RESEARCH DISSERTATION

Challenges in Developing erecruitment processes through Social

Networking websites for Global
Organizations
A case study of Facebook

Submitted To:

Submitted BY:

Acknowledgement
At first my all thanks and praise to Almighty Allah who enabled me to complete this task. My
deepest gratitude is with my parents and all family members, who always supported and
encouraged me during the whole tenure of this degree program. My parents prayers always
encouraged and enabled me to overcome and complete all my tasks during my life so far. I
would appreciate the help and guidance of my teacher and supervisors who taught me enough
knowledge and skill that I am able to complete this research activity. My sincere thanks to my
friends who supported me during whole this tenure. Sincere regards and thanks to all the
participants of this research study. Without their support and precious time that they gave to
me it was not possible to complete my research dissertation.
Thanks

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Abstract
Current dynamic business environment requires the organization to achieve a competitive
advantage to grow in the market place. Porters generic strategies define different ways to
build a unique ability that can enable the organization to lead the market. Human resource of
an organization is usually held responsible for the success or failure of any organization.
Skilled can give a competitive edge, which an organization can use to achieve desired aims
and objectives. Human resource function is considered as the most important business
functions by various authors and management gurus. Recruiting the right person for the right
job at right time is the key function of HRM. With the advancement in technology various
options are available with the organizations to recruit candidates for the right positions. This
paper is aimed to study e-recruitment and related challenges. The growing use of social
networking platforms enabled people all across the globe to communicate with each other.
Organizations searching for suitable candidates also started using this platform to advertise
available positions and attract skilled employees. The use of social networking websites such
as Facebook allows approach to diversified range of candidates from which organization
choose the most suitable for the job. Through this research study different representatives of
variety of organizations are contacted and their feedback regarding the challenges of using
social network platforms is taken. A sample size of 100 respondents is taken to evaluate the
challenges in developing e-recruitment processes through Facebook in global organizations.
The ultimate goal is to identify the challenges and current practices of the organizations
regarding recruitment in the context of social networking platforms. Using quantitative and
qualitative research approaches data is collected from the respondents and analysis on that
data is conducted through using SPSS. Research results are then analysed and hence
conclusion is drawn from the data analysis.

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Table of Contents
Acknowledgement (1)
Abstract (2)
Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1

Overview (5)

1.2

Research Background (5)

1.3

Problem Discussion (6)

1.4

Company Profile (6)

1.5

Research Purpose (7)

1.6

Research Aims (7)

1.7

Research Objectives (7)

1.8

Researchable Question (8)

1.9

Rationale of Study (8)

1.10

Research Layout (8)

1.11

Summary of Thesis Introduction (9)

Chapter 2 Literature Review

2.1

Introduction and Overview (11)

2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6

Scope of Literature Review (11)

Need of carrying out online process (13)
Finding Candidates on Facebook (14)
The Increase in Use of Social Networking Sites (15)
The Increase of using Social Networking Sites as Recruitment Tools (16)

2.7

Job Hunting through Social Media (Opportunity or Threat) (16)

2.8
2.9

Impact (17)
Conclusion (18)

Chapter 3 Research Methodology

3.1

Rsrch Strtgy (20)

3.2

Thortcl Frmwork (20)

3.3

Dductv nd Inductv Rsrch pproch (22)

3.4

Rsrch Structur (23)

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3.5

Th Smpl (24)

3.6

nstrumnt Dvlopmnt (25)

3.7

Dt procssng nd Anlyss (25)

Chapter 4 Findings and Data Analysis

Reliability Statistics (26)
Profession (27)
Gender (28)
Age (29)
Please check the most appropriate description of your business, with respect to your
global company (30)
Number of Employees (31)
Does your global company make use of Web 2.0 applications? (32)
Which social networking site does your global company use to make the
recruitments? (33)
For which field of activities does your global company make use of Facebook? (34)
How many % age of the total recruitment are being covered by Facebook? (35)
How often does your global company make use of face book recruitment? (36)
To which extent would you think that face book is successful in recruitment in your
global company? (37)

Chapter 5 Conclusion
5.1

Introduction (43)

5.2

Discussion (43)

5.3

Research Limitations (46)

5.4

Future Research (46)

References (47)
Appendix (50)

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Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1

Overview

The research revolves around the social networking website Facebook as the key source to
recruit qualified staff electronically. The study will critically evaluate the process of erecruiting from various aspects. The integral focus is on Facebook particularly in terms of
recruiting the effective and skill candidates. Recruitment is the point where the entire
selection process may become successful to hire the candidates who best fit the place for the
person satisfying the job description. If recruiting is successful, the selection becomes a lot
easier.
Recruitment is one of the costly functions of human resource management process. It legally
binds therefore, extreme care is required to establish the standards for job description and
advertising the position and selection process of employees (G.I.T. 2011). The purpose of
human resource management is to attract the qualified candidates and skilled employees to be
ready to face the aggressive competition of the organization. Organizations assign the budgets
for this process. Effective recruiting add finances to organization to double the amount to
what the incapables ones do (Cook 1991).
Recruiting is done many ways. The most common way nowadays is to do it through
electronic sources, thus, getting the name of e-recruiting. The project explores the role of
social networking websites like Facebook in helping organizations to recruit qualified and
skilled candidates effectively.

1.2

Research Background

There are many ways used by managers of recruiting and selecting the appropriate people for
the company. Some of the sources are newspapers, job portal websites, internal software
systems, and advertising through paper media (Mathis 2011). The research can be conducted
by figuring out the other electronic sources of recruiting that are usually emails, web
advertisements for jobs, posting ads on recruiting websites and university websites, web
systems, radio channels, television and job websites. Besides these sources, one of the
extensively used electronic medium is the social networking websites as it is gaining
popularity in spreading the word about many online businesses. Using a social networking
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website to serve the purpose can get overwhelming help to organizations because most of the
people are using Facebook and other social networking websites to stay connected within
their social circles.

1.3

Problem Discussion

Recruitment is the crucial part in human resource management. This is because if the skilled and
qualified candidates are selected for the job, they will be able to conform to work standards efficiently
and effectively. The relationship between recruitment and human resource management is best
described by Tom Stewart that the HR leaders are not able to express themselves in understandable
ways rather than stylish, non certifiable and aspirant terms. (Wright, Dunford et al. 2001).

According to Boudreau and Rynes (Boudreau and Rynes 1985) Attracting talent has been
identified as a key to produce good economy. The organizations find recruiting as the most
extensive process that is most time taking. If the recruiting is not done in the appropriate
place, the selection process may get lengthier than expected. This is the why most
organizations like to use the e-recruiting procedures to conserve time and finance as their
major resources (Roche, Skinner et al. 2005).
Facebook is most commonly used social networking websites, so its use for recruiting may
make recruiting easier but there are further challenges as most of the people who do not meet
the criteria may apply (McGregor and Cutcher-Gershenfeld 2006). This is the reason; sorting and
screening process for segregating the qualifying applicants will become a challenge. The
question is whether Facebook will be effective source of e-recruiting or not (Johnson 2000).

1.4

Company Profile

Facebook is the social networking website with more than 500 Million users around the
world. Being the largest social networking website, it is gaining popularity within days and is
the most commonly used website. It was founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 to be used as
the network for Harvard students in the beginning. Two weeks within the launching, more
than half of schools of Boston already signed up. Within four months, 30 more colleges
joined the network. Zuckerberg had to recruit two of his friends Chris Hughes and Dustin
Moskovitz to help him build facebook. It was just by the mid of 2004 that Friendster tried to
get hold of the corporation by offering $10 Million (Miller-Merrell 2011). This offer was
turned down but received $12.7 Million funding from Accel Partners. By September 2005, it
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was the main photograph contribution platform. It received $25 Million funding from
Greylock partners and Meritech Capital. Soon the website was open for work networks and
the progress continued to let the membership go to anyone with an email address (Ryder
2012).
Another success step was when yahoo wanted to acquire the company for $1 Billion.
Zuckerberg gave a verbal agreement to yahoo but soon the stock price fell and Zuckerberg
walked away from this deal. The growth of the company faced some fluctuations in 2007.
The statistics show that one millions of users joined Facebook every week. $240 Million was
invested by Microsoft for 1.6% of company in October 2007. The annual revenues were $150
Million. The competitors of Facebook now are Twitter, Flicker, Shtyle, and LindIn (Ryder
2012).

