The roles played on organizing and conducting an interview session for employing two sociologists in any district council in Tanzania

1:0 INTRODUCTION

The term bureaucracy is derived from the Latin term “bureau” which means writing table or desk. In French “la bure” means cloth used on tables of public authorities. From table cloth, the table covered by cloth got the name “bureau”. Later bureau began to be used to place where officials work. The suffix “cracy” in Greek means “nice” thus bureaucracy refers to the rule of officials. During 18^th and 19^th centuries the term was used in public administration and it was also referred to the authority or power.

The interview session is the most critical component of the entire selection process in any organization especially when there is a need of employing new officials. It serves as the primary means to collect additional information on an applicant. It serves as the basis in assessing an applicant's job-related knowledge, skills, and abilities.

It is designed to decide if an individual should be interviewed further, hired, or eliminated from consideration. An agency uses the interview not only to select new employees and determine a fit, but also to sell the agency and themselves to applicants and to create favorable public relations with potential customers. Applicants use the interview to market themselves and determine which offers to accept and reject, (Macions J.J and Plumer, K, 2008).

2:0 DEFINITON OF KEY TERMS

Bureaucracy refers to a component of formal organization in which rules and hierarchical ranking are used to achieve efficiency, (Schaefer, R.T 2008).

Bureaucracy is the administrative aspect of formal organization. It refers to the arrangement of the organization designed to carry out its day to day business, (Shankarrao, C.N 2006).

Bureaucracy defined as organizational model rationality designed to perform complex tasks effectively, (Macions J.J and Plumer, K, 2008).

Interview refers to a formal meeting at which somebody is asked questions to see if they are suitable for a particular job or for a course of study at college or university,(Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, 2010).

An interview is a conversation between two or more people where questions are asked by the interviewer to elicit facts or statements from the interviewee. Interviews are a standard part of journalism and media reporting, but are also employed in many other situations, including qualitative research, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interview)

3:0 Purpose of the Interview

An effective interview is one that is carefully planned and well-conducted and provides the opportunity to:-

Ø Observe an applicant's attributes that will affect job performance, that is ability to communicate; ability to reason and understand; temperament, personality and character.

Ø Obtain additional information on the applicant's education, work experience, job-related interests, and other information that can fill in the gaps on the resume or application form.

Ø Identify the extent of the applicant's knowledge, skills, and other competencies by inquiring about past performance and achievements.

Ø Compare an applicant's strengths and weaknesses with those of other applicants.

Ø Describe the job, what the agency expects of employees, and what employees can expect. This gives the applicant more information to determine if she/he is really interested in the position.

Ø Promote a good public image of the agency and the state, (Tylor I, 2007).

4:0 Styles of interview

There are basically four styles of interviews; includes situational, personality profile, stress, and behavioral.

The situational interviews; determines how the applicant responds to real work situations that can be measured through hypothetical, role play, or actual problem solving situations.

The personality profile interviews; evaluates traits important to the success of the individual in the position.

Stress interviews; measure applicants' abilities in dealing with highly stressful situations.

The behavioral interview; bases questions on past performance, assuming that individuals will do at least as well in a new position as in previous positions.

 Any style, by itself, is not perfectly effective. Yet, each has something to offer. A wise approach would be to combine all of them to produce a comprehensive and effective interview.

5:0 Types of Structure of interviews

There are different types of interview structures.

Structured interviewing; involves approaching the interview with a pre-planned agenda. The interviewer knows ahead of time what she/he will ask and tries to stick to it. Some interviewers will ask the questions in order, and others will take a more relaxed approach but still address all of the pre-planned questions. The structured interview is important as a defense against discrimination in hiring and selection because all the applicants are asked the same questions. Example if interviews are used to rank applicants for Doctor’s preference, the same questions must be asked in the same manner.

Unstructured interview; the interviewer does not have a prepared agenda and allows the applicant to set the pace of the interview. This style of interviewing does not always provide the necessary information on which to base a selection decision. The lack of structure makes it difficult to compare and rank applicants because they are not responding to the same questions.

