February 1, 2022

SQL DATABASES -SQL GROUP BY The GROUP BY clause is usually used with an aggregate function (COUNT, SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX). It groups the rows by a given column value (specified after GROUP BY) then calculates the aggregate for each group and returns that to the screen. SELECT column1, COUNT(column2) FROM table_name GROUP BY column1; This query counts the number of values in column2 – for each group of unique column1 values. SELECT column1, SUM(column2) FROM table_name GROUP BY column1; This query sums the number of values in column2 – for each group of unique column1 values. SELECT column1, MIN(column2) FROM table_name GROUP BY column1; This query finds the minimum value in column2 – for each group of unique column1 values. SELECT column1, MAX(column2) FROM table_name GROUP BY column1; This query finds the maximum value in column2 – for each group of unique column1 values. SQL ALIASES You can rename columns, tables, subqueries, anything. SELECT column1, COUNT(column2) AS number_of_values FROM table_name GROUP BY column1; This query counts the number of values in column2 – for each group of unique column1 values. Then it renames the COUNT(column2) column to number_of_values. SQL JOIN You can JOIN two (or more) SQL tables based on column values. SELECT * FROM table1 JOIN table2 ON table1.column1 = table2.column1; This joins table1 and table2 values – for every row where the value of column1 from table1 equals the value of column1 from table2. SQL HAVING The execution order of the different SQL keywords doesn’t allow you to filter with the WHERE clause on the result of an aggregate function (COUNT, SUM, etc.). This is because WHERE is executed before the aggregate functions. But that’s what HAVING is for: SELECT column1, COUNT(column2) FROM table_name GROUP BY column1 HAVING COUNT(column2) > 100; This query counts the number of values in column2 – for each group of unique column1 values. It returns only those results where the counted value is greater than 100. CORRECT KEYWORD ORDER AGAIN SQL is extremely sensitive to keyword order. So make sure you keep it right: 1. SELECT 2. FROM 3. JOIN (ON) 4. WHERE 5. GROUP BY 6. HAVING 7. ORDER BY 8. LIMIT SUBQUERIES You can run SQL queries within SQL queries. (Called subqueries.) Even queries within queries within queries. The point is to use the result of one query as an input value of another query. Example: SELECT COUNT(*) FROM (SELECT column1, COUNT(column2) AS inner_number_of_values FROM table_name GROUP BY column1) AS inner_query WHERE inner_number_of_values > 100; The inner query counts the number of values in column2 – for each group of unique column1 values. Then the outer query uses the inner query’s results and counts the number of values where inner_number_of_values are greater than 100. (The result is one number.)  

MULTIPLE CONDITIONS IN SQL DATABASES You can use more than one condition to filter. For that, we have two logical operators: OR, AND. SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE column1 != ‘expression’ AND column3 LIKE ‘%xzy%’; This query returns every column from table_name, but only those rows where the value in column1 is NOT ‘expression’ AND the value in column3 contains the ‘xyz’ string. SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE column1 != ‘expression’ OR column3 LIKE ‘%xzy%’; This query returns every column from table_name, but only those rows where the value in column1 is NOT ‘expression’ OR the value in column3 contains the ‘xyz’ string. PROPER FORMATTING You can use line breaks and indentations for nicer formatting. It won’t have any effect on your output. Be careful and put a semicolon at the end of the query though! SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE column1 != ‘expression’ AND column3 LIKE ‘%xzy%’ LIMIT 10; SORTING VALUES SELECT * FROM table_name ORDER BY column1; This query returns every row and column from table_name, ordered by column1, in ascending order (by default). SELECT * FROM table_name ORDER BY column1 DESC; This query returns every row and column from table_name, ordered by column1, in descending order. UNIQUE VALUES SELECT DISTINCT(column1) FROM table_name; It returns every unique value from column1 from table_name. CORRECT KEYWORD ORDER SQL is extremely sensitive to keyword order. So make sure you keep it right: 1. SELECT 2. FROM 3. WHERE 4. ORDER BY 5. LIMIT SQL FUNCTIONS FOR AGGREGATION In SQL, there are five important aggregate functions for data analysts/scientists: • COUNT() • SUM() • AVG() • MIN() • MAX() A few examples: SELECT COUNT(*) FROM table_name WHERE column1 = ‘something’; It counts the number of rows in the SQL table in which the value in column1 is ‘something’. SELECT AVG(column1) FROM table_name WHERE column2 > 1000; It calculates the average (mean) of the values in column1, only including rows in which the value in column2 is greater than 1000. CREATED

DATA TYPES IN SQL In SQL we have more than 40 different data types. But these seven are the most important ones: 1. Integer. A whole number without a fractional part. E.g. 1, 156, 2012412 2. Decimal. A number with a fractional part. E.g. 3.14, 3.141592654, 961.1241250 3. Boolean. A binary value. It can be either TRUE or FALSE. 4. Date. Speaks for itself. You can also choose the format. E.g. 2017-12-31 5. Time. You can decide the format of this, as well. E.g. 23:59:59 6. Timestamp. The date and the time together. E.g. 2017-12-31 23:59:59 7. Text. This is the most general data type. But it can be alphabetical letters only, or a mix of letters and numbers and any other characters. E.g. hello, R2D2, Tomi, 124.56.128.41 BASE QUERY SELECT * FROM table_name; This query returns every column and every row of the table called table_name. SELECT * FROM table_name LIMIT 10; It returns every column and the first 10 rows from table_name. SELECTING SPECIFIC COLUMNS SELECT column1, column2, column3 FROM table_name; This query returns every row of column1, column2 and column3 from table_name. FILTERING (the WHERE CLAUSE) SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE column1 = ‘expression’; “Horizontal filtering.” This query returns every column from table_name – but only those rows where the value in column1 is ‘expression’. Obviously this can be something other than text: a number (integer or decimal), date or any other data format, too. ADVANCED FILTERING Comparison operators help you compare two values. (Usually a value that you define in your query and values that exist in your SQL table.) Mostly, they are mathematical symbols, with a few exceptions: Comparison operator What does it mean? =  Equal to <>  Not equal to !