Hiring a new team member for an organization can be challenging and entails numerous aspects to consider. The company’s management needs to critically evaluate whether a candidate will be a good fit for the company and become a full-fledged team player who supports the established goals and values and brings unique insights. According to Travis (2015, 5), hiring requires managers “to make decisions based on human qualities that are impossible to quantify.” The designed scenario presents a candidate who seems to be a great applicant for a job, and it is crucial to assess their suitability. Recruiting a new individual implicates the evaluation of different qualities and aligning them with different theories. This paper aims to determine how hiring the individual from an interview will impact the organization and provide a holistic view of the candidate’s motivations by applying organizational behavior concepts.
The first model that can be applied to this case is Douglas McGregor’s Theory Y. This concept highlights the individual’s interest and satisfaction in work, the commitment to responsibility, and the ability to be creative and solve the emerging issues (Mungi 2020). Based on the interview notes, the candidate’s values and goals align with the company’s vision and mission, and they are highly interested in learning and professional growth. It is possible to say that the applicant’s motivation corresponds to Theory Y foundations and supports the idea that employees with those views can significantly contribute to achieving great results. In such a way hiring this candidate can generate positive outcomes, like more robust decision-making, reaching the goals and going beyond due to high motivation, maintaining a positive culture in the team, and others. The applicant has extensive experience working with other people, and, although they did not have direct involvement in the field, the desire for self-development is a powerful incentive.
Nevertheless, it is vital to anticipate potential challenges and problematic issues from this type of motivation. Theory Y implies the need for self-direction to be enthusiastic and inspired about work. Under the circumstances of a lack of experience within this industry and a health condition, this particular candidate might not possess a high autonomy level, especially throughout the initial six-month period. Consequently, it is essential to ensure that this individual is fully aware of the employment conditions and will keep the potential. As far as the company is team-oriented, it is vital to emphasize working with people and delegating specific assignments when required.
One of the organizational theories relevant to the analyzed candidate is the two-factor theory based on Herzberg’s work. This model focuses on the performance outcomes that fulfill an individual’s needs and suggests that different factors influence satisfaction and dissatisfaction (Miller, Hitt, and Colella 2010). In the applicant’s case, it is possible to emphasize several factors that can contribute to their satisfaction, based on the interview. Challenging work, responsibility, the potential for personal growth, and achievement are among the features that work as motivators, based on this theory (Miller, Hitt, and Colella 2010). Those aspects will be in place for this individual because they come to a new industry, which offers numerous possibilities along with unique challenges. Hence, the atmosphere in which the candidate will recognize an opportunity to overcome the issues and experience achievements and progress will significantly enhance their satisfaction, which is beneficial for all the parties involved.
The next concept relevant in the described case is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Based on this model, the needs that motivate people to act are esteem and self-actualization, which entails achieving full potential, creative activities, and the feeling of accomplishment (McLeod 2020). As mentioned above, the candidate stated that they are goal-oriented and emphasized the significance of professional growth. It can be related to reaching the full potential at work and getting engaged in unique processes. This theory has favorable implications for this case because when an individual meets the need for self-actualization, their motivation increases (McLeod 2020). Consequently, if the company will provide the conditions for the candidate to embody the established objectives, they can help achieve excellent results and beyond.
At the same time, it is critical to remember that the individual might have other self-actualization needs along with professional aims, like family or stable health. It can be a challenge for them to combine long working hours, spending quality time with children, and taking care of the health condition. The applicant claimed that they have outstanding time management skills due to a broad experience. However, the adaptation period might raise some issues and, simultaneously, help adapt to a new environment and find the most efficient ways to perform effectively.
Thus, there are certain limitations in applying organizational behavior theories to this applicant. In this particular case, some instances might represent dissatisfaction for the candidate. For example, long working hours might be viewed as not satisfying, but as a burden to fulfill other needs. In such a way, offering bonuses for overtime can become an issue for this individual, and a potential solution will be offering flexible hours and result-based rewards. It is also vital to understand that the team members have different needs and, consequently, various incentives work on them. A high emphasis on family might differ with other employees, which can raise problematic issues and negatively influence the overall performance.
