A

Project Report

On

STUDY OF RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION

FOR

MALAYALA MANORAMA Co Ltd.

BY
Marvin Mathew Varghese

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

PROF. Mrs. SMITA SOVANI

SUBMITTED TO
“UNIVERSITY OF PUNE”
In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the degree of master of
business administration (MBA)

Through
Vishwakarma Institute of Management,
Pune-48.

1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

I would like to express my deepest sentiments of gratitude to all

those who have helped me this endeavour. First of all, I would like to thank

God almighty who is the source of everything in my life.

I express my deep sense of indebtedness and sincere gratitude to

the Director Dr Sharad Joshi for having allowed me to undertake the project

work.

I express my sincere gratitude to Mr. K.M.Mathew Chief Editor, for

granting me the permission to conduct the study in their esteemed

organization. My heartfelt thanks to Mr. Pradeep Nair General Manager, HR

division Malayala Manorama, Kottayam for his suggestions and guidance

given to me.

I am extremely thankful to Mr, K. Thomas Jacob(Manager, HR), Mr.

Murli, Mr. Prakasan, Mr. Suraj Thomas, Mr. Unnikrishnan, Mrs. Lovely

Thomas, Miss. Nishana P., and Miss. Swapna Susan Abraham for their

valuable guidance, support and help.

2
 My warmest thanks are due to Mrs Smita Sovani for valuable

guidance, generous encouragement has given me all through the tenure of my

project.

A special word thanks to my parent, relatives, friends and colleagues,

who have been interested and involved in my work in many ways, for their

constant encouragement.

Marvin Mathew Varghese

INDEX

Sr. No. Title Page Number

1 Executive Summary 1

2 Company Profile 3

3 Objectives of the Study 19

4 Introduction to Recruitment and Selection 22

5 Recruitment and Selection at Malayala Manorama 50

3
6 Research Methodology 52

7 Data Analysis 55

8 Findings and conclusions 63

9 Suggestions and Recommendations 65

10 Bibliography 66

11 Appendices 67

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

This project is done in partial fulfillment for the award of the master of business
administration for the University of Pune. The project titled as, ‘study of recruitment
and selection procedures’ was held at MALAYALA MANORAMA for a period of
two months from 14th of June to 14th of august. The project was carried under the
guidance of.
While studying the HR procedures it was conspicuous that the recruitment and
selection procedures are of greater importance for any organization. As Malayala
Manorama is an esteemed organization in Kerala the response to recruitment
advertisement was huge. During my training period I was a part of recruitment and
selection procedure. My primary task was to screen the resumes of the applicants and
thus to select the candidates for the interview sessions. The selection procedures

4
included written tests and interviews. After every stage the selected candidates are
moved to the next level while the rejected candidates are again called for the feed-
back. However recruitment in Malayala Manorama is done mainly by news paper
and magazine advertisements. Online procedures are also opted for the executive
posts.
The objective with which the study was conducted are as follows,
To understand:
1 The functioning of Recruitment and Selection.
2 To have exposure to recruitment process
3 Whether the recruitment process and selection process are satisfactory or not.

The selected 80 candidates who appeared for the second and final phase of interview
were selected as the sample. From the organization 10 executives were interviewed
to assess the process internally.

The major findings about the recruitment and selection procedures are as follows,

The overall satisfaction level is high.

Job profile communication, evaluation of experience is the factors where
Malayala Manorama is scoring well.

The recruitment is mainly done through print media.

The selection procedures are having three phases

The executives want the procedure to be future oriented.

Following were the suggestions given for the improvement in the procedures.

5

The process should be made future oriented this can be done by keeping
skills, attitude and knowledge in consideration instead of just emphasizing on
qualification and experience.

The levels for selection procedures should be minimized for lower level staff
selection.

The individual departmental needs should be communicated within the
company during general meetings, also the job profiles should be designed in
such a way that it reinforces with the need of departments so as to avoid
inter-departmental frictions.

The recruitment is not done mainly by campus interviews. The company
should opt for it as it provides the chance for getting higher potential
candidates and the process is cheaper too.

The recruitment and selection process should be designed in such a way that
the time and economy factor are well observed.

COMPANY PROFILE:

Sree Kandathil Varghese Mappilai launched Malayala Manorama, the

first joint stock publishing company in 1888. The great Kerala poet Kerala Varma
named it Malayala Manorama.This Company started off with one hundred shares of
Rs 100 each. The first installment was good enough to buy a press. The first issue of
manorama appeared on March 22, 1890. While kottayam was hosting a highly
popular cattle fair.Its, very first editorial was passionate plea for the education and
welfare of the pulayas.
From a weekly, the Malayala manorama grew into a bi-weekly in 1901,
a tri-weekly in 1918 and a daily in 1928.After the death of Varghese mappilai in

6
1904; his nephew mammen mappilai took over the reins. The rise of Malayala
manorama is the outcome of the vision and perseverance of K.C Mammen Mappilai.
Oppressive regimes attempted to crush the Malayala manorama on various
occasions. On September 10th 1938, during the Indian freedom struggle, the
government closed down the newspaper .It resumed the publication soon after
independence with mammen mappilai son, 50 year old K.M.Cherian at the helm. The
spirit continues in the safe hands of sree K M Mathew, the present chief editor.
Today the daily is published from sixteen centres.They are Kottayam,
Kozhikode, Cochin, Palakkad, Kannur, Kollam, Trivandrum, Thrissur, Malappuram,
Pattanamthita, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai. , Kolkata, Dubai, and Bahrain

The motto of Malayala manorama is “DHARMOSAMATHI

KULADAIVATHAM”.(CHARITY OUR HOUSEHOLD DIVINITY). Manorama
has an effective management and a decentralized system of decision-making. There
are no political based trade unions and there has been no conflict or disagreement of
any kind in the company’s 112 years of existence.
Malayala Manorama is the largest language daily in India with circulation
of over 15 lakhs copies per day. Malayala Manorama has many other publications
catering to a broad spectrum of people in five languages including Hindi and
English. It was the first Indian language daily to cross the million marks in
circulation.

PERSONALITIES BEHIND THE SUCCESS

• Kandathil Varghese mappilai(1857-1904)
• K C Mammen Mappilai(1873-1954)
• K M Cherian(1929-1938)
• K M Mathew –Chief Editor since 1973

7
LAND MARKS

YEAR LANDMARKS
1888 Malayala Manorama Company founded by Kandathil Varghese
Mappilai on March 14
1890 The first issue of Malayala Manorama appears on march 22. It is a
weekly news paper
1892 Publication of Bhashaposhini
1901 Manorama becomes a bi-weekly on August 7
1904 Kandathil Varghese Mappilai passes away on July 6. K C Mamman
Mappilai becomes Editor
1915 Manorama starts publishing daily world war supplements.
1918 Manorama becomes tri-weekly on July 2
1928 Manorama becomes a daily on January 16
1929 Akhila Kerala Balajana Sakhyam formed on May 29
1930 Manorama commences publication of Annual Numbers.
1937 publication of Malayala Manorama weekly on August 8
1938 Manorama proscribed in Travancore.The on September 10. It makes a
surprise appearance from Cochin state on September 14 but folds up
after 3 months.
1941 Mamman Mappilai released from jail.
1992 Chief minister Karunakaran inaugurates Palakkad edition on April 22.

8
1947 Manorama restarts on November 29.
1954 K.M Cherian becomes Chief Editor on January 1. K.M Mathew joins
Manorama as General Manager.

1972 Balarama launched. In 1973, K.M Cherian passed away on march 14.
K.M Mathew becomes Chief Editor
1975 Vanitha launched. In 1979, Kochi edition started on January 15.

1993 Manorama vision, the electronic media division, formally launched on

October 18. In 1994 Vijayaveedhi launched
1995 Manorama music launched on January 1.
1998 Malayala Manorama thrissur unit inaugurated.
2001 50th international Press Institute World Assembly at New Delhi,
organized by Malayala Manorama.
2002 Mumbai edition of Manorama started on February 11th. Bangalore and
Chennai editions of Manorama started on February 16
2007 Malayala Manorama Pattanamthita edition launched.

