Impact of Organizational Image on Recruitment Process Dissertation

Abstract

An organization’s image is a strong recruitment tool that a firm uses to positively influence potential applicants to develop interest in the jobs that arise within the organisation. Recruitment enables an organisation to select people with competent skill, experience, and knowledge from a pool of applicants to add value to the performance of the organisation. Studies suggest that organizations should learn to manage the perception potential job applicants develop towards an organisation to increase the quality of the pool of potential applicants for jobs that require highly skilled and competent employees.

Image is important because it influences the perceptions of potential applicants that affect the recruitment process and the number of applicants interested in the jobs on offer. However, it is important to understand how an organisation’s image affects people’s perceptions about jobs on offer and the attractiveness to apply for Qatar Petroleum’s jobs. The results showed that the majority of potential applicants felt attracted when the image was positive and discouraged from applying for a job when they had the perceived the image to be negative. However, many potential applicants viewed Qatar Petroleum to be a good employer relative to other potential positions in the market place.

Research Problem

Organisations today want to attract highly talented and skilled manpower to take up the jobs that arise within the organisation. However, the problems of attracting the best people in the market to apply for the jobs that arise have not been fully investigated to determine how the image of the recruiting organisation influences potential applicants to apply for the jobs (Avery & McKay 2006). To bridge the gap in knowledge on the factors that influence prospective applicants to apply for the jobs within organisations, academic literature by different researchers including Bauer and Aiman-Smith (1996) discuss in detail the relationship between organisational image, the ability to attract people to apply for existing jobs, and the best methods to use in the recruitment process to positively influence potential job applicants.

Pascual Espuny (2008) examined studies on organisational image and the effects of image on motivating potential applicants to apply for a job and concluded that image was a powerful component that could influence positive or negative perceptions in an individual to apply for a job. Potential applicants develop images of the organisation they wish to apply for jobs using primary secondary sources that are randomly available on social media. The process involves the applicant comparing their self-image with the image of the organisation to evaluate their congruence that influences the perceived fit into the organisation. The rationale for conducting the study was to determine how perceptions of the organisational image by potential job applicants influenced them to apply for jobs. Gatewood, Gowan and Lautenschlager (1993) concluded in their study that negative self-mages can be detrimental to an organisation and the results might lead to the long term effect of the shortage of skilled labor in the tight labor market.

Issues such as the dimensions that the applicants consider use to evaluate to the image of an organisation when conducting job searches to the extent that the image influences the decision to apply for job openings is crucial (Gatewood et al. 1993).

Statement of the Problem

This research aims to build on the literature by conducting a survey with regard to organizational image and its influence on the recruitment process (Gatewood et al. 1993). In a heavily globalized and competitive environment, it is becoming increasingly important to maximize human resources to achieve a competitive advantage or even a sustainable position in the market. For many years it academic assumptions were that the labor market is a static entity and potential employees were entirely rational individuals who focused on maximizing personal utility. However, this simple and static model does not capture many of the different criteria that an individual will consider when seeking employment. As such there has been inadequate empirical evidence to build a comprehensive model of all the factors that a potential employee will consider when comparing employment opportunities. This analysis will try to build on the literature by creating research framework to investigate the research topic and clarify some of the variables that job seekers many value in the labor market. This analysis will conduct a questionnaire to gather data on potential employees in the Qatar Petroleum potential employee pool.

Research Questions

The following research questions will guide this study

1. Do the positive perceptions of an organization’s image have any influence in applicant attraction to the organization?
2. What is the impact on the potential applicants does attraction create in them to apply for a job?
3. Are intentions to apply for a job influenced by the positive image of an organisation?

Research issues

Farmer, Tierney and Kung-Mcintyre (2003) assert in that qualified personnel are an important component in the growth and competitive advantage of an organisation. According to Farmer et al. (2003) argues that to attract qualified and highly skilled personnel into an industry for their contribution to the growth and development of the firm is challenging task. The key reason is that qualified personnel are in demand in industry and unless an organisation develops strategies to win the highly skilled manpower, it could be difficult for them to get the services of the skilled and knowledgeable manpower.

One of the strategies to attract qualified and highly skilled personnel is to develop an acceptable image to create a positive perception in the minds of those applicants who could want to work for the company (Turban 2001). Image is not a onetime act neither is it developed overnight, but it is developed progressively after an organisation has been established (Turban 2001). The image issues are related to the human resource management and the quality of the personnel who work in the respective industry. Carless (2005) proposed academic evidence to show that the current trends in the labor markets are dynamic contrary to the static state economies used to operate in.

The recruitment process is an important component in determining how to attract competent personnel to work for the organisation and the best strategies to use to retain the new employees (Breaugh & Starke 2000). However, Breaugh and Starke (2000) argues in the context of emerging issues in academic literature that the strategies to attract competent applicants has not been successful because most of the organisations have not researched on the impact of the organisational image in attracting employees to work for the organisation in the recruitment process. Many research studies have only focused on the impact of the interviewee and the interviewer, but the current study focuses on the image of the recruiting organisation and the numerous elements that have implications on the recruitment process.

Many studies do not focus on the best recruitment and selection practices as underlying the recruitment and selection process, but the current study endeavors to address the issues related to recruitment of competent employees to work for organisations (Gatewood, Gowan & Lautenschlager 1993). Gatewood et al. (1993) argued that recruitment is a strong component that can be used to create a positive image and to attract highly skilled employees to work for the organisation. Many elements are also used to define the recruitment processes that are important in attracting people to work for the organisation. Among the elements that are used to attract the right applicants to the right job include the job analysis and job description. In addition, other elements include organisational justices that are used to create a positive image of the recruiting organisation.

It is important to consider recruitment as a primary tool for the organisation to attract and create a pool of applicants that have the skills and capabilities to work and achieve competitive advantage in response to the dynamic changes that happen in the business world. In a nutshell, the concept of recruitment has been under researched in the creating the image that can attract highly qualified applicants for the jobs that fall vacant in the organisations. Different studies show that recruitment “focuses on many areas that include job analysis that provides a description of the required knowledge and skills, the personal qualifications that include the personal characteristics, individual skills, job description, and person specifications” (Gatewood et al. 1993).

Sourcing is another recruitment element that organisations use to identify potential job applicants. Sourcing is affected by the strategies that are used to identify and attract the appropriately trained and skilled personnel. Sourcing is affected by the organisational image which strongly affects the recruitment process either positively or negatively. A negative image is detrimental to the recruitment process because highly skilled people develop a negative attitude towards an organisation when different factors such as organizational injustice are evident in the process and that makes it difficult for potential applicants to apply for available jobs.

Among the prospective applicant’s sourcing strategies are the in house recruitment, Internet recruitment, recruitment agencies, agency directories, and candidate paid recruiters. In house recruitment is used to source for skilled people among the current employee pool currently working for the organisation. Here, in-house recruitment is done through the internal advertisements to attract potential applicants for the job. However, the image the prospective applicant has developed towards the organisation has a strong impact on the decision to apply for the job. Other recruitment strategies that are used to source for the applicants include the social media where different people share information in real time. Social media is one of the largest platforms that information is shared on and many companies use the platform to source of skilled applicants. If an organisation’s image is negative on social media, the targeted applicants cannot submit their applications to the company to be among the pool of applicants for consideration in the selection process. Typically, image can either affect the recruitment process negatively or positively. Other recruitment strategies are done by niche recruiters, Niche recruiters work by building a large pool of applicants in a database who are evaluated against standard job details and personal characteristics.

Farmer et al. (2003) proposed that the recruitment process can be done either actively or passively and the option to use a specific option is the choice of the recruiting organisation. Here, the passively recruitment process depends on employment agencies that are third party to the recruitment process. Being the third party agency to the recruitment process, it could be the source of image change that organisation could achieve because of approach those third party companies use to recruit the people. Typically, the results of the recruitment process are based on the screening process. The screening process is used to determine the value of the candidate that has applied for the position that has fallen vacant (Thomas & Wise 1999).