1.5

Research Purpose

The purpose of this research is to explore the extent of social networking websites as a
significant player in attracting the qualified candidates that can serve the purpose for global
organizations. The basic purpose of the research is to comprehensively investigate the
phenomenon along with the issues and challenges faced by Facebook in e-recruiting,
critically using the research methodology.

1.6

Research Aims

The aims of the research are to explore and investigate the challenges faced by organizations
when it comes to e-recruiting using Facebook specifically and to identify the issues and ways
to resolve all these challenges. The ultimate aim is to critically investigate the extent of use of
Facebook and the challenging factors pertaining to e-recruitment.

1.7

Research Objectives:

The objectives of this research are:

To examine the influence of social networking websites on recruitment of

organizations.
To explore the ethical and privacy issues related to recruitment using Facebook as the
recruitment channel.

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To critically analyse the merits and demerits of Facebook as the source of e-recruiting
used by organizations.

1.8

Researchable Question

The research question for the dissertation is What are the issues and challenges in
developing e- recruitment processes through Facebook for global organizations?
This research question ensures to meet all the objectives of the dissertation and accomplish
the comprehensive exploration for the topic.

1.9

Rationale of Study

The study maintains the scope of the preferred electronic recruiting at the right places to save
their time as Facebook. E-recruiting through Facebook is a potential source of e-recruiting by
many organizations. The social networking websites are being used by most of the people
around the globe to maintain their relations, friendships and their entire social network. This
is because it is quick and easy to remember the important days and events of most of the
members of social network. This is the reason, Facebook is gaining popularity in every
country. The business aspect of Facebook brings to mind the useful way of recruiting the
people through Facebook. Many companies are now advertising through Facebook, twitter,
and flicker. This is why Facebook is a potential source for recruiting in coming years. The
challenges and issues faced by organizations in recruiting will be covered in this research.
The factors influencing recruiting will be measured in this dissertation. Facebook is now a
multi-purpose platform that serves more than networking purpose now.

1.10 Research Layout

The disposition of the thesis will involve a sequence of chapters. There will be total of seven
chapters as the distinguished sections of this dissertation. The sequence of these chapters will
be as follows:
a. Chapter one:

The first chapter will describe the introduction of the entire thesis. The chapter covers
the overall aims, objectives, background, research question, company profile, the
problem discussion, and rationale of study under the circumstance.

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b. Chapter Two:

The second chapter is the literature review. This section of the dissertation gives the
previous researches with authentic theoretical background of topic supported by
pedagogical evidences. With the help of this literature review developing with respect
to time the research problem is analysed and resolved covering all the aspects
comprehensively.
c. Chapter Three:

The third chapter of the dissertation is about research methodology used under the
circumstances. The parts of the research methodology used are research approach,
philosophy, paradigm, strategy, and data collection methods and tools that are
required to analyse the problem. The entire research methodology is described and
justified for the use.
d. Chapter Four:

The fourth chapter of the dissertation gives the comprehensive information about the
data reviewed and collected for resolving the research problem. The data analysis is
given with critical evaluation. The logical reason gives the justification of the data
being analysed. The analysis satisfies the research problem and research question of
the dissertation. Furthermore, the critical investigation proves how the research
question satisfies all the objectives of the dissertation through logical explanation and
the way the research methodology helps. The critical analysis is conducted through
various tools and aspects that are given in detail. The analysis is done using the
statistical tools with graphical representations and tables.
e. Chapter Five:

The sixth chapter gives information about the conclusion drawn from the whole
dissertation. The conclusion is given with justifiable recommendations given to the
organization understudy. The suggestion for the future is given as well to make the
appropriate strategies for the future. The conclusion of the research conforms to the
objectives set for the research.

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1.11 Summary of Thesis Introduction

The research is about the potential e-recruitment source of Facebook by many organizations.
The study studies the issues and challenges faced by Facebook to serve the purpose. The
problem discussion entails the details about the problems of recruiting as it being the most
crucial stage of the whole human resource management process. The company understudy is
Facebook that is now a multipurpose platform. The aims of the dissertation are to explore the
challenges to be investigated in e-recruitment process used by many organizations. The
objectives are to explore the impact of social networking websites on recruitment of
organizations, to identify and explore the ethical and privacy issues about recruitment through
Facebook to the e-recruitment channel and to analyse the merits and demerits of Facebook as
the source of e-recruiting. The dissertation progresses with the research question of What
are the issues and challenges in developing e- recruitment processes through Facebook
for global organizations?. The layout of introduction is determined by seven chapter that
are introduction, literature review, research methodology, data and Analysis, Discussion,
Conclusion and recommendations and personal experience respectively.

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Chapter 2 Literature Review

2.1

Introduction and Overview

The role of Human Resource Management in the organizational context has long been proven
and acknowledged worldwide as being one of the key players in the success of a business.
Recruitment is but one of the dimensions of human resource management, but is vital to
sustain the health of an organization. recruitment has been defined by various authors in their
writings however, it can simply be stated as a procedure of locating potential candidates,
short listing applicants , selecting candidates, and interviewing employees for career growth
and promotion in an organization.
If an organization successfully recruits and retains quality employees, it gives them a
competitive advantage over other organizations. The rapidly rising use of social media and
the recognition that they do affect the recruitment process has recently been accepted by
recruiters and job applicants alike. However, since this is a recent happening, current
information on this phenomenon is quite limited. We do, however, accept that technological
advancement has increasingly changed the structure of communication altogether.
In recent times, the internet has become a very effective tool in the job search process.
The habits of job seekers reveal their belief that searching and applying for jobs online is
more effective than responding to numerous advertisements in newspapers and magazines. As
per the HR magazine (July 2001) in 2011 only 2% of jobseekers used newspaper advertising
as a source of opportunities compared to 21% in 2008. More than a third (36%) continues to
use recruitment agencies. For job seekers its chief advantage lies in time savings, but lack of
human factor, slow feedback and inadequate job descriptions are just a few of the downsides.

2.2

Scope of Literature Review

This literature review is comprised on the critical analysis of secondary sources of academic
researches. According to Engler and Tanoury (2007), the Facebook has become a
revolutionary source of e-recruitment in recent years and its usage is increasing with the
passage of time. In this comprehensive article, authors have debated the role of social
networks in recruitment and selection processes. They covered all aspects of a full research
and described a situation in which manual recruiting processes are transformed into erecruiting. Engler & Tanoury, (2010:1) described a situation in their article that an HR
manager sitting in his Denver office with a huge pile of applications from the graduates of
University of Colorado. The recruiter preferred to go online to check any available help on
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internet sites about recruitment process of fresh graduates. Due to time constraints, recruiter
has started checking the Facebook profiles of potential candidates. On very first candidates
profile he found her liberal political affiliations and membership of a feminist club. Being a
Christian with conservative beliefs, he rejected the applicant CV immediately. This incident is
shown an increasing trend of stereo typing and infringement of personal lives to the potential
recruiters, The candidate lose a fair chance of being shortlisted through these difference of
lifestyles. The question arises from this situation that what should be the limit of potential
employer to check the personal pages on social media like Facebook and what are the
precautions young university going g students or executives should adopt to avoid these type
of refusals.
Facebook provides a method to the recruiters to access personal information of potential
candidates without taking prior permission from the owner of the profile. This shows an
unethical practice on part of the companies as candidate provides them his rsum and other
suitable documents to access and this Facebook page viewing ins infringement to his/her
privacy. On the other hand, accessing Facebook pages can give insight to recruiters to the
actual activities and affiliations of a candidate which a rsum might not provide, hence they
can short list a suitable candidate for their organization. The viewpoint of present study work
out by Engler and Tanoury (2007) is to talk about Twitter, Facebook and other social
networks as foundation of orientation and meeting of in sequence for applicants. An
individual when updates profile on social networking sites should take opinion very carefully
about privacy settings so that the personal pages should not be accessed by strangers.
The significance of present research lies in the understanding of the unofficial Facebook
access to gather information and references during the recruitment processes of various
organizations. The ethical and moral issues will also be discussed about these practices of
recruiters. The main emphasis of present research is on the official and ethical used of
Facebook and other social networks in e-recruiting processes. According to Elmore (2009),
ethical use of Face=book and other social networking sites is possible from long periods but
has not been used properly by modern day HR managers, recruiters can access ethical
information from Facebook also. In contrast of the above mentioned instance, company can
open an official Facebook page and invite potential candidates to join that page. In this way
the shared information will be in both parties knowledge and candidates can increases the
effectiveness of their personal profiles to impress potential employers (Elmore 2009).