=   Not equal to <   Less than <=  than or equal to >  Greater than >=  Greater than or equal to LIKE  ‘%expression%’ Contains ‘expression’ IN  (‘exp1’, ‘exp2’, ‘exp3’) Contains any of ‘exp1’, ‘exp2’, or ‘exp3’ A few examples: SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE column1 != ‘expression’; This query returns every column from table_name, but only those rows where the value in column1 is NOT ‘expression’. SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE column2 >= 10; It returns every column from table_name, but only those rows where the value in column2 is greater or equal to 10. SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE column3 LIKE ‘%xzy%’; It returns every column from table_name, but only those rows where the value in column3 contains the ‘xyz’ string.  

Logistics Management Information Systems A logistics management information system (LMIS) is a system of records and reports – whether paper-based or electronic – used to aggregate, analyze, validate and display data (from all levels of the logistics system) that can be used to make logistics decisions and manage the supply chain. LMIS data elements include stock on hand, losses and adjustments, consumption, demand, issues, shipment status, and information about the cost of commodities managed in the system. LMIS in the supply chain Links the different levels in the system through information Provides information each needs to perform their supply chain role Common challenges Poor recordkeeping: incomplete or not updated stock and consumption records Poor reporting: late, incomplete and poor quality reports Data not moving up or down the system: facilities not submitting to districts, districts not sending reports to central, not providing feedback to districts and facilities Data not used for decision making LMIS structures exist, but are not fully functional Movement to integrate across program areas Various options that could be adapted eLMIS: data warehouses that drawn multiple sources of data OpenLMIS: a resource sharing, normative partnership

CLOCK SYNCHRONIZATION Every computer needs a timer mechanism (called a computer clock) to keep track of current time and also For various accounting purposes such as calculating the time spent by a process in CPU utilization, disk I/O and so on, so that the corresponding user can be charged properly. In a distributed system, an application may have processes that concurrently run on multiple nodes of the system. For correct results, several such distributed applications require that the clocks of the nodes are subchronised with each other. For example, for a distributed-on line reservation system to be fair, the only remaining seat booked almost simultaneously from two different nodes should be offered to the client who booked first, even if the time different between the two bookings is very small. It may not be possible to guarantee this if the clocks of the nodes of the system are not synchronized. In a distributed system, synchronized clocks also enable one to measure the duration of distributed activities that start on one node and terminate on another node, for instance calculating the time taken to transmit a message from one node to another at any arbitrary time. It is difficult to get the correct result in the case if the clocks of the sender and receiver nodes are not synchronized There are several other applications of synchronized clocks in distributed systems. Some good examples of such applications may be found in [Liskov 1993]. The discussion above shows that it is the job of a distributed operating system designer to devise and use suitable algorithms for properly synchronizing the clocks of a distributed system. This section presents a description of such algorithms. However, for a better understanding of these algorithms, we will first discuss how computer clocks are implemented and what are the main issues in synchronizing the clocks of a distributed system? HOW COMPUTER CLOCKS ARE IMPLEMENTED A computer clock usually consists of three components – a quartz crystal that oscillates at a well-defined frequency, a counter register, and a holding register. The holding register is used to store a constant value that is decided based on the frequency of oscillation of the quartz crystal. That is, the value in the counter register is decremented by 1 for each oscillation of the quartz crystal. When the value of the counter register becomes zero, an interrupt is generated and its value is reinitialized to the value in the holding register. Each interrupt is called clock tick. The value in the holding register is chosen 60 so that on 60 clock ticks occur in a second. CMOS RAM is also present in most of the machines which keeps the clock of the machine up-to-date even when the machine is switched off. When we consider one machine and one clock, then slight delay in the clock ticks over the period of time does not matter, but when we consider n computers having n crystals, all running at a slightly different time, then the clocks get out of sync over the period of time. This difference in time values is called clock skew. Tool Ordering of Events: We have seen how a system of clocks satisfying the clock condition can be used to order the events of a system based on the happened before relationship among the events. We simply need to order the events