Research foci

The study will focus on the image and recruitment practices and how they influence prospective employees to apply for vacancies that arise within the petroleum industry. The study will first focus on the study of the historical background of Qatar Petroleum Company, its earnings from the sale of petroleum in context of the energy sector of Qatar to provide an overview of the contributions the industry makes to the revenue earnings of Qatar (Qatar Petroleum n.d). The background information will provide the researcher with the ability to understand job analysis and job description for the prospective applicants intending to work in the petroleum industry. The job description provides the basis for determining the recruitment strategies that can be used to attract prospective applicants into the industry with the right skills. The study focused on different components of the recruitment process that has implications on the image of the organisation and the how that influences the recruitment of prospective employees (Qatar Petroleum n.d). Here, the recruitment process is used to attract the employees who have the right skill by matching the organisation with the people. The matching is crucial for determining the right applicants to work for the petroleum company.

The next research issue is to investigate the potential recruitment strategies discussed in the recruitment literature. The recruitment literature is used to determine the recruitment competence of Qatar Petroleum Company. However, weaknesses abound on the methods used to determine the recruitment needs of the organisations to attract prospective applicants because most organisations use questionnaires to gather information about the suitable applicants and the solutions needed to make the application process easy without focusing on the competence of the applicants. Here, the crucial element that influences an applicant to apply for a job is not captured in the process.

Another issue is to determine the factors that make the attractiveness for the job potential before the prospective applicants apply and get prepared for the interview. Typically, the process is based on examining the prospective applicant and the job description to determine the march between the applicant’s qualifications and the job description provided by the target organisation. The study shows that using interviews provide first hand impression and information about the impression and attractions of the potential job applicants.

The literature on the recruitment sources is the next area of discussion and considers and includes the public and universities that have a prospective pool of applicants that are qualified for the work. However, many organisations make serious mistakes because they look to universities to provide them with the applicants who are always conscious of their identities. The attractiveness of the job is based on the job description and students sometimes find they have not qualified for the job and find the attractiveness to the job very low (Qatar Petroleum n.d). Typically, that is a mistake made by many organisations looking for appropriate people with the right skills to work for the organisation. That makes the attractiveness to work for the organisation very low.

The other area of study is to understand the connection between the image of the organisation and job previews. It is clear that job previews are conducted to provide the applicant with the right details about a job. However when the reviews are not done without providing realistic information about the job, making it difficult for the applicant to accurately determine the true nature of the job and whatever is needed for them. When the previews are not done properly, the result are an image that is not consistent with the image of the recruiting organisation and that results into the opposite effect on the applicant that is contrary to the expectations of the recruiting organisation

Another issue discussed in the research is the link between the image of the organisation and other factors that include the attraction of the prospective applicant to apply for a job and the organisational justice. Organisational justice is a crucial component for determining the fairness in the distribution of opportunities for the organisation based on the principle of equity, neutrality, and the level of interaction between the applicant and the organisation.

In a nutshell, the current study is a response to the question on the level of attraction of an organisation to prospective applicants based on the image that the organisation portrays itself with among the applicants. The target population selected for the study was deemed to be appropriate in providing the required data for the study to answer the research question on how the image portrayed by the recruitment process. The target of this study was to determine why prospective job applicants were attracted to work for Qatar petroleum to get informed on the recruitment strategies an organisation could put in place to address the recruitment problems and attract the most skilled employees (Qatar Petroleum n.d). In addition, the study combined the recruitment literature and empirical evidence that was conducted using questionnaire administer at a target population to gather information about recruitment and organisational image.

Different elements of attraction were investigated including the organisational interest and how the component relates with the image that influences a person to apply for the job. In addition, the interest in the job was also evaluated because interest could motivate a skilled person to apply for a job even when working for another organisation. In addition, the elements that constitute an image of the organisation were researched on and that depends on the job itself, the tenure of working for the organisation, the job security that includes the salary that the prospective applicant earns, and the characteristics of the target organisation.

Another element that was investigated is the applicant and the core attributes that define the applicant. The core elements that define the characteristics of the applicant include the intention to apply for the job, the skills of the applicant, and the desire to be involved and to work for the organisation. The study concludes by combining “the elements a research conclusion on the implications of the recruitment practices and the image of the organisation on the desire and attractiveness to apply and work for the target organisation” (Barber 1998, p.23).

Industry Background

Statistical data obtained from different sources show that Qatar’s economy is oil dependent and it has been estimated that oil contributes over 60% of the government’s source of revenue. The study shows that the estimates are consistent with other estimations from other sources (Qatar Petroleum n.d). It has also “been estimated that revenue sources from oil make up 8% GDP of the country and by 2012, Qatar was earning more than $55 billion from net oil exports” (Qatar Petroleum n.d). As a result it is easy to see how the Qatar economy is almost completely dependent on the success of the petroleum industry (Qatar Petroleum n.d).

An investigation of the country’s oil infrastructure shows that Qatar is the largest producer of liquefied gas and has the largest gas to liquid conversion facilities. To put the “information into perspective, it has been estimated that Qatar is the fourth largest producer of dry natural gas and is preceded by Iran and the USA” (Qatar Petroleum n.d). However, the liquid fuels is its most important assets held by the country and since it is among the world’s largest reserves for natural gas it also has important relevance to the entire global economy’s energy needs. In addition, “it is in record that Qatar belongs to the club of member countries that belong to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)” (Qatar Petroleum n.d).

Qatar’s upstream prospects are increasingly limited with the North Field moratorium in place and no expansions for liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes and gas-to-liquids (GTL) in the pipeline; furthermore Qatar is facing growing challenges from the expansion of LNG liquefaction facilities in Australia and eventually the US and East Africa (Business Monitor International 2014). Greater LNG volumes on the international market could put downward pressure on prices over the longer term and since the volume of liquid products is supposed to hold steady, the country could see a total decrease in revenues. Production is predicted to remain largely flat following the completion of the second phase of the Barzan gas project in 2015 and the vast majority of new production brought online will be directed towards the growing domestic market, where we forecast consumption to grow from 22.6bcm in 2014 to around 32.5bcm in 2023 (Business Monitor International 2014). This strategy has the potential to have a stabilizing effect on total revenues as it increases margins domestically.

Qatar Petroleum History

The history of Qatar petroleum shows that the company was formed in 1970 under the ownership of the government of Qatar and after its formation; the company was mandated with the responsibility of overseeing the drilling and operations of oil and gas in Qatar (Qatar Petroleum n.d). It was also the responsibility of the company to explore for oil and gas and any other hydrocarbons and to distribute and refine the products for further use and sale. That was in addition to exporting the crude oil or the refined products that were obtained from the crude oil (State of Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs n.d). However, the total ownership of the company was made complete in 1976 when 6% of the ownership of the company was discarded in1976.

The company’s nationalization of the domestic industry allowed it to take control of various private sector wells. After World War I the Ottoman Empire collapsed which allowed foreign firms to tap into the county’s energy resources (Qatar Petroleum n.d). The first firm to enter the country was the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. which happens to be the predecessor to British Petroleum in the West. The first well in the country was able to produce about five thousand barrels of oil a day at the turn of the 1940s. The success of the first well also attracted other foreign firms after the end of the Second World War. However, all of these firms’ assets were eventually nationalized and there was no foreign ownership of the oil until the company began to form partnerships with firms in the 1990s in a strategy to increase its production capacity (Qatar Petroleum, n.d).

Mission and Vision Statements

Mission

The company’s Mission is to ensure that Qatar receives maximum benefit from its Oil and Gas resources by engaging in activities that add value to these resources and the overall objective is to maximize our contribution to the national wealth of Qatar and its National Vision, through the safe, efficient and environmentally acceptable exploitation of the country’s hydrocarbon resources and through related support activities (Qatar Petroleum n.d).In order to deliver on this Mission, our Strategic Objectives are (Qatar Petroleum n.d):

1. Provide the state with a reliable and sustainable cash flow, from a range of business interests;
2. Prudently manage the hydrocarbon reserves of the State of Qatar;
3. Meet National oil and gas demand in a cost-effective manner;
4. Achieve world-class standards of health, safety and environmental protection;
5. Maximize the employment of qualified and skilled Qatari nationals, and effectively develop them to international standards of competence;
6. Manage our infrastructures of supporting services and Industrial Cities in the most secure, cost-effective and socially responsible manner.

Vision Statement

Qatar Petroleum’s new corporate vision was announced on 3rd October 2013 by His Excellency Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry who announced that the vision statement, which sets the future direction of Qatar Petroleum, is (Qatar Petroleum n.d): “To be a world class oil and gas corporation, with its roots in Qatar, and a strong international presence” (Qatar Petroleum n.d).

