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Portfolio Project Tanglewood

Michael Adams

HURS 217

Professor Torrey Becote

29 July 2017

Tanglewood Case Study 1

TO: Daryl Perrone, Staffing Services Director

FROM: Michael Adams

DATE: July 20, 2017

SUBJECT: Staffing Strategy

Placed about four miles from Downtown Roanoke in the well-known Southwest County, the

Tanglewood stores have been serving shoppers who come from the Valley and all over for more

than 35years. Tanglewood has spacious areas, main courts, as well as skylights visible in its

courts. Mall marketing has proved to be a cultural value as well as a benefit that Tanglewood has

utilize against its competitors.

Staffing Levels

Acquire or Develop Talent

My recommendation is that Tanglewood try and develop talent. The company’s mid to lower

level jobs are do not require extensive training or education requirements. Meaning that you do

not have to pay someone a high salary that could be taught how to complete a job that is consider

simple.

Hire Yourself or Outsource

I believe that Tanglewood’s best choice to do would be to hire itself. The company is

developing at a good rate, so if they continue to grow at the rate they are moving the company

would eventually have to move to doing it for themselves. Tanglewood has a big HR department

who are capable and skill in their field. It seems unnecessary to outsource (Kammeyer-Mueller,

2012) p. 26). To some it may seem unethical based on the views of the company, Tanglewood

has done a good job protecting the culture of the company and there is not a shortage of capital.

External or Internal Hiring

Tanglewood should look at hiring people internally before going outside the company. By

operating like this their employees would feel that they have a better chance to have a longer

career with the company. Employees would take more pride in their job because they would be

invested the company for the long haul. . This work for the hierarchy based jobs. You should all

ways have an options open to bring in new outside talent.

Core or Flexible Workforce

Tanglewood should have a core workforce, by doing this they would have employees that are

more connected to the store and have a better daily handle of workforce. The employees would

be more connected into the company, and in return would give them a better incentive to give

their best efforts. It give the employee a since of ownership, and pride knowing that you are there

on a regular basis (Kammeyer-Mueller p. 27, 2012).

Hire or Retain

Retaining Tanglewood’s workforce would be the better choice regarding strategies for staffing.

Doing this people actually enjoy doing their profession, which would make Tanglewood more

fruitful and committed to the company. This hopefully would bring the turnover down and that

saves the company money.

National or Global

Tanglewood should focus on building a National brand first, build up their National reputation first. They began with shoppers having a personal shopping experience. Tanglewood could lose that vision if they decide to global. A comparison of several top retail stores is presented below. The operating revenues indicate total sales for these organizations, and the compound growth rate tracks changes in the sales for each retail chain. The financials show that Tanglewood is a moderately sized organization with strong growth potential. (Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012).

Operating Revenues (in millions)

Revenue Growth

(1 yr)

Employment (in 1,000s)

Employment Growth

(1 yr)

Number of Stores

Dillard’s 6,250 0.4% 41 -5.81% 310

J.C. Penny 17,759 1.2% 154 4.80% 1,100

Belk’s 9,120 4.8% 133 2.26% 1,050

Macy’s 25,003 6.4% 161 -3.59% 850

REI 1,460 2.1% 10 0.00% 110

Sears Holding Corp. 43,426 -1.6% 312 -3.11% 3,900

Tanglewood 7,200 4.2% 53 3.75% 243

Target 67,390 3.10% 351 1.14% 1,750

Wal-Mart 421,849 3.30% 2,100 0.00% 8,400

Attract or Relocate

Tanglewood should use the attract approach, a relocation approach is more costly, and would not

assure success. Tanglewood has numerous great sites near places to hike, camp, and appeal to

interested customers and future workers. Tanglewood has voiced the need to keep the company

culture and viewpoints, getting a team in to hiring and appeal the people with the same viewpoint

will help bring in employee that is enthusiastic about the company.

Over Staff or Under Staff

Tanglewood should over staff, they likes to hear individual thoughts from everyone, and likes to

advance employees within when given a chance to. It is wise to have more qualified people that

value the company viewpoints in case of a flood of request, or unavoidable turnover. Piling up

on talent in the future will help Tanglewood in the long run as the company is expected to grow.

Short-Term or Long-Term Focus

Both Long and Short Term Focus should both in operation they should jointly be on the table,

but I believe that Tanglewood should begin with their short-term focus concerning staffing. As

the company grew it has had some issues forming consistent HR practice and management

reorganization. By focusing on the short term need in staffing, they can move back to

Tanglewood culture and reinforcement the groundwork all together. Focus on short term focus

before moving on to the long term focus. Worry about right now and eventually you can slow

prep for the future.