2.3

Need of carrying out online process

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In present situation, offline measures are used by most organizations in their manual
recruiting procedures which require ample time and efforts of HR managers with lot of
paperwork burdens. Candidates are also needed time to undergo recruitment processes in
various organizations which has created opportunity costs higher. Therefore, e-recruitment
can not only save time of managers and candidates but also their physical resources in form
of paper and machines (Rutledge, 2008).
Therefore, Twitter and Facebook rose as possible hiring sources. Candidates need to be
careful about their personal and professional information on social networking sites as the
content can be monitored by HR department of potential organizations. This factor is
encouraging also as nearly half of the employers now using these sites extensively for
accessing information therefore, sharing appropriate content can be an opportunity to get jobs
in future (West, 2011).
By considering this, Facebook has gained enormous importance in daily life activities of all
age groups, especially youth. So and so, the first introduction of a person is now through the
search of his Facebook profile and the properties, affiliations, and feature of his personal and
professional life are open to viewers (Reiter, 2010). According to Bondarouk et al (2011), one
can understand the effective impact of Facebook on recruiting process when this social
network is so much important in daily life.
The main reason for using online recruitment methods is that we can have access to a huge
pool of applicants with the click of a mouse. Time is also saved in setting up accounts and
facilitating the recruitment process. Advertising through websites is also less costly than
placing newspaper adverts. Visibility is also increased as people update themselves on current
affairs through the internet rather than newspapers and magazines. Competition between
various websites also increases efficiency and possible cost savings.

2.4

Finding Candidates on Facebook

Facebook is incredibly consumer responsive website and the procedure to discover applicants
on this site relatively straightforward. The piece of evidence remnants that any contenders
would acquire the data positioned on CV more critically than what is registered on any
community network, particularly when candidates do not know that recruiting managers are
in fact building their information on the basis what got from their profiles
(Kluemper, & Rosen, 2009). On the other hand m the opportunity of this process =lies in the
fact that when CV proved equivalent to what is present on social networking sites, the good
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impression of the possible applicant become high on the recruiter (Social networking and
recruitment, 2007).

Source:

http://www.slideshare.net/thomasshaw/twitter-facebook-recruitment-integration-

thomas-shaw-recruittech-2009
According to Laurie Ruettimann (2012), ethical considerations of intriguing information from
social network sources are also very important. The aspects of personal life to an individual
are not meant to disclose to strangers and other outside people. Therefore, recommendations
to access personal information present on online sources like that of Facebook needed by
recruiters (Ruettimann, 2010).
Subsequently, employer is searching the finest available talent and best performance o=in
potential employees as the business performance of organizations depend on these talented
and skilled employees in the long run. Also, the alignment of personal and professional
values is also important for both applicants and employers because the success of an
organization depends upon the skills and dedication of its employees (Gomez-Mejia et al
2010).

2.5

The Increase in Use of Social Networking Sites

Social Networking Sites now allow us to perform a variety of tasks such as displaying our
profile to a public or semi-public audience, define a set of users with whom we share our
information and browse through the profiles of people who are connected with people from
our circle. Never before have were our lives such open books to the world.
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These Social Networking Sites also serve as a ground for competition as users race to show
how successful and happy they are through constant status updates and a variety of photo
albums. Thanks to games and applications such as Farmville, Castleville and the like, users
also eagerly play games, score points and proudly display their progress to their fellow users.
Therefore, the success factor of these Social Networking Sites lies in the need-oriented
behaviour of its users. These needs can be closely associated with Maslows social needs of
people, to be associated with others. Using Social Networking Sites has become a trend
amongst all ages. The various motives behind using these sites are maintaining personal and
professional relationships and also the expectation that social and economic value will be
created. Job hunting has become very challenging and people are now looking for more
creative ways of seeking their dream jobs, that is, through social media.

2.6

The Increase of using Social Networking Sites as Recruitment Tools

Social Networking Sites have presented a brand new avenue for job seekers. According to
Carrington J (HR Magazine, July 2011), as the job search moves increasingly online, new
technology and social networking is playing a growing role in the job hunt.
The behavior of recruiters has also changed and sites like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook are
now major players in the field of recruitment. However, the question that arises is, that can
this trend which is followed by the majority of society, be applied to the entire corporate
sector? The answer is still unknown. Henderson and Bowley (2010) argue that the use of
social media for recruitment purposes is becoming increasingly popular because social
networking sites enable recruiters to maintain constant connectivity and communication.
Another advantage which cannot be ignored is the substantial cost and time saving. An article
from an HR magazine (2010) states that research has shown that recruiting through social
media has shown a substantial reduction to about four hours taken to identify the right
candidates.

2.7

Job Hunting through Social Media (Opportunity or Threat)

The pros and cons of these recruitment methods are still under debate. Talbot (2010:1)
emphasizes that the key to finding the right job today knows how to bring employers to the
job seekers rather than the job hunter going to the employer. When individuals have
comprehensive profiles which give a complete picture of their professional track record, it
gives them automatic visibility amongst other job seekers.

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The other side of the story also shows cases where candidates did not end up getting jobs or
got sacked once their online profiles were fully viewed. If pictures or views expressed are of
objectionable nature, however innocent the intentions of the individual may be, it goes
against them in the corporate world. College applications have also been known to be
rejected due to the same reasons. According to Kushan (2010), social media can help an
individual to find a job as well as can become a reason for not finding a job.
Thus, it requires a great deal of professionalism to be exercised, even in ones personal life, if
one wants to be successfully chosen for their dream job. This certainly does leave little room
for creating a divide between private and professional life with regard to the use of the Social
Networking Sites. The Internet, along with the rise of Web 2.0, has brought structural changes
in the strategies used for recruitment. Therefore, the use of SNS for recruitment has
conflicting views but it is also clear that its use has not in any way undermined the use of
traditional methods of recruitment.

2.8

Impact

It cannot be denied that the rise of the internet as a recruitment tool has presented a world of
opportunities for job hunters worldwide. This of course comes with its own share of risks.
The key is to evaluate these risks and opportunities. Improvements in efficiency have been
noted. Organizations have successfully inducted numerous applicants who had applied
online. The cost of recruitment has lessened considerably as well. Also, company websites
were being frequented more which is an added advantage. The evolution of e-recruitment has
also given Human Resources a more strategic role, further making recruitment an entirely
separate function.
The challenges include cultural problems and the general lack of depth of HR practitioners.
This again presents an opportunity for training in the field of e-recruitment. Another
disadvantage of online recruitment is that there is no relationship between the candidate and
the recruiter. The resume is the first impression the recruiter has of the candidate. Therefore,
differences in qualifications and years of experience may not be accurately judged when
comparing two candidates. This is because many organizations will opt for the candidate with
more education but will lose out on the depth the more experienced candidate will bring to
the organization. However, if both candidates were able to interview, the hiring decision may
be different. Also, competent candidates may be automatically rejected if they are located out
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of the geographical scope of the organization. Furthermore, the personality of a person cannot
be revealed through an online application. If someone has a very impressive resume, they
may lack the attitude required for the corporate world. Although there are many
disadvantages, there are many advantages and it is up to the employer to measure the balance
between the two.

2.9

Conclusion

The research undertaken aims to uncover the effectiveness of the Internet as a source for
recruitment. The roles of Social Media such as Facebook have been explored in this context.
One of the highlights of our research is whether recruitment through the internet adds value
to the recruitment process as a whole. We understand that a few of its advantages include a
sharper corporate image, reduced time and costs and also less administrative burden. There is
no doubt that social networking sites is where the top talent is. We can find talented
individuals through profile views and also reading blogs. Tech-savvy graduates can also be
found in huge numbers on these sites. Thus, for human resources, recruiting through social
media is the most effective source for poaching young, competent candidates who will act as
the future leaders of global organizations.
Issues against using the internet as a recruitment tool touched upon arguments regarding the
type of applicants applying through the internet. Many of these applicants do not match the
job profile but apply for jobs anyway. Another problem was loss of confidentiality and
ensuring that a well-balanced, diverse pool of candidates is selected. Diversity can be an issue
if a group of friends of college mates decide to apply together.
As the popularity of social networking sites as a recruitment source increases, what about the
market for job sites? Will it be affected? The job sites will certainly not take this sitting back.
They will also do their best to stand their ground. Job sites like Rozee.pk and Monster.com
are already working on upgrading their services offered and have included the element of
networking in their websites. It is also possible for the two to co-exist each platform serving
its own market.
Global organizations must therefore, work towards using the Internet along with traditional
hiring methods. Therefore, due to the fact that the Internet is limited in its scope of
dimensions such as gender, race, income levels, discrimination issues may come up. So if
global organizations show that they are also using traditional recruitment methods, they have

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less chances of being charged for discrimination. The aim is to show that when organizations
are hiring they give every single candidate a fair chance.