Based on Maslow’s and the two-factor theory, the applicant can help generate positive results on individual, group, and organization levels. Moreover, one can say that this candidate possesses such traits as openness, extraversion, and conscientiousness, which are of high significance for this position and can positively affect the working environment (Bauer and Erdogan 2015). The candidate possesses motivation to complete the job at an excellent rate and reach the established needs. Proper incentives and work conditions can help them to increase potential and feel satisfied, which leads to the feeling of self-development and self-actualization, critical for this individual. In turn, it leads to more effective performance and better attitudes towards the team members, which also influences the general organizational culture. Therefore, one can state that it is a direct reaction from one chain link to another, moving from personal satisfaction towards the group and the company. Favorable outcomes on one level can generate more exceptional results at the following elements, creating value for the business and all stakeholders.
It is also crucial to understand that hiring this individual may raise particular problems among the team members due to the participant’s health condition. The problem is that the team “may suffer from lack of participation error,” if under certain circumstances, the individual will not join the process (Hunt et al. 2011, ch. 9). Thus, it is essential to deliver the candidate’s role to other team members and ensure that their needs are also satisfied, which can be connected with the organizational behavior theories as well. Another potential error that can occur is framing error that happens when a problem is evaluated and resolved in a perceived context (Hunt et al. 2011). The fact that the candidate has a high emphasis on spending time with his family might sometimes affect their judgment due to personal dissatisfaction. Another potential risk is absenteeism related to the health condition and the lack of participation error. Other team members might feel uncomfortable with that, and unethical behaviors or attitudes can arise.
It is essential to provide adequate conditions for hiring this specific individual. Some of the possible interventions can include ensuring that the candidate fully understands the company’s organizational culture and is ready to work in a team, striving for great results. It can be done through extensive training, support from other employees, and various team orientation activities. It can be an effective strategy to guarantee the applicant’s ability to cooperate and possess an absence of self-direction at specific moments. Moreover, team orientation activities will also contribute to getting familiar with colleagues and practice time-management skills at a new workplace. This recommendation might put the individual’s candidacy for the position at risk, but it will help to safeguard that they are a perfect fit in case of success. It will also positively affect organizational performance because it will provide new insights and revive the permanent workers’ motivation.
The next intervention will be offering a particular degree of flexible hours for this specific candidate. Due to the health condition and the long distance of their house, it is vital to make sure that they are satisfied with the work terms, as their interest in work influences the performance. Hence, offering flexibility might cause discontent among others, which implies that it should be done only slightly. It is critical to emphasize the significance of performance, and if the candidate shows excellent results, greater variety in working hours can serve as additional motivation in the future.
It is vital to understand that working in a team requires particular competencies, compromises, and skills. Operating in an open system implies providing inputs, processing them, generating the output, and evaluating the outcomes, where each phase entails goal-orientation and feedback (McNamara 2006). It will be critical for the candidate to become a successful participant in a team because it will create more in-depth insights and offer new opportunities for the organization. A collaborative environment can help other employees reveal their strengths and contribute to the overall performance. In conclusion, hiring this individual for the position has various advantages and opens new possibilities, hindering particular challenging. Designing practical and successful provisions for the work terms can help to eliminate all problematic issues and withdraw outstanding outcomes.
References
Bauer, Talya, and Berrin Erdogan. 2015. Organizational Behavior. Boston, Massachusetts: FlatWorld.
Hunt, James G., Richard N. Osborn, John R. Schermerhorn Jr., and Mary Uhl-Bien. 2011. Organizational Behavior. 12th ed. New Jersey, New York: Wiley.
McLeod, Saul. 2020. “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.” SimplyPsychology. Web.
McNamara, Carter. 2006. Field guide to consulting and organizational development with nonprofits. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Authenticity Consulting, LLC.
Miller, Chet C., Michael A. Hitt, and Adrienne Colella. 2010. Organizational Behavior. 3rd ed. New Jersey, New York: Wiley.
Mungi, Ashlesha. 2020. Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y. Web.
Travis, Michael. 2015. Mastering the Art of Recruiting: How to Hire the Right Candidate for the Job. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO.