Any organization that intends to compete through people must take the utmost care with

how it chooses organizational members, especially those at managerial ranks. These decisions
have a critical impact on the organizations ability to compete, as well as each and every jobs
applicants life. These decisions are too important to be left to the whim of untrained individuals.
Why hiring decisions should be made with utmost care?
The answer is simple and commonsensical. The hiring commitment could result in one of
the best career decisions of he hiring manager because the new employee has become one of
the best contributors to the organizations productivity and bottom line. On the other hand, the
decision could have been a big blunder on the part of the decision-maker because it has resulted
in a mismatch between the job and the new employee and that has caused innumerable and
irreparable damage to the organization. When the hiring decision results in a mismatch, a
number of problems could occur. First, an unqualified individual could take up an inordinate
amount of orientation and training time. Second, he or she will be performing poorly, is
unproductive, while getting paid. If the employee is one among four employees in a unit, then
one-fourth of the units productivity is gone. If the new employee is the units manager, the
potential productivity, morale and financial problems are magnified. Third, the presence of an
unqualified new employee causes disruption and triggers low morale in the unit because coworkers have to pitch in and perform some of this employees job. Fourth, the manager of the
unit may have to require overtime work to catch up on down time created by the unqualified
person, thus incurring more cost. Fifth, it is difficult and potentially costly to terminate ones
employment especially if the poor work habits emerge after the new employees probation
period.
But what happens if the situation is reversed, where the decision resulted in the choice of the
right person for the job?
This new employee could perform well and immediately add value to the organization. It
is important to note that while a companys other resources (physical, financial, capital) can be
copied and bettered by competitors, an organizations competent workforce is difficult to duplicate
and remains to be its strategic advantage.
Theoretical Bases
Recruitment is the process of attracting qualified individuals to apply for work in the
organization. Selection, on the other hand, is the process of choosing the best-qualified
individuals to fill specific job openings.
Henri Fayol (1841 1925) The stability of tenure for personnel: retaining personnel, orderly
personnel planning, and timely recruitment and selection are critical to success.
Frederick Winslow Taylor A job has to be systematically analyzed ad broken down into smallest
mechanical elements so that they can be rearranged into the smallest mechanical combination to
improve productivity. The elimination of extraneous movements from ones work activities
resulted in productivity improvements. This could be a precursor of job analysis, which is an
important process in identifying the competencies, qualifications, and critical success factors for a
job.
Taylor (1919) Individuals selected to do the works should be as perfectly matched, physically
and mentally to the demands of the job. The selection process, therefore, is important in avoiding
the hiring of unqualified individuals. Paralleling these developments were advice on the use of
reference checking, rating sheets for interviewers and statistical methods for estimating test
validity, and the extent to which selection devices accurately forecast job performance.
In the Philippines, recruitment and selection functions appear to be shared by line management
and HR practitioners, with HR serving in a support capacity. HR could test candidates for a job
vacancy and conduct preliminary interviews while line managers make subsequent interviews
and hiring decisions.