Staffing Quality

Person/Job or Person/Organization Match

I think if Tanglewood were to employ people to a higher position like a manager, they should use

the person/job approach. This approach they will see if the person will meet the requirements for

the job. I would do the person/organization when hiring some to a lower position, because it take

a small amount of training to do smaller duties.

Specific or General KSAOs

I think Tanglewood should target general KSAOs the work involves a focus on flexibility and

being able to adapt, and the willing to learn new things. In order for the employee to succeed and

make the company better being able to adapt is very important for the type of people Emerson

and Wood at excepting to hire.

Exceptional or Acceptable Workforce Quality

If Tanglewood hope to keep the momentum of the company moving in a positive way, they must

pursue an exceptional workforce quality. Exceptional workforce they will have to pile up on the

top and new talent, which will help with delivering top performance. Having the top talent

should help with customer service and approval.

Active or Passive Diversity

Tanglewood should actively strive for diversity, having a diverse workplace with different races,

genders and ethnicity could help the company have more knowledge in various capacities

(Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012). It also helps give various views on various area or tactics that would

help Tanglewood. I believe that diversity in any company should be important.


TO: Daryl Perrone, Staffing Services Director

FROM: Michael Adams

DATE: July 20, 2017

SUBJECT: HR Planning Analysis

Mr. Perrone,

As per your request I have completed the Human Resource planning analysis for,

Tanglewood’s Washington division. Bearing in mind of the data, Tanglewood should definitely

take a closer look at the company’s hiring needs. The forecast of availabilities and the gap

analysis will help the company staff Tanglewood’s stores and ensure the company complies with

the EEO laws.

Table 1.1 Markov Analysis

Forecast of

Availabilities

Next year

projected

Current

Workforce

1 2 3 4 5 Exit

1. Store

associate

8500 4505 510 0 0 0 3485

2. Shift

leaders

1200 0 600 192 0 0 408

3.

Departmental

manager

850 0 0 493 102 0 255

4. Assistant

store

managers

150 0 0 9 69 12 60

5. Store

manager

50 0 0 0 0 33 17

Environmental Scans

After performing an environmental scan I believe that Tanglewood’s retail stores will

have issues filling job vacancies in the future. All Tanglewood employees must start as a store

associate, which is an entry-level position. After a period of time that should specified,

employees are entitled to a promotions. Recruiting college graduates would ensure an

exceptional workforce for Tanglewood but, college graduates expect to receive an above-average

salary so it would be difficult to recruit them as sales associates. As a sales associate, the college

graduates would work long hours and earn less money. As well another difficulty in hiring

desired employees into managerial positions (Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012).

As mentioned in the first case study, the company should focus on the internal talent that

they have. It can save cost, raise loyalty, and prevent conflict in the company. External hiring

does give new idea to the company, but it can also cause conflict inside the company; especially

the new idea can conflict with the company itself. External hiring can cause the lack of training

and experience, which could lead to bad performance and high turnover. External hiring can

rectify the problems with gender and ethnicity representation in supervisory. However, the

current labor market doesn’t seem to be able to support the plan. If they hire too many external

for supervisory positions, it is difficult for the company to get these new employees to adjust to

the company’s current environment and culture. In Tanglewood case, the company has a high

amount of empty positions, so if external hiring for supervisory position is applied, I suggest we

put the new low level employees under the new managers. Therefore, fewer conflicts would

occur. However, Tanglewood need to make sure they hire the right people for these supervisory

positions so that it doesn’t cause change to their culture. Also Tanglewood should provide

training that help these new employees adjust to its environment and culture, especially the new

managers.

In addition to the specific targets for employee representation for the Spokane flagship

location, Tanglewood wants to use this opportunity to establish estimates for the entire chain’s

staffing policy regarding demographic representation of the workforce. I think the organizational

objectives are good. However, Tanglewood should make this a long-term plan and establish this

plan slowly year by year. Because if the company hires too many external employees for

supervisory positions in just a few years, it would decrease the internal employees’ loyalty and

morale.

Washington Hiring Plan

Gap Analysis New Year

Projected

1 2 3 4 5

Year End Total 4505 1110 694 171 45

External 3995 90 156 21 5

To meet the excepted staffing levels, Tanglewood will need to hire 3,995 Store

Associates, 90 Shift Leaders, 156 Department Managers, 21 Assistant Managers, and 5 Store

Managers. Considering Tanglewood’s internal hiring policy, the company should hire and

promote more sales associates.

