Purdue The Role of P-O fit in Organization Selection Decision Apple Case

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This is the UPDATE of the paper you have started for "APPLE", i have included the total $$ for the paper, the paper due next is due FEB 2, 2019, please ask questions if you have any. the rest of due dates are listed below

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Final paper $100 SUNDAY , SUNDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2019


Choose a topic with an outline of what you expect to cover. This should address the assessment theories, concepts, and models you intend to explore and the workplace you will evaluate. You may use the following format for the outline to explain your intended points:

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Main Point I

Subpoint A (source cited)

Subpoint B (source cited)

Main Point II

Subpoint A (source cited)

Subpoint B (source cited)

Main Point III

Subpoint A (source cited)

Subpoint B (source cited)

Conclusion

__________________________________________________

Develop an assessment strategy for an organization of your choosing. Preferably, this should be an organization with which you are familiar such as your current workplace or a former work environment. Presume you are an external consultant hired to help the organization with a particular assessment. You are to identify what the client’s particular need(s) will be. It may include assessing junior managers for executive positions, developing an organizational culture, and/or developing a recruitment and retention strategy for veterans. Describe the process you would take, briefly explain the organization and its need.

You should consider the following questions when researching and writing your paper:

  • How would you determine the organization’s needs?
  • What types of assessments would you recommend and select?
  • How did you evaluate the assessments?
  • How would you explain and determine the cost-benefit of the assessments to the organization’s decision makers?
  • How would you administer the assessments?
  • How would you evaluate and report your results?
  • What action planning steps would you incorporate into the process?

The paper will include a title page, abstract, and reference list – none of which count toward the page requirement. The paper will be written in accordance with APA style and should be approximately 15 to 20 pages in length. Use at least 12 scholarly references.

Papers will also be judged on the level of analysis, grammar, spelling, and adherence to these standards.

Final Paper Updates: due at various points throughout the course.


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Running Head: THE ROLE OF P-O FIT IN ORGANIZATIONAL SELECTION

The Role of Person-Organization Fit (P-O fit) in Organization Selection Decision
Case on Apple Inc
Name
Instructor
Institutional Affiliation
Date

1

THE ROLE OF P-O FIT IN ORGANIZATIONAL SELECTION

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Abstract
Person organizational fit is one of the concepts that has been used for centuries and is
generally used to assess the compatibility between the employees and their organization. The
compatibility in this case relates to the aspect of the needed competencies, values, attitudes that
define what the organization stands for. Employees must possess the needed values and attitudes
to be compatible with the organization. Current research has found a meaningful relationship
with person-organizational fit as a predictor of work related values, attitudes, employee job
performance, and turnover. The assessment of person-organizational fit at Apple will focus on
two important competencies namely the digital/technology literacy assessment; organizational
culture fit assessment, and employee behavior/attitude assessment. These skills/competencies are
critical for Apple Inc. as they determine the success of the company in the long run. The
assessment tools identified for person-organizational fit in this case are two valid and reliable
tools namely Northstar digital literacy assessment test for assessing technology literacy of
employees and Harver solution for assessing employee-organizational culture fit, behavior, and
attitude. Because Apple tend to look for employees that can deliver a great customer experience,
the aspect of attitude/behavior and culture must be assessed to ensure that the employees that are
recruited to the organization have the needed attitudes and that their culture aligns with Apple’s
culture of positive attitude and service for its employees. These aspects should be evaluated with
the available assessment tools as discussed above to ensure that the employees recruited to the
organization have the needed competencies to drive the organization to next level.

THE ROLE OF P-O FIT IN ORGANIZATIONAL SELECTION

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Introduction
Pre-employment tests provide an opportunity for a company to evaluate and recruit the
best candidate for the job. It is imperative for an organization to choose the best pre-employment
test that fits the context or skills that the organization requires from the ideal candidate. In other
words, pre-employment test are critical to any organization since they provide a great
opportunity for a company to assess the right candidate for the job. In this analysis, the company
of focus will be Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is a global leader in the manufacture of consumer
electronics (Tyner, 2014).
The company is in the electronics business with their innovative products such as the
iPhones and iMacs that have taken the industry in a storm. Technological innovation is at the
core of the company since its success is highly dependent on how well the company can innovate
and come up with new and innovative products. This innovation is dependent on the level of
skills that the company employees posses (Jutras & Mathieu, 2016). In other words, the company
must ensure that it employs workforce that are responsive and innovative in their thinking
(Tyner, 2014). Moreover the company must ensure that training on technology and innovation is
provided to an extent that the company employee remain relevant and well-informed on the
technological changes.
Recruiting the right employees for the right job is one of the challenging tasks that many
organizations face today. Today, employers can no longer rely solely on interviews as the only
means of making sound hiring decisions. Pre-employment assessment tests is one of the most
critical processes that allows employers to verify the skills, individual behaviors, personality, and
other vital aspects of employees before they are given an opportunity to work for the