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Chapter 3 Research Methodology

n ordr to nvstgt th xtnt to whch Socl Ntworkng Sts ld to ffctv
rcrutmnt, rsrch s conductd n ordr to obtn th dt ndd. Ths rsrch tks on
two dffrnt chrctrstcs: frstly, t ncluds dscrptv prt s t ntnds to spcfy th
mn chrctrstcs of Wb 2.0, focusd on fcbook nd ffctv rcrutmnt. Scondly,
ths rsrch s of n xplortory ntur s t ntnds to dsgn nw vw concrnng Socl
Ntworkng Sts nd ffctv rcrutmnt. Thr r svrl rsrch strtgs tht cn b
doptd to gthr th rqurd dt.

3.1

Rsrch Strtgy

Qulttv nd quntttv nformton ws gthrd to gt gnrl nd mor n-dpth

nsght concrnng ths rsrch. Th collctd dt conssts of prmry nd scondry dt.
Th prmry dt s gthrd by ntrvws nd survys wth th nvolvd ctors t th
prtculr orgnztons. Th collctd scondry dt nvolvs nnul rports, ntrnt
rsrch nd rtcls bout socl md nd rcrutmnt. Most of th dt s gthrd from
prmry sourcs. ntrvws nd -survys wr conductd t vrous rcrutrs t dvrs
orgnztons n ordr to tst th thortcl frmwork. Ths nvolvd orgnztons mk
us of ny of th studd rcrutmnt tools, whch r socl md, prntd dvrtsmnts,
job rltd wbsts nd xcutv srch gncs. Th rcrutrs, mngrs nd drctors of
th compns prtcptd wthn ths rsrch.

3.2

Thortcl Frmwork

Th lbortd thors wthn th ltrtur rvw chptr form cohson from rcrutmnt
mthod tll compttv dvntg. Ths prgrph clrfs th xstng connctons btwn
th studd thors nd th xpcttons wthn ths rsrch. Ths connctons r
vsulzd wthn th concptul modl. ll th xpcttons wthn ths prgrph r bsd
on socl md s rcrutmnt mthod. Th pr-hr-outcoms n trms of qulty nd
quntty s th out-put ply cntrl rol wth rspct to th cntrl rsrch quston. t s
xpctd tht ths vrbls cn support th humn cptl n ordr to strngthn th totl
pckg of rsourcs. Th out-put vrbl qulty (s n hgh potntls obtnd by mns of
socl md) s xpctd to b postv whch cn nhnc th humn cptl.

Page 19 of 53

Th vrbl quntty ffcts th humn cptl ndrctly n postv mnnr, snc socl
md nbls to srch wthn lrg dtbss wth socl md usrs. Furthrmor, socl
md njoys unlmtd srch possblts, s t s not spcfclly ndustry rstrctd. Put
dffrntly, ths nbls rcrutrs to srch wthn vry spcfc ndustry for cnddts wth
dffrnt bckgrounds, whch nbls to fostr th htrognty mong th humn cptl
mor sly. But lso qulty hs t wth htrognty, s t s xpctd tht unqu
htrognous rsourcs provd qulty n dvrs wys. Furthrmor, most orgnztons do
not wnt to plc t ons dsposl of n unlmtd bnkroll n ordr to cqur tht dsrd
htrognty.
Thus th costs n trms of th n-put of th pr-hr-outcoms ply lso sgnfcnt rol
wthn ths rsrch. lso ths s xpctd to b postv vrbl prtnng to th
trdtonl rcrutmnt mthods s socl md cn b utlzd for fr. Thus th low costs
wll ffct th physcl cptl n postv wy, s t lowrs th prssur on th physcl
cptl n fnncl trms. But t lso ffcts th humn cptl n postv wy, s th
qulty, quntty nd costs out- nd n-put supports th chncs on htrognty. Thus, th
possblty to obtn dvrsty wth s cn b sn s n xtr ndcton of th ffcncy of
th prtculr rcrutmnt mthod n quston.
s consqunc, th humn cptl nd th ovrll rsourcs r postvly stmultd by
th pr-hr outcoms, snc socl md s xpctd to prform n n ffctv nd ffcnt
wy s rcrutmnt mthod. vntully, ths rsourcs stmult th compttv dvntg
just lk th brnd rputton dos, whch s product of nnovtv bhvor nd ncrsng
vsblty by mns of utlzng socl md for orgnztonl purposs. Ths ncrsd brnd
rputton du to th utlzton of socl md n postv wy, cn work n n ttrctv
mnnr to ll knds of stkholdrs ncludng hgh potntls. Hnc lso th ndrct postv
ffct of brnd rputton on th out-put of th pr-hr outcoms nd thus th ffctvnss.
Thrfor socl md usg cn ncrs brnd rputton nd mg du vsblty,
dptbl, nnovtv nd crtv bhvor. So, socl md s xpctd to b functon s
strtgc busnss tool wth xtndd rcrutmnt optons n ordr to prform ffctv nd
ffcnt rcrutng nd to fostr th compttv dvntg n th nd.

Page 20 of 53

3.3

Dductv nd Inductv Rsrch pproch

Ths rsrch contns combnton of dductv nd nductv rsrch to ncrs th

opnnss, nvntvnss but lso th vldty of th study (Johnson, 1996). Frst, ths rsrch
contns dductv nformton tht ncrss th vldty of ths study by tstng th
thortcl frmwork ltrlly t th nvolvd orgnztons (Johnson, 1996). Ths s don by
conductng survys t dffrnt orgnztons whrby rcrutrs hd to gr or dsgr wth
dvrs sttmnts bsd on th thory concrnng th pr-hr-outcoms. Th survy nd
thus th sttmnts r fully dscrbd, whch r bsd on th thortcl fctors.. Morovr
th nvolvd rcrutrs hd to rt th sttmnts on scl from 1 to 5 to cknowldg f
thy grd or not wth th gvn sttmnts.
On th othr hnd, dductv rsrch puts th mphss on confrmng th usd thory
wthn th thortcl frmwork (Johnson, 1996), ths ncrss th vldty of th rsrch
but on th othr hnd t locks out nw or othr mportnt nformton concrnng th nswr
to th cntrl rsrch quston. Ths s whrs th rsrch bcm nductv s t lvs
mor spc for othr thoughts tht r xcludd from th thortcl frmwork (Johnson,
1996). Th rcrutrs wr skd to gv n ddtonl opnon wthn short ntrvw bout
socl md s rcrutmnt tool n comprson wth th trdtonl rcrutmnt tchnqus
to rtrv ths knd of nformton. lso whn thy dsgrd wth crtn ponts wthn th
thortcl frmwork thy hd to mnton why, whch cn b consdrd s nductv
rsrch nformton. Howvr, nductv rgumnts r lss crtn comprd to dductv
rgumnts, thus only strong nductv rgumnts wth nough vdnc wr tkn nto
consdrton for ths rsrch, whch s n ccordnc wth Johnsons (1996) thory.