by the times at which they occur. However that the happened before relation is only a partial ordering on the set of all events in the system. With this event ordering scheme, it is possible that two events a and b that are not related by the happened before relation (either directly or indirectly) may have the same timestamps associated with them. For instance, if events a and b happen respectively in processes P1 and P2 , when the clocks of both processes show exactly the same time (Say 100), both events will have a timestamp of 100. In this situation, nothing can be said about the order of the two events. Therefore, for total ordering on the set of all system events an additional requirement is desirable. No two events ever occur all exactly the same time. To fulfill this requirement, Namport proposed the use of any arbitrary total ordering of the processes. For example, process identity numbers may be used to break ties and to create a total ordering on events. For instance, in the situation described above, the timestamps associated with events a and b will be 100.001 and 100.002, respectively, where the process identity numbers of processes P1 and P2 are 001 and 002 respectively. Using this method, we now have a way to assign a unique timestamp to each event in a distributed system to provide a total ordering of all events in the system.

The performance management system should provide benefits to both the employee and to the organization. For the individual, the appraisal should provide a management information system for making management decision as well as a toll for improving performance. Today’s organization can no longer afford to live with an ineffective appraisal system. Practically all managers and many employees dislike the experience of performance appraisals. However, the pulses far outnumber the minuses with many good reasons for formally appraising performance. The appraisal is a more factual presentation to demonstrate an employee is failing within the functioning of a group or document. On the positive side, appraisals will also provide valuable insights as to the future direction the department or work group will take. Performance may be defined as the accomplishment of an employee or manager’s assigned duties and the outcomes produced on a specific job function or activity during a specified time period. Performance appraisal, review or evaluation refers to s systematic description and review of an individual’s job performance. Performance management refers to the total system of gathering information, the review and feedback to the individual, and storing information to improve organization effectiveness. The primary goal of performance management appraisals is to improve organization performance. The appraisal are used for a variety of purposes, including the following: 1. compensation one of the most common uses of performance management concerns compensation determining pay increases, bonuses and other pay related issues 2. performance improvement an example of this is where companies use appraisal systems which link performance improvement with pay. An effective appraisal system performance is neccessary for these incentive systems to work. 3. Interla appraisal Perfomance appraisal information is also used in performance decisions, to determine promotions, transfers, or in the case of downsizing, do identify possible layoffs. Most organizations rely on performance appraisal information in deciding which employees to promote to fill openings and which employees to retain in a downsizing situation. One problem with relying too heavily on performance appraisal information in making decisions about promotions is the the employee’s performance concerns only his or her current job if the promotion involves different skills from the employee’s current job, it is often impossible to predict how the individual will perform at the new level. 4. Evaluation performance appraisal information may also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the recruitment process, to validate selection criteria or other predictors of job perfomance. In these cases, the HR manger on-the- job perfomance appraisal so that the test scores or selection ratings can be correlated to job performance 5. Internet feedback This is a feedback system where employees send feedback to assist managers in assessing their leadership skills. The system is user friendly and is seen by employees as worthwhile. The system feedback not only assesses manager’s team leadership skills, but also helps them develop those skills. The advantages of the system include the reduction of paperwork, reducing employee’s times, and maintaining employees anonymity while providing prompt feedback. The result is informative feedback that promotes leadership development. 6. Development tool Performance apparaisal may also be used as a development tool for the  individual employee, providing an opportunity for feedback, recognition, and reinforcement. This performance review also provides employees with career goals and direction for future performance The appraisal allows the organization to select those best qualified for promotion suggest areas where training may be effective, and help improve individual performance, resulting in improved bottom-line productivity. From the individual’s viewpoint, performance appraisals should provide recogntion of one’s contributions; a feeling of support from one’s immediate supervisor and the feeling of security from knowing one is performing satisfactory. When giving feedback to an employee in an appraisal, the interview should have the necessary information to make the evaluation of job perfomance and present a summation of that information. At this point the feedback session should turn to a discussion of developing strengths, thus shifting into a counsellling session. It is suggested that supervisors keep a file on each worker, noting significance accomplishments or setbacks and appraisals as an ongoing process.

