Case 7

08

Fall

08

Fall

Team 4 Case #7

HMRS 5435.01

Employee Planning, Staffing, & Selection

University of Houston – Clear Lake

Members:

Charlotte Duchesne, Kayla Gardner, Charlotte Horne,

Quyen Le, Tiffany Sweet, & Andrew Szymczak

1. Critique each of the alternative approaches suggested for solving the problem of selecting patient escorts.

Alternative approaches on how the selection process may be improved discussed in the case were to add hobbies, outside activities, and personal likes and dislikes to the application blank rather than having information that is not useful. Although this is a great tool to use, it does not necessarily predict job performance. Knowing what employees do outside of work and on their free time could be seen as personal information and invasion of privacy, which could result in legal issues. It is safe to ask job related information only and to stay away from personal information all together. They are not allowed to simply ask, “What are your hobbies, organizations you are a member of, or personal likes and dislikes” but they can ask any hobbies they may have that can be related to the job in which they are applying for, or any organizations they are involved in that is related to the job. Wording is key and they must make sure they are not being discriminatory in any way. This would be a useful tool because they could pair up mentors with patients that share the same interests.

Another alternative considered for the purpose of gaining a greater understanding of the applicants’ personalities was requiring three letters of recommendation from people who knew the candidate well. While there are positive attributes to letters of recommendation, there are also many drawbacks that are associated with their use. Writers of letters of recommendation tend to be positive and often give more information about themselves than the candidates for the position. More importantly, the scoring of the letter would be subjective and based...