A semi-structured interview; works best for most types of positions. An interview guide or list of questions in a certain order is developed and used during the interview. The guide, however, allows for the interviewer to omit questions for which answers transpired previously, or to ask questions in efforts to probe for more information. The semi-structured interview will reduce the possibility of legal charges based on discrimination.

6:0 The roles played on organizing and conducting an interview session for employing two sociologists in any district council in Tanzania

Greeting or Small Talk; this step is to build rapport and put the applicant at comfort to enhance the free exchange of information. Greet the applicant by name and with a firm handshake, introduce yourself, and engage in a bit of small talk on a non-controversial topic the weather, parking and others.

Orientation; briefly describe for the applicant how the interview will proceed questions from the interviewer, information on the position and the agency, and finally questions from the applicant. You may also tell the applicant approximately how long the interview will take.

Work Experience and Education; since past performance is the best predictor of future performance, ask for concrete examples of past successes and challenges. If the applicant has little or no work experience, focus on any positions held, whether it is volunteer, summer, or part-time employment. Education includes not only high school or college, but specialized or related training as well use this opportunity to clarify information on the application form.

Outside Activities/Interests; this is optional and should focus on skills or traits that are job related and would contribute to successful job performance. Caution should be exercised when asking questions so that answers don't reveal an affiliation with an organization because of race, color, sex, national origin, age, disability, religion, or political opinions.

Summary of Strengths and Weaknesses; ask the applicant to identify strengths and weaknesses as they relate to past employment experiences, how strengths would be applied on the job, and how weaknesses have affected past work performance and what is being done to improve.

Selling the Position and Organization; Up to this point, the applicant has been selling himself or herself. Now it is time to tell the applicant about the position and the agency. Giving this information after the interviewers' questions have been answered avoids the tendency of applicants to answer questions based on what they think you want to hear. Begin the transition into this part of the interview by asking what the applicant knows about the position and the organization. Present the position and the agency positively. However, don't omit the negative aspects. Describe the duties and responsibilities, salary, benefits, hours and working conditions.

Questions from the Applicant; Allow for the applicant to ask some questions about the position, the agency, and working conditions.

Close of Interview; explain the next step in the selection process. Arrange for subsequent interviews, if necessary. Express appreciation for the opportunity to meet and learn about the applicant. Give them some idea as to when a selection decision will be made. Be careful not to make any oral commitments or recommendations about the applicant's employment prospects.

Document the Interview; Take notes during the interview, recording key job-related points without interrupting the flow of information. As soon after the interview as possible and before beginning the next interview, completely document what was observed and heard in the interview. Documentation should reflect facts, not biases or instincts, (http://www.nd.gov/hrms/managers/guide/interview.html).

7:0 CONLUSION

Generally conducting an interview session for employing new officials in any organization is very important simply because it creates commited, efficient and effective workers who can stand in a particular position and make sustainable development of an organization basing on the core values of an organization. Although an interview is better way of obtaining qualified personnel in any organization but can lead to bias to some interviewee especially when the management teams have prepared their own people who can fit for the position.

REFERENCES

Macions, J.J and Plumer, K (2008), “Sociology A grobal introduction”, 4^th Edition Pearson

                                Education Ltd England.

Schaefer, R.T. (2008), “Sociology A brief introduction”, 7^th Edition. Mc Graw Hill Companies.

Schaefer, R.T.(2008), “Sociology matters”, 3^rd Edition. Mc Graw Hill Companies

Shankarrao, C.N (2006) “Principles of sociology with an introduction to social thought” India

                                 Schand and company Ltd.

Taylor I, (2007), A Practical Guide to Assessment Centers and Selection Methods: Measuring                                    Competency for Recruitment and Development, Kogan Page Limited,     

                                    Great Britain and the United States; 

Retrieved on April 5th, 2014 at 22:41 from http://lib.freescience engineering.org

Retrieved on April 5th, 2014 at 22:32hrs from http://www.nd.gov/hrms/managers/guide/            interview.html

Written by AUSI R. CHIWAMBO (2014)- TEOFILO KISANJI UNIVERSITY