MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

Module: Management Techniques



Module: Management Techniques

Question

To what extent is it both possible and desirable to overcome the factor of human bias in employee selection methods?

Introduction

The recruitment and selection process is guided by the need to hire new staff, which defines when it is necessary to do so. The recruitment and selection process should be thorough and clean. When a new vacancy arises, thehuman resources (HR) manager should advise internally and/or externally depending on the employment equity rules and the type of skills required(Evans &Barsoux 2003). The recruitment manager should verbally inform all internal employees viae-mail, and externally through sources such as: radio, newspapers, through online jobs on UK websites and/or through employment agencies in UK (Beer, 1984, p.110). Research indicates that humans are inherently biased, thusHR people are no exception (Kirizov, 2000). Human bias can been costly to organisations, especially in if the HR team does not find the correct staff forjobs (Armstrong, DATE, pp.15). This assignment will explore the most common forms of human bias in employee selection, and determine the extent to which such bias may be managed by the recruitment and selection teams.

After an individual applies for a job, there should be a rigorous recruitment process that ensures the individual is of high quality, and will remain with the organisation for a substantial period. There should be interviews based on the demands of the job, and the process should be on merit only, whereinformation and characteristics necessary for job should be judged. Therefore an individual who scores highin all the categories should qualify for the job, and the successful should be offered a contract, then provided with necessary orientation and job-training. The rigorous recruitment and selection process helps in hiring the right candidate. It is essential to employ a suitable candidate in relation to the job requirements in addition tothe company's recruitment policy and procedures, while alsoalso reducing employee exodus (Bates, 2002, p.25). Duringthe selection phase, the HR team must identify the extent that its selection decisions are impacted by human bias (Bae& Lawler, 2000,p 334). This involves determining how human bias influences the selection decisions. The different forms of human bias are presented as under: selective bias, self-directed bias, information bias, andstereotyping.

Selective Bias

Through their complex perceptual processes, managers fall prey to selective perception of the interviewees. Selective perception relates to a marginalised focus on some particular objects or aspects of people. Due to selectively and the perception ofdifferent stimuli, managers can attribute various negative and positive characteristics to the interviewee's profile. For instance, an interviewee with a coffee stain on his shirt may appear unpromising, even though he is otherwise well presented (Kirizov, 2000). The selective perception of the interviewer might make him generalise this negative appearance aboutthe overall job suitability of the candidate (Bates, 2002,p 26).

Self-Directed Bias

A recruiter may also need to deal with the self-centred bias that is inherent in human behaviour. He might see his own 'image' in the prospective employee due to the 'clone' ...