Creation of a Satisfying Workplace Culture: A Qualitative Study on the Hiring Processes of Service-oriented Organizations

Abstract

This study attempts to look at the processes by which service-oriented organizations create workplace culture by finding and selecting qualified employees for their workforce. Service-oriented has been defined as organizations that focus more on the service provided to the consumer rather than turning a profit. The Attraction Selection- Attrition model (Schneider) and the Organizational Demography model (Pfeffer) offered a theoretical framework in which the results of this study could be placed within. These theories offer psychological and sociological explanations as to how individual behavior within an organization is predicted. This studied included nine organizations, three hospitals, universities, and public schools that were interviewed because of their visibility within the community as service-oriented organizations. The interviews were recorded to help in transcription and the transcriptions were coded for various topics including sources of recruitment, interviewing techniques, and workplace culture. It was discovered that there was a difference between these organizations in how they go about recruiting and selecting candidates. The size and complexity of the organization to some extent predicted what techniques would be most appropriate.