MISSION, VISION AND VALUES

The MISSION of the organization is “DHARMOSAMATH KULADAIVATHAM”
,meaning “charity our household divinity”
From inception,Malayala Manorama has been a socially conscious and
welfare oriented organization.It has an effective management and decentralized
system of decision making.There are no political based trade unions and the fact that
the company has excellent relations with its workers.

9
VISION AND VALUES
• High trust through Family Culture
• Faces all the problems Still maintain Spirit of harmony
• Delegates and develops Yet retain Honesty
• Help others succeed Yet Remain Informal
• High Performance Standard which allow Transparency
• Highly innovative in being Ambitious
• Process happiness create sense of Belonging

GOALS
• Growth in turn over
• Growth in circulation
• Creditability
• Responsiveness to customers ,readers, advertisers, and agents
• Continual improvement in system and procedure\
• Adhesiveness to ISO 9001-2000
QUALITY POLICY
The international organization for standardization (ISO) is a
worldwide federation of national standard bodies from some 140 countries, one
from each country.
Malayala manorama got ISO certification in 1999.It has implemented the
1994 version. When ISO was implemented, the major changes that took place
in the organization are in the divisions like marketing, circulation, works,
editorial and materials.

Malayala manorama’s quality policy

• Our readers and advertisers define the quality of our publications.

10
 • We ensure that all of them receive the best of our services. It is
our constant endeavor to live up to their aspirants.
• To meet the changing expectations of quality, we design and
appropriate work processes and revises them from time to time.
• Flaws in the process cause defects. We modify the process to
prevent problems and desist from attributing the defects to people.
• We are committed to the continuous up gradation of competence
and responsiveness of all our members through appropriate
training programs. This is essential for our job satisfaction and to
improve the quality of our work.
• Our sources, distributors, agents, and advertisers are all
responsible partners in our effort for quality. We ensure their
involvement in raising benchmarks of quality.
• We value the safety and healthy of our people and equipment.
Every member of manorama is responsible for ensuring the
cleanliness of our premises and upkeep of our equipment.
• We have a commitment to one another within manorama like our
commitment to our work and our society. We respect each other
and our mutual dependence.

PRODUCT PROFILE
Malayala Manorama is a multi magazine publishing house. It has
publications for different age groups based on different tastes and needs. In 1982,
Manorama launched The Week, a news feature magazine in English. It is among the
best- read English magazine in India. Manorama has grown into a highly successful
publishing house with a slew of other immensely popular periodicals. Besides the
daily newspaper, there is Manorama weekly for the common man. It is the largest
selling weekly in India. The weekly Balarama is the best- selling children’s

11
magazine in India. Children of school going age have two other playmates from
Manorama: Balarama Amarchithra Katha and Balarama Digest. For pre-scholars,
there is the delightful Kalikudukka and an English version, Magic Pot.
For women, there is Vanitha, the largest circulated women’s
magazine in India. Vanitha Hindi edition, launched in 1997, became an instant hit.
School students have found a reliable study aid in Vijayaveedhi. Job seekers have a
guide in Thozhilveedhi. Karshakashree, a bold experiment in farm journalism has
won over the farming fraternity. Bhashaposhini, the literary journal, is sought- after
by the highbrow reader. For the scholar and the knowledge seeker, choices come in
five languages: Manorama yearbook is published in Malayalam, English, Hindi,
Tamil and Bengali. In CD-Rom, it is called the Manorama Knowledge Adventure.
Besides, Manorama has a vibrant presence in the Electronic Media. Manorama
Vision, its television software division was launched in 1993 producing quality
television serials and news and current affairs programmes for Malayalam Television
Channels. Its Music division, Manorama Music was started in 1995. On the web,
Manorama Online has a magnetic pull. It started its television channel in 2007. The
different products are listed below:

No PRODUCTS NO PRODUCTS
1 Malayala Manorama Daily 23 Hasta-VCD
2 Malayala Weekly( Malayalam) 24 Ente Malayalam
3 Bhashaposhini(Malayalam) 25 Thiruvabharanam(Malayalam, Tamil)
4 Year book(Malayalam) 26 Vishukani(Malayalam)
5 Year Book( English) 27 Higher Education Directory(English)
6 Year Book( Hindi) 28 Swayamvaram
7 Year Book(Tamil) 29 Parpidam

12
8 Year Book( Bengali) 30 Vanitha Annual
9 Balarama ( Malayalam) 31 Vanitha Fashion
10 Balarama Digest 32 Vanitha Panchakam
11 Balarama Amarchithra Katha 33 Vanitha Aarogyam
12 Vanitha(Malayalam) 34 The Man
13 Vanitha( Hindi) 35 Shreeman
14 The Week( English) 36 Onam Ponnonam
15 Karshakashree(Malayalam) 37 Manorama Music
16 Kalikudukka (Malayalam) 38 Calendar(Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi)
17 Magic pot 39 Malayala Manorama Dairy
18 Malayala Manorama Varshika 40 The Week Dairy
Pathippu
19 Onam Annual (Malayalam) 41 Karshakashree Dairy
20 Vijayaveedhi(Malayalam) 42 Ayyappa Dairy
21 Thozhilveedhi(Malayalam) 43 Ayyappa Pocket Dairy
22 Knowledge Adventure(CD ROM) 44 Fast Track
(English)
45 Life Style

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
PEOPLE
“. Keep the family in, but make them professionals first” is the way things
work out at Malayala manorama.members of the family in the organization are
thorough professionals in their line of work. The reason behind Malayala
manorama’s success and potential growth is due to competency of its management
and their ability to inspire excellence in work of their employee.

13
 Some of the finest professionals work with the Malayala
manorama.In the editorial unit, each product is lead by a editor in charge and
business units is lead by a general manager. The various divisions in the business
units are:- -
 -Editorial Department
 -Materials Department
 -Works Department
 -Finance Department
 -Management Accounts Department
 -Internal Auditing Department
 -Circulation Department
 -Marketing Department
 -Personal and Administration Department
 -Human Resource Department
 -Diversification Department
 -Manorama Online Department
 -Manorama Vision
Malayala manorama has nearly 2000 members in its roll. It has offices in all
major cities to manage its editorial, marketing and circulation. It has a number of
production centers called as units. Resident/coordinating editor heads each of these
units.

Printing units
There are ten printing units from where manorama is published in Kerala and
four centers outside Kerala. kottayam, kozhikode, kochi, Trivandrum, palakkad,
kannur, kollam thrissur, malappuram and pattanamthita are the centers in Kerala.the
first unit was founded in 1888 in kottayam.the second unit of Malayala manorama
was established in kozhikode n 1966, kochi edition in 1979, palakkad edition in
1992, the sixth edition arrived at kannur in 1994 and kollam in the next year. The

14
thrissur unit was born in 1998, malappuram in 2001 and pattanamthita in
2007.manorama has six units outside Kerala .Four of them in India and the other two
abroad. The company started the first outside unit in Mumbai, second in Chennai,
third in Bangalore and fourth in Delhi. Manorama newspaper is going abroad. It has
two printing units abroad .One at Dubai and other at Bahrain. In most of the
countries, they receive the newspaper of a particular day on the same day itself.
STAFF CLASSIFICATION
Management staff (M grade)
M1 – GENERAL MANAGER
M2 – SENIOR MANAGER
M3 – MANAGER
M4 – DEPUTY MANAGER
M5 – SENIOR EXECUTIVE
M6 – EXECUTIVES

Administrative staff (A grade)

P.A- PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
A3 – SECTION HEAD
A4 – SENIOR CLERK
A5 – JUNIOR CLERK
A6 – SEMI CLERK
A7 – PEON

Journalist staff (J grade)

J1 B – ASSISTANT EDIYOR/NEWS EDITOR/SPECIAL
CORRESPONDENT
J2 – CHIEF SUBEDITOR/CHIEF REPORTER
J3-
SUBEDITOR/REPORTER/CORRESPONDENT/PHOTOGRAPHER

15
 Factory staff (F grade)
F3 - PROOF READER
F4 – PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
F6 - FOREMAN
F7 - TECHNICIAN

ORGANISATION DESIGN STRUCTURE

Organization structure influences the overall performance
of the organization.Organisations have different structures and they have a bearing
on employee attitude and behavior.Organisation structure defines how job tasks are
formally divided, grouped and coordinated.Manorama has taken into consideration 6
key elements for deciding their organization structure.
They are-
1. Work specifications
This means to what degree is a task subdivided into separate jobs.Manorama
has a high degree of work specialization. A person does a part of an activity rather
than full. Therefore, people’s skill for a particular task increases through repetition.

