Vitamin B12 Or Folate Deficiency Anaemia

Introduction/context/research area

The term online recruiting is used to describe the practice of using the internet to hire prospective job seekers to fill up vacancies in organisations (Kerrin, 2005). This relatively new practice has helped to make it easier for employers to locate talented individuals with the required skills and work experience irrespective of their location. Prior to the advent of the internet, employers used to rely on print media such as organisational newsletters, newspapers, the radio and magazines. Unfortunately for them, these media provided a limited pool from which they could select qualified candidates for two reasons (Hausdorf & Duncan, 2004). Firstly, many of these publications only cover a small audience. Secondly, they had a limited geographical coverage, which made it difficult to hire qualified applicants out of the geographic area of circulation. This increased the cost to the employer as they would need to advertise in many newspapers to reach out to many qualified individuals.

Recruiting websites have now made it possible for employers to reach out to huge audiences over the Internet at cheaper rates (Enhance Media Ltd, 2005). With just ?200, employers can now access online job banks with millions of CV at their disposal. In addition to employment websites, many organisations now have an employment section on their website where they advertise available positions (Travagline & Frei, 2001). Although online recruiting has gained grounds, some people continue to challenge the effectiveness of online recruiting (Brooks, 2000). This study will provide an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of online recruiting. The case study for this research is Huntress Group. Huntress is a German recruitment firm with international operations. The company is amongst Germany’s top human resource consultancies and has been consistently named in the Sunday Times best 100 companies to work for.

Literature review

The advent of online recruiting has changed the way companies recruit personnel. At first, recruiting included a lengthy procedure, which involved placing job ads on the classified section of the newspaper. Employers would wait for interested applicants to mail their CV and credentials. Today, online recruiting has facilitated the task of both job seekers and employees, making it link both parties in just a click. During America’s 2000 Superbowl tournament, Hotjobs, Kforce.com and Monster all advertised their website in the US national TV networks (Straus et al, 2001). These online recruiting firms immediately caught the attention of audiences and were later transformed into the major players in the global online recruiting business.

This has created a platform where millions of jobseekers are able to reach out to hundreds of thousands of job offers that are advertised online (Straus et al, 2001). According to results of a survey that was conducted amongst 1000 organisations by the Association for Internet Recruiting, at least 70 percent of the participating organisations said they will likely spend more on online recruiting in the future (Lievens & Harris, 2003). More than 50 percent of the organisations said they had hired between 1-20 percent of their employees over the last year via online recruiting. About 35 percent of the participating companies that hired more than 10,000 employees said they had at least one employee who was hired to coordinate online recruiting activities (Breaugh & Starke, 2000). More than 80 percent of the organisations that participated in the study had an employment section on their website. The above mentioned study clearly demonstrates that online recruiting has already gained grounds in the field of employment, and it is expected to continue growing over the years.

Although some critics claim that online recruiting cannot replace traditional recruitment platforms, the trends in the industry clearly indicates that more employers and employees are interested in online advertising because it is more immediate, thereby making possible for employers to quickly fill up vacancies especially in immediate situations (Enhance Media Ltd, 2005). These critics believe that the internet is unable to help in conducting necessary background checks prior to the recruitment of qualified of candidates to fill up vacancies (Hausdorf & Duncan, 2004). This necessitates face-to-face interviews and other checks that can enable employers to uncover the personality of job seekers. Although the internet can facilitate scanning and uploading of CVs and certificates, it is unable to provide information on the personality of applicants (Lievens & Harris, 2003). Some jobs require candidates to have a personality that will make it easier for them to perform their jobs well. In order to gather such information, there is a need for the conventional job interview (Brooks, 2000). The weaknesses of online recruiting has clearly put the credibility of online recruiting under scrutiny. That notwithstanding, considering the fact that online recruiting has continued to grow over the years; it appears its strengths could out way the disadvantages. By the end of this study, the researcher will have found the answer to that question.

Research questions/objectives

This study, which seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of online advertising, shall be guided by a number of objectives and research questions designed to ensure that the study remains focused on the topic. The objective of this study includes the following:-

To identify the strengths and weaknesses of online recruiting.
To evaluate online recruiting trends over the years and make possible predictions for the future.
To analyse the costs and effectiveness of online recruiting.