Employee Representation

After reviewing Table 1.3 I believe that women and minorities are not represented correctly at Tanglewood. The women at Tanglewood are not represented correctly in Sales Associate positions and Department Managers positions. Minorities are also not represented correctly at Sales Associate positions and Shift Leader positions. I believed Tanglewood should consider using the 4/5th rule for women and minorities to ensure that they use the unfilled workforce so they could avoid discrimination claims against them (Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012).


Developing a Recruiting Guide for Tanglewood

Recruiting the right individual for a position it vitally important to organizations of all sizes and types because the initial costs involved are steep but the costs of hiring the wrong person or unintended turnover can be ever greater. This paper generates a recruiting guide for a store association job followed by a description of the relative advantages of open versus targeted recruiting for Tanglewood. In addition, an evaluation concerning the data related to Tanglewood’s historical recruiting methods to determine the effectiveness for each method and recommendations for how Tanglewood should recruit employees in the future are followed by a summary of the research and important findings about the recruiting process in the conclusion.

Recruiting guide for store associate job

Position: Store associate

Reports to: Regional Managers

Qualifications: At least high school graduates or individuals who have gained

experience in retail industry in another store chain.

Relevant labor market: Western Washington, Eastern Washington, Northern

Oregon, Southern Oregon

Timeline: Ongoing

Activities to undertake in order

to source well-qualified

candidates:

Post position opening on corporate Web site

Advertisements in regional newspapers

Request employee referrals

Staff members involved: HR recruiting manager

Floor managers

Store supervisors

Budget: $3,500 - $5,000

Advantages of open versus targeted recruiting for Tanglewood

Open recruiting strategies using media can attract a larger pool of candidates but the selection process may require longer to complete as a result. The case study emphasized that the company’s top leadership has expressed concern that there is an excessive lag involved between the period candidates are contacted and the timing of the actual hiring decision and many candidates are lost in this fashion. On the contrary, targeted recruiting through job services and agencies can provide a smaller group of candidates with the desired qualifications. Tanglewood target employees who they believe superior abilities that meet the company culture.

Tanglewood targets employees who have the special traits to meet the organization’s culture. The Different recruiting methods used by Tanglewood will be helpful in attracting employees who are willing to work as a team, and participate in decision making. The organization should combine both open and targeted recruiting to attract a large number of candidates for the positon of store associate. In open recruitment, we should not segment the labor market on the basis of KSAOs. Instead, we should view all applicants as qualified. The good thing about this process is that it gives everyone who wants to apply a fair opportunity. The use of social media, kiosks, and the organization’s recruiting website are referred to as “open recruitment” (Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012).The open recruitment method is a great way to find potential candidates. In targeted recruiting, the organization identifies candidates whom possess the KSAOs required to perform well in a specific position.

The most important of these sources is referrals, because referrals come from current employees who understand our culture and has a good sense of whether someone they refer may be a good fit. Current employees will no doubt inform potential applicants of the organizations culture, and once they are accepted they will have a feel for how work is done within the Tanglewood organization. Therefore, current employee referrals will ultimately save time and money.

Western Washington Cost per hire Qualification rate Hiring rate 1-year retention

Media $5936.67 38% 15% 45%

Referrals $3305.73 47% 31% 69%

Kiosks $4393.33 44% 22% 55%

Job service $4531.01 38% 9% 75%

Eastern Washington Cost per hire Qualification rate Hiring rate 1-year retention

Media $3369.13 35% 15% 45%

Referrals $3339.21 44% 26% 72%

Kiosks $5566.59 42% 16% 65%

Northern Oregon Cost per hire Qualification rate Hiring rate 1-year retention

Media $3895.83 42% 14% 44%

Kiosks $4190.39 28% 16% 66%

Agency $4738.10 48% 33% 96%

Southern Oregon Cost per hire Qualification rate Hiring rate 1-year retention

Referrals $4169.49 49% 32% 73%

Kiosks $5961.27 32% 13% 62%

Agency $4686.22 46% 34% 84%

Overall referrals (applied in all areas except for Northern Oregon) is the source that has the lowest cost per hire but its’ qualification rate, hiring rate, and 1-year retention are all on the top of the other sources. The data reveals that referrals will be the greatest source to attract a large number of qualified candidates for the store associate position.