2. Departmentalization
This concept implies on what basis jobs are grouped together. In Malayala
manorama, departmentalization is done based on functions performed. In Malayala
manorama departmentalization is done on basis of functions performed.

3. Chain of command

16
 Chain of command refers to the unbroken line of authority that extends from
top to bottom. A chain of command exists in manorama together with authority and
unity of command. The managers are given authority to give orders. A person should
report to one and only one person. I.e. there is only one boss.

4. Span of control
This determines the number of levels and managers an organization has. The span of
control is large in Malayala manorama.This speeds up decision making ad reduces
costs.
5. Centralizations and decentralization
The system in manorama is highly decentralized. Key decisions are made by
the managers close to action based on their knowledge, information available
regarding the particular situation.
6. Formalization
The concept is to what to degree jobs are standardized manorama has a set of
rules and procedure where by its functions. Marketing works, circulation editorial
materials department functions by the standard operative procedure (sop) and has got
ISO 9001.

17
 ORGANIZATIONAL CHART-MALAYALA MANORAMA CO-LTD

Chief Editor

Editor & MD M. Editor & Director Ex. Editor Director Director

Deputy Editor & GM Res Editor & Gm Asst. Editor & GM

Calicut
Kannur Kollam Thrissur Malapuram Printing
Unit TVM Unit PLK Unit KTM Unit Kodimatha
Kochi Unit Res Editor Unit Unit Unit Unit Manorama ctrs
Res Editor News Unit
News Co-ord Co-ord Co-ord C-ord Portal At Mumbai
News News Mgr of
Editor Res Editor C.O.O Chennai
Editor Editor Operation
Editor Editor Editor Editor Bangalore
Editor

News
Division
GM EIC E-I-C
Asso GM Fin. GM Editor in E-I-C E-I-C
GM GM Human GM GM Bhasha Karsha Planning
Editor GM P& A charge Malayalam Thozhil
Chief Works Finance A.Cs Circulation Material Marketing Cell
resources Week Weekly Poshini kasree Veethi
News
Editor

18
4) HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT
Human resource division at Malayala manorama started its functioning on Feb.
st
1 , 1998.before its commencement, all the personnel functions of the company were
handled by the personnel and administration within a shot span of time.
General Manager heads the department. The division comprises of
eight members. The major functions are
MANPOWER REQUISITION
This is the important function performed by human resource division. HR
division analyses the requisitions made by difference division. The immediate
supervisor, manager or the news editors make these requisitions to the functional
heads of the concerned division. After receiving requisition from the divisional head,
the general manager write his comments regarding the suggestion made on it and
sends it to general manager human resources.
MANPOWER PLANNING
Manpower planning may be defined as the strategy for the procurement
development allocation and utilization of enterprises human resources. To ensure
optimum use of resource and forecast future skill requirements manpower planning is
very essential.
There is a manpower sanction committee at Malayala manorama,
which is not a part of human resources division. It is a body of top management,
which includes general manager of human resources and personal administration.
They study the feasibility and see whether a person is required. After analyzing the
feasibility they sanction the manpower requisition from and they the vacancy arises.
CONTRIBUTION APPRAISAL
The company has a system of contribution appraisal to create appropriate working
conditions. Their assumption is that each member contributes to his or her capabilities.
To ensure that the talents that Malayala manorama has attracted can help in achieving
its goals, and to create appropriate working conditions, the system of contribution was
introduced in the year 1998. This is an annual exercise. The exercise mainly aims to

19
bring about alignments between an individuals expectation from his job with the
expectation of his supervisors from him. This exercise also brings about how and
which areas he can contribute further.
The types of appraisal forms that are used in manorama are-
1.) For journalist staff
2) For administrative staff
3) For factory staff
The features of contribution appraisal form are:
1) Biographical details of the person
2) Recommendations of division head
a) Final rating
b) Award
c) Transfer
d) Promoting
e) Justification
3) Self appraisal
a) The major contributions during the year
b) Constraints under which the person operates
c) Way to improve contribution
d) Appraisal by senior
4) Contribution (expectation from appraise and how well she/he operates
5) Expectation for coming year
6) Personal qualities
7) Overall rating
8) Comment by appraiser
9) Comment by reviewer

20
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
Training and development is the major function performed by the HR division.
The division sells the idea as vital force in the organization and develops an
atmosphere conductive to sound manpower development. This division devises,
recommends and executes strong policies for training facilites.The HR division carries
out continuous study, analysis and evaluation, of he organization’s training need. It
comes out with a quarterly training calendar, which has proved to be very effective.
RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION
The HR division also handles the recruitment function of the company. The
different sources of recruitment being used by company are databank, advertisements
and campus interviews and through different consultancy firms. After inviting the
application, HR division does the screening process. Call letter for different tests and
interviews are sent to those applicants who get selected after the screening process.
The different test and interviews conduct varies depending upon the nature of the job.
For journalists and stenographers, test is compulsory. For the managerial cadre,
psychological test and interview is must. There is a final interview for the senior
managers. After this the selected candidates are placed on their respective jobs with
the aid of an induction, training and probationary period.
ORGANIZATIONS DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES
HR division conducts different organizations development activities for
helping out different divisions. It introduces several organization building activities
and interventions like team building ,sensitivity training etc .To conclude the HR
division specifically deals with the procurement ,hiring ,training, placing ,utilizing and
maintaining of an effective work force that will aid in the accomplishment of the
firm’s objective. This does not mean to imply that other members of the management
team do not have a part in the management and development of personnel. The
responsibility of good HR administration rests on every supervisor and manager in the
organization. Personnel management is not a one-man responsibility nor can one

21
individual ever achieve it. A corporate, cooperative endeavor should stem from a
common feeling and concept and should progress in a unified and coordinate manner.

STRUCTURE OF HR DIVISION

22
OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT
Every project report is carried out with some specific OBJECTIVE in the mind.
Objective is basically the purpose behind conducting a project and unless the objective
is certain or specifically defined it is not understood what data has to be collected.
Objectives of the project are nothing but what is to be learned out of this project
report.
Specific objectives of this Project Report
To understand:
1 The functiononing of recruitment and selection process
2 To have exposure to recruitment process
3 Whether the recruitment process and selection process are
satisfactory
So in this project report I have made every effort to understand the above
specified objectives keeping in mind the present scenario of the
Recruitment and
Selection of employees process and collect data.
In today’s rapidly changing business environment, organizations have to respond
quickly to requirements for people. Hence, it is important to have a well-defined
recruitment policy in place, which can be executed effectively to get the best fits for
the vacant positions. Selecting the wrong candidate or rejecting the right candidate
could turn out to be costly mistakes for the organization. Selection is one area where
the interference of external factors is minimal. Hence the HR department can use its
discretion in framing its selection policy and using various selection tools for the best
results. They discuss the importance of a good selection process that starts with
gathering complete information about the applicant from his application form and ends
with inducting the candidate into the organization

23
Recruitment And Selection

Rationale for Recruitment and Selection Policy

24
committee members should be properly trained to assume the important
responsibilities of recruitment and selection.

Supervisors should adhere to any institution-wide recruitment and selection programs.

This can not, however, substitute for an understanding of procedures and processes
from a student affairs perspective.

Recruitment and selection will be planned, implemented, and evaluated to ensure that
each potential employee is provided equal opportunities to compete for the position.