1. Plan the Interview Being by reviewing the candidate’s application and not any areas that vague or that may indicate strengths or weakness .Review the job specification and plan to start the interview with a clear picture of the traits of an ideal candidate . If possible use a structure form. Interviews based on structured guides, usually result in the best interviews .At a minimum, you should write out your question prior to the interview. The interview should take place in a private room where telephone calls are not accepted and interruptions can be minimized. Also plant to delay your decisions. Interviewers often make snap judgment even before they see the candidate on the basic of his or applicant form, for instance- or during the first few minutes of the interview. Make your decision them. 2. Establish Rapport The main reason for the interview is to find out about the applicant: To do this start by putting the person at ease. Greet the candidates and start the interview by asking a non-controversial question –perhaps about the weather or traffic condition that day. As a rule, all applicant, even unsolicited drop-ins-should receive friendly courteous treatment, not only on humanitarian but also because your reputation is on the line. Be aware of the applicant’s status .For example, if you are interviewing someone who is unemployed he or she may be exceptionally nervous and you may want to take additional step to relax the person. 3. Ask Questions Try to follow your structure interview guide or the question you wrote out ahead of time .A menu of question to choose from. Avoid questions that can be answered “yes’’ or “no’’ , don’t put word in the applicant’s mouth or telegraph the desire answer ,for instance , by nodding or smiling when the right answer is given ,don’t interrogate the applicant as if the person is a criminal and don’t be patronizing , sarcastic or inattentive , don’t monopolize the interview by rambling nor lat the applicant’s opinions and feelings by repeating the person’s last comment as a question .  when you ask for general statements of a candidate’s accomplishment, also ask for examples. Thus if at the end candidate lists specific strengths or weakness, follow up with “what are the specific examples that demonstrate each of your strengths?’’ 4. Close the interview Toward the close of the interview, leave time to answer any questions the candidate may have and if appropriate, to advocate your firm to the candidate. Try to end all interviews on a positive note. The applicant should be told whether there is an interest and if so, what the next step will be. Similarly, rejections should be made diplomatically for instance, with a statement like, ”although your background is impressive, there are other candidates whose experience is closer top our requirements.” If the applicant is still being considered but a decision cant be reached at once, say this. If your policy is to inform candidates of their status in writing, do so within a few days of the interview. 5. Review the interview After the candidates leaves, review your interview notes, fill in the structured interview guide and review the interview while it’s fresh in your mind. Remember that snap judgments and negative emphasis are two common interviewing mistakes; reviewing the interview shortly after the candidate has left can help you minimize these two problems.

