Staffing Important Questions for CBSE Class 12 Business Studies Recruitment and Its Sources

1.Meaning of Recruitment
It means inducing or attracting more and more candidates to apply for vacant job positions in an organisation. This function is very important because the end result of recruitment function is receiving large number of applications to make selection from. Recruitment is a positive process as it attracts suitable candidates to apply for available jobs.

2. Internal Sources of Recruitment
These refer to fill posts from within the organisation by way of transfer and promotions.

3. Types of Internal Sources of Recruitment

  • Transfer It means shifting an employee to a higher post carrying higher salary, status and responsibility.
  • Promotion It refers to shifting an employee to a similar job with no change in salary, status and responsibility.

4. Advantages of Internal Sources of Recruitment

  • Economical source
  • Simplifies the process of selection
  • Motivates employees
  • No need for induction training
  • No over or under staffing
  • Sense of security
  • No problem of adjustment

5. Limitations of Internal Sources of Recruitment

  • No scope for fresh talent
  • Not suitable for new organisation
  • Lack of competition
  • Lethargic attitude
  • Low productivity
  • Limited choice

6. External Sources of Recruitment
These refer to the recruitment of candidates from outside the organisation.

7. Types of External Sources of Recruitment

  • Employment exchanges
  • Campus recruitment
  • Casual callers
  • Advertisements (newspapers, journals, television)
  • Web publishing
  • Direct recruitment
  • Placement agencies and management consultants
  • Recommendations of employees
  • Labour contractors

8. Advantages of External Sources of Recruitment

  • Qualified personnel
  • Wider choice
  • Fresh talent
  • Competitive spirit
  • Technical knowledge

9. Limitations of External Sources of Recruitment
(i) Dissatisfaction among existing staff
(ii) Lengthy process
(iii) Costly process
(iv) Higher rate of employee turnover

Previous Years Examination Questions

1 Mark Questions
1. How are employees motivated to improve their performance when the organisation uses internal sources of recruitment? State.   (All India 2014)
Ans. A promotion at a higher level may lead to chain of promotions at lower levels in an organisation. This motivates the employees to improve their performance through learning and practice.

2. Why employees become lethargic when the organisation uses internal sources of recruitment? State.  (Delhi 2014; Foreign 2014)
Ans. The spirit of competition among the employees may be hampered as they are likely to expect automatic promotion because of seniority. Thus they are least interested in work and become lethargic.

3. Define recruitment.  (Delhi 2013)
Ans. According to Yoder, ‘Recruitment is a process to discover the sources of manpower to meet the requirements of the staffing schedule and to employ effective measures for attracting that manpower in adequate numbers to facilitate effective selection of an efficient working force’.

4. State the meaning of the term recruitment in one sentence.

(Delhi 2011C; All India 2010)
Ans. Recruitment refers to the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organisation.

5. Give one limitation of internal sources of recruitment

(Delhi 2010; All India 2010)
Ans. The spirit of competition among the employees may be hampered.

6. Give one advantage of external sources of recruitment.

 (Delhi 2010; All India 2010)
Ans. Through external sources of recruitment, the management can attract more qualified and trained people to apply for vacant jobs in the organisation.
 3 Marks Question
7. External sources of recruitment are considered better than internal sources. Give any three reasons in support of this statement  

(All India 2011)
Ans. External sources of recruitment are considered better than internal sources because of the following reasons:
(i) Qualified personnel People outside the organisation may have required qualification, training and skills available with them which may serve the organisation.
(ii) Fresh talent The entry of fresh talent into the organisation is encouraged. New employees bring new ideas to the organisation.
(iii) Wider choice When vacancies are advertised, there are chances of receiving large number of applications. Therefore, it offers a wide choice to the management.
4/5 Marks Questions                                        ’
8. Internal sources of recruitment are better than external sources of recruitment. Explain by giving reasons in support of the statement.   (Compartment 2014; Delhi 2011,2009C)
or
‘Internal sources of recruitment are better than external sources’. How? Give any four reasons.   (All India 2010)
Ans. Internal sources of recruitment are better than external sources in the following respects: (Any four)
(i) Economical sources Internal sources are less time consuming and less expensive because the organisation and the employees are already known to each other.
(ii) Simplifies the process of selection Since, the employees are already known to the organisation, therefore, the process of selection and placement gets simplified.
(iii) Motivates employees Filling higher level jobs through promotion helps to improve the motivation and morale of employees as they know that they can be promoted to senior position in the organisation if they work harder for the organisation.
(iv) Sense of security Internal recruitment creates a sense of security among the staff.
(v) No problem in adjustment As the organisation and the employees are familiar with each other, this leads to smooth functioning of the enterprise without any problem in adjustment on the part of the new employees or the organisation.