25
INTRODUCTION TO RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION
PROCESS
Human resources planning means deciding the number and type of the human
resources required for each job, unit and the total capacity for a particular future date
in order to carry out organizational activities.
E.W.Vetter viewed human resources planning as a process by which an organization
should move from its current man power position to its desired manpower position.
Though planning management strives to have the right number and right kind of
people at the right place at the right time, doing things, which result in both the
organization and the individual receiving maximum long run benefit.
Once the required number and the kind of human resources are determined, the
management has to find places where required human resources are/will be available
and also work out strategies for attracting them towards the organization before
selecting suitable candidates for jobs.
This process is generally known as recruitment. Some people use recruitment for
employment. These two are not one and the same. Recruitment is only one of the steps
in entire employment process. Some others use the term recruitment for selection.
These two terms are different.
Technically speaking the function recruitment precedes the selection function and it
includes only finding, developing the sources of prospective employees and attracting
them to apply for jobs in an organization, where as the selection is the process of
finding out the most suitable candidate to the job out of the candidates attracted.
UNDERSTANDING RECRUITMENT PROCESS
Recruitment is the phase which immediately precedes selection. Its purpose is to pave
the way for the selection procedures by producing, ideally, the smallest number of
candidates who appear to be capable either of performing the required tasks of the job
from the outset, or of developing the ability to do so within a period of time acceptable
to the employing organization. The smallest number of potentially suitable candidates
can in theory, of course, be any number. The main point that needs to be madeabout

26
the recruitment task is that the employing organization should notwaste time and
money examining the credentials of people whose
qualifications do not match the requirements of the job.
Apart from the methods used and the general administration of task, the achievement
of the objective will depend very much in the end on how efficiently the basic tasks of
manpower planning and job analysis have been carried out and applied. In short,
efficient recruitment of staff may be described as knowing what resources you want,
what resources are available, where and how they may be found.
Edwin B. Flippo defined recruitment as the process of searching for prospective
employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization.
The Objectives of Recruitment are:

To attract people with multi-dimensional skills and experiences that
suits the present and future organizational strategies

To induct outsiders with a new perspective to lead the company

To infuse fresh blood at all levels of the organization

To develop an organizational culture that attracts competent people to
the Company

To search or head hunt/ head pouch people whose skills fit the
company s values

To devise methodologies for assessing psychological traits

To seek out non-conventional development grounds of talent

To search for talent globally and not just within the company

To design entry pay that competes on quality but not on quantum

To anticipate and find people for positions that does not exist yet.

27
Recruitment Policy:
Recruitment policy of any organization is derived from the personnel policy
of the same organization. In other words, the former is a part of the later.
However, recruitment policy by itself should consider the following factors:
• Government policy
• Personnel policies of other competing organizations
• Organization s personnel policies
• Recruitment sources
• Recruitment needs

28
 • Recruitment costs
• Selection criteria and preference etc.,

Recruitment policies are mostly drawn from personnel policies of the organization.
According to Dale Yoder and Paul D. Standohar, general personnel policies provide a
variety of guidelines to be spelt out in the recruitment policy. After formulation of the
recruitment policies the
management has to decide whether to centralize or decentralize the recruitment
function.
Recruitment practices vary from one organization to another. Some organizations like
commercial banks resort to centralized recruitment while some organizations like the
Indian railways resort to decentralized recruitment practices. Personnel department at
the central office performs all the functions of recruitment in case of centralized
recruitment and personnel
departments at unit level or zonal level perform all the functions of recruitment
concerning to the jobs of the respective unit or zone in case of decentralized
recruitment.
Merits of Centralized Recruitment:

Average cost of recruitment per candidate/unit should be relatively
less due to economies of scale

It would have more expertise available to use

It can ensure board uniformity among human resources of various
units/zones in respect of education, skill, knowledge, talent etc.,

It would generally be above malpractices, abuse of powers,
favoritism, bias etc.,

It would facilitate interchangeability of staff among various

units/zones.

It enables line managers of various units and zones to concentrate on
their operational activities by relieving them the recruitment function

29

It enables the organization to have centralized selection procedure,
promotional and transfer procedures etc.,

It ensures the most effective and suitable placement to candidates.

It enables centralized training programmes, which further brings
uniformity and minimizes the average cost of staff.

Merits of Decentralized Recruitment:

The unit concerned concentrates only on those sources/places where it
normally gets the suitable candidates. As such, the cost of recruitment
would be relatively less.

The unit gets the most suitable candidates as it is well aware of the
requirements of the jobs regarding cultural, traditional, family
background aspects, local factors, social factors etc.,

Units can recruit candidates as and when they are required without
any delay.

The units would enjoy freedom in finding out, developing the sources,
in selecting and employing the techniques to stimulate the candidates.

The unit would relatively enjoy advantage about the availability of
information, Control and feedback and various functions/processes of
recruitment.

The unit would enjoy better familiarity and control over the
employees it recruits rather than on employees selected by the central
recruitment agency.
Both the systems of recruitment have their own demerits. Hence, the management has
to weigh the merits and demerits of each system before making a final decision about
centralizing or decentralizing the recruitment.

30
Sources of Recruitment:
There are traditional as well as modern sources of recruitment. It s the duty of the HR
Manager to search for which source to adopt to get personnel in to the organization.
Traditional sources of recruitment:
The sources of recruitment are broadly divided into internal and external sources.
Internal sources:
Internal sources are the sources within organizational pursuits. Organizations prefer
this source to external source to some extent for the following
reasons:

Internal recruitment can be used as a technique of motivation.

Morale of the employees can be improved

Suitability of the internal candidates can be judged better than the
external candidates as known devils are better than unknown angels

Loyalty, commitment, a sense of belongingness and security of the
present employees can be enhanced.

Employees psychological needs can be met by providing an
opportunity for Advancement

Employees economic needs for promotion, higher income can be
satisfied.

Cost of selection can be minimized

Cost of training, induction, orientation, period of adaptability to the
organization can be reduced.

Trade unions can be satisfied.

Social responsibility towards employees can be discharged

Stability of employment can be ensured.

31
Sources of Recruitment

32
The different kinds of internal sources are:
(a) Present permanent employees: Organizations consider the candidates from this
source for higher-level jobs due to availability of most suitable candidates for jobs
relatively or equally to the external source, to meet the trade union demands and due
to the policy of the organization to motivate the present employees.
(b) Present temporary/casual employees:
Organizations find this source to fill the vacancies relatively at the lower level owning
to the availability of suitable candidates or trade union pressures or in order to
motivate them on the present job
(c) Retired employees:
Generally, particular organizations retrench the employees due to lack of work. The
organization takes the candidates for employment from the retrenched employees due
to obligation, trade union pressure and so on. Sometimes, the organizations prefer to
re-employ their retired employees as a token of their loyalty to the organization or to
postpone some internal conflicts for promotion etc.,
(d) Dependents of deceased, disabled and retired employees:
Some organizations function with a view to develop the commitment and loyalty of
not only the employee but also his family members and to build up image and to
provide employment to the dependents of deceased, disabled and retired employees.
Such organizations find this source as an effective source of recruitment.
External sources:
External sources are sources outside organizational pursuits. Organizations search for
the required candidates from these sources for the following reasons:

The suitable candidates with skill, knowledge, talent etc., are
generally available.

Candidates can be selected without any pre-conceived notion or
reservations.

Cost of employees can be minimized because employees selected
from this source are generally organization.

33

Human resources mix can be balanced with different background,
experience, skills etc.,

Latest knowledge, skill, innovative or creative talent can also be
flowed into the organization.

Existing sources will also broaden their personality

Long run benefit to the organization in the sense that qualitative
human resources can be brought. Placed in the minimum pay scale.

Expertise, excellence and experience of other organizations can be
easily brought into the organization.
Different kinds of External sources are:
(a) Campus recruitment:
Different types of organizations like industries, business firms, service organizations,
social or religious organizations can get fresh candidates for different types of jobs
from various educational institutions like collages and universities imparting education
in science, commerce, arts, engineering and technology, agriculture, medicine,
management studies etc.,
(b) Private employment agencies/consultants:
Public employment agencies or consultants like ABC consultants in India perform
recruitment functions on behalf of a client company by charging fees. Line managers
are relieved from recruitment functions so that they can concentrate on their
operational activities and recruitment functions are entrusted to a private agency or
consultants.
(c) Public employment exchanges:
The government set up public employment exchanges in the country to provide
information about vacancies to the candidates and to help the organizations in finding
out suitable candidates. The Employment Exchange (Compulsory Notification or
Vacancies) Act 1959 makes it obligatory for public and private sector enterprises in
India to fill certain types of vacancies through public employment exchanges.

