Open AccessHow Employee Selection Decisions are Made in Practice
Author(s) -
Pernilla Bolander,
Joergen Sandberg
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
organization studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.441
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1741-3044
pISSN - 0170-8406
DOI - 10.1177/0170840612464757
Subject(s) - selection (genetic algorithm) , deliberation , nothing , situated , construct (python library) , sensemaking , computer science , epistemology , order (exchange) , process (computing) , sociology , knowledge management , management science , psychology , business , artificial intelligence , political science , economics , philosophy , finance , politics , law , programming language , operating system
Existing literature on employee selection contains an abundance of knowledge of how selection should take place but almost nothing about how it occurs in practice. This paper presents an ethnomethodological-discourse analytical real-time study of how selection decisions are made in situ. The main findings suggest that selection decision making is characterized by ongoing practical deliberation involving four interrelated discursive processes: assembling versions of the candidates; establishing the versions of the candidates as factual; reaching selection decisions; and using selection tools as sensemaking devices. In addition, this paper identifies two basic forms of selection decision making: one characterized by initial agreement and one characterized by initial disagreement. In each basic form of decision making, selectors reason through the four discursive processes in a methodical, situated and practical manner in order to construct local versions of the candidates and make ‘reasonable’ selection decisions.