Tanglewood Future recruiting

The analysis of the cost data for each recruiting method indicates that kiosks, job service and agencies are more expensive but still represent the best approach for Tanglewood position requiring specialized skills and educational qualifications; by contrast, despite have an extra but model $100 pre-hire cost in the form of a bonus for referring employees and the objections of Northern Oregon to the contrary, the referrals and media strategies appears to represent the best approach for the store associate position. In addition, Tanglewood should develop relevant qualifications, including those related to high-quality customer service, to include in the job description announcements to reduce the number of applicants who do not have experienced and understand this need.

In conclusion the research showed that Tanglewood has much to consider in its efforts to merge its recruiting efforts, including most especially identifying an optimal mix of recruiting strategies that can address their ongoing need for positions of all types but most especially store

associates. The research also indicated that a media and referral approach should be used for these positions but that the company should also formulate related qualifications for these positions to improve the quality of applicants and reduce future turnover levels.


Date: July 15, 2017

To: Marilyn Gonzalez and Daryl Perrone

From: Michael Adams

Re: Analysis of Results of the Statistical Analysis

The statistical analysis process was carried out to examine the validity of the existing and proposed selection methods through examining several variables. The results on the link between the traditional predictors and performance measures for the traditional method shows that education is more linked to the promotional potential as compared to the other measures. These results also demonstrate that education enhances an employee’s organizational performance though the probability is greater for enhancement in citizenship and absence from education. The second predictor of the conventional selection method as shown in these results is working experience, which is associated with promotion potential and performance outcome. Work experience plays an important role in promotion potential and performance outcome because employees with work experience contribute more to the organization unlike other. Additionally, interview score in the traditional selection method is linked to employees’ skills and performance.

The results of the proposed method demonstrate that education is directly linked to promotion potential and performance of employees. However, statistical significance leans towards correlation of citizenship and absence from education. While work experience is more correlated to promotion potential, it is strongly linked to citizenship, promotion potential, and performance. The statistical significance for interview score is more for performance and absence whereas it is strongly correlated to promotion potential and performance. Through enhancing capability to serve customers more effectively, retail knowledge contributes to improved performance and promotion potential (Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012). However, this variable is statistically significant with citizenship because it generates an increase in cooperation with the policies at the store. While bio-data is statistically significant for all the outcomes, it’s more correlated to promotion potential and citizenship. On the other hand, the applicant exam is statistically

significant for absence and citizenship, but more correlated to promotion potential and performance similar to the personality exam.

Yours truly,

Michael Adams

Content Validity of Selection Methods

Content validity of the selection methods is an important issue of concern because various performance measures are utilized for these methods. Tanglewood proposes various scales for measurement of different content for specific jobs. The proposed scale for citizenship performance is in line with the specific job of store associate and meets the content it seeks to measure since if all candidate score 5 points, there will be an increase in performance and understanding of policies. The scale for absence is suitable for measuring absence and corresponds to the specific job of store associate because an increase in absence would in turn contribute to decrease in effectiveness of customer service. The performance scale is suitable for measuring employee performance since it provides a framework for assessment based on completion of assigned tasks. While the promotion potential scale meets the content it claims to measure, it does not correspond to the specific job of store associate since it’s entirely based on the manager’s perspective/view.

Application blank can be enhanced to better capture the content it claims to measure through including more information about a candidate’s work experience and team work capabilities. Bio-data can be improved through including questions on customer service requirements and retail experience since it currently measures work experience and performance of candidates. While applicant exam is currently suitable in obtaining information about a candidate’s problem-solving capabilities, it can be improved through including citizenship and education questions. On the other hand, personality exam can be improved through focusing more on personality traits.

Recommendation for Finding Good Candidates

The use of traditional selection method with more predictors would be suitable for Tanglewood to find the most suitable candidates for the store associates job. The three predictors that Tanglewood can utilize in this process are conscientiousness, bio-data, and work experience. Work experience is a suitable predictor because it’s effectively correlated with all the other measures and is effective in determining a candidate’s effectiveness regarding the job. On the other hand, conscientiousness is a suitable predictor because it will help provide information regarding a candidate’s moral value and enhance the delivery of excellent customer

service. Tanglewood should also utilize bio-data as an important predictor for finding good candidates because it generates information about a candidate’s understanding of the organizational culture as well as his/her coordination and communication skills.

