Manpower is the greatest asset to any organization in all business spheres (Collins, 2009). It is one of the resources that determine how successful a business is. Issues, arising in the workforce, affect any business in a big way. For any business to be successful, the workers need to work harmoniously together (Nelson, 2010). This all depends on the way the human resource is managed. Malpractices in the management of this vital resource have serious repercussions to organizations (Heneman, 2011). Such issues in the management of this resource, in most cases, lead to the collapse of businesses. Most of these issues emanate right from the hiring process. This occurs in various forms and has a range of effects to businesses.
All these are legal issues and contravene the ethical rules in the hiring process. They range from nepotism to corruption in the hiring of staff to organizations among other vices. Such heinous acts deprive an organization the opportunity to have a credible and productive workforce (Heneman, 2011). These may result in wrangles within the organization and this consequently reduces the productivity of the organization. Issues of conflict of interest in the workforce arise as a result.
This greatly undermines the effectiveness of the workforce since workers treat each other with suspicion. The cohesiveness of the workforce is also greatly affected by malpractices in the hiring process. Workers are not at liberty to take prudent decisions in cases, where the decisions they undertake rub some of the workers in the wrong way (Collins, 2009). They fear being reprimanded by some of the senior management who feel that their cronies are targeted. Workers fail to act on sensitive issues for fear of losing their jobs. This may lead to mismanagement of organizational resources and ruin the integrity of organizations (Nelson, 2010). Malpractices in the hiring process are unethical and are a major contributor to collapse of organizations. These malpractices vary from one organization to another and may take various forms (Heneman, 2011).
This is one of the most prevalent concerns in the hiring process. It is associated with the applicants to job positions who try to have leverage above the rest (Heneman, 2011). This occurs in various forms, ranging to exaggerating academic qualifications, as well as the experience of the applicant. This illegal act is unethical since it denies deserving candidates the right to jobs. In addition, organizations end up recruiting incompetent workers, thus, affecting their performance (Heneman, 2011). Falsification takes various forms such as forging of documents. This is against the law and undermines the credibility even of the education systems in place. Culprits ought to be punished severely to deter this unethical practice.
Other job seekers exaggerate their ability such as skills and experience. This leads to wrong decisions by the recruiter who may be convinced to offer those jobs due to their perceived immense skills and experience (Collins, 2009). This lock out deserving candidates the opportunity for employment and consequently affect the performance of organizations since such employees cannot deliver on their mandate. To avoid such malpractices and consequently enhance effectiveness in organizational operations, organizations ought to put in place stringent rules for hiring (Heneman, 2011). This greatly helps in the screening of prospective employees and ensures a credible workforce.
This form of malpractice is highly prevalent in the recruiting process for organizations. This illegal act denies organizations diversity in the workforce, based on gender, religion, age or any other aspect in life (Collins, 2009). This not only leads to underperforming workers but also denies organizations major benefits that come with diversity in life. Gender based discrimination is very common in the hiring process. Some jobs are considered a preserve for men and this leads to bias in the hiring process. Despite having the required qualifications, ladies find it difficult to secure jobs in such organizations due to discrimination on gender basis (Heneman, 2011).
Other organizations discriminate during the recruitment process on religious grounds. This makes it very difficult for persons from certain religions to secure jobs with such organizations. Such organizations miss out on talented individuals since they cannot be employed on religious grounds (Collins, 2009). Other factor that contributes to discrimination in the hiring of workers is through race. People are denied opportunities due to the color of their skin despite having the prerequisite requirements for the job. To avoid this unethical practice and improve on performance, organizations should standardize their hiring process. This is achieved through setting standard requirements for applicants across board (Heneman, 2011). This eliminates the illegal recruitment of undeserving personnel by the organization. This greatly improves the effectiveness and performance of organizations, leading to improved returns.
Falsifying the terms on offer
In a bid to attract the best workforce, various organizations provide the wrong information on the job on offer. The terms and working conditions for the job on offer are exaggerated so as to please the applicants (Collins, 2009). This attracts the best workforce with the expectations of good terms. This unethical practice has dire consequences both to the employee as well as the organization. The employee feels short changed on the realization that what was advertised for is not actually what is on offer. It greatly inconveniences some of the employees since they terminate their contracts elsewhere on promise of better job terms. The organization also loses on credibility since such cases create mistrust between the organization and the workers (Nelson, 2010). The workers feel let down and are not dedicated to their assignments, thus, compromising on the productivity of the organization (Heneman, 2011). Such unethical acts should be avoided if organizations are to be successful.
It is not only illegal but unethical as well for organizations to hire workers on family grounds (Heneman, 2011). Organizations are professional institutions and not family empires, and thus, their human resource ought to have diverse outlook. Some managers in charge of recruitment tend to favor family members, when it comes to the hiring process. It is not wrong to hire a family member to an organization if there will be no conflict of interest (Collins, 2009). However, everyone whether a family member or not should be subjected to the standards, set by the organization for recruitment. This will ensure that each worker has the required qualifications whether a family member or not. Nepotism makes it easier for discrimination to occur in organizations. It becomes very hard for a manager to discipline a relative in cases, where they have erred (Nelson, 2010). This creates a conflict of interest in the running of the organization, and thus, affects its productivity.
This is another great vice that affects the hiring process in organizations. The recruiters in the organization are compromised through such promises as money offers. They recruit undeserving candidates so as to return these favors (Collins, 2009). Because of this, the organization’s workforce is bedeviled by incompetent workers. It also makes it difficult for the management to discipline such workers since in reality such workers have bought those positions. This illegal act has rendered many organizations unproductive and has led to the collapse of various other organizations. Transparency is important to the success of organizations, and thus, corruption should be avoided in the acquiring of the human resource (Heneman, 2011).
Success of various organizations is largely pegged on its workforce. Credibility in the workforce is highly determined by the hiring process employed (Nelson, 2010). For the process to be a success, it should be devoid of unethical practices. These practices include such acts like nepotism and corruption among others. These practices undermine the effectiveness of the workforce and ultimately the productivity of the organization (Collins, 2009). To stay afloat and maintain a competitive edge in the markets, organizations should shun these unethical practices in the hiring of workers.