Group Discussion
Group Discussion is
an important tool in the selection process. It is mostly used for selecting
candidates for management posts. Here, the candidates are divided into small
groups. Each group contains six to eight candidates. Each group is given a
topic for discussion. They are also given a time limit for discussing this
topic. The topic may be a general or current topic. For e.g. "Leaders are
born, not made". Each participant has to give his or her views about this
topic. The selectors observe the full discussion. After the time limit is over,
the best candidate from the group is selected. The same process is followed for
other groups.
Group discussion is mostly
unstructured. That is, every single step is not planned in advance. Each
candidate is not given a time limit for speaking. Similarly, the order of
speaking, that is, who will speak first and who will speak last is not fixed in
advance. The candidates have to decide how to conduct the group discussion. The
selectors see how the group takes shape, and who contributes most to it. They
also judge the knowledge of each candidate, time management, leadership
quality, behaviour, etc.
Why are Group Discussions used as
a part of the selection process?
Nowadays, be it any stream
or field, interaction skills are highly valued. By means of group discussions
recruiters judge candidates capabilities in and out. Group discussions have
become an integral step of evaluation for process of recruitment and
admissions. These discussions are aimed at appraising various aspects of personality
like confidence, communication skill, patience, etc. At the same time Group
discussions are also important to evaluate one’s command on the given
topic.
Group Discussions measure
certain attributes of the candidates that are otherwise difficult to identify
and time consuming to assess. A number of people who can communicate their
ideas well and discuss effectively with others in a one-to-one situation become
tongue-tied in a group situation. They will just not be able to present their
ideas or discuss their ideas with the other members of the group. A Group
Discussion will identify people who have such group communication skills and
people who do not possess such group communication skills.
In today's context, the
organizations are interested in team players rather than individual
contributors. During the Group Discussion, the panel essentially evaluates the
candidate's potential to be a leader and also his/her ability to work in teams.
Most organizations today are very clear about the skills and knowledge that
they look for in a candidate while screening. This was not the case a couple of
years ago. Group Discussion has been a part of the Selection process for
admission into most of the top Business Schools Earlier, some of the
Pharmaceutical Companies like Ranbaxy, Glaxo, Cipla, Lupin, etc used to conduct
Group Discussions as a part of their Screening Process for Selection of
candidates as Medical Representatives. Most of the other companies also used to
conduct GD while selecting candidates for marketing related Posts. Today,
almost every company, (including TCS, SATYAM, WIPRO, INFOSYS, INFOTECH, ORACLE,
CTS, CANBAY, POLARIS, etc) both IT and non-IT has GD as part of their Selection
Process.
The skills that are
usually assessed in a Group Discussion are:
• Communication
Skills
• Interpersonal
Skills
• Leadership Skills
• Motivational
Skills
• Team Building
Skills
• Tolerance to
Ambiguity
• Divergent Thinking
• Listening skills
• Presentation
Skills
• Analytical / Logical skills,
So, it's important to
assess candidate’s current strengths in all these areas and accordingly put
efforts to strengthen their weaknesses.
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