9. Why external sources of recruitment are better than internal sources?   (All India 2014,2009)
or
External sources of recruitment are better than internal sources. How? Explain by giving any four reasons in support of your answer.

(Delhi 2010c)
Ans. External sources of recruitment are better than internal sources because (Any four):
(i) Fresh talent The entry of fresh talent into the organisation is encouraged. New employees bring new ideas to the organisation.
(ii) Wider choice Through external recruitment, the organisation gets wider choice.
(iii) Qualified personnel By using external recruitment, the management can get qualified and trained persons.
(iv) Latest technical knowledge Through campus placement, the organisation get employees with latest technical knowledge.
(v) Competitive spirit When outsiders join the organisation, this develops a competitive spirit in existing employees of the organisation.

10. State any four limitations of using internal sources of recruitment. (Compartment 2014; All India 2008)
Ans. Limitations of internal sources of recruitment are as follows:
(i) No scope for fresh talent Internal sources may not be able to bring new competent fresh talent, ideas and latest technical know-how.
(ii) Not suitable for new organisation A new enterprise cannot use internal sources of recruitment. No organisation can fill all its vacancies from internal sources.
(iii) Limited choice The choice is limited as the recruitment can be made only out of the candidates available within the organisation.
(iv) Employees become lethargic The employees may become lethargic if they are sure of time bound promotions.

11. Explain any two external sources of recruitment. (All India 2011)
Ans. The two external sources of recruitment are:
(i) Employment exchanges They act as middlemen between the job seekers and the organisation. The job seekers leave their bio-data with the employment exchanges and the organisations approaches the employment exchanges for suitable candidates. Thus, the employment exchanges bring the job givers in contact with the job seekers.
(ii) Campus recruitment Sometimes, the senior managers of the organisations visit various professional colleges, technical institutes to get fresh graduates or the people with the latest technical know-how. This type of recruitment is more common for engineers, computer programmers, MBAs, etc. Organisation prefers fresh graduates because they can be moulded according to the organisation’s requirement easily.
6 Marks Questions
12. Explain any four external sources of recruitment. Which of these sources is ideal for a manufacturing organisation? (Delhi 2009)
or
What is meant by recruitment? Explain any four external sources of recruitment.
(Delhi 2008C)
Ans. Recruitment means inducing or attracting more and more candidates to apply for vacant job positions in the organisation. This function is very important because the end result of recruitment function is receiving large number of applications to make selection from. Recruitment is a positive process as it attracts suitable candidates to apply for available jobs.             (2)
Different external sources of recruitment are:
(i) Casual callers It is generally followed by the factories of manufacturing organisations to fill up vacancies at the labour level. In such cases the organisation keeps the record of casual callers and present them at the time of interview.
(ii) Advertising The most common and popular method of external recruitment is advertising, e.g. for the job of an accountant, the advertisment can be given in CA journal, for lower rank it can be given in local newspapers and for higher rank it can be given in national level reputed newspapers. Advertisement may also be done through television.
(iii) Placement agencies and management consultant These agencies provide nation-wide service of matching demand and supply of work force and invite the bio-data and record from various job seekers and send them to suitable clients. These agencies charge fees for providing such service.
(iv) Labour contractors They keep a close contact with labourers and they supply manpower to the factory or manufacturing concerns. Through these contractors, workers are appointed in factories at a very short notice.

13. What is meant by internal sources of recruitment? Why do organisations prefer recruitment through internal sources? Explain.

