As opined by Arvey and Campion (2010, p290), “In order to increase the efficiency and retention of the employees, it is essential to implement an appropriate Recruitment and Selection process”. Recruitment is the procedure that the organization applies to identify the human resource requirements of the organisation and attract suitable candidates. Selection refers to the process that is involved in choosing a predefined number of candidates from a number of applicants to fill the available posts in the organization (Barber, 2009).

1. Recruitment and Selection process: An evaluation of E-recruitment at
Marks and Spencer
(REESEARCH PROPOSAL)

2. 1
Table of Contents
1.1 Introduction: ............................................................................................3
1.2 Background of the topic: ...........................................................................3
1.3 Rationale of the study:..............................................................................3
1.4 Aims and Objectives: ................................................................................4
1.4.1 Aims of the study: .................................................................................4
1.4.2 Objectives of the study: .........................................................................4
1.5 Research Questions: .................................................................................5
2.1 Literature Review: ....................................................................................5
2.2 Recruitment and Selection: .......................................................................5
2.3 Sourcing Best Candidates: ........................................................................6
2.4 Recruitment and Selection procedure: .......................................................6
2.4.1 Identification of Vacancy:.......................................................................6
2.4.2 Job Analysis and Description: .................................................................7
2.4.3 Personnel Specification: .........................................................................7
2.4.4 Identification of Resources:....................................................................7
2.4.5 Training and Development: ....................................................................8
3.1 Research Methodology:.............................................................................8
3.2 Research Onion: .....................................................................................10
3.3 Research Philosophy:..............................................................................11
3.4 Research Approach:................................................................................11
3.5 Research Design:....................................................................................11
3.6 Sampling Method:...................................................................................11
3.7 Sample Size: ..........................................................................................12

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3.8 Data Collection Method:..........................................................................12
3.9 Data Analysis: ........................................................................................12
REFERENCES:...............................................................................................13

4. 3
1.1 Introduction:
As opined by Arvey and Campion (2010, p290), “In order to increase the
efficiency and retention of the employees, it is essential to implement an
appropriate Recruitment and Selection process”. Recruitment is the procedure
that the organization applies to identify the human resource requirements of the
organisation and attract suitable candidates. Selection refers to the process that
is involved in choosing a predefined number of candidates from a number of
applicants to fill the available posts in the organization (Barber, 2009).
1.2 Background on the topic:
Employees are considered to be the face of the organisation. According to
Compton and Nankervis (2011), effective recruitment and selection procedure
gives the organization a unique identity in terms of competent human resource
and performance. Strategic human resource management involved hiring
potential individuals whose skills and competencies match with the
organisational goals and objectives. The selection of the right person for the
right job, at the right time and place is essential to drive organisational
performance. Hiring the wrong candidates can lead to increased costs in terms of
training, low employee productivity and high labour turnover. The study deals
with investigating the recruitment and selection procedure followed by Marks &
Spencer, U.K..
Marks & Spencer recruit internally by advertising on the notice board either in
paper format or through employee account online like, organizational intranet, in
his journals, references or recommendations and word of mouth. The external
recruitment procedure is followed by contacting hiring agencies for graduates,
employment agencies for contemporary workers and accepting online application
in the company’s own web site.
1.3 Rationale of the study:
Organisations in the current competitive business scenario face a scarcity of
talented employees whose competencies match with the organisational goals.
Poor hiring and selection policies lead to low employee productivity, loss of
employee morale, increasing costs and higher turnover intention (Giovanni et al.
2008). Unsuitable employees unnecessarily increase training costs, demotivate

5. 4
Co workers, and thereby build weak organisational culture. Davidson (2010) has
stated that an effective recruitment and selection process has an objective to
structure a strong manpower and efficient human resource to enhance the
productivity of the firm. The traditional process like newspaper adverts are now
less effective as online networking is a great resource to reach to each person
for this process. A wrong way of selection process can cause the degradation of
human resource that can hamper the productivity of the firm (Dessler and
Williams, 2009).
The relevance of this study can be justified as it seeks to uncover the loopholes
(if exists) in the current recruitment and selection process of Marks & Spencer.
Identifying such loopholes will prevent the company from hiring unsuitable
candidates, thereby reducing costs and developing effective talent management.
1.4 Aims and Objectives:
The following aims and objectives can help the researcher to go through a
proper way to meet the objectives.
1.4.1 Aims
The aim of this research is to investigate the recruitment and selection
procedure followed by Marks & Spencer to meet its workforce requirements. The
researcher also aims to critically analyse the pros and cons of its current hiring
process and recommend better strategies if loopholes exist.
1.4.2 Objectives
The objectives of the research can be explained as follows:
1. To understand the importance of recruitment and selection process for
organizational development
2. To critically evaluate the effectiveness of current recruitment and selection
strategies followed by Marks & Spencer.
3. To identify recruitment gaps and recommend better strategies for future talent
management

