Posted: April 24th, 2025

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This week you read about the strategic design of work tasks and determining employee jobs. You also explored the important task of recruiting talented employees. For this discussion consider how designing employee jobs and recruiting the right people is an important part of HRM strategy.

Scenario

Imagine you are head of the HR department and you have been asked to review five applicants for the salesclerk position at your company. The job description for the salesclerk includes:

• Greeting customers as they enter the store.
• Working at the point-of-sale counter to process transactions.
• Assisting customers in locating products by reviewing inventory and calling other store locations.
• Suggesting new items to customers.
• Entering sales data and keeping records of special orders.
• Arranging items to engage customers.
• Building customer relationships.
• During the interview process, you learn the following about each applicant:

The Applicants

ALICE

Alice has 10 years of experience in sales but can be distracted easily. She will not work on commission and cannot work weekends. She can be a little obstinate but has an excellent job history. She also requires ADA accommodations due to an injury sustained during military service.

MARY

Mary has just one year’s experience, but she is very congenial and loves working with people. Her work schedule is very flexible, but she can become a little stressed at times and periodically needs to leave quietly and regroup for a short time. Mary also considers herself a human rights advocate with an emphasis on race relations and is known to voice her opinions related to racial injustice to others.

JAMES

James has seven years’ experience, a master’s degree in business, and aspirations of owning a company soon. James is a devout Christian. He is known to make biblical references often, encourages others to attend his church, and has requested 80 hours in advance to attend religious conferences within the next six months.

SAM

Sam has six years’ experience and is willing to work all shifts. Sam is transgender, prefers gender-neutral pronouns (they/them), and is looking for a new job due to bullying at a previous workplace.

JUSTIN

Justin has five years’ experience, is hardworking, flexible, and has a great job history. Justin is also someone you met in college, dated briefly, and have not seen in a few years.

Post a Response

1. Decide which candidate would be the right fit for the salesclerk position, who did you select?
2. Describe the thought process that led to your decision and your reasons for not selecting one or more of the other candidates.

• Justify your choice, including all of the considerations or factors that influenced your selection.