THE ROLE OF P-O FIT IN ORGANIZATIONAL SELECTION

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organization (Jutras & Mathieu, 2016). However, there are numerous assessments that are
available in the market for employers. Nonetheless, these assessments serve different needs of
the organization because they assess different aspects of an employee. The employer must thus
choose an assessment that meets its intended purpose and needs. In this organizational
assessment, the assessment technique that will be utilized is the Northstar Digital Literacy
Assessment. This assessment focuses on assessing the technology knowledge and skills of the
employees which is one of the critical skills needed by the contemporary organizations.
Individual assessment in an organization
Past research has indicated that individual characteristics such as skills, abilities, traits,
and knowledge are some of the greatest contributors to occupational success. As such individual
assessment within an organization which relates to measuring and quantifying the amount of the
needed characteristics that an individual possesses is critical for the understanding and predicting
an employee work related behaviors. It is imperative to understand that in the workplace, the I/O
psychologist employ a variety of individual assessment techniques based on the competencies
that an organization requires for its employees to have (Gardner et al., 2012).
Apple Inc. just like any other organization requires its employees to possess a variety of
skills that are critical for its overall success. Some of these competencies include technology
related skills, culture, and behavior related skills. These skills define the values that are
embraced and critical for the success of Apple Inc. The prior behaviors of an employee including
employee attitude must be assessed to ensure that they are compatible with the organizational
values (Gardner et al., 2012). The assessment of the past behavior and attitude of employees

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provides the foundation for knowing the employee much better allowing the organization to plan
on what areas of training is needed to integrate the employee within the organization.
As mentioned prior, assessments are most frequently used in the area of selection or in
the development of job candidate or incumbents and can have a great value to the organization.
For example, employee assessment can be used to eliminate applicants who do not have the
needed skills to carry out the job duties within the organization. Assessments can also be used to
evaluate the employee behavior and attitude that can help organization determine the employee
who can leave the organization earlier and those that can stay in the organization based on their
perceived attitudes. Moreover, assessment allows I/O psychologist to measure a wide variety of
other employee related aspects and also allows them to collect rich information about individuals
within the organization that can offer great benefit to the organization.
Organizations such as Apple Inc. must engage in intensive employee assessment to
evaluate the person-organizational fit of the employees that they recruit on a regular basis. In
their assessment, they often evaluate the employee cognitive ability, level of integrity,
personality, physical ability, attitudes, and interest. However, these assessments are often
combined thus allowing the I/O psychologist to assess more than one of these characteristics and
come up with a more comprehensive picture about the employee. The modern assessment of the
various aspects of employees can also take different format within the organization. This means
that an organization can either use oral assessment, online assessment, and simulation/work
sample assessment tests which are often used to assess an individual’s ability to handle actual job
related tasks within a realistic setting.

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Why Person-Organization fit is Critical for Apple Inc.
As mentioned above Person-Organization fit (P-O fit) refers to the compatibility between
individuals and companies that happens when at least one body offers what the other requires or
they share related basic features. Fundamentally, P-O fit is a form of Person-environment fit (PE) in the company in which individuals may fit or misfit. P-O fit occurs when a company meets
the employees’ needs, while from all abilities-demands standpoint, there is equivalence between
individuals and the company when the employees obtain and exhibit the capabilities to meet
organizational demands. The idea of P-O fit lies on two doctrines: that human behavior is an
element of the individual and the environment and the individual and the environment should be
well-suited (Arthur Jr, Bell, Villado, & Doverspike, 2006).
P-O fit is based on the attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) theory. Essentially, ASA is a
psychological model that explains why companies feel and look the way they do. Attractionselection attrition is a paradigm for understanding the aspect of organizational behavior by
assessing individual impacts as the sources of processes, structures, and technology of entities.
Specifically, ASA describes how people join and leave organizations, citing that individuals are
elements of three correlated vigorous processes: attraction, selection, and attrition. In other
words, individuals, in this case, employees, are attracted to, selected by, and retained in firms
whose workforce is comparable to themselves in terms of psychological qualities. The ASA
paradigm ascertains the types of individuals in an organization, which subsequently determines
the nature of the firm, the processes, structures, and culture. Person-Organization fit of potential
and current employees of Apple Inc. is founded on the employees’ ability to address the
attraction, selection, and attrition aspects of the company (Gardner, Reithel, Cogliser,
Walumbwa, & Foley, 2012).

