St20017136 Nireesh Rt

E-Recruitment Research ProposalByST20017136

Presented to 12-12-2011IntroductionHuman Resource Management is probably the toughest function which a manager has to perform. The most important reason for it is because human resources are most complex and complicated resources of all. Human resources are not like other factors of production and involve complicated issues like emotions, feelings, sentiments and hence it becomes very difficult for managers to ensure that they devote their full efficiency while working for attaining organizational objectives. Thus, it is very crucial for the managers to select best and most efficient people at various levels so that the organizational objectives are achieved in proper way. Human resources are responsible for attainment of organizational objectives, much more than any other resource. So from managements perspective, it is really very important to have best possible selection and recruitment processes in order to ensure least labour turnover in the organization and also less disturbances in normal course of working (Ivancevich, 2007).Recruitment and selection are very important parts of overall staffing process. There are various methods used by managers to recruit and select people for various posts. Various sources include different sources of media like newspaper advertisement, internet job portals, and internal references and so on. (Mathis, Jackson, 2011)

With advancements in sources of communication and media, the sources of recruitment have increased. Earlier, before advent of internet, it was not thought that computer could be a source of recruitment or references for human resource management. But new sources keep on adding with introduction of new media sources. Taking this fact into account, this research is about Facebook to become a recruitment source in business organizations. In last few years, social networking sites have grown more vigorously than any other phenomena on web. Facebook has been the most impressive growth story of them all, it has huge following in masses and various organizations across the world are found to have their own space on Facebook. This is the reason why this topic has come up in mind for research purposes. (Torrington et al 2008)

BackgroundFacebook is a well known phenomenon in the world. Not only it has affected life of millions of people at large in the past few years, it has virtually become part of daily life of people across the globe. Facebook has been the reason why so many people around the globe have come together and closer. It has been the cause of increasing sharing of knowledge, news and other content online. It is an international juggernaut which seems to be unstoppable at the moment. There are various pros and cons related to usage and content of Facebook, but in fact, it is gaining popularity especially among youth. The corporate world knows it very well. What could be the reason besides this for corporate world giants to advertise their presence on Facebook rather than their own portals? The reason is that people would hardly visit to any companys website for taking details of products, rather they visit Facebook on regular basis and corporate sector companies know that.

Today, companies have become global in their perspective. Global corporations have hired people from across the globe from different nations. Companies have hired talents from different part of the world based on their skill and expertise. Facebook too is a global phenomenon. Global reach of Facebook is depicted by way of following diagram:

Source: http://futurepredictions.com/2011/04/future-prediction-facebook-to-hit-1-billion-subscribers-by-2012/There is no other website which has more followers. The most important thing is people actually access Facebook and spend a lot of time surfing net on Facebook. TitleCan Facebook act as potential source in e-recruitment process for global organizations?

Research QuestionThis particular research is based on the following question:

What are the issues and challenges in developing e -recruitmentprocesses through Facebook for global organizations?

Aim of ResearchResearch aims are based on various outcomes which are expected to be attained during course of this particular analysis. The following could be listed as the most prominent research aim for this paper:

The aim is to evaluate the issues and challenges faced by global organizations in e- recruitment process through FacebookObjectivesApart from various broad aims directed in this research, there are few objectives which the author wants to attain whilst completion of this project. Human resource management for long has been considered the biggest cost centre of the organization. This department is never considered to be profit or revenue centre directly for the organization. But during past few years, there have been initiatives so that actual cost incurred in hiring new personnel at various posts in the organization could be reduced considerably. The HR sector is undergoing an alteration. In August 2007, Monster France had more than 3 million CVs on their databases and LinkedIns social network had over 36 million members around the world in February 2009 Those are the main reasons for me to select a topic like that. Every purpose, every division, every work, was, is or will be disrupted by Internet stated Kalika in 2000. (Bratton, Gold, 1999)The objective is to find new methods of recruitment process and to find more reliable references for selection purposes. The main objectives for the research are listed as under: To evaluate the impact of social networking sites (SNS) on HR recruitment processes of global companies. To identify the merits and demerits of using Facebook as a channel for e-recruitment process. To assess the ethical considerations and privacy issues in using Facebook for recruitment process.Literature ReviewFor purpose of literature review, the author decided to take account of various articles and researches previously published on this matter. The author has researches various internet based databases and also some offline libraries to find relevant text on this subject. The author has selected following articles on the subject for purpose of analysis and literature review: Employers Use of Facebook in Recruiting: By Peter Engler and Peter Tanoury