1. Snap Judgements One of the most consistent findings in the interviewing literature is that interviewers tend to jump to conclusions- make snap judgments about candidates during the few minutes of the interview, or even before the interview begins based on test scores or resume data. For example, one study showed that interviewers’ access to candidates’ test scores biased the interviewer’s assessment of the candidate. In another study the interviewer’s evaluation of a candidate was only related to his or her decision about hiring candidate for candidates with low passing scores on a selection test. A great percentage of interviews make up their minds about candidates before the interview begins on the basis of applicants’ application forms and personal appearance. Findings like this underscore that it’s important for a candidate to start off on the right foot with the interviewer. Interviewers usually make up their minds about candidates during the first few minutes of the interview and prolonging the interview past this point usually adds little to change their decisions. 2. Negative emphasis Jumping to conclusion is especially troublesome when the information the interview has about the candidate is negative. For example in one study the researchers found that interviewers who previously received unfavorable reference letters about applicants gave the applicants less credit for past successes and held them more personally responsible for past failures after the interview. Furthermore the interviewer’s final decisions to accept or reject applicants based on the references, quite aside from their interview performance. In other word impressions are much more likely to change from favorable to unfavorable than from unfavorable to favorable. A common interviewing mistake is to make the interview itself mostly a search for negative information. In a sense, therefore, most interviews are probably loaded against the applicant. an applicant who initially rated high could easily end up with allow rating, given applicant who is initially rated high could easily end up with low rating, given the fact that unfavorable information tends to carry more weight in an interview. An interviewee who starts out with a poor rating will find it hard to overcome that first bad impression during the interview. 3.Poor knowledge of the job Interviewers who don’t know precisely what the sort of candidate is best suited for it usually make their decision based on incorrect stereotypes about what a good applicant is. They then erroneously match interviewees with their incorrect stereotypes. On the other hand , interviewees who have a clear understanding of what the job entail hold interviews that are more useful. 4 .Pressure to hire Pressure to hire also undermines an interview’s usefulness .For example, a group of managers was told to assume that they were behind in their recruiting quota .A second group was told that were ahead of their quota. Those “behind’’ evaluate recruits much more highly than did those “ahead ‘’. 5.Candidate –Order [contrast] Error It is an error of judgment on the part of the interviewer due one or more very good or very bad candidate just before the interviewer in question .Mean that the order in which you see applicant affects how you rate them. 6.Influence of nonverbal behavior Interviewers are also influenced by the applicant’s nonverbal behavior .For example, several studies have showed that applicants who demonstrate greater amount of eye contact head moving, smiling and other similar nonverbal behavior are rate higher .In fact these nonverbal behaviors often account for more than 80% of the applicant’s rating. An applicant’s attractiveness and gender also play a role. Researchers found out that whether attractiveness was a help 0r a hindrance to job applicant depended on the sex of the applicant and the nature of the job. Attractiveness was advantageous for male interviewees only when the job was non-managerial. 7.Telegraphing Some interviewers are so anxious to fill a job that they help the applicant respond correctly to their questions by telegraphing the expected answer .An example might be a question like.“This job calls for Handling a lot of stress .You can do that ,can’t you?’’ the telegraphing isn’t always so obvious .For example interviewer ‘ first impression of candidates [from examining application blank and test scores ] tend to positively linked to use of a more positive interview style and vocal on the part of the interviewer .This can translate into sending subtle cues [like a smile ]regarding what answer is being sought . 8. Too much /Little Talking Too much or little guidance on the interviewer’s part is anther common mistake. Some interviewers let the applicant dominate the interview to the point where too few substantive questions are pursed .At the other extreme some interviewers stifle the applicant by not giving the person sufficient time to answer questions. Designing and Conducting the Effective Interview Designing and an effective interview can avoid problems like those addressed. The Structured Interview Since structure situation interviews are usually the most valid interviews for predicting job performance , conducting an effective interview ideally stars with designing a structured situation interview, a series of hypothetical job-oriental questions with predetermined answers that are consistently asked of all applicant for a particular job .Usually a committee of person familiar with the job develops situation and job-knowledge questions based on the actual job duties .They then reach consensus on what are not acceptable answers to these question .The actual procedure consist of five step as follows: Step.1: Job Analysis: First, write a description of the job in the form of a list of a job duties, require knowledge, skill, abilities and worker qualification. Step 2: Evaluate the Job Duty Information. Next, rate each duty no its importance to job success and on amount of time required to perform it compared to other task .The aim here is to identify the main duties of the job. Step .3: Develop Interview Questions. The employees, who list and evaluate the job duties, then develop interview questions. The interview questions are based on the listing of job duties with more questions generated for the more