6. 5
1.5 Research Questions:
Q1) what is the need and importance of having an effective recruitment and
selection policy for modern organizations?
Q2) Is the current recruitment and selection procedure followed by Marks &
Spencer appropriate enough to meet organisational goals?
Q3) Does the company follow a cost effective approach to talent management,
such as E-recruitment from social media ?
Q4) What are the problems that the company’s H.R. dept face in terms of hiring
competent employees ? What can be the possible solution to such recruitment
issues ?
2.1 Literature Review:
The literature review is an effective assessment of the applied theoretical
evidences and techniques to carry out the present research in a logical fashion
(Kleiman, 2007). The researcher will try to understand the different conceptual
and theoretical framework on the basis of recruitment and selection procedures.
This study will critically discuss all the literature about the topic to have a clear
visibility about the recruitment and selection procedure and is impacting on the
organizational performance. Negative and positive approaches will be declared to
make a better understanding.
2.2 Recruitment and Selection:
According to Kunerth and Mosley (2011), identifying the need for recruitment,
both in terms of quality and quantity, is the core function of human resource
department. Attracting the right candidates through proper sources as and when
vacancies arise is the rationale being recruited. Selection refers to choosing
potential candidates whose performance help to achieve organisational goals
(Nankervis, 2010). The entire process involves advertisements for relevant
posts, receiving applications, sorting and shortlisting applications, interviewing
and testing candidates to fulfil the workforce requirements. Parry and Wilson
(2009) define selection as ‘the process by which managers use specific

7. 6
instruments to choose suitable candidate from a pool of applicants most likely to
succeed in the job(s), organizational goals and legal requirements’.
The human resource department has to comply with relevant laws relating to
social discrimination, equal opportunity etc. in order to conduct ethical
recruitment and selection. According to Sharma (2009), in this globalised and
increasingly sophisticated market, recruitment and selection process has become
an essential tool for every organization to achieve the goal with the continuation
of innovation and growth in the future.
2.3 Sourcing Best Candidates:
The best candidates are selected by evaluating the capabilities of the candidates
having the following important traits:
1. Meet specification
2. Well prepared for the interview
3. Positive and Enthusiastic
4. Creativity
5. Self-confidence
6. Full utilization of chance
7. Not a job hopper
2.4 Recruitment and Selection procedure:
2.4.1 Identification of Vacancy:
This refers to the identification of the vacancies in the organization and
determines the requirements of new human resources for those posts (White
and Willard, 2009). Various departments of the organization first identify the
vacancies by classifying the positions. The company had consolidated the total
vacancies and then the detailed job analysis are conducted to define the
selection criteria.

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2.4.2 Job Analysis and Description:
All the data of the vacant posts are gathered together and analysed to identify
the tasks of the job specified (Huo et al. 2008). The job description states about
which activities are performed and what skills are needed to enhance the
performance quality.
2.4.3 Personnel Specification:
Personnel specification is the attribute that describes the requirements that the
job holders need to have been capable to perform the specified job satisfactorily
(Breaugh and Stark, 2006). The most common procedure of personnel
specification is competencies. Some of the important competencies are:
1. Physical attributes: physical attributes are important and to be analysed to
specify the right person for the suitable job thus helping in attracting and
satisfying clients.
2. Attainments: This is a personal attribute that assess their personal creativity and
experience about the market and other task of the specified job.
3. Interests: The personal interest helps the individuals to choose the field they
want to wear in.
4. Personal Circumstances: These competencies the capability of the person to
work in different shifts, full time or part time etc.
2.4.4 Identification of Resources:
A potential resource provides a high percentage of top candidates. Here are
several resources of candidates for hire.
1. Employee reference is the most effective and liable resources for the quality
candidates (Ling et al. 2008). The organizations can offer attractive incentives
the existing employees to recommend appropriate candidates, treated as
successful for the organization.
2. Other sources of the candidates are recruitment firms. There are two types of
firms, one is called the contingency firm that places the people and are paid only
if he candidates are successfully placed. Another is retained search firms that
work on recruitment on the basis of a contract with the candidates and are paid
regardless of the success.

9. 8
3. The regular customers can be another resource for recruitment. Allowing them
awards in terms of discounts, the organization can use the customer as the
referrals by letting them know the requirements of the organization.
4. Job fairs are economical sources of a number of potential candidates. The
organization can look for the job fairs that specialize in a particular industry as
well as the candidates as per the requirement of the company.
5. Campus interview is a potential source of highly qualified professionals. This
strategy helps the organizations to recruit the management trainees with
creativity hat can add value to the organization.
6. Adverts are resources for recruitment to attract a mass of candidates when there
are a huge number of vacancies in the organizations.
2.4.5 Training and Development:
It is a post selection procedure, where the finally selected candidates are taught
about the company, its operations and the individual tasks. This is an important
stage of selection to make them appropriate and ready to handle the
responsibilities [Available from: http://www.marksandspencer.com/, 4th
March
2013].
2.5 E–Recruitment
The organization has moved to their recruitment process through online so that
it can improve the speed by which the desired candidates can be matched with
the vacancies. 96% of the companies use the internet in the recruitment and
selection process for new employees in the organization [Available from:
http://www.marksandspencer.com/, 4th
March 2013].
E–recruitment has been done as the internet reaches to mass people and has
helped the company in recruitment of qualified employees in the organization.
This also helps in increasing the quality of services of the company. Moreover it
enables the recruiters for written communications through e-mails, blogs and job
portals.
The company now can recruit and select desired employees through the internet
by using video conferencing, face to face communication. Moreover the company
can conduct written exam online which recruiting the candidates. This has been