Twitter, Facebook and Recruitment: By Thomas Shaw

Dont Facebook Me: Why You Shouldnt Google During the Recruiting Process: by Laurie Ruettimann

Using social networking sites in the recruitment process: brilliant or a legal trap?: By Dr. Kathleen Dodaro

The above mentioned list is not exhaustive, nor does the author want to intend any comparison of present research of what they have done in the past. The only outlook of the author while writing literature review was to take account of various reports and theses done in the past on that matter in order to ensure that whatever outlook and perception is made out of the current research is not merely repetition of what authors have said in the past. The main aim of every dissertation is to bring in something novel and different for a particular subject. The thing is, while carrying out the literature review, this process becomes doable and it gives a direction to the author to move the dissertation in particular way.Scope of Literature Review In their research, Engler and Tanoury have talked in details about advent of Facebook as potential source of recruitment. This is probably a comprehensive research article on this matter and has covered all the parts which a researcher wants to see in a research. The authors have started the research from the following scenario:A recruiter at a Denver based company has a stack of resumes on their desk from recent University of Colorado graduates. Due to time constraints and the fact that each applicant appears equally qualified, the recruiter decides to go online and check their Facebook profiles for any relevant information to aid in the hiring process. However, the recruiter does not have access to the CU Facebook network and asks one of their CU interns to log on for them. The recruiter begins searching through profiles based on the stack of submitted resumes. The first profile pops up. It doesn't take long before the recruiter sees that the applicants political affiliation is "very liberal" and listed under her interests is a pro-choice feminist club. Being a conservative Christian, the recruiter immediately throws away the applicants resume, never giving them a fair chance. As alarming as this sound, it is an increasing occurrence. Should the employer be allowed to see Facebook profiles and screen potential employees based on the information they uncover? This is a question that has only recently come to light due to the explosive popularity of Facebook across the university system (Engler & Tanoury, 2010).Facebook is a process by which the recruiters can have access to personal information of a candidate, without his knowledge. This could prove to be unethical practice as resume is the only official document forwarded by the candidate to the companies and all the knowledge or information about the candidate should be extracted out of it. But, a recruiter does not want to take chances while selecting correct candidates for the job and hence, they use various sources like social networking sites.The outlook of this research devised by Engler and Tanoury is to discuss Facebook and other social networking sites as source of reference and gathering of information for candidates. A person while updating profile on Facebook or other sites should be thinking twice of privacy options as it could be used by various people and especially during recruitment and selection processes, he could get out of the contest without getting a fair chance of fighting. This research helped in understanding how unofficially Facebook has been used as source of gathering references for recruitment processes. It has also talked about various ethical and other issues related to such practices. Our research goes to next level by talking about various initiatives the manager could take in order to officially use Facebook for e-recruitment process. This is something that has been done in the past by the managers, but what we intend is something which has not been tries as yet by the managers (Peluchette&Karl,2010).This research has also shown various methods by which the recruiters have access to candidates information via Facebook (Elmore,2009). The first instance has been listed above in the given scenario. The second process is to create an official page on Facebook and then inviting applications of for the selection process and then carrying out normal recruitment process. Our research is just an extension of second process of gathering information by enabling the pages of recruiters on social networking site like Facebook and accordingly carrying out recruitment process online.

Need of carrying out online process:

In current scenario, most of the processes for recruitment are done by offline measures which take enormous time of managers as well as candidates and on broad way, timeline for recruitment process is increased. The effort which we intend to make here is to reduce the amount of time taken to complete the recruitment process and also to ensure that there are considerable time savings in the process of recruitment (Rutledge, 2008).

This is what Thomas Shaw has argued in his research based on Twitter and Facebook as potential hiring factors. He has even gone to say that the candidates should be careful about what they exactly post on social networking sites because the content is actually monitored by the organizations. He has come up with some statistics which suggest that 45% of the employers are using social networking sites for selection and recruitment process. This again is encouraging stat for us as we now have idea that around half of the total employers are actually monitoring social networking sites already (West,2011).Taking this into account, we can give example where importance of Facebook could be illustrated in day to day life today. Whenever a new person comes into our contact, rather than taking introduction, we tend to search the person on Facebook to know whether he/she is single or engaged, her choices, preferences and so on (Reiter,2010). When the impact of Facebook is so much on daily life of individuals, one can just think how crucial and important it could be in normal recruitment processes (Bondarouk, Ruel, & Looise, 2011).

When a candidate enters an organization the only thing which a recruiter can do is to cross check the credential from references made in the resume. Hence, the actual sources from which credentials listed in the resume could be cross checked are relatively less. For this purpose, social networking sites could be handy.Finding Candidates on FacebookFacebook is very user friendly website and the process to find candidates on Facebook is relatively simple. As Shaw has illustrated in the following diagram:

Source: http://www.slideshare.net/thomasshaw/twitter-facebook-recruitment-integration-thomas-shaw-recruittech-2009But the above mentioned process has some inherent shortcomings. The most important thing is a candidate could really lie about the credentials on social networking sites. The fact remains that any candidate would take the information posted on resume more seriously than what he is listing on any social networking site, especially when he is not aware of the fact that the recruiters are actually making use of the information (Kluemper,& Rosen, 2009). But when a recruiter actually finds that the information listed on resume matches with what provided on social networking sites, the chances of making good impression of the potential candidate on the recruiter is pretty high (Social networking and recruitment, 2007). Laurie Ruettimann in her research pointed out ethical considerations of taking information from online sources. There are number of aspects which are quite personal to a human being and something which he does not want to disclose to other people in general. Hence, it is not recommended to have access on information posted online to recruiters (Ruettimann, 2010). Dr. Kathleen Dodaro on the other had has talked about various legal and other considerations which the recruiters should take in mind while gaining access to information of candidates via social networking sites. As per the author-- some say social networking is the best thing that has happened to recruiting. (USING SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES IN THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS: BRILLIANT OR A LEGAL TRAP, 2010)

After all, what every employer is looking for is the finest talent available because the success of an organization depends upon the skills and dedication of its employees. More importantly, individuals and organizations are most effective when their respective values, goals, and interests are aligned. It is a well-known fact that the industry of recruiting and interviewing needed to change drastically to address the issues businesses face when they do not properly match an individual to the position (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, & Cardy, 2010). The content posted on social networking sites is intended for personal use and various attributes which a recruiter wants to have in a candidate are not found there.

MethodologyThe research process and methodology adopted by the author during course of this research could be compiled in following diagram:The Onion Model

PhilosophyPositivism will be the underlying philosophy of this analysis. In this paper, the author has argued that the differentiation between quantitative and qualitative philosophies and research methods is sometimes exaggerated, and that triangulation of methods in modern-day research is common. It is, hence, crucial to realize the strengths and weaknesses of each approach, and this paper aims to provide the rookie researcher with a basis for formulating that understanding. A detailed analysis of the philosophies of positivism thinking in relevance to research methodology is demonstrated both as an introduction to the philosophical basis of research, and as a sound basis from which to discuss the quantitative-qualitative debate. The paper will make use of both quantitative and qualitative sources and hence, it will be important to follow a balanced approach to make use of them at selective instances. (AGRESTI, 2002)4.3Research Approach

Deductive approach is selected to pursue the conduct of this study due to its top down nature. Hypotheses are developed on the basis of available theory of HRM and social media. Data will be collected through survey instrument and hypotheses will be tested to check the correctness of assumptions on the selected scenario. Deductive approach follows few steps that will start the study from a general discussion and later will narrow down towards the empirical findings

4.4Research Strategy

Quantitative strategy will be followed with the help of field survey through a close ended questionnaire. Quantitative strategy choice will support the positivist framework which is base on objective and scientific approaches.4.5Data collection Method