Literature Review

A study by Barber (1998) on recruitment literature shows that recruitment is a practice of attracting prospective and potential applicants to apply for jobs that arise in an organisation. The process is conducted with the use of a broad range of tools within the organisation such as using the job analysis and description tools to attract potential applicants for the jobs. This description entails the engagement of a broad range of organizational tasks that are aimed at developing an organization’s ‘presence’ in a bid to draw suitably qualified employees. According to Gatewood, Gowan and Lautenschlager, (1993), the objective of getting the right and most suitably qualified candidate is to optimise their skills in the execution of organisational tasks to maximize the return on investment for the financial commitments firms make. Recruitment plays three main functions: (1) to establish a pool of applicants at the lowest cost to the organization, (2) to help the firm in making sure that its employees are demographically representative; and (3) to guarantee that the applicants constitute of candidates who have the required qualifications to perform the job. Barber (1998) comments that the recruitment process shows the competence of an organization because it enables the firm to attract the most qualified and skilled employees.

Owing to the significant shift witnessed in the ‘traditional’ markets, organizations that adopt efficiently recruiting individuals from diverse environments are likely to establish a substantial competitive advantage (Rynes &Cable 2001). Before the 1990s’s, there were a lot of academic literature on recruitment as Rynes and Cable (2001) suggest, these studies provided shallowly formulated research questions and most of the researches conducted aimed college or university environments. In so doing, Rynes and Cable (2001) state that most of the significant recruitment queries are yet to find solutions. In addition, some of the early studies borrowed from vocational behavior literature and researched on the job and organizational choice by utilizing measures of anticipated job satisfaction.

Vroom (1996) argues that many students after competing college sometimes are in a dilemma on the type of job to apply for and established that image was very important in influencing them to apply for a job. However, Vroom’s investigations faced criticism because he did not clarify the attributes of the organizations, which students ranked as their choice. A criticism of Vrooms study shows that he did not provide the correct guideline to show the impact of the organisation’s image on the prospective applicants for a job. Fisher, Iigen and Hoyer (1979) evaluated organizational attractions by exploring the influence of the favorability of information upon applicants’ views on source credibility and the impact on the job offer acceptance as perceived by students.

Both researchers show that different elements are necessary to attract a competent applicant for a job and have a post recruitment impact on the performance of the job. In addition, the study shows that the sources of recruitment have an impact on the recruitment process. Here, recruitment is influenced by the image of the recruiting company and the image the applicants have on the organisation.

Literature Review: Recruitment Sources

The studies of 1960 shifted from the source of recruiters to the effectiveness of individuals in performing their tasks and responsibilities recruited through various source (Roberson, Collins & Oreg 2005). The study was in the category of those that focused on the methods used to search and find jobs by job seekers. However, later studies emphasized on recruitment processes done by third parties such as employment agencies which emphasized on applications that were place by the employment agencies on different media, job listings, re-hires, and referrals (Roberson, et al. 2005). A detailed study by Roberson et al. (2005) showed that “those employees who were recruited through referrals achieved a high levels of job satisfaction and low levels of recruitment applications showed low levels of job satisfaction” (p.23). However, a critical analysis of the research methodologies showed that the approaches used in the research were weak and because of the failure to utilise the research variables and he samples appropriately (Roberson et al. 2005)

Taylor and Bergmann (1987) identified one of the problems with the first research methods to include the use of data that was collected from employers rather than using primary data from the prospective or potential job applicants. The data collection approach was deficient of the responses from other stakeholders in the recruitment process, which made the process less reliable when drawing conclusions on the attractiveness of the recruitment process for the prospective applicants wishing to work for an organisation. A typical example involves a situation where a study was conducted using engineering students without making it inclusive of students from other faculties.

The responses showed that the students were more inclined to apply for the job because of the uniqueness or identity associated with the job. The identity issues were generalised across other faculty students making the results of the study inconclusively true. One of the distinguishing characteristics of the studies was the sources of information that included advertisements and the impressions that were created in the minds of the applicants. Although Highhouse et al. (1996) study was unique in measuring attraction to an organization based on impressions of sourced information through advertisements, putting in mind the characteristics of the participants (highly educated), the research outcomes can only be limited to the participants. This study offered preliminary insights into the applicant’s attraction towards job advertisements before the interview stage during recruitment; however, there is much to learn on the varied reasons concerning the effectiveness of recruitment sources (Taylor & Bergmann 1987).

Literature Review: Recruiters

Prior recruiter research did not adequately focus on the organizational recruitment processes when compared with the selection processes that were being used. Many of the studies focused only on the effects of recruiters who perform recruitment tasks such as interviewing the prospective employees without due regard to accumulating pre-interview knowledge on the factors that make a potential applicant to apply for a position within the company (Dineen, Ash & Noe 2002). An investigation of the sources of data used to make the conclusion about recruitment shows that the data was collected from campus environments that could not be used as a source of representative data.

Although the studies have focused on the provision of data that provides explanations on the attributes that the recruiter and the recruited regard as defining the recruitment attractions that influences the perceptions of the potential applicants for a job. For instance, a detailed analysis of the attributes that define the recruitment process shows that items such as “‘personableness’ and ‘informativeness’ to contribute to the image created by the potential applicant in the target company, the study failed to show the attractiveness of the study in the context of attracting new applicants for a job within a company (Dineen, Ash & Noe 2002).

A significant problem with the study was that the applicant could not the able to remember the post interview answers they gave when they were recalled and given the jib they had applied thereafter (Dineen, Ash & Noe 2002). The process of sensitizing the applicants was the source of significant problems to the validity of the data provide by the respondents in the study. Further research on recruiter oriented study showed that the “organizational reputation perceptions, organizational attributes and recruiter behaviors on the applicant attraction towards an organization. Within the framework, their study explicitly investigated whether recruiter behaviors had an effect on the applicant point of view through ideologies of job and organizational attributes, by exploring possible recruiter impacts on applicant perceptions of an organization’s reputation” (Dineen, Ash & Noe 2002, p.12).

On the other hand, later researchers used a methodology that factored pre interview and post interview questionnaires to determine the perceptions of potential applicants of a job and how those perceptions influenced their intention to apply for the job. The potential applicants’ perceptions were in the context of the organisational attributes that made the applicant feel attracted towards the organisation for the job. A gap in knowledge on how the recruiters influenced the applicants to be attracted to the organisation to apply for a job is one of the components of the study. Researchers have established that the image created by the recruiters about an organisation is one of the influential factors that affect the recruitment for a job.

However, researchers point out that when an applicant is given a post-interview questionnaire to fill, it is possible to remember the pre-interview questionnaires to use in answering the post interview questionnaires, which is a present threat in the study. In addition, the pre-interview responses and the post interview responses could be a source of threat to the validity of the study (Chapman et al. 2005). It is possible from the study for the recruiters to influence the perceptions using the limited information that is obtained from inside the organisation and not to use external sources, making the validity of the data used in the study to be limited (Chapman et al. 2005). Although the studies provide empirical evidence to support the recruiters has the ability to influence the applicant’s perceptions of organizations, the study suggests that recruiters are able to influence the applicant’s perceptions when limited job or organizational information is available, or when decisions on employment are central to a limited number of potential employers.

Literature Review: Realistic Job Previews

Focused research that was conducted by different academicians show different and inconsistent results on the recruitment literature and how job previews enabled the interviewee to create a positive image on their minds about the organisation. The weaknesses with the studies were that the data used to analyse the results were obtained from those people who were already working for the organisations. One of the models used in the study, known as the realistic job previews (RJP), was deemed insufficient in providing accurate data on the impact or recruitment on attracting people to apply for a job (Chapman et al. 2005). The model was deemed to be “effective as they increase self-selection, increase employer trust and increase individual commitment to the job” (Chapman et al. 2005). However, a critical analysis of the use of the model shows that when used after an applicant has been selected for the job does not make the RJP model appropriately applicable.

One inherent weakness with the use of the RJP model is that the information provided by the new employee does not reveal complete references to the required information that can be used to evaluate the impact of the model in collecting the right information about the image of the organisation and how it influences the potential employees to apply for a job (Goldberg 2003). The rationale is that most responses contained in the questionnaires belong to specific categories that reflect the areas of interest the new employees focus on when filling the questionnaire (Greening & Turban 2000). Applicant’s earlier impressions about an organization’s image as an employer has a correlation to the initial attraction of an organization and influence behaviors linked to pursue an organization for potential employment (EIA 2014). However, as recruitment researchers have only started examining applicant’s pre-employment views of organizations, a challenge that unfolds image studies in the recruitment context is the practice of labeling similar ideas by various names, and labeling various ideologies using similar names (Cable and Turban 2001). The results yielded from the study were inconclusive in many studies that involved the use of the RJP model.