10. 9
one of the cheapest mode as it reduces time, energy and cost effective.
Moreover the company and employees can focus on one particular job rather
than multiple jobs.
2.6 Social Media
Social media, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkIn have become increasing
popular in the workplace especially for recruitment and selection process.
Employers use social media to source applicants, enhance its communication and
build relationships with prospective employees. Many companies use Facebook
to learn about job candidates and some of them use this information in the
hiring process.
Social media has helped in the recruitment and selection as the company gets to
know the candidate and this has helped in reduction of time spend on the
interview process. Moreover in this technological world, social media has helped
the company getting desired candidates with the least more of capital invested.

11. 10
3.1 Research Methodology:
The research methodology deals with the procedure through which the
researcher systematically conducts the study in context of the identified research
problems, aim and objectives.
The researcher will also describe the research philosophy, appropriate approach
and design that best relate the research with its objectives.
3.2 Research Onion:
According to Saunders et al. (2009), research is a conceptual model of the
research methodology, along with its every step to conduct the research. The
respective layers of this onion help the researcher to find out the suitable path
or the appropriate techniques to conduct the research.
Figure: Research Onion
(Source: Saunders Et al., 2009, p 52)

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3.3 Research Philosophy:
The researcher has gone from post postivitism as it focuses on the accept that
theories, background, knowledge and values of the researcher can influence
what is observed in the research study. Moreover this philosophy motivated the
researcher at the time of collecting various theories and relevant data’s.
3.4 Research Approach:
There are basic two approaches to conduct the research, inductive and
deductive. The inductive approach follows observation, data collection, data
analysis and then theory building (Johnson et al. 2007). On the other hand, the
deductive approach evaluates the existing theories with the help of data
analysis.
In this study the researcher has used an inductive approach as this approach
moves from specific observations to broader simplification and theories. The
researcher will make specific observations and measures, detect patterns and
regularities, formulate the given hypotheses to explore the study and develop
conclusion at the end of the study.
3.5 Research Design:
The researcher here selected the descriptive design, in order to relate the
findings of the study with its objectives. It also helps he researcher to answer
the research questions, relating to what, how, who, when and whom. As the
description is needed to draw conclusion about the recruitment and selection
process, Descriptive design is appropriate for this research.
3.6 Sampling Method:
Sampling is crucial to conduct the research especially at the time of collecting
primary data through a survey method. There are basically two types of
sampling, probability sampling and non-probability sampling. The researcher has
considered a convenience sampling [non-probability in nature] is appropriate
for the current research study. This sampling method is easier to conduct by
choosing the respondents in a convenient manner. Cooper and Schindler (2010)
have stated that in convenience sampling method, the sample is selected based
on convenient accessibility and proximity to the researcher.

13. 12
3.7 Sample Size:
Sample size refers to the number of participants the researcher has taken under
consideration to gather the primary data through the questionnaire method.
Therefore, the researcher aims to choose 10 respondents for this survey. The
sample size will include 10 respondents of M & S [Marble arch branch] working
with the HR department. The respondents will include 2 senior managers, 3 floor
managers managers and the rest will be HR representatives.
Employees are chosen for quantitative data collection and managers are
selected to gather the qualitative data. It will be easier to evaluate the existing
concepts with various responses to the survey questions.
3.8 Data Collection Method:
An appropriate data collection method helps the researcher to follow the right
path, in order to reach to the expected results (Bernard, (2011). The researcher
will develop a research questionnaire and distribute few of them and the rest will
be emailed. Secondary data will come from internet, company websites, various
online journals and other important articles and related books.
3.9 Data Analysis:
Appropriate utilization of analytical tools at the time of data analysis will help the
researcher to draw a suitable conclusion of the research (Johnson et al. 2007).
Quantitative data will be collected from the sample that will help in large data
collection.

14. 13
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and Review of Recent Research’, Personnel Psychology, 35, 281-319.
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Perspective”, 5th
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Bernard, H. R. (2011) Research Methods in Anthropology: Qualitative and
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Breaugh, J. A. and Starke, M. (2006) Research on Employee Recruitment: So
Many Studies, So Many Remaining Questions, Journal of Management, 26(3):
405-434
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cross-national comparison of personnel selection practices’, Human Resource
Management, 41 (1), 31-45

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Johnson, R. B., Onwuegbuzie, A. J. and Turner, L. A. (2007) “Toward a definition
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Solihull: CGP Study