Der Wert der Arbeitskraft

Using the example of engineers in the German and French automotive industries, Philipp Gerlach examines the tools and methods that personnel decision-makers use to assess the suitability of applicants. The form and content of the identified selection arrangements can only be properly understood in the context of the meaningful handling of uncertainty, as well as the necessity to legitimize decisions and establish their impersonality. The desire to conform to a normative ideal of rational-systematic decision-making conflicts with the preference for informal selection practices. The interplay of formalized and informal decision-making modes shapes the landscape of organizational personnel selection.