. For example, in this job posting, candidates are instructed to write 'I
read the job description' in the subject line of their email when applying.
CASE 2:
Five years ago when Bobby Bret joined Crystal Productions as a junior accountant, he
felt that he was on his way up. He had just graduated with a B+ average from college, where he
was well liked by his peers and by the faculty and had been an officer in several student
organizations. Bobby had shown a natural ability to get along with people as well as to get things
done. He remembered what Roger Friedman, the controller at Crystal, had told him when he was
hired: “I think you will do well here, Bobby. You’ve come highly recommended. You are the
kind of guy that can expect to move right on up the ladder.”
Bobby felt that he had done a good job at Crystal, and everybody seemed to like him. In
addition, his performance appraisals had been excellent. However, after five years he was still a
junior accountant. He had applied for two senior accountant positions that had opened, but they
were both filled by people hired from outside the firm. When the accounting supervisor’s job
came open two years ago, Bobby had not applied. He was surprised when his new boss turned
out to be a hotshot graduate of State University whose only experience was three years with a
large accounting firm. Bobby had hoped that Ron Greene, a senior accountant he particularly
respected, would get the job.
On the fifth anniversary of his employment at Crystal, Bobby decided it was time to do
something. He made an appointment with the controller. At that meeting Bobby explained to Mr.
Friedman that he had worked hard to obtain a promotion and shared his frustration about having
been in the same job for so long. “Well,” said Mr. Friedman, “you don’t think that you were all
that much better qualified than the people that we have hired, do you?” “No,” said Bobby, “but I
think I could have handled the senior accountant job. Of course, the people you have hired are
doing a great job too.” The controller responded, “We just look at the qualifications of all the
applicants for each job, and considering everything, try to make a reasonable decision.”
Questions
1. Do you believe that Bobby has a legitimate complaint? Explain.
I do believe that Bobby has no legitimate complaint. The reason for this is since every job
position contains specific requirements that qualify a person for an appointment. In comparison
to other candidates, Bobby fell short for the job because of his lack of a college education. The
cause of stopping and advancing his college course disadvantaged him from being qualified for
the position he applied for. Furthermore, Bobby was unaware of the criteria used in the hiring
process. While organizations that provide training and development benefit more than those that
do not, it is not the company's responsibility to provide the services. As a result, in firms that do
not provide such initiatives, it is the responsibility of employees to self-develop. There is no
legitimate complaint if Crystal made the decision based on the best qualified individual.
2. Explain the benefits of a promotion from within policy. Would such a policy be
appropriate for Crystal?
Employee promotion is one of the main goals of employees working hard. It is a big tool
for career advancement and employee retention. It is because when employees get a chance to
grow, they stick with a company and this motivation ultimately correlates to higher productivity.
Although most businesses benefit from internal promotion, Bobby has no information on the
qualifications of the employees who were hired for the two jobs he applied for and ultimately did
not get. The advantages of hiring from within include motivation and inventiveness to strive for
advancement, knowledge of the business, practices, and culture, and the company has already
invested in the employee. Hiring from outside sources also has the advantage of bringing in new
ideas and enthusiasm to the company.

CASE 3:
As production manager for Thompson Manufacturing, Sheila Stephens has the final
authority to approve the hiring of any new supervisors who work for her. The human resource
manager performs the initial screening of all prospective supervisors and then sends the most
likely candidates to Sheila for interviews. One day recently, Sheila received a call from Pete
Peterson, the human resource manager: “Sheila, I’ve just spoken to a young man who may be
just who you’re looking for to fill the final line supervisor position. He has some good work
experience and appears to have his head screwed on straight. He’s here right now and available if
you could possibly see him.”
Sheila hesitated a moment before answering. “Gee, Pete” she said, “I’m certainly busy
today, but I’ll try to squeeze him in. Send him down.” A moment later Allen Guthrie, the
applicant, arrived at Sheila’s office and she introduced herself. “Come on in, Allen,” said Sheila.
“I’ll be right with you after I make a few phone calls.” Fifteen minutes later Sheila finished the
calls and began talking with Allen. Sheila was quite impressed. After a few minutes Sheila’s
door opened and a supervisor yelled, “We have a small problem on line one and need your help.”
Sheila stood up and said, “Excuse me a minute, Allen.” Ten minutes later Sheila returned, and
the conversation continued for 10 more minutes before a series of phone calls again interrupted
the pair. The same pattern of interruptions continued for the next hour. Finally, Allen looked at
his watch and said, “I’m sorry, Mrs. Stephens, but I have to pick up my wife.” “Sure thing,
Allen,” Sheila said as the phone rang again. “Call me later today.”
Questions
1. What should Sheila have done to avoid interviews like this one?
Stephens was definitely too busy to accommodate an interview on that particular
day. Stephens, though busy at the time, had good intentions of performing a good interview but
neglected to take a few necessary steps to make sure it went well. The human resource manager
may have been overzealous in his request for immediate attention by not considering the
schedule of the production manager. Fortunately, the candidate had to pick up his wife because
further interruptions to the interview process would have become rather embarrassing on behalf
of the company. Sheila should have told Pete she was too busy to squeeze him in and reschedule
the interview and request Allen's resume. She should have given priority to either her busy day
or the interview. Furthermore, Shelia should have told Pete to begin the hiring process
immediately. There is a reason for the hiring process to begin with. She was far too busy and had
far too much on her plate. She could avoid these interviews if she stuck to the hiring process and
told Pete that from now on, just start the hiring process.

2. Explain why Sheila, not Pete, should make the selection decision.
Sheila has the final authority to approve any hiring of new Supervisors who work for
her. She knows exactly what positions need to be filled and what skills and qualifications are
needed. Her job is also to interview each potential applicant to make her final decisions. Pete's
job was solely to screen each applicant and send the potential applicants to Sheila, who makes
the final decision. Shelia is the one who makes the final decision, and Pete should just send her
the applications, so she can choose who to call. She needs to set up an actual interview, so there
are no interruptions at all, and the desk knows to hold on her calls.

3. What steps in the selection process were missed, if any? What problems might occur as a
result of these omissions?
Pre-Employment screening, background and reference checks were the steps
wherein she missed during the selection process. Shelia did not have his application or anything
there for she is unable to call and check the references and has not received the background
check, because the applicant has not filled one out yet. A problem that might occur is the
applicant can’t be hired, due to something on the background check that prohibits him/her from
working there. If the proper steps were taken he/she could have been weeded out, and Sheila
would not have had to take time out of her day to do the interview.