However, the study showed that when the research involved the use of the RJP model, the results showed a radical variation between the use of recruitment messages and the RJP model. It was realised in the study that those who were interviewed about the job attractions using the RJP model showed higher response rates than those given positive images only. The results showed that the effectiveness of the model could depend on the amount of information given when using the model to collect data about the attractiveness of an organisation’s image to the potential applicants to make their applications for jobs.

The overall conclusion was that “researchers in the contemporary business environment need to establish how diverse applicants respond to negative versus positive recruitment information, and the requirement to recognize ‘credibility’ thresholds accordingly” (Greening & Turban 2000, p.34). This suggest that applicants were likely to respond actively to a recruitment message from a potential employer when presentation was had some positive elements, than in response to a recruitment message with negative elements but of the same attribute. Their study contributed to further studies on RJP by commenting that in presenting realistic’ information to applicants, there is a need for consciousness for organizations in acquiring equilibrium in the degree to which ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ information in the messages (Greening & Turban 2000).

Image, Attraction and Pursuit Intentions: Influence on Applicant Attraction

Apart from recruitment sources, recruiters and realistic job previews, there exists a body of recruitment studies implying that an organization’s image is significant in providing sustainability for competitive advantage by attracting highly qualified individuals to apply for jobs in the company. Here, different scholars define the organisational image as the “impression of the policies, personnel, and operations of a corporation that is created in their employees and the public” (Greening & Turban 2000). It is the perceptual representation of an organization’s appeal as per the applicant’s definition, although different scholar define image in different contexts. Image can be defined in the context of the type of industry, the size of the organisation, and the other attributes that influence the perceptions people develop about the organisation. Using this conceptual definition of ‘organizational image’ as seen by the applicant, will determine whether the applicant will fall for attraction and become motivated to process additional information about the organization. Here, attraction is based on the fundamental concept of image that consists of a group of brands that can influence a person to buy or to be associated with the organisation.

Taylor and Bergmann (1987) assert that when preparing for the recruitment of new applicants, it is important for the employer to consider and understand an applicant’s perceptions about their job offers from the perspective of the applicant. The rationale is to involve the employer in motivating a person to apply for the job being offered by the organisation. Applicant’s earlier impressions about an organization’s image as a prospective employer has a correlation to the initial attraction of an organization and influence behaviors linked to pursue an organization for potential employment (Turban & cable 2003). However, as recruitment researchers have only started examining applicant’s pre-employment views of organizations, a challenge that unfolds image studies in the recruitment context is the practice of labeling similar ideas by various names, and labeling various ideologies using similar names (Cable & Turban 2001). For instance the use of words such as reputation and familiarity can be used to replace the terms such as culture or image.

Brand Image and its Application to the Recruitment Process

Brand image continues to have substantial influence in consumer behavior when it comes to marketing since its dominance in academic literature in the early 1950s.

Influence of Image on Applicant Attraction in Recruitment

A research conducted by Cable and Graham (2000), apparently shows that formulating a positive influence of an organization’s image is likely to attract potential applicant for a job in an organization. Belt and Polio (1982) researched and concluded that organizations which emphasize on specific job qualifications do not significantly influence an applicant’s perception. However, an applicant may show interest in applying for a job in an organization based on how they perceive the organization’s image. Cable and Graham (2000) argue that it is likely that applicants will show interest in working for an organization with a favorable image compared to one with undesirable corporate outlook. Therefore, an organization’s image will either influence applicants to pursue a job or make an applicant find the organization a bad employer. Therefore, a positive image will influence many applicants to pursue for employment with an organization and vice versa.

Turban and Greening (1996) suggest that an organization’s corporate image has a relation to the subsequent applications because of the attractiveness perceived by the applicants. An organization’s image will influence applicants especially when that organization values its corporate social performance. This reflects organizations accountability when it comes to employees, society and its economic stakeholders. Therefore, with such identifiable socially responsible characteristics, the organization will have a competitive advantage compared to other organizations. Organizations that practice socially responsible actions will influence applicant’s perceptions, which will view the organization’s image as attractive and would want to have affiliations with such organizations.

Such an image results to attraction of applicants; therefore, such a corporate image characterized by organizational size and profitability, will influence applicants into pursuing employment with such an organization. In the same study, Turban and Greening (1996), it is apparent that positive organizational image will influence applicants into perceiving the organization as attractive and would make good employers. However, organizations that do not engage in socially responsible actions, advertised less, due to the unfamiliarity will not manage to influence applicants into pursuing employment. Such organizations lack a brand image reflecting through social events and recognition via adverts will have weak linkages to potential applicants.

Cable and Graham (2000), suggest that organization’s brand image is an aspect, which may or not influence an applicant into pursuing employment with an organization. Some of the factors that applicants use to judge an organization’s image include chances for employee environment, organizational culture, organizational recognition, historical information, globalization and diversification. Therefore, most of the applicants use the organization’s reputation to gauge its image and subsequently express their views based on the reputation. This means that an organization with a good reputation will influence applicants to pursue for employment with the organization.

Bauer and Aiman-Smith (1996) suggest that, organizations which manage to instill positive attitudes to applicants; this will make applicants pursue employment in the organization. Their study further reveals that the perceptions of the organization’s corporate image substantially influenced an applicant’s intention to seek employment with the organization. In addition, organizations that portray a recruitment image indicate that the organization that openly declares its recruitment information to potential applicants will manage to influence applicants into pursuing employment with the organization. The declaration of the recruitment information has the capacity to instill substantial influence on an applicant’s perceptions of the organizations corporate image. Additionally, when applicants are exposed to this information, the organization will have communicated positive organizational attributes (Harris & Fink 1987).

Harris and Fink, (1987) argue that attitude in respect to behavior is the degree to which a person has a favorable or unfavorable assessment of the behavior making the subject. Beliefs help in prediction of an attitude towards the behavior, based on an estimation of the probability that performing the behavior will most likely bring about the intended results. On the other hand, subjective norm is the extent to which other individuals influence an individual’s aim to perform the behavior (Harris & Fink 1987). The results were based on a review of the compliance of advice of different groups of people to the advice given among themselves and the resulting in the opinions that influenced people to apply for a job.

Therefore, the theory assumes that people will take account of available information and implicitly organize the information in a meaningful way to inform their actions. In the recruitment context, TRA recognizes the relationship amid the set of career recruiters and potential applicant’s intentions towards the organization (Harris & Fink 1987). In this study, it is apparent that the intentions towards an organization fully depended on the attitude toward that organization. On the other hand, the study suggests that intentions fully mediated the relationship between career recruiter attributes and the potential applicant’s behavior (Schreus et al. 2005). In the same context of recruitment, a study by Fishbein and Ajzen (1975), suggests that TRA, an applicant evaluates an organization’s brand ‘identifiers’ such as name, term, logo or a combination to make aware their views on the organization’s image as a potential employer. When the applicant develops a positive view on the organizations’ image as demonstrated by Fishbein and Ajzen (1975), they are attracted to the organisation. Moreover, an applicant who finds an organization desirable will want to engage in a relationship with it inform of employment.

Organisational justice

Harris and Fink (1987) argue that organisational justice is based on the theory of the individual reaction towards the provision of rewards for the good work done. In addition, the decisions that the human resource managers make towards an individual applicant among the pool of applicants is n decisive of the justice they feel the organisation has meted out on them. Organisational justice plays a significant role in influencing employees to consider working for an organisation (Highhouse & Hoffman 2001). The justice dependent system is based on the need for distributing inputs according to the chances that are available to fill. The chances in this case are the job opportunities, the promotions, career development, education, training, and experience.

It is important for managers to make their judgments based on the principles of equity that show that the manager is transparent in their actions. The principle of equity dictates that prospective employees be treated positively to get the feeling that they are given equal chances to work for the organisation. It implies that the organisation should factor issues such as procedural justice when recruiting prospective employees for the jobs that fall vacant (Highhouse & Hoffman 2001).