Validation Procedure

I believe that the observed validity estimates will generalize to other Tanglewood stores given that the organization hires people using different methods depending on the particular business environment. Moreover, the inclusion of new predictors in the job recruitment process implies that the company will employ suitable measures for finding good candidates, which contributes to generalization of the validity estimates to other stores. The difference in results between the traditional method and experimental procedure is because the former does not include questions on retail experience, work experience, and absence. Therefore, the traditional method generates limited results while experimental procedure is designed to obtain specific information. The most accurate method is retail market knowledge exam because it helps generate information that would enhance customer service effectiveness. Additional information that could be utilized to generalize results include retail industry knowledge and education.


Tanglewood is a retail store that prides itself in encouraging workplace diversity since its recruitment and selection policies are based on hiring employees based on their individual character and quality of work. As part of calculating and comparing the composition of an organization’s workforce, UGESP requires the use of the 4/5th ratio in determining probable disparate impact discrimination. Flow statistics are calculated through comparing the number of hired and promoted individuals with the total number that apply. On the other hand, concentration statistics examine the total number of people employed in a particular position as compared to those from different racial/ethnic groups in the same job position/category.

As shown in the statistics provided in Table 1, the number of African Americans hired externally for Shift Leader positions is 36% of the number of whites hired externally for similar positions/job categories. Since the number should be around 80% to fulfill the 4/5th rule, the rule was not met for African Americans hired internally and externally for Shift Leader positions as well as for those hired internally for Department Manager positions. However, there is disparate impact discrimination for non-Whites and African-Americans in Assistant Store Manager Positions, which had no African Americans and had a small fraction of other non-Whites. Computation for concentration statistics demonstrate that there could be unintentional discrimination in the organization’s promotion practices.

The concentration data demonstrates that the proportions of White, non-White, and African American employees are not similar across job categories. There is a high concentration of White employees in upper management positions as compared to non-Whites and African Americans as shown in Table 2. The percentage of African American Shift Leaders at

Tanglewood is 1.81% whereas whites account for 84.04% of the organization’s Shift Leaders. The total percentage of white employees in upper management positions at the company is 84.11% as compared to non-whites and African Americans who account for the rest. These results also indicate that Tanglewood needs to do more in order to realize sufficient levels of workforce diversity through evaluating its initial selection strategies and promotion practices.

Proposal for Addressing Eaglette-Schubert’s Legal Team

Eaglette-Schubert’s legal team is building a case against this organization based on disparate impact. This legal team needs to prove the existence of variations in employment practices for majority groups as compared to others. Eaglette-Schubert’s legal team will use the argument of homophily in its disparate impact case. The team will also argue that Tanglewood’s internal network processes are closed to minority groups because of homophily. Since initial results indicate disparate impact discrimination for African Americans and non-Whites in upper management positions, the company should attempt resolving the case through a consent decree with the plaintiff. The decree would be a voluntary agreement between the firm and the legal team and approved by the court towards halting discriminatory practices and establishing suitable employment remedies. This would be a suitable measure since it will enable Tanglewood to avoid bad reputation that is likely to be caused by the lawsuit.

The written statement that the company should make in response to the disparate impact discrimination claim is its commitment to inclusiveness, openness, and encouragement of workplace diversity. The company should mention that its founders tried to develop the organization based on a model of inclusiveness through which individuals are hired solely on the basis of their character and work (Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012). Tanglewood should also reiterate its commitment to undertake any possible steps towards ensuring workplace diversity within its working environment.

Achieving EEO Outcomes

In light of its current situation, Tanglewood is faced with the need to make changes to its existing recruiting procedures to promote the accomplishment of better EEO outcomes in the future. First, the company should study and understand all laws relating to equal employment opportunity, workplace diversity, and discrimination in the workplace. This should be followed by establishing HR policies and plans for successful EEO results in the future. Then, the firm’s management should be committed towards ensuring and supporting diversity across all job categories and constantly showing the need for EEO. The final procedure is assessment and improving multi-faceted professional strategy on an annual basis to ensure that hiring methods support diversity.

Promotion and Career Development Procedures

Tanglewood’s organizational culture has always focused on promoting strong employee participation in work processes. As a result, the organization believes that a core workforce is crucial towards its success and profitability, which has contributed to promoting and developing internally. Since there are indications of disparate impact discrimination in internal promotion strategies at Tanglewood, there is need for changes in its promotion and career development procedures to realize better EEO outcomes. Some of these changes include revising job posting policy to ensure that diversity is an important factor in selection and filling jobs internally as well as hiring externally in order to prevent disparate impact upon minorities. Secondly, the company’s career development programs should be designed in a manner that removes any probable obstacle to equal employment opportunities. Third, Tanglewood should also conduct employment development programs that focus on workplace diversity and executive training.