Page 21 of 53

3.4

Rsrch Structur

Ths rsrch contns qulttv nd quntttv study. n gnrl, th combnton of

qulttv nd quntttv study s mxd-mthods rsrch nhncs th rlblty nd
vldty of th rsrch cumultvly (bowtz & Tool, 2010). Howvr, ths rsrch
cnnot b sn s fully mxd-mthods rsrch, s quntttv study nds mny mor
rspondnts to prform such rsrch, nvrthlss quntttv typ of gthrng
nformton hs bn usd to gn th dductv nformton. Th quntttv lk dt
whch ctully s qulttv dt s gnd through -survys, ths survys wr snt to th
nvolvd orgnztons nd rcrutrs, ths cn b consdrd s th dductv prt. Th purly
qulttv dt ws gnd through smll sm-structurd ntrvw through th tlphon
ftrwrds th survy to gn xtr nformton, whch cn b consdrd s th nductv
prt.
To b clr, ch rspondnt (rcrutr, mngr or mployr) compltd survy nd n
ntrvw tht rltd to th prtculr rcrutmnt mthod; hnc ch rcrutmnt mthod
hs corrspondng survy nd ntrvw rgrdng th sm subjcts n ordr to crt
wll blncd comprson. sm-structurd ntrvw llows th ntrvwr or ntrvw
to rspond n dtl on crtn spcts tht could dvt from th orgnl quston nd
contxt (Gll, Stwrt, Trsur & Chdwck, 2008), whrs structurd ntrvw s too
dductv whch lvs no opton opn to dscuss othr opnons nd ds. Howvr, n
unstructurd ntrvw would b too nductv whch could ld th dscusson towrds othr
subjcts tht r not rlvnt rgrdng to th orgnl rsrch qustons. Th sm-structurd
ntrvw s rthr smll s t supports th rsults of th survy, s mntond bfor, th
nvolvd popl wr skd why thy dsgrd t crtn ponts nd f thy hv n
ddtonl opnon bout possbl dsdvntgs or dvntgs concrnng crtn rcrutmnt
tools. Furthrmor, orgnztons wr consultd bout th possbl ffcts of thr socl
md usg on thr brnd rputton wthn ths ntrvw.
ntrvws through th tlphon hd th prfrnc, s fc-to-fc ntrvws r tm
consumng snc th nvolvd compns r dffusd throughout th country. Ths mthod
hs som dvntgs, t nbls th ntrvwr to hv som prsonl contct comprbl to
fc-to-fc ntrvw nd t nbls to collct nformton rltvly rpdly. Prsons who
r dffcult to rch n prson r mor sly ccssbl by tlphon n contrdcton to
Page 22 of 53

gttng n ppontmnt for fc-to-fc ntrvw, whch s nothr bnft of tlphon

ntrvw (Sturgs & Hnrhn, 2004). Howvr, body lngug tht could ndct crtn
ntrprtton concrnng n nswr cnnot b rcognzd through th tlphon
(Musslwht, Cuff, McGrgor & Kng, 2007). Nvrthlss, ths dsdvntg dos not
ovrhul th bnfts of tlphon ntrvw s smlr nformton cn b obtnd s
durng fc-to-fc ntrvws.
ll n ll, ths study cn b consdrd s crtcl cs, snc crtcl cs conssts
problm tht nds to b lmntd du th strtgc mportnc. Obvously, wknng
mrkt poston s th mn problm; howvr lookng closr to ths prtculr rsrch
mor focusd problm cn b stmtd. Nmly, r orgnztons mssng th bot whn
thy do not jump on th socl md bndwgon? Thus, mssng th bot mns mssng out
on nw opportunts to fostr th humn cptl nd brnd rputton. crtcl cs nbls
th rsrchr to cknowldg such problm on th bss of sngl nformton sourc.
Normlly on cs wthn crtcl cs s nough to conclud th followng: f t s vld for
ths cs, t s vld for ll (or mny) css. Put dffrntly, on cs t on orgnzton cn
lrdy ld to qulttv nd vld crtcl cs wth gnrlzbl chrctrstcs.
Howvr, ths study conssts out of vrous css, whch vntully ncrss th vldty du
to th lrgr mount of vdnc.

3.5

Th Smpl

Ths rsrch s ntndd for th whol ndustry, thus ths study s not focusd on crtn
spcfc ndustrs or frm szs. Thrfor ntrvws nd survys t dffrnt orgnztons
r conductd to ncrs th vldty nd rlblty wth rspct to th dvrsty, th
ntrvw nd survy togthr cn b consdrd s on ndpndnt smpl. Th rcrutmnt
rltd orgnztons r domnnt wthn ths rsrch to sty clos to th cntrl subjct of
ths rsrch. Th nvolvd rspondnts r profssonls wthn thr brnch nd thy r
fmlr wth socl md or th othr prtculr slctd rcrutmnt mthods wthn ths
rsrch. Thy occupy postons lk CO, drctor, dvsor, rcrutr or nothr typ of
pprovd mngmnt functon.
Th unts of nlyss r orgnztons wth mnml 300 mploys, thus mploys wthn
th compny hv probbly md xprncs n usng fcbook for thr rcrutmnt. ftr
Page 23 of 53

brf ltrtur rvw, th study ws constructd n form of qustonnr whch ws snt

out to HR dprtmnts of orgnztons. Th prtcpnts wr rndomly chosn nd wr
nvtd to th survy on voluntry bss. Th rspondnts hd th choc of fllng n th
qustonnr onln or by hnd nd fx t. By gvng ths choc, th rspondnt rt ws
probbly ncrsd, bcus rspondnts could choos th most comfortbl wy of
nswrng th qustonnr. ddtonlly, th rspondnts wr fr to nswr nonymously
by fllng n th onln qustonnr. Ths xprts hv nswrd qustons bout Wb 2.0,
focusd on Fcbook rgrdng rcrutmnt. s frst stp, ll of th possbl rspondnts
hd bn skd v fx to nswr th qustonnr. ftr month, rmndr ml ws snt
out to th compns n ordr to obtn nough dt for th nlyss.

3.6

nstrumnt Dvlopmnt

Th typ of rsrch s mxd nd th rsrch s conductd by mkng us of survy nd

ntrvws. Usng survy hs th bnft of llowng th collcton of lrg mount of dt
from szbl populton. Thrfor, pplyng survy n ordr to sk dffrnt compns
bout fcbook nd rcrutmnt s th most sutbl soluton for ths rsrch. ccordng to
rsrchrs, th lrg numbr of tms whch cn b msurd n survy s grt
dvntg for th nlyss of dt. Consquntly, th fndngs rflct th opnon of lrg
numbr of compns nd thr xprncs wth Fcbook nd ffctv rcrutmnt. Th
qustonnr conssts of dffrnt prts: gnrl qustons bout th orgnzton, nd
rcrutmnt supportd by Fcbook nd r comprss dffrnt typs of qustons. Th
mjorty of qustons r bsd on 5-pont Lkrt Scl n ordr to rflct th opnon of th
rspondnts.

3.7

Dt procssng nd Anlyss

Th ntur of th qustonnr s quntttv nd th stndrdzton of th dt collcton

rprsnts strngth of survy rsrch. stndrdzd qustonnr mks t sr to
nlyz th dt nd to drw rsults. Th dt ws gthrd by th rturnd qustonnrs
nd ws nlyzd by mkng us of SPSS (Sttstcl pckg for th socl scncs).

Page 24 of 53

Chapter 4 Findings and Data Analysis

Data collection is done through different methods mentioned in the previous chapter
hwoever, the results of data collected are processed and analyzed using SPSS tool and results
are presented in this chapter. Findings and data analysis is the view of researchers efforts
applied to achieve desired aims and objetives set at initial stages of the research study.
Reliability Statistics
Cronbach's Alpha

N of Items

.727

41

ANOVA with Cochran's Test

Sum

of df

Squares

Mean

Cochran'

Square

sQ

Between People

1014.346

99

10.246

Within

Between

10377.72

40

259.443

People

Items

Residual

11065.64

3960

2.794

Total

4
21443.36

4000

5.361

6
22457.71

4099

5.479

Total

1935.838

Sig

.000

2
Grand Mean = 4.0954

The above table is known as the reliability statistics that help in validation of responses.
Reliability test is important as it helps in identifying that used questionnaire is able to fulfil
the desired objective of the study. Moreover reliability also explains that if same
questionnaire will be used in another study it will provide the same results. From above table
it can be seen that value of reliability is 0.727 that is high. The minimum threshold for
reliability is 0.6 and in this case value is quite high. The higher value suggests that
questionnaire is designed well enough to fulfil the objectives of the study.

Page 25 of 53

Profession

Valid

Employed
Self-employed
Both
Total

Frequenc

Percent

Valid

Cumulative

y
70
20
10
100

70.0
20.0
10.0
100.0

Percent
70.0
20.0
10.0
100.0

Percent
70.0
90.0
100.0

The above response has been collected in response of the question that is related to that
What is your profession The reason for asking this question is to get the insight knowledge
regarding profession from which majority of the respondents belong too. From the above
table it can be seen that out of total sample size of 100 (N=100) 70% were employed, 20%
were self-employed and 10% were both. The above diagrammatic behaviour shows that in
survey combination of participants has participated that make the results itself diverse and
flexible.

Gender

Page 26 of 53

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative
Percent

Valid

Male

72

72.0

72.0

72.0

Female
Total

28
100

28.0
100.0

28.0
100.0

100.0

The above response has been collected in response of the question that is related to What is
your gender the reason for asking this question is to be sure that both the gender should have
enough participation in this survey so that better results are developed. From the above table
it can be seen that out of total sample size of 100 (N=100) 72% of the respondents were male
and rest 28% respondents were the females. The above diagrammatic behaviour shows that in
recruitment decision there are still more men that make decisions as compare to women.

