We Googled You

Prepared for
Prof. Abha Chatterjee WAC Faculty IIM-Indore

Prepared by MD.GULFAM ANSARI (2012PGP202) Section-F

February 7,2014

Letter Of Transmittal MD.Gulfam Ansari Section-F February 7, 2014 Prof. Abha Chatterjee WAC Faculty IIM-Indore Dear Madam,

I have enclosed a report as per your guidelines in WAC class, on dilemma of Fred, CEO of Hathaway Jones. I believe that: Fred should hire Mimi Do not hire Mimi Hire Mimi but not as a lead but as a team member in the China`s expansion plan

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to prepare this report .I got the chance to learn about how to formulate a report through We Googled You If you want to give me some valuable feedback to improve the report, please do guide me. Sincerely, Md.Gulfam

Executive Summary Fred Westen, CEO of Hathaway Jones, wants to expand the Philadelphia based Hathaway Jones into China. He has the responsibility of hiring the best people for Hathaway Jones Mimi Brewster, daughter of John Brewster, Freds old friend, wants to be the part of Philadelphia based Hathaway Jones. After meeting with Mimi, Fred found that Mimi was a potential candidate for a high profile position at Hathaway Jones. But Virginia Flander, the vice president of human resources at Hathaway Jones, questions her suitability after running a routine Google search on Mimi. She finds some articles related to Mimis involvement in non-violent but vocal protests against the World Trade Organization and Chinas treatment of a dissident journalist. After performing SWOT and qualitative analysis, I should recommend that Mimi should be hired.

Table Of Contents Letter of Transmittal2 Executive Summary.3 Relevant Information ...5 Problem Statement....6 Alternative solutions..6 SWOT analysis....6 Evaluation of alternative solutions 7 Recommendation .7 Action plan.8

RELEAVANT INFORMATION (Background)

Fred Westen is the CEO of the luxury apparel Hathaway Jones. Fred plans to enter China`s luxury goods market, which was growing by 70 % a year. He had funded millions of dollars to open new stores in three of the largest cities, including Beijing and Guangzhou, with the flagship in Shanghai. He had the responsibility to hire the best people for Philadelphia based Hathaway Jones. Mimi Brewster, daughter of John Brewster, Fred`s old friend, wants to be a part of the firm. She had grown up in China, and was well versed in both Mandarin and a local dialect. She had majored in modern Chinese history and did her MBA from Stanford before getting recruited by the West Coast regional office of Eleanor Gaston, the largest clothing, shoes and Accessories Company in the United States. During the meeting with Fred, Mimi successfully gave a smart impression to Fred. She talks about womens fashion fantasy and ancient Chinese archetypes to bring the company`s brand alive. Fred found that Mimi was a potential candidate for the organization. Virginia Flanders, the vice president of Human resources, admitted that Mimi`s letter of recommendation was impressive. Employers explained her as an aggressively creative, original, dogmatic, and risk taking person-a quality which might be unsuitable for Hathaway Jones. Virginia did a routine Google search on Mimi. She found that Mimi was a leader of a non-violent but vocal protest against the World Trade Organization and was actively involved in protesting China`s treatment of a dissident journalist. Virginia showed Fred the printout of the articles which could mean that Mimi could be a trouble for the company in China and suggested that Fred would get some feedback from the company lawyers.

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Problem Statement A good potential candidate (Mimi) having a not so impressive online history should be hired by Fred or not?

Alternative Solutions
Fred should hire Mimi and should not consider the online history alone Do not hire Mimi; give too much emphasis on online history Hire Mimi but not as a lead but as a team member in the China`s expansion plan SWOT Analysis STRENGTH Mimi`s profile is good Knows local language Knows Chinese archetypes which may be helpful in sustaining the brand Eight year old data which might not be reliable and might not have an impact on her career. Weakness Risk taking behavior creates problem for company Bad message to the organization: Hiring/promoting relatives and friends Chinese people can search her past which would tell that she is not the good choice for this role Opportunity Growth rate (adaptability rate high):Chinese were ready to accept if the message is conveyed in local language Utilized her experience and fashion trend for youth Easily relate to their culture and society Threats Company may face political reaction Loosing customer Legal Issues

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Quantitative Matrix (Evaluation of alternative solutions)

Fred should hire Mimi (100)

Do not hire Mimi (100)

Candidate Profile and interview (35 %) Work experience (25 %) Legal Issues (10 %) Loosing customer (20 %) Political reaction (10 %) Total Weightage allotment

45

10

Hire Mimi but as a team member in the China`s expansion plan (100) 20

20 10 10 15 25.25

10 15 20 45 16

15 20 20 25 19.25

For any hiring process candidate profile and interview play important roles hence weightage is approximately 35 %. Work experience (25 %) is one of the key factors for a high profile job. Chances of losing customers, legal issues and political reactions are less because of old historical data.

Recommendation
The best solution would be to hire Mimi and should not consider the online history alone.

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Action Plan
Fred along with Virginia should meet with Mimi and deal with her past behavior. To minimize the legal and political reaction, they should discuss the issue with politicians and convince them that the data is old and does not justify the current qualification of Mimi.

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