 (All India 2009)
Ans. Under internal source of recruitment, the vacant job positions are filled by inducing the existing employees of the organisation. It implies shifting of the existing employees from one place/post to another place/post. This is called transfer. It also implies shifting an employee to a higher position carrying higher responsibilities, facilities, status and pay, through promotions.
Internal sources of recruitment are:
(i) Transfer It means shifting of employees from one job position to other at the same level of authority. Only the working place is changed. Therefore, it refers to horizontal movement of the workers. Transfer does not involve any drastic change in the responsibilities and status of the employee.
(ii) Promotion It refers to shifting of employees from one job position to the other with higher level of authority. Here, employees move in, upward direction within an organisational structure. There is also an increase in compensation or salary, e.g. promotion of a clerk to the post of an accountant.

14. Filling vacancies from within the organisation has some advantages as well as limitation. Explain any three such advantages and any three limitations. (Delhi 2008)
or
What are internal sources of recruitment? State any four advantages and four limitations of internal sources of recruitment.  (Delhi 2008C)
Ans. Under internal source of recruitment, the vacant job positions are filled by inducing the existing employees of the organisation. It implies shifting of the existing employees from one place/post to another place/post. This is called transfer. It also implies shifting an employee to a higher position carrying higher responsibilities, facilities, status and pay, through promotions.
Internal sources of recruitment are:
(i) Transfer It means shifting of employees from one job position to other at the same level of authority. Only the working place is changed. Therefore, it refers to horizontal movement of the workers. Transfer does not involve any drastic change in the responsibilities and status of the employee.
(ii) Promotion It refers to shifting of employees from one job position to the other with higher level of authority. Here, employees move in, upward direction within an organisational structure. There is also an increase in compensation or salary, e.g. promotion of a clerk to the post of an accountant.
Internal sources of recruitment are better than external sources in the following respects:
(i) Economical sources Internal sources are less time consuming and less expensive because the organisation and the employees are already known to each other.
(ii) Simplifies the process of selection Since, the employees are already known to the organisation, therefore, the process of selection and placement gets simplified.
(iii) Motivates employees Filling higher level jobs through promotion helps to improve the motivation and morale of employees as they know that they can be promoted to senior position in the organisation if they work harder for the organisation.
(iv) Sense of security Internal recruitment creates a sense of security among the staff.
(v) No problem in adjustment As the organisation and the employees are familiar with each other, this leads to smooth functioning of the enterprise without any problem in adjustment on the part of the new employees or the organisation.
Limitations of internal sources of recruitment are as follows:
(i) No scope for fresh talent Internal sources may not be able to bring new competent fresh talent, ideas and latest technical know-how.
(ii) Not suitable for new organisation A new enterprise cannot use internal sources of recruitment. No organisation can fill all its vacancies from internal sources.
(iii) Limited choice The choice is limited as the recruitment can be made only out of the candidates available within the organisation.
(iv) Employees become lethargic The employees may become lethargic if they are sure of time bound promotions.

15. Which source of recruitment is needed to bring new blood in the organisation? Explain any three advantages and any two limitations of this source. (HOTS; All India 2008)
Ans. External source of recruitment is needed to bring new blood in the organisation. It is preferred whenever large number of job positions are vacant. Under this, the organisation meets its manpower requirement from outside the organisation.
The three advantages of external sources of recruitment are as follows:
(i) Fresh talent The entry of fresh talent into the organisation is encouraged. New employees bring new ideas to the organisation.
(ii) Latest technological knowledge Through campus placement, organisation can get employees with latest technical know-how.
(iii) Competitive spirit When outsiders join the organisation, this develops a competitive spirit in existing employees of the organisation.
Limitations of external sources of recruitment are as follows: (Any two)
(i) Employees may not adjust according to the rules and regulations of the company The new employees may not adjust themselves as per the rules and regulations of the organisation which means more chances of employee turnover.
(ii) Costly It is expensive to invite the outsiders to apply for the vacant job positions. Companies have to bear heavy burden of advertising.
(iii) Time consuming It is a lengthy process as external recruitment takes more time.

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