Selection Plan

Tanglewood currently relies on a time consuming and ineffective protocol for selecting

department managers (Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012). A more efficient protocol is required if the

retail chain is to more effectively achieve its strategic objectives. Department managers play a

vital role within the organization as they are in charge of specific product groups such as

women’s clothing and electronics. They assist the store manager and assistant store managers in

make sure each store achieves its objectives. Department managers are also involved in making

hiring decisions. Accordingly, having qualified candidates for the job is crucial for the success of

the organization at the store level. This starts with having a more detailed selection protocol.

Table 1 below provides a better selection protocol for the position of a department manager at

Tanglewood.

Table 1: Selection protocol for department manager

Major KSAO Category Necessary

for selection

Method of

Assessment

1. Interpersonal skills Yes Interview

2. Knowledge of organizational culture Yes Interview

3. Proven organizational and analytical skills Yes Analytical test

4. Ability to solve problems Yes Reasoning skills test

5. Oral and written communication skills Yes Interview

6. Ability to make decisions under pressure Yes Interview

7. Ability to work with little or no supervision

(ability to take initiative without direction)

Yes Interview

8. Ability to lead, influence, and motivate Yes Interview

9. Excellent numerical skills Yes Numerical test

10. Ability to work flexible hours when necessary Yes Interview

11. Ability to manage and resolve conflicts Yes Interview;

Conflict management

test

12. A strong work ethic Yes Interview

Interview Questions

Interviews are an important part of the selection process. They help the employer to

ascertain the skills and capabilities of the selected candidates. Effective interview questions

target both situational and behavioral responses (Heneman, Judge& Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012).

Table 2 below provides a list of five situational interview questions and five behavioral interview

questions for interrogating candidates for the position of a department manager at Tanglewood.

The questions were developed in two stages. First, an initial list of questions was developed. A

pilot run was then conducted with co-workers to determine the effectiveness of the questions. In

the second stage, feedback was obtained from the participants about their experience with the

interview. The feedback was useful for modifying the questions. A scoring key has been

provided for each question. The scoring key is a four-point scale that ranks interviewees on each

KSAO, with 1 representing the lowest performance and 4 the highest performance.

Table 2: Interview questions

Question KSAO Targeted Scoring Key

1. How would collaborate with colleagues to

solve a complex situation at work?

Interpersonal skills 1. Poor

2. Fair

3. Good

4. Excellent

2. Describe a situation in which you worked

under a tight deadline

Ability to work

under pressure

1. Poor

2. Fair

3. Good

4. Excellent

3. Describe a situation that required you to take

initiative

Ability to take

initiative or work

with little or

minimum

supervision

1. Poor

2. Fair

3. Good

4. Excellent

4. What would you do if you discovered your

boss was violating the organization’s code of

conduct?

Ability to adhere to

the organization’s

culture

1. Poor

2. Fair

3. Good

4. Excellent

5. If you are undertaking several projects with Ability to organize 1. Poor

tight deadlines, how do you prioritize them or

make sure you remain on track? 2. Fair

3. Good

4. Excellent

6. Tell me about a time you had to work under a

difficult boss

Interpersonal

skills;

Conflict

management skills

1. Poor

2. Fair

3. Good

4. Excellent

7. Describe a work problem you used logic to

solve

Ability to solve

problems

1. Poor

2. Fair

3. Good

4. Excellent

8. Describe a situation in which you were able to

successfully persuade an individual or a group

of people to do something your way?

Ability to lead and

influence

1. Poor

2. Fair

3. Good

4. Excellent

9. Tell me about a crucial written document you

were required to complete

Written

communication

skills

1. Poor

2. Fair

3. Good

4. Excellent

10. Describe a situation in which you have gone

beyond duty hours to get a task accomplished

Ability to be

flexible;

Work ethic

1. Poor

2. Fair

3. Good

4. Excellent

Tanglewood Case 7

Selective Decision Making

Tangle wood is currently seeking a new manager for their Flagship store in Spokane.

There are 20 individuals who were contacted as potential candidates, with the internal candidates

being contacted by referrals from the regional managers and external candidates that were

contacted based on nominations from the corporate office. The company has possession of each

candidates resume, retail knowledge tests, standardized test scores from the Marshfield

Applicant Exam, biographical data, and two personality dimension tests. This information will

be used in determining the company’s choice for the position.