34
(d) Professional associates:
Professional organizations or associates maintain complete bio-data of their members
and provide the same to various organizations on requisition. They also act as
exchange between their members and recruiting firms in exchanging information,
clarifying doubts etc. organizations find this source more useful to recruit the
experienced and professional employees like executives, managers, engineers.
(e) Data banks:
The management can collect the bio-data of the candidates from different sources like
employment exchange, educational training institutes etc and feed them in the
computer. It will become another source and the company can get the particulars as
and when required to recruit.
(f) Casual applicants:
Depending upon the image of the organization, its prompt response, participation of
the organization in the local activities, the level of unemployment, candidates apply
casually for jobs through mail or hand over the applications in the personnel
department.
(g) Similar organization:
Generally, experienced candidates are available in organizations producing similar
products or are engaged in similar business. The management can get potentially
suitable candidates from this source. This would be the most effective source for
executive positions and for newly established organizations or diversified or expanded
organizations.
(h) Trade Unions: Generally, unemployed or underemployed persons or employees
seeking change in employment put a word to the trade union leaders with a view to
getting suitable employment. Due to latter s intimacy with the management. As much,
the trade union leaders are aware of all the available candidates. In view of this fact
and in order to satisfy the trade union leaders, the management enquires for suitable
candidates.

35
MODERN METHODS OF RECRUITMENT:
A number of modern recruitment sources are being used by the corporate
sector in addition to traditional sources. The sources are divided into internal
and external sources.
Internal sources:
(a) Employee referrals:
Present employees are well aware of the qualifications, attitudes, experience and
emotions of their friends and relatives. They are also aware of the job requirements
and organizational culture of their company. As such, they can make preliminary
judgement regarding the match between the job and their friends or relatives. Hence,
the HR Managers of the company depend on the
present employees for reference of the candidates for various jobs. This source reduces
the cost and the time required for recruitment. Further this source enhances the
effectiveness of recruitment.
External sources:
(a) Walk in interviews and tests:
The busy and rapidly changing organizations do not find time to perform various
functions of recruitment. Therefore, they advice the potential candidates to attend for
an interview directly and without a prior application on specified date, time and at a
specified place. The suitable candidates from among the interviews will be selected for
appointment after screening the candidates through tests and interviews.
(b) Consult in: The busy and dynamic companies encourage the potential job seekers
to approach them personally and consult them regarding the jobs. The companies
select the suitable candidates from among such candidates through the selection
process.
c) Head hunting:
The companies request the professional organizations to search for the best candidates
particularly for the senior executive positions. The professional organizations search

36
for the most suitable candidate and advice the company regarding the filling up of the
positions. Headhunters are also called search consultants
(d) Body shopping:
Professional organizations and the Hi-Tech training institutes develop the pool of
human resources for the possible employment. The prospective employees contact
these organizations themselves approach the prospective employees to place their
human resources. These professional and training institutes are called body shoppers
and these activities are known as body shopping. The body shopping is also known as
employee leasing activity.
(e) Mergers and acquisitions:
Business alliances like acquisitions, mergers and take-overs help in getting human
resources. In addition, the companies do also have alliances in sharing their human
resources on ad-hoc basis.
(f) E-Recruitment:
The technological revolution in telecommunications helped the organizations to use
Internet as a source of recruitment. Organizations advertise the job vacancies through
the world wide web (www). The job seekers send their applications through e-mail
using internet. Alternatively
job seekers place their CV s in the worldwide web/ Internet, which can be drawn by
the prospective employers depending upon their requirements.
(g) Outsourcing:
Some organizations recently started developing human resources pool by employing
the candidates for them. These organizations do not utilize the human resources
instead they supply HRs to various companies based on their needs on temporary or
ad-hoc basis. Various companies, rather than employing HRs draw HRs from these
organizations on commission basis.
This arrangement is called out-sourcing. These are the different traditional and modern
methods of recruitment that are followed by different organizations as per their
convenience and requirement.

37
UNDERSTANDING SELECTION PROCESS
Recruitment function helps the organization to develop a pool of prospective human
resources. It is difficult for the HR manager to employ the suitable people out of the
pool. Infact, many organizations face critical problems in choosing the people.
Selection techniques and methods reduce the complexities in choosing the right
candidates for the job. After identifying the sources of human resources, searching for
prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in an organization, the
management has to perform the function of selecting the right employees at the right
time. The obvious guiding policy in selection is the intention to choose the best
qualifies and suitable job candidate for each unfilled job. The objective of the
selection decision is to choose the individual who can most successfully perform the
job from the pool of qualified candidates. The selection procedure is the system of
functions and devices adopted in a given
company to ascertain whether the candidate s specifications are matched with the job
specifications and requirements or not.
The selection process can be successful if the following requirements are satisfied:

Someone should have the authority to select. This authority comes
from the employment requisition, as developed by an analysis to the
workload and work force.

There must be some standard of personnel with which a prospective
employee may be compared, i.e. a comprehensive job description and
job specification should be available before hand.

There must be a sufficient number of applicants from whom the
required number of employees may be selected.
The ability of an organization to attain its goal effectively and to develop in a
dynamic environment largely depends upon the effectiveness of its selection
programme. If the right person is selected, he is valuable asset to the organization

38
39
.
SELECTION PROCEDURE:
Selection procedure employs several methods of collecting information about the
candidates qualifications, experience, physical and mental ability, nature and behavior,
knowledge and aptitude for judging whether a given applicant is suitable or not for the
job. Therefore the selection procedure is not a single act but is essentially a series of
methods or stages by which different types of information can be secured through
various selection techniques. At each step facts may come to light, which are useful
for comparison with the job requirement and employee specifications.
Steps in Scientific Selection Procedure:

Job analysis

Recruitment

Application form

Written examination

Preliminary interview

Business games

Tests

Final interview

Medical examination

Reference checks

Line manager s decision

Job offer

Employment

IN DETAIL EXPLANATION:
(A) JOB ANALYSIS:
Job analysis is the basis for selecting the right candidates. Every organization should
finalize the job analysis, job description, job specification and employee specifications
before proceeding to the next step of selection.

40
(B) HUMAN RESOURCE PLAN:
Every company plans for the required number of and kind of employees for a future
date. This is the basis for recruitment function.
(c) RECRUITMENT:
Recruitment refers to the process of searching for prospective employees and
stimulating them to apply for jobs in an organization. It is the basis for the remaining
technologies of the screening the candidates in order to select the appropriate
candidates for the jobs.
(D) DEVELOPMENT OF BASES FOR SELECTION:
The company has to select the appropriate candidates from the pool of applicants. The
company develops or borrows the appropriate bases/techniques for screening the
candidates in order to select the appropriate candidates for the jobs.
(E) APPLICATION FORM:
Application form is also known as application blank. The techniques of application
blank are traditional and widely accepted for securing information from the
prospective candidates. It can also be used as a device to screen the candidates at the
preliminary level. Many companies formulate their own style of application forms
depending upon the requirement of
information based on the size of the company, nature of business activities, type and
level of the job etc. Information is generally required on the following items in the
application forms:

Personal background information

Educational qualifications

Work experience

Salary (drawing and expecting)

Personal attainments including likes and dislikes

References

41
(F) WRITTEN EXAMINATION:
Organizations have to conduct written examination for the qualified candidates after
they are screened on the basis of the application blanks so as to measure the candidate
s ability in arithmetical calculations, to know the candidate s attitude towards the job,
to measure the candidate s aptitude, reasoning, knowledge in various disciplines,
general knowledge and English language.

(G) PRELIMINARY INTERVIEW:

The preliminary interview is to solicit necessary information from the prospective
applications and to assess the applicant s suitability to the job. An assistant in the
personnel department may conduct this preliminary interview. The information thus
provided by the candidate may be related to the job or personal specifications
regarding education, experience, salary
expectations, attitude towards job, age, physical appearance and other requirements
etc. Thus, preliminary interview is useful as a process of eliminating the undesirable
and unsuitable candidates. If a candidate satisfies the job requirements regarding most
of the areas, he may be selected for further process. Preliminary interviews are short
and known as stand up interviews or sizing up of the applicants or screening
interviews. However, certain required amount of care is to be taken to ensure that the
desirable workers are not eliminated. This interview is also useful to provide the basic
information about the company to the candidate.
(H) BUSINESS GAMES:
Business games are widely used as a selection technique for selecting management
trainees, executive trainees and managerial personnel at junior, middle and top
management positions. Business games help to evaluate the applicants in the areas of
decision-making, identifying the potentialities, handling the situations, problem-
solving skills, human relations skills etc. participants are placed in a hypothetical work
situation and are required to play the role situations in the game. The hypothesis is that
the most successful candidate in the game will be most successful one on the job.