There are a number of determinants for procedural justice, which includes consistency in the recruitment and selection process (Highhouse & Hoffman 2001). Consistency requires that the recruiting personnel apply a standard method of recruiting all employees to show that they are fair and justice is being practiced. Neutrality is another element that distinguishes fair and unfair practices in the recruitment process and that finally has an effect on the image of the organisation. Unfair practices create a negative image on the organisation and that is likely to reduce the desire for prospective applicants to join the pool of applicants for the new jobs. In addition, fairness can only be realised if the decisions made about the applicants seem to be neutral and without vested interests that could adversely affect the decision by the recruiting body and the resulting image of the recruiting organisation (Highhouse & Hoffman 2001)

On the other hand, organisational justice should be credible and representative of the entire image of the organisation. The representativeness of the organisation in the recruitment process is based on ensuring that different applicants with different backgrounds such as gender are included in the recruitment exercise ton ensure justice. Representation provides the human resource managers to create an environment that leads to positive attitudes towards the organisation and the recruitment process.

The different elements that define justice include interaction justice. Interaction justice is defined by procedural and interpersonal treatment. Procedural justice is done to enhance the perception people develop about the treatment they receive from the target organisation where they go seeking for the jobs. To be successful and reflective of interaction justice the recruitment process should be defined by truthfulness the means the presentation of information that is correct, accurate, and realistic about the recruitment of the employees. If truthfulness is a component of the recruitment process, the prospective applicants develop a positive attitude towards the organisation because they have developed the perception that the recruitment process is fair and just.

Jamal and Goode (2001) proposed that if employees are treated with respect and they develop the perception that they have been t4eated with dignity and that ends influencing a positive attitude in their minds about the recruitment. That also increases the probability of employees developing a positive attitude towards the organisation and getting the positive urge to apply for the job (Turban 2001). In addition, the actions of the employer should appear to be justified and the statements made about the recruitment process should not be defined by elements that indicate racialism and sexism (Turban 2001).

Studies have revealed that organisational justice provides managers with the ability to create a system that promotes the procedural distributive, and interaction justice. In addition, that makes the prospective applicants to feel that they are positively regarded and that makes them feel satisfied when they apply for a job. In addition, that makes the prospective employees of the assurance that the management are able to maintain control of the organisation and the way it functions. That also makes the prospective applicants to develop a positive attitude towards the organisation they intend to make their applications (Turban 2001). It is argued that justice creates a positive attitude in the prospective applicants that in the end leads to higher levels of job satisfaction and commitment to work for the organisation. In addition, a sense of justice makes the employees feel wanted to work for the organisation and that improves their performance in executing the work tasks they are assigned to do.

If the organisational environment makes the employees feel that organisational justice prevails, the prospective employees get attracted to work for the organisation because they have developed a positive image about the organisation (Turban, Forret & Hendrickson 1998). On the other hand, if the prospective employees feel that justices do not prevail in the organisation, the probability of applying for the new job is low because they have a negative attitude toward the organisation because of a negative organizational image.

The response to the organisational image is that it modifies the organisations image and that affects the way people perceive the organisation. In that case, the image is a critical component in the decision making process to apply and work for the organisation is defined by the core elements of justice that influence the behaviors, the loyalty developed by the applicants to the organisation, and the overall picture of the people of the organisation (Turban et al.1998).

Typical areas that organisational justice has been applied include the delivery of a fair system for disciplinary cases, determination of the problems that affect the image of the organisation and how the image impacts on the performance of the organisation, the power of the employees to control the recruitment and selection processes, the counseling process and how to resolve conflicts within the organisation that might arise among the employees (Turban et al. 1998).

In addition, organisational justice is important for the selection and recruitment process because it enables the managers to create a recruitment and selection process that factors the specific elements of the job description that are mapped into the recruitment process. In addition, the process enables the managers to establish the right assessment criteria for successful applicants, which includes the competencies required for the job. It also enables the applicants to reapply for the job if they are not successful at the first attempt. In addition, if the procedures are proved to be consistent, it is possible for the candidates to develop a positive attitude and that could endear them to the organisation once again (Turban et al. 1998). In conclusion, organisational justice is an important component that organisations consider when they want to improve the perceptions of people to be recruited to fill vacant positions.

The Theory of Reasoned Action (RA)

Research on the theory of reasoned action reveals that behavior is the most crucial component to consider because it underpins particular actions. Here, “two components determine the objective; these are attitude and subjective norm” (Farmer et al. 2003). In addition, attitude in respect to behavior is the degree to which a person has a favorable or unfavorable assessment of the behavior making the subject. Beliefs help in prediction of an attitude towards the behavior, based on an estimation of the probability that performing the behavior will most likely bring about the intended results. On the other hand, subjective norm is the extent to which other individuals influence an individual’s aim to perform the behavior. The two elements correlate in that people will comply with other people’s advices based on the evaluation of the impact of the people’s opinion concerning the behavior under question.

The theory is “based on situations whereby people consider the consequences of the actions before making a decision on whether or not to act” ((Farmer et al. 2003). Therefore, the theory assumes that people will take account of available information and implicitly organize the information in a meaningful way to inform their actions. In the recruitment context, TRA recognizes the relationship amid the set of career recruiters and potential applicant’s intentions towards the organization. In this study, it is apparent that the intentions towards an organization fully depended on the attitude toward that organization. On the other hand, the study suggests that intentions fully mediated the relationship between career recruiter attributes and the potential applicant’s behavior (Schreus et al. 2005). In the same context of recruitment, a study by Fishbein and Ajzen (1975), suggests that TRA, an applicant evaluates an organization’s brand ‘identifiers’ such as name, term, logo or a combination to make aware their views on the organization’s image as a potential employer. When the applicant develops a positive view on the organizations’ image as demonstrated by Fishbein and Ajzen (1975), then the applicant is attracted. Moreover, an applicant who finds an organization desirable will want to engage in a relationship with the organisation by applying for a job in the organisation (Rose n.d).

Methodology

Participants

A significant number of participants were involved in the study and were distributed according to their demographic profiles of age. The average age of the participants was 38 and involved 68% male and 32% female with a working experiencing not less than 10 years. The defining profiles of the participants were that of job seekers in the petroleum industry. In addition, the participants should have worked earlier for not less than 10 years.

Procedure

In addition, the use of test participants from the organization will help in identifying the target population and provide feedback accordingly. In addition, before using the test participants, the researcher should seek ethical clearance from the organization of choice. In addition, it is significant for this study to incorporate web-based recruitments, as a mechanism to distribute the test instrument to the target. The participants in this research will apply for advertised jobs at the organization of choice via one of the proposed methods (Allen, Mahto & Otondo 2007). The proposed methods include “emails, the company’s portal address, the post office mail, facsimile, or the applications can be delivered by hand to the human resource management office” (Allen et al. 2007).The human resource department will be responsible for updating the applicant on any job related issues that arise once the application has been delivered.

Measures

The data collected for the study involved three sets of measures including; items established to attract the applicant’s perceptions of the organization’s image, attraction inherent in the views of the organization’s image that resulted in the applicant’s desire for employment in the organization; and the purpose for seek for employment with the organization. In addition, the study can evaluate constructs utilizing developed scales when measuring similar constructs under investigation whenever applicable.

Image

The study utilized 22 items to measure the applicants’ views on the effects of organizational image on the attractiveness to apply for job vacancies that arise in the organisation. In the context of the evaluation criteria, eight items were used to evaluate the job, the perceptions of the potential applicants about the job offer were evaluated using five items, and the remaining nine items were used to evaluate the applicant’s job security in case one become successful and is selected for the job.

The job

The perceptions of the applicants’ ion the job were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 by asking the potential applicants to specify their perceptions by using the scale. The potential applicants rated their perceptions by choosing a number that indicated their responses on the scale. Other items used for the study to rate the perceptions were adopted from other authors who have done a similar rating in their studies. The rating of the scale varies between 1 and five with one meaning not likely and 5 meaning very likely.

Job security

The potential applicants who constituted the respondents in the study were to use the same scale to express their perception on the job security and the salary expectation that could be offered by the prospective employer. Here, five items were provided for the respondents to use that varies between one and five, where means that very unlikely and five means very likely on the scale.

Organization

The respondents who were the potential applicants for employment vacancies that happen within the organisation were asked to indicate the extent to which the organisation could provide them with the sociable working environment. The participants were given the option to express themselves on an item on the scale of ‘unsure’ on a scale of one to five with one implying very unlikely and five to imply very likely.

Attraction

Eight items were used to measure the level of attraction an organisation has to the potential applicants. Each of the eight items is discussed below.