The author has collected data from both primary and secondary data sources. The sources are described as follows:

Secondary Sources: This includes desk research and various sources which will make theoretical foundation of this study. The research for desk sources shall include various internet databases, online libraries, search engines, encyclopaedia. Apart from online resources, the author will also make use of journals, articles and reports on various relevant topics to be inculcated in this report. (Axinn and Pearce, 2006)

Primary Research

Primary research consisted of interviews and conversations which will be carried out during this research. There are various efforts made to rope in few acquaintances in corporate sector and finally we also carried out a questionnaire in one of the companies which has its operations (back office) in India. By primary research, we will be able to focus at primary issues rather than just revolving around basic issues and just being simplistic about our outlook. Primary research in this case is important because it results in great control; not only does primary research enable the marketer to focus on specific subjects, it also enables the researcher to have a higher control over how the information is collected. Taking this into account, the researcher can decide on such requirements as size of project, timeframe and goal.

We have also included a questionnaire (Appendix) which will be used for collection of primary research data. We shall try to gather information from various HR consultants and recruiters.

4.5.2Questionnaire Designing and conducting survey

The questionnaire is designed on the basis of close ended questions. The contents of these questions will be related to the demographic (age, gender, profession etc.) of respondents, attitude towards purchasing based on packaging of soft drinks, and general perceptions about the impact of packaging styles on brand image. The five point Likert attitude scales and multiple choice questions will be used in designing quantitative questions. Due to easiness and direct approach, only quantitative strategy will be followed in data collection instrument.

4.6Time Horizon

The cross-sectional time horizon is proposed for thisresearch, because the responses of the corporate employees will be taken in present and the research will not stretch over long period of time as in the case of longitudinal research.4.7Research Technique

The research plans to take a quantitative technique based on the survey method. An employees survey will be conducted to explore and evaluate research objectives. As compared to case study and experiments will not suit this type of research due to their detailed and qualitative nature in general.4.7Sample Size and Sampling Technique

Sample frame will be comprised on the employees list of selected global organizations. Proposed sample size is about 100 employees at different posts in regional and local offices of various organizations. Proposed sampling technique is judgemental sampling in which ion ly HR managers and employees of HR departments will be accessed for conducting survey. This technique will help to identify the representative sample for this research.

4.8Data AnalysisThe collected data will be transferred to the SPSS software and analysed with the help of regression techniques and descriptive statistics. The research questions will be answered with the help of this statistical analysis.4.9Reliability and Validity

The efforts will be made to upgrade the reliability factor of the research by contacting the respondents personally and using the personal influence in increasing credibility of the collected data. The chances of collecting original data from respondents will be high in this method, otherwise in electronic conduct of survey there are chances that the questionnaires might be filled by somebody else. Also, the confirmed contacts and known respondents can be tested for another research of the same type to get accurate answers in future. On the other hand, in case of interview or focus group discussion, the response of interview may be changed if same research is repeated in future because if the subjective nature of interviews and the impact of surroundings on the respondent mind. Another reliability factor of this form of data is the easy interpretation and conversion to the mathematical analysis which is not possible in qualitative data.

4.8Ethical IssuesWhile compiling this particular research, there were a number of ethical issues which we had confronted. First of all, we had come across various ethical constraints which were inherently part of the particular research like having access on personal information of candidates via social networking sites. While compiling this research, we had collected data from both primary and secondary sources. We also had interviewed various people who have worked as recruitment agents and have used social networking sites for having details about a particular person. We had to ensure their being anonymous during all part of this research. We have also conducted a few interviews with candidates who have actually updated their Facebook accounts in order to provide best possible impression on the employers. Maintaining their privacy and using only relevant part of information for our research was very important while compiling this research.5.ConclusionIt is important for managers to understand that innovation is inherent part of management practices. There are number of theories and methods which managers have used in order to recruit new people in the organization. But the main concern for manager remains the high labour turnover rate. Human resources are very crucial in attainment of goals of the organization and it needs extreme amount of expertise from part of managers to take most deserving candidate at key positions in the organization. For this purpose, there are specified theories in place and various methods which have proved more than successful for hiring candidates.