Effective selection is therefore important and depends, to large degree on the basic testing concepts of validity and reliability. I .validity A test is a sample of a person’s behavior, but some tests are more clearly representative of the behavior being sampled that others. A typing test for example, clearly corresponds to an on-the job behavior. At the other extreme, there may be no apparent relationship between the items on the test and the behavior. This is the case with projective tests. Test validity The accuracy with which a test, interview and so on measures what it purports to measure or fulfills the function it was designed to fill. It answers the question, “does this test measure what it’s supposed to measure?” with respect to employee selection tests, validity often refers to evidence that the test is job related- in other words, that performance on the test is a valid predictor of subsequent performance on their job. A selection test must be valid since, without proof of validity, there is no logical or legally permissible reason to continue using it to screen job applicants. In employment testing, there are two main ways to demonstrate a test’s validity: criterion validity and content validity. 1. Criterion validity Demonstrating criterion validity means that those who do well on the test also do well on the job and that those who do poorly on the test do poorly on the job, thus the test has validity to extent that the people with higher test scores perform better on the job. In psychological measurement, predictor is the measurement (in this case, the test score) that you are trying to relate to a criterion, like performance on the job. The term criterion validity reflects that terminology. 2. Content validity A test that contains a fair sample of the tasks and skills actually needed for the job in question. Employers demonstrate the content validity of a test by showing that the test constitutes a fair sample of the content of the job. The basic procedure here is to identify job tasks and behaviors that are critical to performance and then randomly detect a sample of those tasks and behaviors to be tested. Demonstrating content validity sounds easier than it is in practice. Demonstrating that; The tasks the person performs on the test are really a comprehensive and random sample of the tasks performed on the job. The conditions under which the person takes the test resemble the work situation, is not always easy. For many jobs, employers must demonstrate other evidence of a test’s validity- such as its criterion validity. Reliability Is a test’s second important characteristic and refers to its consistency. It is “the consistency of scores obtained by the same person when retested with the identical tests or with an equivalent form of a test.” A test’s reliability is very important; if a person scored 90 on an intelligence test on Monday and 130 when retested on Tuesday, you probably wouldn’t have much faith in the test. There are several ways to estimate consistency or reliability. You could administer the same test to the same people at two different points in time, comparing their test scores at time 2 with their scores at time 1; this would be a retest estimate. Or you could administer a test and then administer what experts believe to be an equivalent test later; this would be an equivalent form estimate. A test’s internal consistency is another measure of its reliability. For example, suppose you have 10 items on a test of vocational interest; you believe this measure in various ways, the person’s interest in working outdoors. You administer the test and then statistically analyze the degree to which responses to these 10 items vary together. This would provide a measure of the internal consistency is one reason you find apparently repetitive questions on some test questionnaires. A number of things could cause a test to be unreliable. For example the questions may do a poor job of sampling the material; or there might be errors due to changes in the testing conditions Interviewing Candidates An interview is a procedure designed to solicit information from a person’s oral responses to oral inquiries; a selection interview, is a selection procedure designed to predict the future job performance on the basis of applicants oral responses to oral inquiries. Interview is by far the most widely used personnel selection procedure Types of Interviews Interviews can be classified in four ways according to; 1. Degree of structure 2. Purpose 3. Content 4. The way the interview is administered Inn turn the seven main types of interviews used at work- structured, non-structured, situational, sequential, panel, stress and appraisal can each be classified in one or more of these four ways. I. The structure of the interview Interviews can be classified according to the degree to which they are structured. In an unstructured or nondirective type of interview you ask questions as they come to mind the interviewer pursues points of interest as they come up in response to questions. There is generally no set format to follow and the interview can take various directions. While questions can be specified in advance, they usually are not and there is seldom a formalized guide for scoring the quality each answer. Interviewees for the same job thus may or may not be asked the same or similar questions based on the candidate’s last statement and to pursue points of interest as they develop. The interview can also be structured. In the classical structured interview, the questions and acceptable responses are specified in advance and the responses are rated for appropriateness of content. It is an interview following a set sequence of questions. In practice, however not all structured interviews go so as to specify acceptable answers. Structured and no structured interviews each have their pros and cons. With structured interviews all applicants are generally asked all questions by all interviewers that meet and structured interviews are generally

One of the biggest challenges facing firms lies in the process of testing and selection of employees. A firm that fails to lay emphasis on this process will find itself experiencing a high employee turnover. The purpose of this lesson is to show you how to use various tools and techniques to select the best candidates for the job. Why careful selection is important With a pool of applicants, the next step is to select the best candidates for the job. This usually means whittling down the applicant pool by using the screening tools: tests assessment centers and background and reference checks. Then the prospective supervisor can interview likely candidates and decide who to hire. Selecting the right employees is important for three main reasons. First, your own performance always depends in part on your subordinates. Employees with the right skills and attributes will do a better job for you and the company, employees without these skills or who are abrasive or obstructionist wont perform effectively, and your own performance and the firm’s will suffer, the time to screen out undesirables is before they are in the door not after. Second, it is important because it’s costly to recruit and hire employees. Third its important because of the legal implications of incompetent hiring. Negligent hiring This is hiring workers with questionable backgrounds without proper safeguards. Negligent hiring underscores the need to think through what the job’s human requirements really are. Employers protect against negligent hiring claims by; Carefully scrutinizing all information supplied by the applicant on his or her employment application. For example, look for unexplained gaps in employment getting the applicant’s written authorization for reference checks and carefully checking references saving all records and information you obtain about the applicant rejecting applicants who make false statements of material facts or who have conviction records for offences directly related and important to the job in question keeping in mind the need to balance the applicant’s privacy rights with others “need to know”, especially when you discover damaging information Taking immediate disciplinary action if problems develop.