Age
Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative
Percent
Page 27 of 53

Valid

18-24

66

66.0

66.0

66.0

25-31
33-39
40-47
47+
Total

8
7
7
12
100

8.0
7.0
7.0
12.0
100.0

8.0
7.0
7.0
12.0
100.0

74.0
81.0
88.0
100.0

The above response has been collected in response of the question that is related to What is
your age the reason for asking this question is to be sure that all age categories that are
participating in industries as a workforce must include in the survey. From the above table it
can be seen that out of total sample size of 100 (N=100) 66% of the respondents were lay in
the age category of 18-24, 8% of the respondents lay in the age category of 25-31, 7% of the
respondents belong to the age category of 33-39, 7% lay in the age category of 40-47 and
12% of the respondents are 47+ age group. The above diagrammatic behaviour shows that at
present young and middle age group people are more working in human resource department
as compare to higher age group.
Please check the most appropriate description of your business, with
respect to your global company
Frequenc
Vali

Manufacturing

Industry

y
4

Percen

Valid

Cumulativ

t
4.0

Percent
4.0

e Percent
4.0

Page 28 of 53

Energy Supply
Trade,

12
83

12.0
83.0

12.0
83.0

16.0
99.0

Maintenance
Hospitality

1.0

1.0

100.0

Industry
Total

100

100.0

100.0

The above response has been collected in response of the question that is related to Please
check the most appropriate description of your business, with respect to your global
company the reason for asking this question is to have an idea that people from what
background have been included in this study. From the above table it can be seen that out of
total sample size of 100 (N=100) 4% were from manufacturing industry, 12% were from
energy supply, 83% were from trade and maintenance and 1% are from hospitality industry.
The above diagrammatic behaviour shows that at in the current analysis majority of
respondents were belong to trade and maintenance sector.
Number of Employees

Valid

500-1000
1000-2000
2000-5000

Frequenc

Percent

Valid

Cumulative

y
17
12
36

17.0
12.0
36.0

Percent
17.0
12.0
36.0

Percent
17.0
29.0
65.0
Page 29 of 53

more

than 35

5000
Total

100

35.0

35.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

The above response has been collected in response of the question that is related to total
number of employees working in the global company from which participants belong to the
reason for asking this question is to have an idea that global companies differs in size would
look for multiple options for recruitment. From the above table it can be seen that out of total
sample size of 100 (N=100) 17% were from manufacturing industry, 12% were from energy
supply, 83% were from trade and maintenance and 1% are from hospitality industry. The
above diagrammatic behavior shows that at in the current analysis majority of respondents
were belong to trade and maintenance sector.
Does your global company make use of Web 2.0 applications
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent Cumulative
Valid

Yes
No
Total

56
44
100

56.0
44.0
100.0

56.0
44.0
100.0

Percent
56.0
100.0

Page 30 of 53

The above response has been collected in response of the question that is related to Does
your global company make use of Web 2.0 application the reason for asking this question is
to have an idea that global companies differs in terms of usage of web 2.0 applications. From
the above table it can be seen that out of total sample size of 100 (N=100) 56 were replied yes
and 44% of the respondents said no. The above diagrammatic behaviour shows that there are
mix responses in terms of usage of web applications 2.0. Majority of respondents are belong
to trade and marketing background but it is found that in this same industry there is difference
of opinion found in the usage of web applications.
Which social networking site does your global company use to make the
recruitments

Valid

Frequenc

Percent

Valid

Cumulative

Business

y
18

18.0

Percent
18.0

Percent
18.0

oriented
Social Oriented
None why not
Total

42
40
100

42.0
40.0
100.0

42.0
40.0
100.0

60.0
100.0
Page 31 of 53

The above response has been collected in response of the question that is related to which
social networking site does your global company use to make the recruitments the reason for
asking this question is to have an idea that either selected global companies are using social
network sites to make the recruitment procedures possible. From the above table it can be
seen that out of total sample size of 100 (N=100) 18% were replied yes business oriented,
42% replied social oriented and 40% of the respondents replied none why not. The above
diagrammatic behaviour shows that there social oriented sites are more preferable in making
the recruitment procedures. Next preference for the recruitment procedures are for the
business oriented websites.
For which field of activities does your global company make use of face book
Frequency Percent Valid
Cumulative
Valid

Technical Graduates
5
Others
12
Other Administrative 18

5.0
12.0
18.0

Percent
5.0
12.0
18.0

Percent
5.0
17.0
35.0

employees
Other

Technical 32

32.0

32.0

67.0

employees
Trainees

21

21.0

21.0

88.0
Page 32 of 53

Interns
Total

12
100

12.0
100.0

12.0
100.0

100.0

The above response has been collected in response of the question that is related to For
which of activities does your global company make use of face book the reason for asking
this question is to have an idea that for what positions global companies would prefer to use
face book as a recruitment tool. From the above table it can be seen that out of total sample
size of 100 (N=100) 5% replied for technical graduates, 12% replied for others, 18% replied
that they will use face book as a recruitment tool to hire administrative employees, 32% were
in the favour of hiring other technical employees, 21% said trainees and 12% response was in
the favour of interns. The above diagrammatic behaviour shows that there is mix preference
found out among the respondents however majority voting goes for the other technical
education. That shows among all the jobs that are preferred to hire through face book other
technical education rated on top.
How many % age of the total recruitment are being covered by face book?
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent Cumulative
Valid

0-25
25-50
50-75
75-100

14
9
57
19

14.0
9.0
57.0
19.0

14.0
9.0
57.0
19.0

Percent
14.0
23.0
80.0
99.0
Page 33 of 53

5.00
Total

1
100

1.0
100.0

1.0
100.0

100.0

The above response has been collected in response of the question that is related to How
many Percent of total recruitments are being covered by face book the reason for asking this
question is to have is to know that either global companies uses face book platform for
recruiting or selecting the employees for job. From the above table it can be seen that out of
total sample size of 100 (N=100) 14% were replied 0-25%, 9% replied 25-50% 57% replied
50-75% and 19% replied 75-100%. The above diagrammatic behaviour shows that majority
of employees were searched and recruited within organizations after being searched through
face book. It shows that face book can be a potential source in recruiting the workforce.
How often does your global company make use of face book recruitment
Frequency Percent
Valid Percent Cumulative
Valid

Weekly
Monthly
semi annually
annually
Total

9
9
12
38
100

9.0
9.0
12.0
38.0
100.0

9.0
9.0
12.0
38.0
100.0

Percent
9.0
18.0
30.0
68.0

Page 34 of 53

The above response has been collected in response of the question that is related to How
often does your global company make use of face book recruitment through this query we
want to know that whenever global company thinks for recruitment is face book come in to
their mind. From above table it can be seen that out of total sample size of 100 (N=100) 9%
were replied weekly 9% replied monthly 12% replied semi-annually and 38% replied
annually. The above diagrammatic behaviour shows that majority of global companies were
use face book annually for recruitment purpose however this is quite often as majority of
recruitments were happened once in a year.
To which extent would you think that face book is successful in
recruitment in your global company
Frequenc
at

y
all 8

Vali

not

Successful
Little
Successful
Very Successful
Total

40
32
20
100

Percen

Valid

Cumulative

t
8.0

Percent
8.0

Percent
8.0

40.0
32.0
20.0
100.0

40.0
32.0
20.0
100.0

48.0
80.0
100.0

Page 35 of 53

The above response has been collected in response of the question that is related to To which
extent would you think that face book is successful in recruitment in your global company
through this query we want to know that whenever global company thinks for recruitment is
face book come in to their mind that do global company believe that face book is an effective
way of recruiting staff. From above table it can be seen that out of total sample size of 100
(N=100) 8% replied not at all successful, 40% replied little help, 32% said successful and
20% replied very successful. The above diagrammatic behaviour shows that majority of
global companies believes that use of face book is a trustworthy source and would help in
finding the better workforce. This method would help in finding the right person for the right
job.
The below descriptive statistics has been developed in order to analyse the behaviour of
global companies towards Facebook as a recruitment tool. Below table represents views of
companies with respect to the information available at face book.
Th nformton on th Fcbook bout pplcnt(s)
Descriptive Statistics
N

Minimu

Maximu

Mean

Std.
Deviation
Page 36 of 53

Can be trusted
is relevant to

100
our 100

4.00
4.00

7.00
7.00

6.6500
6.4000

.68718
1.20605

recruitment
is up to date for our 100

3.00

5.00

4.8000

.49237

work
is clear
100
is of sufficient volume 100

2.00
3.00

6.00
6.00

4.3100
4.2200

1.09816
.94900

for our needs

Includes all necessary 100

2.00

6.00

3.9800

.96379

information
Valid N (list wise)