The importance of this position is relevant in the decision making of the company. The

Spokane branch is the largest store in the entire Tanglewood chain, with almost double the floor

space of other stores. This store is also different in its appearance, from other stores because of

its location of being only a few blocks from the original store. It is the most elaborately designed

store, with numerous features like the open kitchen restaurant, and outdoor area with a rock

climbing wall and a live kayak simulator, and quarterly demonstrations of the latest clothing

options. With these features this store has proven to be a very profitable venture in the recent

years (Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012).

Another major reason for the importance of the managerial position is that the store is

used as a primary testing ground for new products. Since the store is located at the outer edge of

Spokane, the majority of the customers are from suburban areas. However, the store’s size and

features entice urban and rural customers as well. This really allows the Spokane branch to be

the ideal location for new product testing, which means that the managerial load at the store is

closely related to corporate marketing, and this requires an experienced manager who

understands the process of marketing and promotions.

Selection Plan

When choosing the right applicant for the position, KSAO analysis will be done in order

to determine the applicant who has the best fit for the organization and the position. The position

requires a manger that has had previous retail experience considering the uniqueness of this

store. Based on its additional features as compared to the other stores, this requires a manager

who is capable of managing different business types at once. We also want to find a manager

who is able to communicate effectively, considering that the Spokane branch caters to a very

diverse customer base consisting of clients coming from urban, suburban, and rural areas.

The following five main aspects of the application will be looked at: biodata, the

Marshfield Applicant Exam, Retail Knowledge, conscientiousness, and extraversion shown on

table 2. Table 1 below shows the major KSAO categories we are considering and the assessment

method that is able to measure the ability of the applicant to fulfill that KSAO category. From

the major KSAO categories, the most important for the position are interpersonal skills,

flexibility in dealing with changing job demands, and judgments, priority setting, and decision-

making ability. These KSAOs are seen to be vital in performing well in the job position given the

diversity of both features and customer base of the Spokane branch (Heneman III, Judge, and

Mueller, 2014).

Table 1: KSAO Selection for Tanglewood – Spokane *C=Conscientiousness

*E=Extraversion

Major KSAO Category Necessary for Selection

(Y/N)Biodata Applicant

ExamRetail

Knowledge C E

Ability to follow oral directions/ listening skills Y X X

Ability to read and understand manuals/guidelines Y X

Ability to perform basic arithmetic operations Y X

Ability to organize Y X

Judgments/priority setting/ decision-making ability Y X X

Oral Communication skills Y X X

Written communication skills Y X

Interpersonal Skills Y X X

Typing Skills Y X X

Knowledge of word processing, graphics, database, and spreadsheet software

Y X

Knowledge of company policies and procedures N

Knowledge of basic personal computer operations Y X X X

Knowledge of how to use basic office machines N

Flexibility in dealing with changing job demands Y X X X X

Knowledge of computer software Y X X X

Ability to attend to detail and accuracy Y X X

Given the data from the table above, we can see the KSAOs affected by the scores on

each assessment method used in the application process. All the data that has been gathered from

the applicants will be used in determining who will be chosen for the position.

Table 2 below shows the total scores of each applicant when analyzed using three

different multiple predictor methods, namely prediction and unit weighing, and rational

weighing. The clinical prediction and unit weighing schemes have produced the same results,

thus only the column for unit weighing is shown.

Table 2: Applicant Scores under multiple predictor methods

Biodata Applicant Exam

Retail Knowledge Conscientiousness Extraversio

nUnit

WeighingRational

Weighing

Andrews, David 70 45 65 75 70 65 66.75

Greer, Shauna 60 65 70 50 90 67 66.5

Renoir, Max 80 60 40 90 80 70 67.5

Binghome, Bruce 60 55 80 65 55 63 65.5

Yorn, John 40 80 45 60 60 57 51.5

Thomas, Mitchell 75 40 30 80 75 60 58.75

Vacarri, Brenda 55 35 45 60 75 54 53.75

Reznor, Thomas 65 90 60 70 80 73 69

Durvail, Adam 60 60 55 50 65 58 57.75

Heckman, James 85 55 60 90 90 76 76

Corporate Average 50 50 50 50 50

Managerial Average 60 60 65 55 70

*Numbers obtained from Appendix D: Tanglewood Casebook

“The results for unit weighing were generated by averaging the scores of each candidate

in each assessment method. The advantage of unit weighting is that it is a simple and

straightforward process and makes the importance of each predictor explicit to decision makers”

(Heneman, et al., 2014, p. 552). Following the results from unit weighing, the company would

choose to hire the top three candidates: Heckman, Reznor, and Renoir with scores of 76, 73, and

70 respectively. On the other hand, the results for rational weighing were generated by attaching

a weight to each assessment method getting the summation of the scores. The weights are as

follows: Biodata – 30%, Applicant exam – 10%, Retail Knowledge – 30%, Conscientiousness –

15%, Extraversion – 15%. The reason for the larger weights on biodata and retail knowledge is

that the job position requires an experienced manager. A lower weight was given to the

application exam, as the KSAOs it measures are less important for a managerial position.