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P-O fit is crucial for Apple Inc. because it allows the company to attract individuals who
have similar values as that of the firm. As mentioned, the P-O fit is founded on the ASA model.
This model asserts that individuals (potential employees) are attracted to companies with similar
values and firms tend to employ these potential candidates during the selection process. Since PO fit is based on the compatibility between potential candidates and their organizations, Apple
can only attract, select, and retain employees who share similar values and ideals as the company
(Jutras, & Mathieu, 2016).
P-O fit plays an integral role in the hiring and selection process of Apple Inc. In quest of
optimal hiring objective, the company studies the effectiveness of P-O fit in foreseeing employee
retention. During the selection process, the P-O fit of potential candidates extends beyond the
traditional KSA paradigm (knowledge, skill, and abilities). According to studies, employers
usually rely on P-O fit to differentiate between qualified candidates by ascertaining fit with the
company’s values or similarity on personality with the firm. Furthermore, P-O fit assessment
offers dynamic information regarding turnover risk before candidates are hired. Hence, Apple
can evaluate the risk of hiring some individuals with an identified probability of turnover
(Svyantek, Cullen, & Doerr, 2015).
In addition to benefiting the company, Person-Organization fit also benefits the
employees. Fundamentally, P-O fit can positively influence employees’ performance,
productivity, and individual wellness. According to researchers and HR experts, there is a
positive relationship between employees’ culture fit within a company and their longevity to that
particular organization. When employees have a high job satisfaction rate, they are likely to be
dedicated to their work thus remain with the company. Other benefits of P-O fit include
increased cooperation amongst team members, enhanced employee retention, and enhanced

THE ROLE OF P-O FIT IN ORGANIZATIONAL SELECTION

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levels of contribution, involvement, and innovativeness from employees. In a nutshell, by
adopting Person-Organization fit, Apple Inc. stands a chance of attracting, selecting, and
retaining employees whose values and beliefs are similar to the company. Moreover, with P-O
fit, the company’s employees are likely to improve their productivity and overall performance
(Venkatesh, Windeler, Bartol, & Williamson, 2017).
The Recommended Assessments
Based on the highlighted needs, the recommended assessment for the company include
but not limited to digital/technology literacy assessment, culture assessment, employee behavior
and attitude assessment, employee-organization culture fit assessment, individual leadership
style assessment, and cognitive ability assessment among others. These assessments are critical
since they can enable an organization hire the right kind of employees that are able to drive the
organization to the next level. As mentioned prior, there are several individual psychological
assessment tools that can help Apple Inc. in assessing the competencies and aspects identified
here. Nonetheless, this project will highlight three most important assessments that are critical to
the success of Apple Inc. The three recommended assessments that are critical for Apple Inc.
include digital/technology literacy assessment; organizational culture fit assessment, and
employee behavior/attitude assessment.
How the assessments were evaluated
In evaluating these assessments, the major focus was on the organizational needs.
Digital/technology literacy assessment for example aligns with the innovative needs of Apple
Inc. Apple Inc. needs employee with critical digital/technology literacy. Since the company is a
technology company, digital literacy is critical for the success of the company since it will

THE ROLE OF P-O FIT IN ORGANIZATIONAL SELECTION

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inform technological innovation culture among its employees. Because Apple tend to look for
employees that can deliver a great customer experience, the aspect of attitude/behavior and
culture must be assessed to ensure that the employees that are recruited to the organization have
the needed attitudes and that their culture aligns with Apple’s culture of positive attitude and
service for its employees. These aspects should be evaluated with the available assessment tools
as discussed above to ensure that the employees recruited to the organization have the needed
competencies to drive the organization to next level.
Determining the cost-benefits of the assessment
Any individual assessment that is administered on the employees of an organization has
both cost and benefit to the organization. The three assessments namely digital/technology
literacy assessment, organizational-culture fit assessment, and employee behavior/attitude
assessment have both cost and benefits associated with its integration within the organization. In
other words the benefits associated with administering such assessment to the organization
include the fact that such assessment enables an organization to recruit the right kind of
employees that can drive the company to the next level. Most importantly, individual employee
assessment within an organization will enable the company measure, and predict the vast array
of human personality traits, knowledge, skills, abilities, attitudes, and other characteristics that
are critical to the success of the organization (Olney et al., 2017). Apple Inc. will have an
opportunity to assess the potential job candidates based on its prior identified needs and only hire
employees that have the needed expertise and with the attitude and behavior that aligns with that
of the organization.