42
GROUP DISCUSSION is used in order to secure further information regarding the
suitability of the candidate for the job. Group discussion is a method where groups of
the successful applicants are brought around a conference table and are asked to
discuss either a case study or subject
matter. The candidates in the group are required to analyze, discuss, find alternative
solutions and select the sound solution. A selection panel then observes the candidates
in the areas of initiating the discussion, explaining the problem, soliciting unrevealing
information based
on the given information and using common sense, keenly observing the discussion of
others, clarifying controversial issues, influencing others, speaking effectively,
concealing and mediating arguments among the participants and summarizing or
concluding aptly.
The selection panel, based on its observation, judges the candidate s skill and ability
and ranks them according to their merit.
In some cases, the selection panel may also ask the candidates to write the summary of
the group discussion in order to know the candidate s writing ability as well.
(I) TESTS:
Psychological tests play a vital role in employee selection. A psychological test is
essentially an objective and standardized measure of sample of behavior from which
inferences about future behavior and performance of the candidate can be drawn.
Objectivity of tests refers to the validity and reliability of the instruments in measuring
the ability of the individuals. Objectivity provides equal opportunity to all the job
seekers without any discriminating against sex; caste etc. standardization of test refers
to uniformity of procedure in conducting the tests for all the candidates. Sample
behavior refers to the sample of the total behavior of the prospective employee on the
job.

43
44
Types of test:
Tests are classified into six classes, each class is again divided into different types of
tests. They are:
APTITUDE TESTS:
These tests measure whether an individual has the capacity or latent ability to learn a
given job if given adequate training. Aptitudes can be divided into general and mental
ability or intelligence and specific aptitudes such as mechanical, clerical, manipulative
capacity etc. General aptitude test is of two types namely intelligence quotient (IQ)
and emotional quotient (EQ).
(1) Skill tests:
These tests measure the candidate s ability to do a job perfectly and intelligently.
These tests are useful to select the candidates to perform artistic jobs, product design,
design of tools, machinery etc. The candidates can be selected for assembly work,
testing and inspection also.
(2) Mechanical aptitude tests:
These tests measure the capabilities of spatial visualization, perceptual speed and
knowledge of mechanical matter. These tests are useful for selecting apprentices,
skilled, mechanical employees, technicians etc.
(3) Psychomotor tests:
These tests measure abilities like manual dexterity, motor ability and eyehand
coordination of candidates. These tests are useful to select semi-skilled workers and
workers for repetitive operations like packing and watch assembly.
(4) Clerical aptitude tests:
These types of tests measure specific capacities involved in office work. Items of this
tests include spelling, computation, comprehension, copying, word measuring etc.
ACHIEVEMENT TESTS:
These tests are conducted when applicants claim to know something as these tests are
concerned with what one has accomplished. These tests are more useful to measure
the value of a specific achievement when an organization wishes to employ

45
experienced candidates. These tests are classified into (a) job knowledge test and (b)
work sample test. Thus, the candidate s achievement in his career is tested regarding
his knowledge about the job and actual work experience.

SITUATIONAL TESTS:
This test evaluates a candidate s in a similar real life situation. In this test the candidate
is asked either to cope with the situation or solve critical situations of the job.
(1) Group discussion:
This test is administered through the group discussion approach to solve a problem
under which candidates are observed in the areas of initiating, leading, proposing
valuable ideas, conciliating skills, oral communicating skills, coordinating and
concluding skills.
(2) In basket:
Situational test is administered through in basket method. The candidate in this test is
supplied with actual letters, telephone and telegraphic message,reports and
requirements by various officers of the organization, adequate information about the
job and organization. The candidate is asked to take decisions on various items based
on the in basket information regarding requirements in the memoranda.
INTEREST TESTS:
These tests are inventories of the likes and dislikes of candidates in relation to work,
job, occupations, hobbies and recreational activities. The purpose of this test is to find
out whether a candidate is interested or disinterested in the job for which he is a
candidate and to find out in which area of the job range/occupation the candidate is
interested. The assumption of this test is
that there is a high correlation between the interest of a candidate in a job and job
success. Interest inventories are less faked and they may not fluctuate after the age of
30.

46
PERSONALITY TESTS:
These t

47
(J) INTERVIEW:
Final interview follows after tests. This is the most essential step in the process of
selection. In this step the interviewer matches the information obtained about the
candidate through various means to the job requirements and to the information
obtained through his own observation during the interview. The different types of
interviews are:

48
PRELIMINARY INTERVIEW:
(1) Informal interview:
This is the interview, which can be conducted at any place by the person to secure the
basic and non-job related information. The interaction between the candidate and the
personnel manager when the former meets the latter to enquire about the vacancies or
additional particulars in connection with the employment advertisement is an example
of the informal interview.

(2) Unstructured interview:

In this interview, the candidate is given the freedom to tell about himself by revealing
his knowledge on various items/areas, his background, expectations, interest etc.
Similarly, the interviewer also providesinformation on various items required by the
candidate.
CORE INTERVIEW:
It is normally the interaction between the candidates and the line executive or experts
on various areas of job knowledge, skill, talent etc. This interview may take various
forms like:
(1) Back ground information interview:
This interview is intended to collect the information which is not available in the
application blank and to check that information provided in the application blank
regarding education, place of domicile, family, health, interest, hobbies, likes, dislikes
and extra curricular activities of the applicant.
(2) Job and probing interview:
This interview aims at testing the candidate s job knowledge about duties, activities,
methods of doing the job, critical/problematic areas, methods of handling those areas
etc.
(3) Stress interview:
This interview aims at testing the candidate s job behavior and level of understanding
during the period of stress and strain. The interviewer tests candidate by putting him

49
under stress and strain by interrupting the applicant from answering, criticizing his
opinions, asking questions pertaining to unrelated areas, keeping silent for unduly long
periods after he has finished
speaking etc. Stress during the middle portion of the interview gives effective results.
Stress interview must be handled with utmost care and skills. This type of interview is
often invalid, as the interviewer s need for a job and his previous experience in such
type of interviews may inhibit his actual behavior under such situations.
(4) Group discussion interview: There are 2 methods of conducting group discussion
interviews, viz. group interview method and discussion interview method. All the
candidates are
brought into one room and are interviewed one by one under group interview. This
method helps a busy executive to save valuable time and gives a fair account of the
objectivity of the interview to the candidates. Under the discussion interview method,
one topic is given for discussion to
the candidates who assemble in one room and they are asked to discuss the topic in
detail. This type of interview helps the interviewer in appraising
certain skills of the candidates like initiative, inter-personal skills, dynamism,
presentation, leading, comprehension, collaboration etc. Interviewers are at ease in this
category of interview because of its informality and flexibility.
(5) Formal and structured interview:
In this type of interview, all the formalities, procedures like fixing the value, time,
panel of interviewers, opening and closing, intimating the candidates officially etc. are
strictly followed in arranging and conducting interview. The course of the interview is
preplanned and structured, in advance, depending on job requirements.
(6) Panel interview:
A panel of experts interview each candidate, judges his performance individually and
prepares consolidated judgement. This type of interview is known as panel interview.
Interviewers for middle level and senior level mangers are normally conducted are the
panel of experts.

