What are the Causes of Organizational Misfit

In this paper, I explain why there is a need for research leading out of the field of Person Organization (PO) fit into misfit and I identify a key research question for my PhD study namely, ‘what are the causes of ‘misfit’’? Answering this question will create a definition of misfit on which I will base my future research. As a start to the study I seek to identify fields of literature where I can find opinions on what could be construed as misfit, in a systematic review, so that I can bring them together, before I start looking for people to interview. In the field of PO fit, Schneider's, (1987) ASA (Attraction, Selection, Attrition) framework is one of the most cited theories. It says that people are attracted to, selected by, and retained in organizations when they are similar to other people in the organization. Present day practitioners and HR recruiters alike seek such a situation because the resulting state of homogeneity that occurs as a result of having ‘same’ people as theorized by Schneider allows and facilitates coordination, communication and team working amongst the people there because they share many personal attributes (Schneider, 1987 p. 444). PO fit can be seen to operate at its best where people for senior positions as such CEOs, senior partners in the professions, SWAT teams in the armed forces, and highly trained and specialized medical teams, are selected and retained because their goals and values are congruent with the people already in the organization; and by the very nature of the work, such attributes are not only desirable but mission critical. These New High Involvement Organizations (HIO) rely on self motivated, multi-tasked and committed employees, so personalities and characteristics are just as important as key skills and academic qualifications (KSAs) (Bowen, Ledford, & Nathan, 1991) One of the key processes in the ASA cycle is the idea that when people find that they do not ‘fit’, they leave the organization (attrition), and its state of homogeneity. However, for people who do not fit, there is little evidence to demonstrate, one way or the other, that they always leave (attrition), even when the organization for which they work goes through (major) changes or ‘shocks’, causing value sets to change (Wheeler, Halbesleben, Brouer, & Ferris, 2005); or organizational and personal values to drift apart (Chatman, 1989).