Facebook in past few years has become really very popular source of communication in the youth and public at large. Having recruitment process conducted online will mean that managers are able to save a lot of money as well as hiring and recruitment process shall also become even more transparent.BibliographyAGRESTI, A. (2002).Categorical data analysis. Wiley series in probability and statistics. New York, NY [u.a.], Wiley.

AXINN, W. G., & PEARCE, L. D. (2006).Mixed method data collection strategies. Cambridge [etc.], Cambridge University Press.

Bondarouk, T., Ruel, H., & Looise, J. C. (2011). Electronic HRM in theory and practice. Bingley: Emerald Group Pub.

Bratton, J., & Gold, J. (1999). Human resource management: theory and practice (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Macmillian Business.

Dessler, G. (2008). Human resource management (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Donald H. Kluemper,&Peter A. Rosen.(2009). Future employment selection methods: evaluating social networking web sites.Journal of Managerial Psychology,24(6),567-580.

Elmore,B..(2009). SOCIAL Networking STRATEGIES.Baylor Business Review,28(1),25-27.Engler, P & Tanoury, P. (2010): Employers Use of Facebook in Recruiting: Retrieved on 9th December 2011 from website: http://www.ethicapublishing.com/3CH5.htmGomez-Mejia, L. R., Balkin, D. B., & Cardy, R. L. (2010). Managing human resources. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Ivancevich, J. M. (2007). Human resource management (10th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin

Mathis, R. L., & Jackson, J. H. (2011). Human resource management (13th ed.). Mason, OH: Thomson/South-western.

Peluchette,J.,&Karl,K..(2010). Examining Students' Intended Image on Facebook: "What Were They Thinking?!".Journal of Education for Business,85(1),30-37.Reiter,D..(2010). Recruiting High-Level Executives Remains a Relationship Business.Employment Relations Today,37(3),33.

Ruettimann, L. (2010). Dont facebook me: Why you shouldnt google during the recruiting process. Available online at: http://www.tlnt.com/2010/10/04/dont-facebook-me-why-you-shouldnt-google-during-the-recruiting-process/

Rutledge, P.-A. (2008). Profiting from social networking. Upper Saddle River, N.J: FT Press.

Shaw, T. (2009): Twitter, Facebook, Recruitment & Integration: Retrieved on 9th December 2011 from website: http://www.slideshare.net/thomasshaw/twitter-facebook-recruitment-integration-thomas-shaw-recruittech-2009Social networking and recruitment. (2007). Is it ethical to use social networking sites for recruitment. Available online at: http://www.ceridian.co.uk/connection/articles/recruiting-ethically/Torrington, D., Hall, L., & Taylor, S. (2008). Forum Personal management (7th ed.). Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

USING SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES IN THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS: BRILLIANT OR A LEGAL TRAP? 2010. Available online at: http://www.naylornetwork.com/ahh-nwl/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=123607&issueID=22495West,C..(2011). You're on Facebook. . . Now What?International Educator,20(3),88-90,92.Appendix

Sample Questionnaire

The sample questionnaire consists of following questions:1) Have you ever used social networking sites to gather information about potential candidates?

Answer: Yes/No

2) Do you agree that social networking sites could be used to gather the information which resume of a candidate is generally lacking?

3) Do you agree that it is very important that a recruiter needs to have access on personal information of a candidate apart from what is referred on resume?

4) Do you agree that using social networking sites to gather information is violation of personal privacy of a candidate?

5) Which of the following sites have you visited or have an account on:

Facebook

Orkut

Twitter

Linked In

6) Do you admit that Facebook is reliable source of information?

Yes

No

7) Do you find gathering information via social networking sites is economical as compared to other sources?

Yes

No

Technique:

Quantitative

Time horizon: cross sectional

Method:

Mixed method

STRATEGY

Survey

APPROACH

Deduction

PARADIGM

Positivism

Deductive Approach

Theory Development

Devising Hypothesis

Testing Of Hypothesis

Results