In an attempt to achieve the above mentioned aims of this study, the following research questions shall be answered by this study. They include the following:-

What are the factors that have contributed to the growth of online recruiting
What is the potential of online recruiting for the future
Can online recruiting replace conventional recruitment techniques
How has online recruiting affected the recruitment process
Proposed Research methods

5.1. Justification of methodology

This study shall make use of a mixed approach methodology. It will make use of both qualitative and quantitative approaches to collect data, which will be used for analysis. The fact that this document is also a case study research will enable the researcher to carry out a detailed analysis of Huntress Group. The study shall draw deductive conclusions based on the outcome of the analysis of the case study. To ensure the study has a balance view, reference shall be made to other secondary sources including similar studies that have been carried out in the past by other researchers.

5.2. Data/information requirements

The data required to carry out this study will include information on the strengths and weaknesses of online recruiting. By comparing the advantages and disadvantages, the researcher shall be able to analyse whether online recruiting is an effective.

5.3. Data collection

Primary data shall be collected through the use of questionnaires. Secondary data shall be collected from text books, academic journals and websites. The researcher shall make use of secondary data to write the introduction and literature review. This is the most effective way to conduct this study because the questionnaire shall gather data from experts at Huntress. For secondary data collection, the study shall draw material from the following sources (text books, journals and conference papers cited in the list of references); meanwhile the questionnaires shall be distributed to both employees of Huntress and potential jobseekers who make use of online recruiting firms. The study shall respect the ethical expectations of social science research.

Project plan including time line/Gantt chart

The project shall be carried out as listed in the Gannt chart below. The introductory chapter shall be completed in February 2013. The literature review shall be completed in the month of March. In the month of April, the questionnaires shall be administered and then the data shall be collected and analysed. The findings of the study shall be reported in the month of May and then concluded in the month of June. Minor amendments shall be done in the month of July upon feedback from the supervisor.

Project Timescale

TaskTimeFebruary

2013March

2013April

2013May

2013June

2013July

2013
Chapter 1

Introduction
Chapter 2 Literature Review
Chapter 3 Methodology/Questionnaire
Chapter 4 Findings & Interpretations
Chapter 5 Conclusion

Amendments

Resource requirements

This study is in need of a number of resources to enable the researcher to arrive at an objective and accurate conclusion. There is need for finances to cover the cost of transportation, telephone calls and for the printing of the questionnaires. The researcher is also in need of appropriate software, such as SPSS to analyse the data that shall be collected with the questionnaires.

Limitations, including an identification of contingency plans, where relevant

One of the major limitations of this study includes the fact that the finances put in place to carry out this study are limited. Consequently, the writer cannot hire extra individuals to assist in administering the questionnaires and data collection. This will place much burden on the writer who has a relatively short period of time to complete the dissertation.

References

Breaugh, J., & Starke, M. (2000). Research on employee recruitment: So many studies, so many remaining questions. Journal of Management, 26, 405-434.

Brooks, P.W. Jr. (2000). Internet assessment: Opportunities and challenges. Paper presented at the 24th Annual IPMAAC Conference on Professional Personnel Assessment in June 2000. Washington, DC.

Enhance Media Ltd (2005) The National Online Recruitment Audience Survey, Winter

Hausdorf, P. A. and Duncan, P. (2004) ‘Firm Size and Internet recruiting in Canada: A preliminary investigation,’ Journal of Business Management, Vol 42, pp 325-334

Kerrin, M. (2005) E-based recruitment: New Challenges in the application of selection and assessment, Paper presented at the Division of Occupational Psychology Conference, Warwick

Lievens, F., & Harris, M.M. (2003). Research on Internet Recruiting and Testing: Current Status and Future Directions. In C.L. Cooper & I.T. Robertson (Eds.) International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, vol. 16. (pp. 131-165). Chicester: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Straus, S.G., Miles, J.A., & Levesque, L.L. (2001) The effects of videoconference, telephone, and face-to-face media on interviewer and applicant judgments in employment interviews. Journal of Management, 27, 363-381.

Travagline, A., & Frei, R.L. (2001) 21st century recruiting: A model for Internet based realistic job previews. Paper presented at the 16th Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology in April 2001, San Diego, CA.