100

Descriptive statistics helps in making the data presentable and shows the basic summary of
studied variables. The above table comprises of multiple columns that explains multiple
dimensions of studied data set. The first column in table 1 shows the name of variables that
are studied and discussed in the results part. Second column in the above table shows that
sample size used in the study, third and fourth column explains the range of the data and last
two columns explains the value for standard deviation. From the above table it can be seen
that the statement regarding to the trust on face book information mean value is 6.65 that is
on the higher side. This value suggests that global companies believe that information
provided by the individual through face book is trustworthy. The questions that is related to
the relevancy of the face book for recruitment got mean value of 6.40 this value also shows
that global companies think that face book is relevant in hiring people or it can help global
company in a better way to find the right workforce. In another questions it has been revealed
that filtering is an issue of face book as lots of people are updated through face book global
companies believe that lot of application will arrive and its screening would be a difficult
task. Moreover one more concern is the availability of necessary information sometimes all
the necessary information is not available in face book that make it difficult task for the
recruiters to find the right person for the job.
Below table represents the views of companies with respect to the information available at
face book. The below variables explain the popularity of face book usage within organization.
Th us of Fcbook for our rcrutmnt

Descriptive Statistics

Page 37 of 53

Minimu

Maximu

Mean

Std.

m
5.00

m
7.00

6.6400

Deviation
.55994

the 100

4.00

7.00

6.4000

1.20605

guarantee a high level 100

5.00

7.00

6.1500

.75712

to 100

2.00

66.00

5.3900

6.25533

100

3.00

7.00

5.3400

1.14786

user-friendly 100

3.00

7.00

5.0100

1.29096

wide 100

3.00

7.00

4.4800

1.10536

networking scope
number of registered 100

2.00

6.00

4.4000

1.10096

users
is very popular and 100

3.00

6.00

4.1200

.91320

Is the most popular 100

among applicants
Increase
networking effect
of

valuable

connections
make it easier
contact
is easy to learn
is

designed
have
a

therefore the largest

Valid N (list wise)

100

Descriptive statistics helps in making the data presentable and shows the basic summary of
studied variables. The above table comprises of multiple columns that explains multiple
dimensions of studied data set. From the above table it can be seen that the questions that
cover the popularity of the respondents with respect to the recruitment process mean value for
the variable is 6.64 that shows face book popularity is high in the global companies. In terms
of networking and connections building means values are on higher sides that are 6.40 and
6.15. These results were expected as face book is known to be a social networking site. In
terms of the development of face book its user friendliness the responses were good. People
feel that face book is easy to operate, making contacts in not difficult any more.
The above responses shows that face book is highly popular within the global companies and
they consider its usage as an effective medium however there are issues global companies
also feel that they will face while recruit through face book. The issues include relevant

Page 38 of 53

information, face book server issues and cost. Due to popularity of face book recruitment
through face book is also hit some cost to global companies recruitment budgets.
Below table represents the views of global companies with respect to the usage of face book
for recruitment purposes either they found it positive or negative. Would these global
companies who previously used face book for recruitment would be interested in doing so or
not.

Th us of Fcbook for our rcrutmnt

Descriptive Statistics
N

General recruitment costs have 10

Minimu

Maximu

Deviatio

7.00

n
1.20605

4.00

Mean

6.400

Std.

decreased

HR marketing cost is decreased

10

2.00

6.00

5.390

6.25533

cost per hire has decreased

0
10

3.00

7.00

0
5.340

1.14786

7.00

0
5.010

1.29096

0
time of the whole recruitment 10
process has decreased
time

for

advertisement

3.00

0
has 10

decreased
0
Amount of applicants increase 10

0
2.00
2.00

7.00

4.080

1.44725

7.00

0
4.080

1.44725

from other parts of world

target group is easier to reach

10

1.00

5.00

3.790

1.02784

0
Amount of applicants increase 10

1.00

5.00

0
3.790

1.02784

from different backgrounds

incoming applications are more 10

structured

0
1.00

4.00

3.440

.64071

Page 39 of 53

incoming application have a high 10

quality

readable
amount

of

regional 10
0

job advertisement are customized

10

amount

of

0
national 10

applicants has increased

Valid N (list wise)

10

2.900

.98985

0
1.00

3.00

applicants has increased

total

4.00

incoming applications are more 10

total

1.00

2.290

.75605

0
1.00

4.00

1.860

.81674

0
1.00
1.00

4.00

1.800

1.01504

4.00

0
1.800

1.01504

0
Descriptive statistics helps in making the data presentable and shows the basic summary of
studied variables. The above table comprises of multiple columns that explains multiple
dimensions of studied data set. From the above table it can be seen that the questions related
to cost efficiency achieved by using face book as a recruitment tool global companies is in a
favour using it. Mean value of 6.4 suggests that global companies agree that face book usage
decrease their overall cost of recruitment. In another set of question it has been identified that
when it comes to time saving there are mix responses some of global companies feel that it
will take less time that other conventional ways while others disagree with it. While in a set
of questions where the purpose is to identify that do global company believes that quality
application will/is /had received through face book mean value deny this statement. The
lower mean value 2.9 and 3 suggest that the biggest challenge that global companies faced
while using face book as a recruitment toll is they will not receive the quality of respondents.
Because of mass reach through face book global companies receive applications that are not
relevant for the required job. Another problem in using face book is job advertisement would
be difficult to customize. As people without looking at the details start applying that would
become trouble for the global companies.

Page 40 of 53

Chapter 5 Conclusion
5.1

Introduction

This chapter aims to conclude the whole research study by formulating a consensus on facts
extracted from the whole research activity. It is usually observed that readers look for the
conclusion part after understanding the purpose, aims and objectives of the research study.
Conclusion chapter gives them a birds eye view of the whole research activity and drawn
findings and concluding remarks of the researcher. This chapter also includes the limitation of
this research study and identification of opportunity for the future researchers who wants to
work/research on similar topic.

5.2

Discussion

Recruitment is one of the most important functions of human resource as many management
authors believes that recruiting the right person for the right job and at the right time is the
key to success for any organization in current dynamic business environment. The actual aim
of this function of HR is to find and hire skilled, talented and committed candidates for the
jobs that can build a strong competitive advantage for the organization. However, recruitment
process is not an easy task as it requires lot of efforts and cost of the organization as well.
With the advancement in technology especially the use of internet has opened numerous
options for the organizations to integrate their internal systems with each other in order to
have quick response and completion of desired tasks. E-recruitment was the major theme of
this research study as the purpose was to identify the issues and challenges that an
organization face while using social media websites such as Facebook. Social media websites
gained enormous popularity in the last decade where the people and businesses interact with
each other using a platform like Facebook. Since, vast majority of people are connected with
Facebook so there are more chances for the organization to communicate to masses regarding
a vacancy. Organizations use social media websites such as Facebook to advertise their
organization and also the available vacancy hence they are able to attract qualified and skilled
candidates.
In order to meet the desired aims and objectives of the research study, primary and secondary
data was collected. Source of primary data was interviews and survey questionnaires and for
those, representatives of different organization involved in the process of recruitment and
Page 41 of 53

selection were contacted. Secondary data source was internet, journals, articles and different
research studies on related topic. Respondents of questionnaire and interviews were
representatives of different organization however, majority of the organizations were
recruitment organizations so that the major focus of the data collection process remains on
the topic of research study. A total of 100 questionnaires were filled, which were then used to
collect different sort of information to extract desired results. Majority of the respondents
were working in HR department of the company and are males as compared to females. Vast
majority of respondents was associated with trade and maintenance sector however,
respondents from energy, manufacturing and hospitality industry were also contacted in order
to have diverse view regarding the research question. Majority of the respondents were
working for large organization since this was asked to understand the experience and
exposure of the respondents. This allowed the researcher to gather diverse information from
experienced personnel that increased the validity of the research.
The use of Web 2.0 applications for different business function is being increased by the
organizations. This allows the organization to reduce its cost of those business function doing
in traditional manner furthermore, vast variety of information is available that can give
numerous benefits to the organization and brings variety of choices. Hence, the best available
options can be chosen depending upon the situation. Research results showed that not all, but
majority of the organizations use Web 2.0 applications. The trend to use such applications
rising as lot of benefits is associated with these applications. Through the survey it was
identified that majority of the organizations use social networking websites to recruit
employees from variety of candidates. Results also showed that organizations use social
networking websites especially Facebook to hire all type of candidates such as technical,
training, internees etc. Though organizations didnt quit the other ways of recruitment and
selection of employees such as newspaper ads, participation in job fares, companys websites,
recruitment organization etc., but the fact that trend of using social networking websites such
as Facebook, to recruit employees cannot be denied. Research results showed that majority of
the hirings done through Facebook however; other modes of recruitment are also being used
in parallel. Survey questionnaire and interview also carried a question in order to analyse the
behaviour of the organizations towards using Facebook as a tool to recruit human resource.
The purpose of this question was to understand the trend of different organizations towards
the use of social networking websites for important business function. Results indicated that
organizations use Facebook as a tool of recruiting human resource as they believe that skilled
Page 42 of 53