50
(7) Depth interview:
In this interview, the candidate would be examined extensively in core areas of job
skills and knowledge. Experts test the candidate s knowledge in depth. Depth
interviews are conducted for specialist jobs.
DECISION-MAKING INTERVIEW:
After the experts including the line managers of the organization in the core areas of
the job examine the candidates, the head of the department/section concerned
interviews the candidates once again, mostly through informal discussion. The
interviewer examines the interest of the candidate in the job, organization,
reaction/adaptability to the working conditions, career
planning, promotional opportunities, work adjustment and allotment etc. The
personnel manger also interviews the candidates with a view to find out his
reaction/acceptance regarding salary, allowances, benefits, promotions, opportunities
etc. The head of the department and the personnel manager exchange the view and
then they jointly inform their decision to the
chairman of the interview board, which finally makes the decision about the candidate
s performance and their ranks in the interview. Most of the organizations have realized
that employee s positive attitude matters much rather than employee s skill and
knowledge. Employees with positive attitude contribute much to the organization.
Hence, interviewers look for the candidates with the right attitude while making final
decision.

(K) MEDICAL EXAMINATION:

Certain jobs require certain physical qualities like clear vision, perfect hearing unusual
stamina, tolerance of hardworking conditions, clear tone etc. Medical examination
reveals whether or not a candidate possesses these qualities. Medical examination can
give the following information:

Whether the applicant is medically suited for the specific job

Whether the applicant has health problems or psychological attitudes

51
 likely to interfere with work efficiency or future attendance.

The offer. Whether the applicant suffers from bad health which should
be corrected before he can work satisfactorily

It reveals the applicant s physical measurements and

It is used to check the special senses of the candidates.
(L) REFERENCE CHECKS:
After completion of the final interview and medical examination, the personnel
department will engage in checking references. Candidates are required to give the
names of references in their application forms. These references may be from the
individuals who are familiar with the candidates academic achievement or form the
applicant s previous employer, who is well versed with the applicant s job
performance, and sometimes from coworkers. Incase the reference check is from the
previous employer; information for the following areas may be obtained. They are job
title, job description, and period of employment, pay and allowances, gross
emoluments, benefits provided, rate of absence, willingness of the previous employer
to employ the candidate again and soon. Further, information regarding candidate s
regularity at work, character, progress etc. can be obtained.
Often a telephone call is much quicker. The method of mail provides detailed
information about the candidate s performance, character and behavior. However, a
personal visit is superior to the mail and telephone methods and is used where it is
highly essential to get the detailed, actual
information, which can also be secured by observation. Reference checks are taken as
a matter of routine and treated casually or omitted entirely in many organizations. But
a good reference check used sincerely will fetch useful and reliable information to the
organization.
(M) FINAL DECISION BY THE LINE MANAGER:
The line manager concerned has to make the final decision whether to select or reject a
candidate after soliciting the required information through techniques discussed
earlier. The line manager has to take much care in taking the final decision not only

52
because of economic implications but alsobecause of behavioral and social
implications. A careless decision of rejecting would impair the morale of the people
and they would suspect the selection procedure and the basis of selection of this
organization. A true understanding between line managers and personnel managers
should be established to take proper decisions.
(N) JOB OFFER:
Thus, after taking the final decision, the organization has to intimate this decision to
the successful as well as unsuccessful candidates. The organization offers the job to
the successful candidates either immediately or after some time depending upon its
time schedule. The candidate after receiving job offer communicates his acceptance to
the offer or requests the company to modify the terms and conditions of employment
or rejects the offer.
(O) EMPLOYMENT: The company may modify the terms and conditions of
employment as
requested by the candidate. The company employs those candidates who accept the
job offer with or with out modification of terms and conditions of employment and
place them on the job.
With the employment of the candidate the recruitment and selection process is
completed.

53
RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION AT MALAYALA
MANORAMA:
Recruitment is the process of attracting prospective candidates who are likely to get
selected. Recruitment process starts with the drafting of advertisement for the required
post mentioning the name of the post, qualifications required, place of posting etc. the
advertisement is released in all major and national newspaper across the country. Not
only print media, but other media like internet is also used for posting the
advertisement. Placement agencies and educational institutions are considered if the
requirements are for fresh graduates. Employee references by are also encouraged.
After receiving the applications, it is initially screened by HR division based on
minimum requirements and qualifications prescribed for the post. Screened
applications from HR division are sent to respective divisional heads for their
screening in case of applications for higher posts. Selection is the process of selecting
right candidates from the list of prospective candidates. Selection process involves
tests, interviews, group discussions, psychometric tests or a combination of these
depending on the nature or sensitivity of the level and the post. For technical posts,
tests are used as elimination means while for some other posts like management
trainee, tests are not used as elimination means. The shortlisted candidates are called
for the final interview. Regret letters are sent to those who are not shortlisted.
Background checking of the shortlisted candidates is done to ensure that they will fit
with the culture of the organization. Job offers are made to the selected candidates and
they are asked to give their confirmation that they accept the job offer. On receiving
their confirmation, appointment letter is prepared by personnel and administration
division and given to the candidate at the time of joining. Salary offer is a part of
Human resource division while personnel and administration division handles salary
administration. Senior Executives and Executives are responsible for conducting the
recruitment and selection process in a time phased manner. Work flow of recruitment
and selection process is given below.

54
Advertisements
Data Banks
References
Educational
Institutions

Test
Interview
Group
Discussion
Psycho Profiling

Regret letter
sent to
candidates not
selected

IF
POSITIVE

IF
ACCEPTED

55
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

Research is a careful or critical inquiry or examination in seeking facts or principles,

diligent investigation in order to ascertaining something. The process in which
data/facts
is collected to solve the problem in a most effective manner is known as Research
Methodology.

The methodology is basically the set of rules, procedures, tools, and techniques used
by the researcher for realization of research objective. The process of designing
research study involves many interrelated decisions.
The most significant decision is the choice of research design. This determines how
the information will be obtained.

Research design:
It is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research or any other
research project. It specifies the details of the procedures necessary for obtaining the
information needed to structure and solve the marketing or other problems.
The designing mostly goes through the following steps,
1) Design the exploratory, descriptive, and/or casual phases of the research.
2) Define the information needed.
3) Determine the data collection method.
4) Construct and present a questionnaire.
5) Specify the sampling process and sample size.
6) Develop a plan for data analysis.
In Research Methodology mainly Data plays an important role.
The Data is divided in two parts:
a) Primary Data.
b) Secondary Data.

56
Primary is the data, which is collected directly by direct personal interview, interview,
indirect oral investigation, Information received through local agents, drafting a
schedule, drafting a questionnaire. It can be defined as, ‘It is the data originated by the
researcher for the specific purpose of addressing the research problem’.

Secondary is the data, which is collected from the various books, magazine and
material, reports, etc. The data which is stored in the organization and provide by the
HR people
are also secondary data. However secondary data can be defined as, ‘data collected for
some purpose other than the problem at hand’. The various information is taken out
regarding that subject as, Studies on recruitment and selection procedures.
The last years data stored can also be secondary data. This data is kept for the internal
use of the organization.
This is the Research Methodology used in the project. The primary and secondary data
method has been used in this project. Unless the data is collected no project can be
complete. So both these data is very important in the project.

Sampling method:
The sample is a sub-group of the elements of the population selected for participation
in the study. However population is the aggregate of all the elements, sharing some
common set of characteristics, which compromises the universe for the purpose of the
defined objective. A total of 80 people were selected for the study. Also 10 executives
from the company were asked about the same. As there was a defined universe, each
and every element of the universe had a probabilistic chance of being selected for the
sample, thus the sampling method used was simple random probability sampling.

57
DATA COLLECTION METHODS
Statistics is those facts that can be stated in a table or in any tabular or classified
arrangement. It is called as science of averages.
PRIMARY DATA:
Primary data is data collected from field research.
PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION METHOD
Primary data was collected by means of personal interview. Methods applied to
Conduct the Survey was:
Direct Questionnaire method
Interview technique
The questionnaire consisted of general questions which were aimed at finding the
satisfaction level of employees with regard to the selection procedure.
Thus a direct interview method enabled in understanding the pros and cons in the
selection procedures in a broader sense.
SECONDARY DATA
Secondary data refers to data collected from books and articles.
Secondary data was provided by the HR Dept. Feed back from all the employees.
SECONDARY DATA COLLECTION METHOD:
The company hands out a feed back form to each candidate who passes through the
selection program. The candidates are required to fill these forms and return it to the
concerned HR person. A file of these feedback forms is maintained. These forms
provided ample information for the project.
In the “recruitment and selection at Malayala Manorama”, there were 80 respondent
who applied for the post of ciculation inspector and who appeared for the second
phase of interview. The survey was done after giving them an idea about why we are
doing this survey. These questionnaires were filled by the individual candidate. The
respondents were asked to go through all the questions and put tick mark on any one
from the different alternatives.

