MGMT 453 Blog Posts – Ivan Ochoa

Each company has a different method of conducting interviews to fill a position. Interview experiences are important not only for the employer, but also for the applicant. It’s important for these experiences to have effective interviewing skills that show reliability and validity. An interview experience that I recall, was for my first job at a fast food restaurant. Even though I ended up taking the job, now that I can look back I believe that this company failed to optimize the interviewing process. The interview was moreover focusing on my resume, but was filled with yes/no questions and questions that were not very job related. It was a one-on-one interview, and despite being very nervous, was very straight forward. Though it was unstructured, there still was some set of expectations they wanted to make sure of the position. There were moments of silence at times, kind of if the interviewer hadn’t looked over my application/resume beforehand.

If I could go back and advise this employer on how to improve the effectiveness of their interviews, I would first recommend constructing a structured interview filled with questions on behavioral and situational scenarios. Fast food jobs are very fast paced, it could help to include some sort of open-ended questions of situational dilemmas that may arise during the job. I think this would help provide the applicant additional insight to what the job is truly going to entail, and would help choosing the applicants that can truly handle this specific job situation. 

Well written job descriptions are a tool used for recruiting, performance management, and compensation for a company. Employers have to focus on a variety of things when writing a job description, ensuring that it thoroughly and accurately outlines the duties of the job. The importance of a well written description is heavily related to the fact that it tells an applicant what the position will require. In my experience, good job descriptions have assured me that I have the necessary skills the employer is looking for while also listing the qualities they are looking for within an applicant. I have also run across out-dated looking job descriptions. This not only causes confusion in me, but I begin to wonder if I have all the skills the employer is looking for. Thorough job descriptions make the job hunting process a lot easier, but it also helps keep the applicant aware of all the possible duties the job may entail. Definitely keeps you prepared. 

There are a lot of challenges that companies face when developing and maintaining updated job descriptions. In order to overcome these challenges, some companies can externally hire a company that would perform a job analysis. This analysis would help determine what job descriptions need updating, as well as further develop other job descriptions within the company. At a minimum, these analyses would allow for companies to review their descriptions accurately while ensuring that the necessary components for a thorough job description are added. These necessary components should include what are called KSAOs; Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other Characteristics. Additional information on job identification, job summary, task statements, physical demand, and working conditions should be specified in thorough job descriptions. Companies that have good job descriptions also protect themselves as applicants are able to better assess if they are a good fit for the job.

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Week 4: Job Analysis and Job Design Outline

After looking at Fortune’s list of the 100 best companies to work for, from 2020, I was able to learn about great feedback employees gave to their workplace. Ensuring your employees have a great work atmosphere seemed to be very important, while many also mentioned that support from the company and its managers helped bring happiness to the team. There are many other factors that could influence a great work culture, and many of them aid in company performance! Though, there are some factors that are essential for a great workplace. 

I wanted to look more in-depth at Hilton, Delta Air Lines, Bank of America, and CarMax. I chose these four companies because of their placements on Fortune’s list, they are in different industries, and because of how prevalent they are in my life. The main similarities I noticed from each company were that the employees appreciated flexibility, support, and most importantly feeling like a family. Delta Air Lines, being the lowest placed among these 4 companies, mentioned how the company is of people of all ethnic groups and how they strive to bring people together. This was something that the other 3 companies had not mentioned and I thought it was interesting. More interestingly, what was most common was that they were proud to tell others they work for that company and be a part of great organizations! 

After reading what employees were saying about the companies I looked into, the kind of manager I want to be is someone who strives to give employees pride in their work, while also being flexible and treating the workplace like a family. I feel that providing support, as a manager, gives a sense of trust that employees appreciate. I would also want to be a manager that conducts business ethically to accomplish goals. Having a diverse group of individuals as a team would be important for me as a manager, as “there is no one type of culture that leads to happy and productive employees’ ‘ (Importance of HR Management). I want to embrace a positive work culture that consists of diverse individuals and values that shape the company. I believe that the most challenging aspects of being a manager would be dealing with conflicts related to productivity. I think it can be difficult to come up with solutions that would raise productivity, without damaging employee engagement and work relationships.