Online recruitment and Millennials:recruitment communication and online assessment

Recruitment has shifted from traditional channels and practices to processes taking place online and recruitment research has subsequently started to investigate online recruitment processes. While there have been conflicting perceptions amongst recruitment researchers about whether the organizational or the applicant perspective has been neglected in recruitment research most of the present literature focuses on the first phase of the recruitment process, attracting applicants. This thesis takes the perspective of the applicant, and in this case the Millennial generation, and investigates the later phases of the recruitment process, recruitment communication and online assessment. The aim is to find out what kind of preferences Millennial applicants have towards recruitment communication’s timing, content and media and different online assessment methods such as online tests, digital interviews and gamification. This thesis is conducted as a qualitative research with a factist perspective. After extensive review of recruitment and Millennial research a theoretical framework is developed. Empirical data is gathered trough semi-structured thematic interviews and analyzed with content analysis. The research findings are then applied to the theoretical framework and the framework is adjusted to depict the preferences of the Millennial applicant towards recruitment communication and online assessment methods. The research findings suggest the Millennial applicant has several expectations towards both recruitment communication and different online assessment methods. Recruitment communication is expected to happen in a continuous manner to avoid uncertainty and show the hiring organization’s respect and valuation towards the applicant. Recruitment communication should also be efficient and convenient for the applicant, and email is found to be the preferred communication medium. The Millennial applicant also expects feedback on his or her performance as well as reasoning for selection decisions. Concerning different online assessment methods, the Millennial applicant prefers assessment methods that make them feel they have influence over recruitment outcomes. In addition, perceptions of validity and relevance as well as efficiency and convenience affect Millennials’ preferences concerning different online assessment methods. The research findings have several managerial implications. Designing recruitment processes in which millennial preferences are taken into consideration can produce better applicant experience and have a positive effect on the company image. Although measures have been taken to ensure research reliability, the number of research participants and the same field of study of the research participants limit the generalizability of the research results

Public health care innovation lab tackling the barriers of public sector innovation

Abstract Acknowledging the public sector’s remarkable innovation potential and several challenges hindering its innovation capability, this case study explores the impact of public sector innovation laboratory on innovation barriers of public health care. Findings are based on a Finnish hospital district’s innovation laboratory specialized as an authentic environment to develop novel technology and service solutions with various private sector partners. By altering the PSO’s approaches on interaction, commercialization, mutual learning and independence, the PSI laboratory proves especially influential in tackling innovation barriers related to complexity and organizational competences. Conversely, the lab’s impact on the barriers of risk-aversion and bureaucracy is lesser

Concealing paradoxes in decision-making during hospital hybridization:a systems theoretical analysis

Abstract Purpose: While previous health-care-related hybridity research has focused on macro- and micro-level investigations, this paper aims to study hybridization at the organizational level, with a specific focus on decision-making. The authors investigate how new politico-economic expectations toward a university hospital as a hybrid organization become internalized via organizational decision-making, resulting in the establishment of a new business collaboration and innovation-oriented unit. Design/methodology/approach: The authors employed a social systems theoretical framework to explore organizational decision-making processes involved in the establishment of the new hybrid hospital unit. Drawing on 15 interviews and nine organizational documents, the authors describe and analyze three decision-making cycles using the concepts of complexity, decision and justification. Findings: The findings reveal the challenging nature of decision-making during hybridization, as decisions regarding unprecedented organizational structures and activities cannot be justified by traditional decision premises. The authors show that decision-makers use a combination of novel justification strategies, namely, justification by problems, by examples and by obligations, to legitimize decisions oriented at non-traditional activities. Further, the analysis reveals how expectations of several societal systems, i.e. health care, education, science, law, economy and politics, are considered in decision-making taking place in hybrid organizations. Originality/value: The study draws attention to the complexity of decision-making in a hybrid context and highlights the role of justification strategies in partially reducing complexity by concealing the paradoxical nature of decision-making and ensuring the credibility of resulting decisions. Also, the study presents a move beyond the dualism inherent in many previous hybridity studies by illustrating the involvement of several societal systems in hybridization

Being actively engaged in life in old age:determinants, temporal trends, and prognostic value

Abstract Purpose: Recently, the concept of successful ageing has shifted from healthy ageing to active ageing, the latter emphasising even more the subjective perspective. Active agency is a marker for better functioning. However, the concept of active ageing lacks a clear definition so far. The specific aims of the study were to identify the determinants of being actively engaged in life (BAEL), to explore the changes in BAEL over 3 decades, and to explore the prognostic value of BAEL. Methods: This is a repeated cross-sectional cohort study of older (≥ 75 years) community-dwelling people in Helsinki in 1989 (N = 552), 1999 (N  = 2396), 2009 (N  = 1492), and 2019 (N  = 1614). The data were gathered by a postal questionnaire at each time point. Being actively engaged in life was defined by two questions “Do you feel needed?” and “Do you have plans for the future?”, which was further converted into BAEL score. Results: An increasing temporal trend in BAEL score was observed through the study years. Male sex, good physical functioning and subjective health, and meaningful social contacts were determinants for higher BAEL score. Active agency measured by BAEL score predicted lower 15-year mortality. Conclusions: Older home-dwelling, urban Finnish people have become more actively engaged in recent years. The underlying causes are diverse but improved socioeconomic status observed over the study years was one of them. Social contacts and not feeling lonely were found to be determinants for being actively engaged. Two simple questions describing active engagement in life may help to predict mortality among older people