Candidates interviewing employers

Hi Catherine

'Dysfunctional' I think is a descriptor that needs far more precise definition (and indeed perhaps thinking about whether or not a different word would be more appropriate). As does your assertion about an 'epidemic' of this dysfunctionality - or indeed that the candidates for employment are changing in the ways you say.

I've had lots of jobs Catherine. Many of them with self confessed 'good employers'. However, most of those who professed to be good employers turned out to be run of the mill, in that they were not very good a practising what they preached. One of main offenders by occupation were outdoor management training centres who all preached about 'good management' yet never did much of what they preached.

Go back a couple of thousand years and read some of the comments from the great roman empire and you'll see that bad management practiced then is hardly any different from bad management now.

But if an organisation is 'dysfunctional', then shouldn't you take the view that by definition the company can't function, then it will stop making a profit and go bust? - which is why a definition, like David mentions might just be needed.

Employees often interview employers albeit their questioning tends to be subtle.
Interviews are a two way process and most employers recognise this by putting on their best face to be attractive
With social media and the internet candidates are increasingly doing more research on whether they want to work for a particular employer

Hi Catherine

You seem to have several hypotheses:

* Many workplaces are dysfunctional,
* That is the cause of productivity and mental health suffering
* Candidates will become more aware of how to spot a dysfunctional workplace
* Candidates will start interviewing employers as a result.

For a 7000 word dissertation, I’d suggest you pick one hypothesis. I would also think about how you will gather data and analyse it to see if it supports your hypothesis or not. I think you will struggle to carry out a credible piece of research if you want to investigate broad trends in society such as these.

I tend to agree with Elizabeth that your scope is too wide and too far ranging to get down to 7,000 words - just a literature review would probably go way over that on that range.

The one where I think you could add most value and conduct a good piece of work is Elizabeth's 4th question. As Peter says there is always an element of recruitment being a two way process. I wonder if you could design some research that tested this and see if it varied with level/seniority, age , gender etc? Also what actual triggers or signs potential employees were looking for - and where in the process these were?

Is it "interviews" or a number of signs along the way? How much research do candidates actually do on employers (and again does this vary?)

How much weight do candidates put on some/all of the various bench marks (Best Companies, IiP etc) and if an employer has these how does it affect their decision making process?

Is Glassdoor any more than a niche of a niche in the UK?

How equal is the recruitment process for some/many candidates - my experience is that very few people offered a job turn it down - is this because they pre select out the process earlier (and if so when/why) or is it because candidates are willing to ignore even pretty big warning signs on culture fit to get that job?

7000 words will rush by

Hi again Catherine

Colleagues have helpfully expanded upon the caveats I was trying to point towards before.

Any academic dissertation is usually supposed to be a serious research study that will contribute towards development and / or better real understanding of a particular body of knowledge. In order realistically to do that, unless you’re a latterday Sigmund Freud or Adam Smith or Albert Einstein or Isaac Newton you’ll need to focus upon a manageable (to you) and meaningful facet or portion of that body of knowledge, as opposed to the meaning of human motivation or political economy or the universe or gravity or whatever.


There’s plenty of dissertation guidelines out there, such as

www.sheffield.ac.uk/.../diss

Most of them state much the same things, one way or the other, but for a very good reason.

Thanks everyone. All your contibutions are really helpful. Yes there are alot of factors and the seniority of the job/experience of the candidate will play a big part in how they conduct their interview. I think employer review sites such as Glassdoor and Indeed are becoming more popular and people are becoming more empowered with knowledge about what a good employer looks like . So my theory is that employers will become more challenged on their workplace practices in the interview process. My dissertation would focus on this.

"I think employer review sites such as Glassdoor and Indeed are becoming more popular and people are becoming more empowered with knowledge about what a good employer looks like "

Now thats a statement in itself that could be challenged and open to a good piece of research - good luck

I've already posted on the statistical validity of the data (not "information") posted on Glass Door. My last employer (a bit less than a quarter of a million employees) had a few hundred posts concerning salary and employment conditions. Given that the company undertakes massively different activities (including oil exploration and production, commodities trading, water treatment, waste collection and disposal, nuclear power stations, operating giant screens at concerts in stadiums, dismantling Chernobyl, office facilities services....) the figures reported for a couple of hundred posts could only be described as "disparate and confusing" at best, and at worst "lacking in any statistical representativty". Glass Door presents as much a challenge for potential candidates as for companies........