Att passa in. Rekryteringsarbete i ett kunskapsintensivt företag

Abstract

Göteborg UniversitySchool of Economics and Commercial LawDepartment of Business AdministrationBox 610SE 405 30 GöteborgSwedenAuthor: Ola BergströmLanguage: Swedish text with summary in English245 pagesISBN 91-7246-148-9Doctoral thesis 1998AbstractCultural match. Recruitment in a knowledge-intensive firmIn recent years there has been a revaluation of the concept of recruitment, in particular in corporate settings where knowledge resources are scarce and corporations face tight labour markets. Under these circumstances, the traditional concept of recruitment, basedon a single choice from the organizational perspective, is inappropriate. Instead, critics claim that recruitment should be regarded as a dual matching process of mutual negotiation. Such practices are said to match individual and corporate needs, providing an opportunity for candidates to make more rational decisions about their vocational and organizational choice. Furthermore, it would imply less authoritarian power relations by treating candidates as autonomous, independent subjects. This study investigates how these claims are put into practice. The aim of the study is to contribute to a greater understanding and knowledge concerning the consequences of recruitment practices aiming at cultural match between individuals and corporate culture. The study is a case study of the recruitment practices of a large American consulting firm operating in Sweden. The analysis is inspired by a discourse analytical approach, combining discourse, textual and conversation analysis. It is argued that recruitment could be regarded as a social practice where practitioners engage in social interaction, regulating social and power relations. Thus, the analysis focuses on how power relations between candidates and corporate members are constructed in social interaction, during the process of recruitment. The findings suggest that cultural matching practices produce an employment relationship characterized by subjectivation, i.e. those who are engaged experience the contract of employment as a result of their own independent decision to work in accordance with the conditions presented by company representatives. It is argued that the recruitment practices of the consulting firm contribute to the establishment of a self-disciplinary mode of control, reversing the division of responsibility between employer and employee.Key words: recruitment, selection, culture, matching, social practice, discourse analysis, consultancy firm, self-discipline.Printed in Swedenby Livrena Grafiska AB0 Ola Bergstromand BAS Publisher