and experience workforce can be found enabling to the organization to choose from variety of
options. Facebook is being used by masses all across the world and it made easier for the
organizations to approach to variety of candidates from which the company can choose the
most suitable for the job. However, an issue of screening the applicants is a challenge for the
organization. Due to open access of Facebook to people all across the globe, it is expected
that huge number of applicants may apply carrying those who just wanted to have a try, but
not really want to do the job. In this way screening of applications might become a challenge
for the organizations. Despite of this major challenge Facebook is getting popularity for
recruitment and selection process of the organization. Organizations find it secure and
feasible to find the right person for the right job.
Secondary research results also correspond with the primary research results. Use of social
networking websites for recruiting human resource is getting popular with each passing day
and is become a hot topic in business discussion. However, still there are several challenges
for this method of recruitment. The major challenge is mentioned earlier and is one of the
most important challenges which must be reduced or overcome in order to gain proper benefit
of the tool. Organizations need efforts to develop such measures that enable them to get full
recruiting impact and return on investment. Review of literature identified that using social
networking for recruitment process can give numerous benefits to the organization. The
corporate image of the organization is communicated to masses even for those who are not
the potential candidates for the job. The brand name and companys image also enable the
organization to gain popularity helping the growth of the business. Image of a good employer
attract the skilled workforce towards the organization and a diversified and experienced
employee workforce is developed that enable the organization to achieve desired aims and
objectives. Another benefit is that visibility of the job is there as through social networking
websites such as Facebook organizations can directly communicate the vacant

job

information that help the potential candidates to make a self-assessment prior applying for the
job. Another benefit identified through the review of literature is the available of diversified
range of candidates for the job. Candidates can be approached locally and internationally as
well for a vacant position and diverse range of options becomes available with the
organization that will also increase the bargaining power of the organization.
Social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Flicker, Linkedin etc. should be used
by the organization to recruit employees along with the other methods of recruitment and
Page 43 of 53

selection. Due to the challenges associated with these platforms it is not wise for the
organizations to fully reply on these websites for an important task i.e. of human resource
selection. The growing popularity and use of these platforms by the organization for
recruitment will further enhance the experience to overcome the barriers/challenges
associated with them. However, it cannot be neglected that in tough economic conditions
where organizations are following cost cutting techniques, this method of recruitment can
save the companys huge budgets used for recruitment and selection of human resource.

5.3

Research Limitations

The researcher had several limitations while carrying out this research study. Due to these
limitations the researcher was not able to explore the topic under discussion to full extent.
The limitation of financial and human resource was one of the major issues faced by the
researcher. Despite of this limitation maximum possible information is extracted. Another
limitation was the limited access to the respondents. Sample size is 100 that could have been
increased if the time and resources would have been available. The concept of recruiting
human resource through social networking website is relatively new so, not enough literature
is available on this topic since researchers are working hard to identify challenges associated
with the mode of recruitment and solutions for those problems.

5.4

Future Research

Recruitment and selection through social networking websites is a concept that is gaining
popularity at a rapid pace. Future researcher on similar topic can get a road map for research
through this research study. There is an opportunity for the future researcher to further
explore the aspects related to this topic. There are numerous challenges that are yet to be
identified associated with this mode of recruitment and solutions are also to be found.

Page 44 of 53

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Appendix
QUSTONNR
1) Pls chck th most ccurt dscrpton of th busnss, wth rspct to your compny.

grcultur

nd forstry, fshng

Page 47 of 53

Mnng

nd qurryng of stond nd rch

Mnufctur

ndustry
nrgy

supply
Wtr

supply; Drn wtr-nd wst dsposl nd dsposl of nvronmntl polluton

Buldng

ndustry
Trd,

Mntnnc nd rpr of motor vhcls

Trnsport

nd stockng
Hosptlty

ndustry
nformton

nd communcton
Fnncs

nd nsurnc
Rl

stt
Frlnc

work, scntfc nd tchncl srvcs

Publc

dmnstrton, socl nsurnc, dfnc,

ducton

nd lsson
Mdcl

nd socl srvcs
rt,

ntrtnmnt nd rlxton
Othr

srvcs
Othrs:

___________________________________________________________

2) How mny popl r mployd wthn your compny?

lss

thn 500
500-1000

1000-2000

2000-5000

mor

thn 5000

3) Dos your compny mk us of Wb 2.0 pplctons (Wks, Blogs, Podcsts, Socl

Ntworkng Sts, Vrtul Worlds) for Humn Rsourcs Mngmnt?
Ys,

snc_____
No,

why not?

__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________

Page 48 of 53

4) Whch Socl Ntworkng Sts dos your compny us for rcrutmnt th most?
(Pls choos only on nswr.)
Busnss

orntd ntworkng sts (.g. XNG nd Lnkdn)

Socl

orntd ntworkng sts (.g Fcbook)

Non,

why not?

__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________
5) For whch flds of ctvts dos your compny mk us of Fcbook?
dmnstrtv

grduts
Tchncl

grduts
Othr

grduts: _________________________
Othr

dmnstrtv mploys
Othr

tchncl mploys
Trns

ntrns

pprntcs

Studnts

Othrs:________________________

6) How mny prcnt of th totl rcrutmnt r bng covrd by Fcbook s rcrutmnt

mthod?
0-25%

25-50%

50-75%

75-100%

7) How oftn dos your compny mk us of Fcbook for rcrutmnt?

dly

wkly

monthly

sm-nnully

lss

thn
sm
nnully

Page 49 of 53

8) To whch xtnt do you thnk Fcbook s succssful for rcrutmnt n your compny?
vry

succssful
succssful

lttl

succssful

not

t ll succssful
no
usg

9) To whch xtnt do you gr wth th followng sttmnts bout Fcbook tht your
compny uss for rcrutmnt?
strongl
strongl

gr

nutr

dsgr

y gr

dsgr

Th nformton on th Fcbook bout

pplcnt(s)
cn b trustd.
ncluds ll ncssry nformton.
s rlvnt to our rcrutmnt.
s up-to-dt for our work.
s clr.
s of suffcnt volum for our nds.

Th us of Fcbook for our rcrutmnt

s th most populr mong pplcnts.
s vry populr nd hv thrfor, th lrgst
numbr of rgstrd usrs.
gurnt hgh lvl of vlubl connctons.
hv wd ntworkng scop.

Page 50 of 53

mk t sr to contct ntrntonl contcts.

ncrs th ntworkng ffct.

(vlblty of contcts from contcts)
s sy to lrn.
mks t possbl bcomng skllful usr of th
st.
s usr-frndly dsgnd.
Snc your compny uss Fcbook for
rcrutmnt, th...
mount of pplcnts from othr prts of country
hs ncrsd.
mount of pplcnts wth dffrnt bckground
hs ncrsd.
totl

mount

of

ntonl

pplcnts

hs

ncrsd.
totl

mount

of

rgonl

pplcnts

hs

ncrsd.
mount

of

ntrntonl

pplcnts

ncrsd.
numbr of qulfd pplcnts hs ncrsd.
ncomng pplctons r mor structurd.
ncomng pplctons hv hgh-qulty.
ncomng pplctons r mor rdbl.
HR-mrktng costs hv dcrsd.
gnrl rcrutmnt costs hv dcrsd.

hs

Page 51 of 53

cost-pr-hr hs dcrsd.

tm of th whol rcrutmnt procss hs

dcrsd. (Tm-to-hr)
tm of th pplcnt dmnstrton hs
dcrsd.
tm for dvrtsmnt hs dcrsd.
trgt-group s sr to rch.
job dvrtsmnts r tlord to th nds of
th trgt groups.

nd of th qustonnr.
Thnk you vry much for your support.

Page 52 of 53