Organization interest

Organisational interest was measured on a scale with seven items labeled one to seven. Number one on the scale indicates a ‘strongly disagree’ and the number seven on the scale implies ‘strongly agree’.

Interest in the job

The responses from the applicants on the interest on the job implies that the participants were required to express their interest by selecting an item on a scale of one to seven, with one implying that the applicant extremely had no interest in the job and seven implying that the applicant had strong interest in the job.

Application

Respondents were asked to rate their perceptions about the need to apply for a job within the organisation and make it part of their career development using 5 items on a scale of one to five. One on the scale meaning ‘strongly disagree’ and five on the scale meaning ‘strongly agree’ and each respondent could select only one item on the scale.

Intention to pursue employment with the organization

The intention to purse employment within the organisation also implied that the potential applicant could pursue their career within the organisation for future. On the other hand, the participants could “indicate perceptions on a seven-point scale from 1 ‘strongly disagree’ to 5 ‘strongly agree’ according to (Highhouse et al. 2004).

Summary

The data used in the study was collected from potential applicants interested to apply and work for Qatar Petroleum and other formal organisations. In addition, the reasons that were used to justify the collection of data from the target population are stated and justified.

Hypotheses

1. When the perceptions about the job offerings are positive, applicants feel attracted to apply for jobs that arise in the organisations.
2. The positive image of an organization will be positively correlated with their seeking employment with the organization in the Qatar oil and gas industry.
3. People that regularly check the job postings at the organization are more likely to apply within the next six months.
4. People that are currently unsatisfied with their current positions are more likely to check the job postings.

Presentation of Results

Table 1. (Questionnaire responses).

The questionnaire response rate was over 90.5 % because 38 questionnaires were duly filled and returned out of a sample size of 848 that was above the threshold value required to answer the questions and provide valid responses. The responses were as per the objectives of study. The study factored age, educational status, and working experience as the demographic factors that impact on the attractiveness to apply for potential jobs that arise in Qatar Petroleum.

The standard deviation was used to measure the deviation of the mean values from the expected value. When the standard deviation is low, the dispersion of the responses is close to the mean value and when the standard deviation is high, the dispersion of the responses from the mean value is widely spread.

According to the educational status, the largest percentage (79% =30) of the respondents had attained the degree level of education, with the rest (5.2%=2) having attained a diploma level of education and there were no postgraduate participant in the study and the rest (16% =6) having attained a form four certificate level. On gender distributions, 70% were male and 30% female and of the respondents (64%) had working experience of over 3 years in the petroleum industry of between 1 and 3 years, 19% had experience of between 3 and 6 years. A small percentage of 8% and 6% had working experience of below 1 year and over six years respectively.

The educaitonal status are distributed in the cahrt above and the distribution of age of the respondents are shwon below.

I often check the job openings that Qatar Petroleum posts

The graph below shows that the percentage respondents for each item in the question on those who regularly check for job openings at the company. Of the 38 respondents, 30 people (78.9%) returned their questionnaires, and 8% of the respondents ever being interested in checking for job openings in the company, 28.7% were neutral in checking for job openings, 23.3% agreed that they were interested on checking for job openings, and 26.7% agreed strongly that they checked for any new job openings in the company.

The results lead to the conclusion that the great percentage are interested to work for the company if job openings happen within the company. In addition, the results of the questionnaire are in support of the theory that image or the brand name has a strong effect on the attitude of the applicants wishing to apply for a job within Qatar petroleum because over 50% of the respondents feel attracted to apply for new job openings. On the other hand, the respondents who disagree constitute only 21.3% that is less than half of the respondents who wish to apply for jobs in case new openings happen.

I would be interested in a position at Qatar Petroleum

The results show that 8.7% of the respondents could strongly disagree to work for Qatar petroleum if they were offered chance to work for the company. On the other hand, the 13.3 % of the respondents disagree that they could work for the company if a job opening happened, while 18.7% were neutral. However, 43.3% of the respondents agreed that they could work for the company and 16% strongly agree that they could work for the company. The results shows that the over 59.3% of the respondents agreed that they could work for the company if a job opening happened in the company. The percentage respondents can deductively be regarded as having a positive image of the company and feel attracted to work for the company. However, the respondents were not asked to explain the elements that made them attracted to work or the company.

I would prefer to work for the Government of Qatar than a firm in the private market.

The results show that 5.3% strongly disagreed to work for the Government than the private sectors in the market, while 16.7% disagreed that they could work for the Government. On the other hand, the 26.8% were neutral and 30% agree that they could work for government and 21.3 % strongly agreed that they could work for the government. The imply cations of the findings are that more people are attracted to work for the government in Qatar petroleum showing strong attraction toward the company. The rationale is that over 51.3% of the respondents could be attracted to work for Qatar petroleum and in theory and according to the research literature, it was evident that the job analysis and other job attracting components were integrated into the strategy to attract highly skilled potential applicants.

Public employees make less money than do workers in the private sector

The results show that the 0.00% of the respondents strongly disagree that public employees make less money than workers in the private sector. Typically, the 6.7% of those who answered the questions disagree that public employee earn more, 26.7% of the respondents were neutral, 41.3% agree and 10.7% strongly agree that public employee earn less than those who work in the private sector. Analytically, the study reflects salary to be one of the components that the Qatar petroleum has strongly factor when creating a pool of applicants in the recruitment process. In addition, salary can cause an adverse impact on the attitude of highly skilled and knowledgeable potential applicants to feel attracted to work for the company. The attraction for high skilled manpower can be effectively achieved if the compensation is commensurate with the skills requirements of the potential employees. Less or poorly compensated employee do not feel motivated to work for the company they are employed to work in and do not put to maximum use their skills resulting to low productivity.

I believe that most employees that work at Qatar Petroleum are extremely well qualified to work there.

Over 50% of the respondents strongly agree or agree that the employees are extremely well qualified who work for Qatar petroleum. The results show that if the perceptions of potential applicants are that the company employs highly qualified personnel, highly qualified personnel who are seeking for jobs have the potential to apply for available vacancies when the company starts a recruitment process or to make unsolicited applications in case a vacancy arises.

I have previously submitted a resume at Qatar Petroleum within the last three years

Of respondents who have previously submitted a resume at Qatar Petroleum within the last three years, 15.3% of the respondents strongly disagreed that they have ever left a resume in the last three years, 22.7% disagreed to leaving a resume, 24% were neutral in their response, 18.7% agreed that they have left a resume and 19.3% strongly agreed that they have left a resume at the company in the last 3 years.

A significant number of respondents agreed that the company offered wages that were equally related to the revenue benefits that the company was earning. The study shows that the most people were proud to work for Qatar petroleum if offered a job to work at the company, they were skilled to work for the company if given an opportunity to apply for the job and that those who work for Qatar Petroleum are highly skilled workers. In addition, the study shows that a significant number of people had a positive image towards the company and felts attracted to work for the company because most of the potential applicants continue to check for job openings at the company.

However, a smaller percentage of applicants feel not attracted towards Qatar petroleum because a smaller number did not submit an application in less than 3 years because they do not belief Qatar Petroleum to be the best in the world. In addition, those who are less attracted to work for the company reason that the company pays less money than those who work in the private sector.

Presentation of findings

The ratings for different variables used in the study show different variables have different effects and different response rates depending on the number of respondents. For prospective employees who could like to work for Qatar petroleum, 10.53% of the respondents strongly disagree with a low response rate, 21.05% disagree that they could not work for the company, 10.53% agree, 42.11% agree, 15.97% strongly agree that they can take up a position to work for Qatar oil. 38 respondents participated in the study with a high response rate. Over 42% of the respondents could take up the chance to work for the company and that is consistent with the position that the oil companies have attractiveness for the prospective applicants in case of a vacancy arising within the company. A large response was received for people who were asked if they perceived Qatar petroleum to be a good employer. No respondent strongly disagreed, but a high response rate (36.84%) was received for people who disagreed that the company could be a good employer. Out of 38 respondents,28 respondents agreed that the company was a good employer and an average of 3 respondents agreed that the company was a good place to work in.

Those respondents with family and friends working for Qatar oil were over 33.33% and those that did not have family or friends working for the companies were over 33.33% w. The rating showed a significant number of the respondents do not work for the company and the implications are that the organisational image is poor. The results showed a high response rate for both cases and medium response rate for those who disagree and agree that they have relatives working for the Qatar Company.

