Department of Philosophy

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Browsing Department of Philosophy by browse.metadata.advisor "Andrade, Julio A."

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    The impact of organisational culture, unconscious bias and person-organisation fit on employee selection decisions during recruitment
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-03) Shapiro, Robyn Joan; Andrade, Julio A.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Philosophy.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Many organisations affirm their commitment to organisational diversity; however, efforts to achieve it are often unsuccessful. As the recruitment process is the door through which employees enter an organisation, this process, in some way or another, plays a significant part in making selection decisions that determine the extent to which an organisation is regarded as diverse. Furthermore, limited research has focused on how selection-decisions are made in practice and what influences selection decision-making. The area of recruitment is subsequently identified as the focus for this study. Three concepts are identified as possible contributors to the lack of success of organisational diversity strategies: organisational culture, unconscious bias, and person-organisation fit (PO-fit). These three concepts are considered, in the recruitment selection decision-making process, through the lens of complexity thinking, to explore the possible dynamics that might contribute to the lack of success of diversity strategies. The findings of this study suggest that unconscious bias, through the workings of PO-fit, problematically influences recruitment selection decisions, thus leading to discrimination as an ethical risk. Due to the reflexive and non-linear nature of organisational dynamics, predictive outcomes of interrelations cannot be established, and therefore, the reflexive and non-linear interplay of the parts, rather than the parts themselves are the object of inquiry. Several strategies to mitigate the identified risks are presented. One such strategy is a concept developed by the researcher, namely PO-add which is based on the principles of inclusion and promoting difference in recruitment decision-making. The ethics of complexity is presented as a theoretical framework that provides guidance when ethical decisionmaking is the objective. This perspective requires a very specific position from decision-makers, namely, the provisional imperative. To show how the ethics of complexity could facilitate these aims, two processes supporting the provisional imperative of complexity theory are investigated: imagination and provisionality. These two processes are considered through the application of various strategies towards mitigating the risks arising at the intersection of PO-fit, organisational culture and unconscious bias.