58
DATA ANALYSIS:
Some of the questions asked to the candidates
Q. 1) Are you satisfied with the recruitment and selection procedues in Malayala
Manorama?
Ans.)
Satisfaction Very Satisfied Average Dissatisfied Very
level satisfied dissatisfied
No. of 17 32 26 5
respondents

Observation:
Most of the respondents are satisfied with the recruitment and selection process which
is carried out in malayala manorama

59
Q.2) . What is the criteria of selection in Malayala Manorama of the recruitment
process if Work Experience considered rated in percentage as per your experience.
Ans.)
Percentage 20-30 31-50 51-60 61-70 70 and above
No. of 5 17 41 12 5
respondents

Observation:
Most of the respondents feel that work experience plays an important role in getting
selected in Malayala manorama

60
Q.3) Are you satisfied with the no. of screening levels in selection procedure?
Ans.)
Satisfaction Very Satisfied Average Dissatisfied Very
level satisfied dissatisfied
No. of 8 16 30 26
respondents

Observation:
37% of the respondents are partially satisfied with the number of screening levels in
the recruitment and selection process
33% of the respondents are dissatisfied with the number of levels
20% of the respondents are satisfied with the number of levels
10% of the respondents are very satisfied with number of levels
Hence the satisfactory levels with the number of levels in the screening process is low

61
Q.4) Do you feel that your job profile was properly communicated in recruitment
advertisement?
Ans.)
Satisfaction Very Satisfied Average Dissatisfied Very
level satisfied dissatisfied
No. of 17 35 28
respondents

Observation:
44% of the respondents feel that they are properly communicated about the job profile
through the advertisement
35% of the respondents feel that they are partially communicated
21% of the respondents are very satisfied
Hence the respondents are satisfied with the communication of the job profile to them

62
Some of the questions asked to the Executives
Q.1) Do you believe that the core competencies required were properly communicated
and tested for the given job profile.
Ans.)
Satisfaction Very Satisfied Average Dissatisfied Very
level satisfied dissatisfied
No. of 6 8 44 14 8
respondents

Observations:
55% of the respondents feel that the need is partially fulfilled
18% of the respondents are dissatisfied
10% of the respondents are satisfied
10% of the respondents are very dissatisfied
7% of the respondents are very satisfied
Hence over all satisfactory level in communication of the core competencies to the
prospective candidate is low

63
Q.2) Are you satisfied with the recruitment and selection procedure? Is it efficient to
satisfy the needs of all the departments?
Ans.)

Satisfaction Very Satisfied Average Dissatisfied Very

level satisfied dissatisfied
No. of 2 3 4 1
respondents

Observation:
40% of the respondents are dissatisfied over the recruitment and selection procedure
30% of the respondents are saying that the procedures are average
20% of the respondents are satisfied with the recruitment and selection process
10% of the respondents are very satisfied with the recruitment and selection process
Hence the dissatisfactory levels about the recruitment and selection process is high

64
Q.3) Are you satisfied with the time consumed in for the recruitment and selection
procedure?
Ans.)
Satisfaction Very Satisfied Average Dissatisfied Very
level satisfied dissatisfied
No. of 2 5 3
respondents

Observation:
50% of the respondents are staying Average or are not sure whether the time
consumed by the recruitment process is appropriate or not
30% of the respondents are not satisfied with the time consumed
20% of the respondents are satisfied with the time consumed
Hence satisfactory level in time consumed in recruitment and selection process is low

65
Q.4) Do you think that the recruitment and selection procedures are future oriented
and helping organizational growth?
Ans.)

Response Yes No Not sure

No. of respondent 5 3 2

Observations:
• 50% of the repondents feel that the recruitment and selection process carried
out in Malayala Manorama helps in the future growth and development of the
organization.
• 30% feel that it does not help the organisation.
• 20% of them are not sure about it.
• Hence there is not a clear feeling that the procedures are future oriented.

66
FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS:

The recruitment is done mostly through advertisements in news papers and magazines.
However the other sources used and its prevalence can be observed from the graph. It
is done through Malayala Manorama Daily when there is a need of people who know
Malayalam and who should be working in kerala. But in the case of all India level
recruitment advertisements are also given in The Week which is a magazine of
Malayala Manorama and the Times of India. The recruitment and selection process is
mostly not given to any recruitment agencies for recruiting people but they are used to
get the prospective candidates which are shortlisted later. There is a constant need of
talented people because of the expansion plans undertaken by the Malayala
Manorama.

The selection procedures are usually consisting of three phases which includes one
level of written test and two levels of interviews.

67
A talent pool is formed by selecting more number of candidates than required and are
given employment offers when the opportunities are created.
The data analysis shows that most of the respondents are satisfied with the recruitment
and selection process which is carried out in malayala manorama. The satisfaction
level is high if communication of job profile and evaluation of experience is concerned
but the respondents were found to be less satisfied with the no. of screening levels for
lower level posts. Even the management was concerned for the same when they took
the cost factor.
The executives within the company are not satisfied with the recruitment and selection
process as there is no proper communication and response for the individual
departmental needs, these increases inter departmental frictions. The time taken due to
procedures and the communication of core competencies for the given job are also a
matter of concern. The recruitment and selection procedures should be future oriented
that is also an important suggestion given by them.

68
SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

Following are the suggestions to improve the recruitment and selection procedures at
Malayala Manorama,

The process should be made future oriented this can be done by keeping skills,
attitude and knowledge in consideration instead of just emphasizing on
qualification and experience.

The levels for selection procedures should be minimized for lower level staff
selection.

The individual departmental needs should be communicated within the
company during general meetings, also the job profiles should be designed in
such a way that it reinforces with the need of departments so as to avoid inter-
departmental frictions.

The recruitment is not done mainly by campus interviews. The company
should opt more for it as it provides the chance for getting higher potential
candidates and the process is cheaper too.

The recruitment and selection process should be designed in such a way that
the time and economy factor are well observed.

69
BIBLIOGRAPHY

• www.manoramaonline.com
• Quality Manual
• Manorama Year Books
• Management Trainee Reports
• MM Knowledge Advertised CD-ROM

70
APPENDICES:
Questionnaire:
1) For candidates
Q. 1) Are you satisfied with the recruitment and selection procedures in Malayala
Manorama?
Ans.)
Satisfaction Very Satisfied Average Dissatisfied Very
level satisfied dissatisfied
No. of
respondents

Q.2). What is the criteria of selection in Malayala Manorama of the recruitment

process if Work Experience considered rated in percentage as per your experience.
Ans.)
Percentage 20-30 31-50 51-60 61-70 70 and above
No. of
respondents

Q.3) Are you satisfied with the no. of screening levels in selection procedure?
Ans.)
Satisfaction Very Satisfied Average Dissatisfied Very
level satisfied dissatisfied
No. of
respondents

71
Q.4) Do you feel that your job profile was properly communicated in recruitment
advertisement?
Ans.)

Satisfaction Very Satisfied Average Dissatisfied Very

level satisfied dissatisfied
No. of
respondents
Questionnaire:
For company executives.
Q.1) Do you believe that the core competencies required were properly communicated
and tested for the given job profile.
Ans.)
Satisfaction Very Satisfied Average Dissatisfied Very
level satisfied dissatisfied
No. of
respondents

Q.2) Are you satisfied with the recruitment and selection procedure? Is it efficient to
satisfy the needs of all the departments?
Ans.)
Satisfaction Very Satisfied Average Dissatisfied Very
level satisfied dissatisfied
No. of
respondents

72
Q.3) Are you satisfied with the time consumed by the recruitment and selection
procedure?
Ans.)

Satisfaction Very Satisfied Average Dissatisfied Very

level satisfied dissatisfied
No. of
respondents

Q.4) Do you think that the recruitment and selection procedures are future oriented
and helping organizational growth?
Ans.)

Response Yes No Not sure

No. of respondent

73
74