Findings

Nineteen surveys were collected which definitely serves as a limitation in the study. It was difficult to find individuals who were available and willing to take the survey. A larger sample size would undoubtedly provide more accurate information. Roughly a little over forty percent of the sample has applied for positions in the organization in the last three years. This could also produce a sample bias. However, based on the population that participated in the sample, there are many assumptions that can be made. For example, nearly sixty percent (57.9%) of the sample either agreed or strongly agreed that they would be interested in a position at Qatar Petroleum. If this figure was representative of the entire labor pool then Qatar Petroleum would likely have a well-qualified applicant pool at its disposal. Few people believed that Qatar Petroleum is one of the best companies in the world and no one believed that they “strongly agreed” that they trusted the organization to operate responsibly. However, a significant percentage of individuals believed that the company operated responsibly than didn’t.

Other insights include the fact that a strong majority of the individuals surveyed believe that public sector companies offer more career stability than do other private sector firms. Also a strong majority of people believed that the employees at the organization were well qualified to work there. This could potentially limit the applicant pool size if potential employees felt that were not qualified to work at the organization. However, roughly thirty percent of the sample pool felt that they were unqualified for a position within the organization showing evidence that is conflicting. This could potentially indicate that many of the applicants were confident in their own abilities and job skills.

The results show a significant level of job security and trust the people develop towards the employer because the rating has a mean of 3.11 on a scale of 1 to 5. Other factors that appear to have a positive effect on prospective employees include the nature of the employer who can be a public or a private employer and the public employer in this case is the who is the government. The results show that Qatar oil companies are the most preferred destination for jobs because of the have high satisfaction defined by the company’s high level of responsibility as the responses show from the people who operate in the oil and gas industry. In addition, the study shows that people who work for the company. The lowest ratings were on the comparisons of Qatar with other companies in the world, the duration most of the respondents have worked for the company and the above average ratings are the interest to apply for work with the Qatar Company, the choice to work for Qatar, and the chance to probability to work for the company. The results have strong effects on the image and attitude that is either negative or positive towards working for companies in Qatar.

Discussion

The study shows that recruitment practices are a crucial component that organisation use to create a pool of applicants that are suitable for jobs that fall vacant within the organisations that arte in the private or the public oil production sectors in Qatar. Recruitment practices and organisational images are crucial in determining the image and perceptions that prospective employees develop towards the organisation and the ability of the organisation to attract highly skilled and talented manpower into their pool of applicants of employees. In addition, recruitment is one of the crucial components that are used to determine the perceptions and image the target organisation develops and the image that is developed among the prospective job applicants. Therefore, image is impacted on by the recruitment processes and practices and image influences the perceptions prospective employees develop towards an organisation so that a positive image facilitates the need to apply for a job and a negative image implies that people get discouraged to apply for the jobs.

Different components of the recruitment process are important on determining the image that organisations develop about their recruitment practices. That is “because recruitment plays an important role in attracting prospective applicants to submit their applications because of the jobs that have fallen vacant in the organisation” (Barber 1998). The recruitment method is important because it is used to create an image of the organisation that is looking for prospective employees to fill the vacant jobs. The moment the recruitment process is done wrongly, is the moment the image of an organisation is adversely affected and that affects the probability of attracting highly skilled and trained employees. Typically, the recuing function is used to match the organisational job requirements with the need of the individuals who are given the opportunity to apply for the jobs. In addition, “the recruitment function enables the human resource manager to match the attributes of the applicant with the job description details and the needs of the organisation to determine where a suitable match from the pool of applicants exists” (Barber 1998). If the image of the organisation is poor, the chances of arriving at an applicant that is suitable for a job are low and that makes the recruitment exercise costly in terms of resources and time.

If the recruitment process is undesirable for the prospective applicants, it is possible for them to develop negative attitudes and image towards that organisation. The prospective candidates can label the recruitment process as being bias and that leads to negative perceptions about the organisation. Recruitment is a human resource function that is used to create a pool of applicants that have been attracted to the advertised job, evaluating the candidates who have applied for the jobs, convincing the candidates that they are fit for the job they have applied for, and finally making an offer to the candidate for the job. However, the recruitment process begins with attracting the candidate to apply for the job and that is based on the image the candidate develops about the job.

Several factors are used to determine the attitude developed by the job applicant include organisational attractiveness. Attractiveness is based on the image and the job analysis function that shows the specification of the job and that creates an image on how the organisation views the job being advertised. A job analysis provides the details for knowledge and skills required for the advertised job and the personal attributes that a person must possess to qualify for the job. In addition, the applicant must evaluate their personal characteristics that are based on self-image to determine if they are fit for the job. A person evaluates oneself to see if the self-image fits into the image of the organisation to evaluate their suitability for the job. Self-image and organisational image play the critical role in determining the attractiveness of job to a prospective applicant.

Attractiveness of an organisation based on job analysis is based on what a prospective employee is able to do and the detailed requirements and areas that the person is to work, that are documented in a job psychograph. The results imply that if the prospective applicant has a negative image of the prospective employer, they might not feel attracted to the job and eventually might not apply for the job. The elements of the job analysis that define the attractiveness of a job include the ability to enable the employees develop their individual careers, ability to enable the employees to optimise their talents at the work place, the detailed description of the skills and mental requirements, functional areas to work on, job related tasks, and the training recommendations for the new employee.

In practice attractiveness is based on the task oriented and work oriented tasks that a person is required to do once they are employed in the organisation. The task based requirement can have a negative or positive effect on the applicant because they include the actual activities one might be required to do when they have qualified and been given a job offer. The statements that are included on the job analysis document detail the cognitive and job expertise needed to perform the job. The manner and approach used to write the statement of tasks to perform is a strong indicator of the job requirements and the image that is generated about the organisation hiring the applicant.

On the other hand, the work oriented tasks are those that are done in the oil industry are crucial in determining the image the applicants develops about the organisation. Work oriented tasks detail the procedures that are necessary to complete a task successfully and a person feels that the organisation does not support them to develop them to develop the appropriate skills, knowledge, and abilities to do their work; they are likely to feel attracted to the organisation and not apply for the jobs. Some of the factors that affect the recruitment process that in turn affects the image and the attractiveness of the applicant for a job include organisational attractiveness. Organisational attractiveness is as a result of the interview and post interview questions that an applicant is likely to be asked.

Image is not a one day activity but is developed successfully for a long period. That makes the distinction of where the people could prefer to work and where they could not. The private and public sectors of Qatar have developed different images for the time they have existed. The likelihood of people wanting to work for each of the sectors depends on the outward images they perceive about the prospective employers in the oil and petroleum industry of Qatar. When it comes to the number of people working for Qatar petroleum, the responses are low and when interpreted against image and the influence on the employability of the people, the overall picture is that of uncertainty on the effects of the attitude the people develop towards Qatar petroleum as an employer.

It cannot be assumed that having many friends working for the company or not is a direct interpretation of the willingness of people to work for the company. It cannot be used as measurement to determine the attitude of the employees and the employer. In addition, the study describes the Qatar as a country with a very high level of income from the revenue from the petroleum industry. The results show that on average a good number of skilled people are ready to work for the company because of the positive images that the company portrays to the people. However, when asked to respond on employment for life, the result shows that the people are not willing to work for life in the industry and could take the option change for other jobs. That shows that the concept of attraction, image, job description, job analysis and other job related issues have a positive impact on the willingness and desire to work for life.

Implications for practice

The study provides a rich source of information on how organisations should create positive images to recruit and influence prospective applicants who wish to apply for jobs that fall vacant within the organisations. The study further shows that organisations in the petroleum industry have different images and different factors contribute to the image outcomes that organisations the project. The study demonstrated a strong link between organisational image and the recruitment process and the attractiveness for the applicants to apply for the job. However, various factors have to be considered by the human resource department in the recruitment process.

Here, recruitment is a tool that is used by the human resource department to attract the right applicants to apply for the jobs that fall vacant within the organisations so that the organisation gets a large pool of applicants from which they can identify the right skilled people. The petroleum industry requires people with the right skills and knowledge to work in different capacities within the organisation in pursuing the business goals and objectives of the organisation. For many organisations, image is a problem that must be addressed to create the right environment for the recruitment process. On the other hand, recruitment can only be successful if the organisational image is attractive to the applicants and the recruiting organisation. The result show that of the right image is embraced by an organisation, the level of attraction is high and if the organisational image is negative or poor. The recruitment process becomes difficult. Both the recruitment and the image are interdependent in determining the success is attracting the people with the right skills.