To be effective promotion from within requires using job position, personnel records and skills banks. Job posting means publicizing the open job to employees (often by literally posting it on bulletin boards or intranets) and listing the job’s attributes, like qualifications, supervisor, work schedule and pay rate. Some union contracts require job posting to ensure union members get first choice of new and better positions. Yet job posting can be a good practice even in non union firms, it facilitates the transfer and promotion of qualified inside candidates. (However firms often don’t post supervisory jobs; management often prefers to select supervisory candidates based on things like supervisor’s recommendations and appraisals and testing results). Personnel record share also important. An examination of personnel records (including application forms) may reveal employees who are working in jobs below their educational or skill levels. It may reveal persons who have potential for further training or who already have the right background for the open job: Computerized records systems (like those discussed above) can help ensure you consider qualified inside candidates for the opening. Some firms also develop “skill banks” that lists current employees with specific skills. For example, if you need an aero scope engineer in unit A and the skill bank show as person with those skills in unit B, that person may be approached about transferring. Hiring employees- the second time around Until recently, many managers consider it unwise to hire former employees, such as those who’d left voluntarily for better jobs. Quitting was often seen as a form of betrayal. Managers often assumed that those they’d dismissed might exhibit disloyalty or a bad attitude if hired back. Today- thanks partly to high turnover in some high-tech occupations rehiring former employees is back in style. Rehiring back employees has its pros and cons. On the plus side, former employees are known quantities (more or less) and are already familiar with the company’s culture, style and ways of doing things. On the other hand employees who left for greener pastures back into better positions may signal your current employees that the best way to get ahead is to leave the firm. In any event, there are several ways to reduce the chance of adverse reactions. For example, once rehired employees have been back on the job for a certain period, credit them with the benefits such as vacation time and thereby on morale. In addition, inquire (before rehiring them) about what they did during the layoff and how they feel about returning to the firm; you don’t want someone coming back who feels they’ve been mistreated,” said one manager. Succession planning Forecasting the availability of inside executive candidates is particularly important in succession planning- “the process of ensuring a suitable supply of successors for current and future senior or key jobs”, arising from business strategy so that careers of individuals can be planned and managed to optimize the organizations needs and the individual’s aspirations. To fill its most important executive positions. Succession planning often involves a complicated series of steps. Succession planning typically includes activities like these: Determining the projected need for managers and professionals by company level, function and skill Auditing current executive talent to project the likely future supply from internal sources Planning individual career paths based on objective estimates of future needs and assessments of potential Career counseling in the context of the future needs of the firm, as well as those of the individual Accelerated promotions, with development targeted against the future need sof the business Performance related training and development to prepare individuals for future roles as well as currents responsibilities Planned strategic recruitment to fill short-term needs and to provide people to meet future needs. Actually filling the positions- via recruiters, promotion from within and so on. Outside sources of candidates Firms can’t get all the employees they need from their current staff, and sometimes they just don’t want to. We will look at the sources firms use to find outside candidates next I .Advertising Everyone is familiar with employment ads and most of us have probably responded to one or more. To use help wanted ads successfully, employers have to address two issues; the advertising media and the ad’s construction 2. The media The selection of the best medium- be it the local paper, TV or the internet- depends on the positions for which you’re recruiting. For example the local newspaper is usually the best source for blue-collar help, clerical employees and lower level administrative employees. On the other hand, if you are recruiting for blue-collar workers with special skills you would probably want to advertise in the heart of the industry. The point is to target your ads where they’ll do the most good. Most employers are also tapping the internet. For specialized employees you can advertise in trade and professional journals. 