THE ROLE OF P-O FIT IN ORGANIZATIONAL SELECTION

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Although employee assessment within an organization offers numerous advantages to the
organization, there are several disadvantages that are associated with such assessment. One of
such costs is the aspect of expense. Assessment is an expense/cost to the organization. Hiring an
I/O psychologist to conduct such assessment is an added cost to the company. In most cases, for
organization to ensure that assessments are both valid and reliable, they hire I-O psychologists to
conduct assessment on their behalf. This is because assessments conducted internally by either
the organizational leaders or head of human resources may be subject to internal errors that may
affect the level of reliability of the assessment (Olney et al., 2017). However, the reliability and
validity of the assessment results is critical for the organizational decision makers since it
enables them make well informed decisions within the organization. Organizational leaders must
ensure that their decisions are based on reliable and valid assessment results which are only
possible through a well trained I-O psychologist with an expertise in the assessment
administration.
Apple’s Technology P-O Fit
Technology is at the core of Apple Inc. Almost every aspect of the company is driven by
technology. In other words, technology influences the business and people aspect at the
company. In the computer hardware and software industry, technology influences every aspect of
the organization. Technology is thus a top factor that influences almost every aspect of the
company’s overall business. The level of innovation and the ability to come up with new
products that meets and exceeds the market demand is one of the major determinants of success
within this industry. As a technology guru, Apple Inc. is on the verge of recruiting employees
that are competent and are able to drive the company to the next level when it comes to
innovation (Tyner, 2014). The success of the company is thus dependent on how much it invests

THE ROLE OF P-O FIT IN ORGANIZATIONAL SELECTION

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on technological innovation and innovation of technical progress that is capable of providing
better, faster, and cheaper electronic products. Therefore, the innovation in technology makes the
company more competitive and fierce.
The company invests heavily in technology by recruiting employees that have the
necessary technical skills and expertise that can drive innovation. In recruiting new employees
that are techno-competent, the company can centralize on technology P-O Fit which means that
the person-organization fit should focus more on technology. This is because technology
knowledge drives innovation among employees which in essence is critical to the success of
Apple Inc. New employees must have the necessary technology related skills which are critical
in ensuring that continuous innovative culture is fostered and that the culture of innovation is
instilled in every aspect of the organization (Tyner, 2014).
How Apple Inc. technology P-O fit will be assessed
Apple’s technology person-organizational fit will be assessed through an assessment
called Northstar Digital Literacy Assessment test. This is one of the commonly used assessment
tests to evaluate individual’s technology skills that are needed by technology organizations to
succeed within a turbulent business environment. The assessment can allow an organization to
evaluate the technology skills possessed by employees thus allowing them to make rational
employee hiring decisions.
As mentioned above, one of the pre-employment tests that are critical to the success of
Apple Inc. is the digital literacy test. In today’s fast paced technology environment, the digital
literacy is fundamental. Nonetheless, Apple Inc. is a technology company that highly depends on
technological innovation for its success. In this case, digital literacy is fundamental skill that the

THE ROLE OF P-O FIT IN ORGANIZATIONAL SELECTION

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prospective and potential candidates must possess for them to be accepted within the company as
employees (Cytron et al., 2012). It is imperative to understand that nearly every job undertaken
in any company today requires some knowledge or digital literacy skills. However, not every job
candidate possesses the digital literacy skills required to succeed in such jobs. In this cases it is
imperative for any organization particularly technology oriented companies to assess these skills
to be able to recruit potential and techno-savvy employees within its workforce.
Digital literacy skills assessment is one of the skill tests that successful technology
oriented companies require from their potential employees. The digital literacy in other words
refers to the aspect of being digitally literate. In other words, it refers to being able to respond to
the changes in technology and having the ability to understand, comprehend, and use the digital
technology architecture for the benefit of the organization (Olney et al., 2017). It is the ability to
use digital technology, communication technology tools and network to locate, evaluate, use and
create information. Potential job candidates for technology oriented companies such as Apple
must have the ability to be digitally responsive, to understand and use information technology in
various formats from wide range of sources presented through digital tools such as computer
hardware, software and other handheld technology devices. Apple employees must have the
ability to perform tasks more effectively within a digital platform and think creatively to come
up with solutions to technology related problems (Cytron et al., 2012). The digital literacy skills
assessment thus will assess any or all of the following skills basic computer operation skills,
Email skills, Internet use skills and Social media skills and Ability to identify drivers in
computer, Ability to distinguish different browsers, and ability to understand the various
computer related terminologies.

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There are several digital literacy assessment tests available both online and offline and
can be used to assess the digital literacy of students or employees within the workplace. It is
important for technology organizations such Apple Inc to consider administering these tests
before they recruit the new employees within the organization. One of the commonly used digital
literacy assessment test is the Northstar Digital Literacy Assessment (Vanek, 2013). The
Northstar Digital Literacy Assessment defines the basic skills needed to use computer and
internet in daily life, workplace, and in education. The Northstar Digital Lite...


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