The factors to consider when recruiting new applicants to make the process a success include the corporate image of the organisation, economic performance, corporate and social performance, the potential of the organisation to employ new applicants, and the how the human resource management performs the organisation’s job analysis function. Job analysis provides the human resource manager with the ability to determine the skills and knowledge requirements for the vacant job and the attributes characteristics required to do the work tasks. Here, job analysis can be task oriented because the new worker will be required to do certain tasks that require their skills in the context of the functionalities and duties, and responsibilities assigned an individual. Here, Barber (1998) affirms that “the task oriented job requirements enable a human resource manager to perform a functional job analysis to determine the right skills and knowledge requirements for the job” (p.45).

Job analysis is an important tool that can be applied to manipulate the attractiveness of a job to increase the pool of applicants for a job within the organisation. If an organisation put is place a strategy by using the recruitment tools effectively and by integrating those components that manipulate the organisational image into the recruitment process, the attractiveness to work for the organisation is bound to increase. It is important for the managers to recruit prospective employees through properly laid down guidelines that project a positive image of the organisation. Recruitment procedures that show organisational justice in the recruitment of prospective employees provide makes prospective applicants develop a positive attitude and behavior towards the organisation. Justice is defined by the perceived moral right based on the laws of equity that the prospective applicants develop towards the organisation.

Justice can be fairness in the distribution of resources and job vacancies or procedural justice that show fairness in the recruitment process, and justice in the interaction between the human resource manager and the applicant that shows the treatment an applicant gets during the recruitment process. One of the key elements to consider in the recruitment process that have a strong correlation with the organisation image includes the recruitment source. If the source is from inexperienced people who have a desire for work without first knowing the image of the recruiting organisation, the organisation is likely to recruit a pool of applicants that cannot contribute the desired skills and knowledge to the organisation. On the other hand, if the organisational image is negative, the company is less likely to attract a pool of applicants that are highly skilled and experienced. The additional elements to consider because of the significant effect they have on the attraction of applicants include positive communication that is implied in the recruitment messages, the corporate image, and the perceptions of the applicants.

In summary, recruitment is a crucial tool that organisations should use to project a positive image of the organisation to attract hilly skilled manpower to take up jobs that require skilled people. Some of the critical elements to consider include organisational justice that provides the applicants with the freedom in decision making and the perception that the recruitment process is fair. In addition, organisational justice makes employees feel valued, consider the decisions made in recruitment to be fair, gives employees voice ion decision making, and makes them to be supportive of the organisation. On other hand, job analysis plays a critical role in defining the job requirements for an employee to evaluate their skills and knowledge and competence to fill the vacant position and to consider applying for the position. Image and recruitment are strongly correlated here.

Conclusion

Organisational image is a critical tool that the human resource managers uses to attract skilled and knowledgeable human resources when recruiting prospective applicants for the jobs that fall vacant. When recruitment is used appropriately based on the elements that include the organisational justice, proper job description and job analysis, and a good corporate image, the organisation becomes attractive to prospective applicants with the right skills and knowledge to apply and create a large pool of applicants for the job. A study of Qatar petroleum shows that the company has an above average rating of its image that makes skilled and knowledgeable people to work for the companies. As the results of the study on how image and recruitment procedures are applicable across industries including Qatar petroleum. Qatar petroleum has attracted a pool of applicants because of the positive image that the organisation projects to the prospective applicants. Image is about the cooperate image that the Qatar petroleum projects to job environments and the attractiveness of the company creates a pool of applicants for the job. In addition, the results show a positive influence.

Although the sample size presented some limitations, there was evidence to suggest that all four hypotheses were supported. A majority of the potential employees viewed the organization in a positive light and many more felt there was increased job security in the public sector. Roughly forty percent of the individuals in the sample also had either applied in the last three years or intended to apply for a position in the next six months. This suggests that the organizations image is positive and many applicants seek employment at the organization. Furthermore, nearly half of the individuals check the job posting regularly and over forty percent of respondents stated that a position with Qatar Petroleum would be their first choice in potential positions. However, further research should be conducted with a larger sample size to verify the results. The research offers significant insights into the image that applicants have towards Qatar Petroleum and the private sector in general as attractive employers.

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Appendix

I am conducting a research to determine the influences of organizational image on applicant attraction in the recruitment process. You are requested to answer the question as per to the best of your knowledge and in case of any ambiguity, you are requested to ask for clarification. The results of the questionnaire will be for the academic purpose only and not any other use. In addition, the results and the responses will be kept private and confidential. In case of any further clarification, you are asked to feel free to ask.

Personal profile

1. What is your level of education?
   1. Post Graduate
   2. Bachelor Degree
   3. Diploma
   4. Certificate
   5. None
2. What is your gender? (select one)
   1. Male
   2. Female

Questionnaire

1. I would be interested in a position at Qatar Petroleum.
   1. Strongly Disagree
   2. Neutral
   3. Strongly Agree
2. I believe Qatar Petroleum would be a good employer to work for.
   1. Strongly Disagree
   2. Neutral
   3. Strongly Agree
3. I have friends or family members that work for Qatar Petroleum.
   1. Strongly Disagree
   2. Neutral
   3. Strongly Agree
4. I am completely satisfied with the job I already have.
   1. Strongly Disagree
   2. Neutral
   3. Strongly Agree
5. I believe that Qatar Petroleum pays its employees some of the highest wages in the industry.
   1. Strongly Disagree
   2. Neutral
   3. Strongly Agree
6. If I felt I could obtain a position at Qatar Petroleum I would pursue that option immediately.
   1. Strongly Disagree
   2. Neutral
   3. Strongly Agree
7. I believe that most employees that work at Qatar Petroleum work there until they reach the age of retirement.
   1. Strongly Disagree
   2. Neutral
   3. Strongly Agree
8. If I obtained a position of employment at Qatar Petroleum I believe I would have a significant amount of job security.
   1. Strongly Disagree
   2. Neutral
   3. Strongly Agree
9. I would prefer to work for the Government of Qatar than a firm in the private market.
   1. Strongly Disagree
   2. Neutral
   3. Strongly Agree
10. Public employees have more job security than do private employees.
    1. Strongly Disagree
    2. Neutral
    3. Strongly Agree
11. Public employees generally make less money than do workers in the private sector.
    1. Strongly Disagree
    2. Neutral
    3. Strongly Agree
12. I believe that Qatar Petroleum serves the public in Qatar well.
    1. Strongly Disagree
    2. Neutral
    3. Strongly Agree
13. I trust the Qatar Petroleum organization to operate responsibly.
    1. Strongly Disagree
    2. Neutral
    3. Strongly Agree
14. I know people that are skeptical of the ways that gas and oil companies operate.
    1. Strongly Disagree
    2. Neutral
    3. Strongly Agree
15. I would rather have more security in my job than a higher wage.
    1. Strongly Disagree
    2. Neutral
    3. Strongly Agree
16. The company’s benefits are as important as the wage that the company pays.
    1. Strongly Disagree
    2. Neutral
    3. Strongly Agree
17. If I work at Qatar Petroleum I would be proud of this job and proud to tell my friends and family where I worked.
    1. Strongly Disagree
    2. Neutral
    3. Strongly Agree
18. I believe that Qatar Petroleum is one of the best companies in the industry in the world.
    1. Strongly Disagree
    2. Neutral
    3. Strongly Agree
19. I believe that I have the skills to be successful at a position at Qatar Petroleum.
    1. Strongly Disagree
    2. Neutral
    3. Strongly Agree
20. I believe that most employees that work at Qatar Petroleum are extremely well qualified to work there.
    1. Strongly Disagree
    2. Neutral
    3. Strongly Agree
21. I think I would have a good chance at receiving a job offer at Qatar Petroleum.
    1. Strongly Disagree
    2. Neutral
    3. Strongly Agree
22. A position at Qatar Petroleum would be my first choice.
    1. Strongly Disagree
    2. Neutral
    3. Strongly Agree
23. I intend to apply for a position at Qatar Petroleum within the next six months.
    1. Strongly Disagree
    2. Neutral
    3. Strongly Agree
24. I often check the job openings that Qatar Petroleum posts.
    1. Strongly Disagree
    2. Neutral
    3. Strongly Agree
25. I have previously submitted a resume at Qatar Petroleum within the last three years.
    1. Strongly Disagree
    2. Neutral
    3. Strongly Agree