3. Advertisements in professional publications like journals 4. Use of professional recruitment agencies e.g. manpower, Hawkins etc 5. Referrals and walk-ins/ word of mouth 6. Computerized employee databases Constructing the ad Construction of the ad is important. Experienced advertisers use a four point guide called AIDA(attention, interest, desire, action) to construct ads. You must of course, attract attention to the ad or readers may just miss or ignore it. Develop interest in the job. You can create interest by the nature of the job itself, with lines such as “you’ll thrive on challenging work” you can also use other aspects of the job, such as its location to create interest. Create desire by spotting the job’s interest factors with words such as travel or challenge Keep your target audience in mind Finally make sure the prompts action with a at statement like “call today” or “write today for more information” Application forms The filled application form provides information on education, You can make judgments on substantive matters such as level of education experience Draw conclusions about the applicants previous progress and growth especially for management candidates Draw tentative conclusions regarding the applicant’s

Assuming the company authorizes you to fill a position, the next step is to develop an applicant pool, using one or more of the recruitment sources described below. It is hard to over emphasize the importance the importance of effective recruiting. The more applicants you have, the more selective you can be in your hiring. If only two candidates apply for two openings, you may have little choice but to hire them. But if 10 or 20 applicants appear, you can use techniques like interviews and test to screen out all about all the best. Effective recruiting is increasingly today, for several reasons. First the ease of recruiting tends to ebb and flow with economic and unemployment levels. High average turnover rates for some occupations are another problem; the increased emphasis on technology and therefore on skilled human capital also demands more selective hiring and thus a bigger applicant pool Finding the right inducements for attracting and hiring employees can be a problem. Aggressive recruiting is therefo0re often the name of the game. “Poaching workers is fair game”. Some recruiters even have their own jargon. They call luring workers away from other high- tech firms “nerd rustling’. The Recruiting Yield Pyramid This is historical relationship leads and invitees, and interviews, interviews and offers made, and accepted. Some employers use a recruiting yield pyramid number of new employees. In the figure below (figure 3.1) the company knows the ratio of offers made to actual new hires I 2 to 1; about the people to whom it makes offers accept them. Similarly, the firm knows that the ratio of candidates interviewed to offers is made is 3 to 2, while the ratio candidates invited for interviews to candidates actually interviewed is about 4 to 3. Finally, the firm knows that of six leads that come in from all its recruiting efforts, only one applicant typically gets an interview- a 6 to 1 ratio. Given these ratios, the firm knows it must generate 1,200 leads to be able to invite 200 viable candidates to its offices for interviews. The firm will then get to interview about 150 of those invited and from these it will make 100 offers. Of those 1000 offers, about 50 will accept. Recruiting may bring to mind employment agencies and classified ads, but current employees are the best source candidates. Filling open positions with inside candidates has many benefits. First, there’s really no substitute for knowing a candidate’s strengths and weakness. It is often therefore safer to promote employees form within, since you’re likely to have a more accurate vies of the person’s skills than you would an outsiders. Inside candidates may also be more committed to the company. Morale may rise, to the extent that employees see promotions as rewards for loyalty and competence. Inside candidates may also require less orientation and training than outsiders. However hiring from within can also backfire. Employees who apply for jobs and don’t get them may become disconnected telling unsuccessful applicants why they were rejected and what remedial actions they might take to be more successful in the future is thus crucial. Similarly, many employers require managers to post job openings and interview all inside candidates. Yet the manger often knows ahead of time exactly whom he or she wants to hires. Requiring the persons to interviews a stream of unsuspecting inside candidates can be a waste of time for all concerned. Groups are sometimes not as satisfied when their new boss is appointed from within their own ranks as when he or she is newcomer: it may be difficult for the insider to shake off the reputation of being “one of the gang” Inbreeding is another potential drawback. When all managers come up through the ranks, they may have a tendency to maintain the status quo, when a new direction is required. Many “promote from within”. Balancing the benefits to morale and loyalty with the possible inbreeding problem can be a challenge.