Management 14th Edition by Leslie Rue,Lloyd Byars ,Nabil Ibrahim

Exercise 16

Problems in City Government
The city of Windsor, like most city governments, has a centralized human resource (HR) department. The HR department does the recruiting and testing and works with all operating departments in selecting new employees. Windsor employs a merit system for job selection and promotion.
Until recently, the Windsor HR department used the following process when a job was to be filled by hiring from outside the organization:
1. A job description was prepared and advertised. This description was very general and included all the tasks which the person might perform.
2. Minimum requirements were established. These requirements were based on what operating departments wanted and what the HR department thought was reasonable. It was not based on any demonstratable criteria.
3. Tests were given to those who met minimum requirements. Those who passed the tests were interviewed.
4. A register was established ranking the qualified applicants on a scale from 70 to 100.
5. Departments then chose one of the top three applicants on the register.
The operating departments want more control over who they can hire. The HR department wants to maintain the present system.
How could the present system be improved?