“Rational weighting shows each predictor receives a differential rather than equal weighting.

Managers and other subject matter experts (SMEs) establish the weights for each predictor

according to the degree to which each is believed to predict job success” (Heneman, et al., 2014,

p. 552). Following the results of the rational weighing, the company would choose to hire the top

three candidates: Heckman, Reznor, and Renoir with scores of 76, 69, and 67.5 respectively.

“The advantage of this approach is that it considers the relative importance of each predictor and

makes this assessment explicit. The downside, however, is that it is an elaborate procedure that

requires managers and SMEs to agree on the differential weights to be applied” (Heneman, et al.,

2014, p. 455).

If the multiple hurdle method is used to make a selection of applicants, this procedure

uses test scores as the first stage to find five of the strongest candidates, and then uses interviews

and résumés in selecting the top three finalists. The five best candidates would be Reznor, Yorn,

Greer, Renoir, and Durvall. It is interesting to note that the highest scorer in both the unit and

rational weighing methods, Heckman, is not present in the top five highest exam scorers.

Heckman also has the highest scores in the conscientiousness and extraversion, showing

potential in work performance and work relations. Given the results, I believe that rational

weighing scheme provides the most comprehensive method for screening application scores as

the proper weights can be assigned depending on the job description.

Based on the reading of the data, the best possible candidate for Tanglewood at the

Spokane branch is Heckman. Though his scores in the applicant exam and retail information are

both below average, his biodata is substantially higher compared to the other applicants. He also

garnered the highest scores for conscientiousness and extraversion, which may mean high

leadership and interpersonal skills. The final panel which is to interview the candidates should

encompass the regional manager of Tanglewood, the HR director of Tanglewood, and the branch

manager at Spokane. This should provide a well-rounded mix of individuals in order to make the

best decision for the best candidate for the position.

Given the results, I recommend that future Tanglewood stores adopt the same predictor

method in determining job position applications. Using the rational weighing scheme allows the

company to adjust the weights of each assessment method accordingly based on the demanded

KSAOs of the job position. Managers should put larger weights on assessment methods which

are vital in the performance of the new employees in order to ensure the best job fit.

References

Heneman, H., Judge, T., & Kammeyer-Mueller, J. (2012). Staffing organizations. 7th ed.

New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

Kammeyer-Mueller, J. (2012). Tanglewood casebook. 7th ed. U.S.: Mendota House, Inc.

Heneman III, Herbert G. Timothy A. Judge, and John Kammeyer-Mueller (2014). “Job Analysis

And Rewards.” Staffing Organizations. 8th ed. New York: Mc Graw Hill Education.

Print.

Appendix

Table 1: Selection Ratios and the 4/5th Rule

Occupational Category

Type of Hire

Total White Total Non-white

African Americans

Store Associates External hires

Applicants 18226 15436 2790 594Hires 3832 3221 611 135Selection Ratio 21.02% 20.87% 21.90% %The 4/5th Rule 104.95% 108.92%

Shift Leader External hires

Applicants 392 320 72 17Hires 61 54 7 2Selection Ratio 15.56% 16.88% 9.72% 11.76%

Internal hires

Applicants 864 712 152 30Hires 280 241 39 6Selection Ratio 32.41% 33.85% 25.66% 20.00%The 4/5th Rule 75.80% 59.09%

Department Manager

External hires


Internal hires


Assistant Store Manager

External hires


Internal Applicants 108 90 18 4

hires Hires 27 25 2 1Selection Ratio 25.00% 27.78% 11.11% 25.00%The 4/5th Rule 40.00% 90.00%

Store Manager External hires


Internal hires


Table 2: Historical Concentration Data

Occupational Category Total White Total Non-white African AmericansStore Associates 2760 2307 453 95

83.59% 16.41% 3.44%Shift Leader 552 464 88 10

84.06% 15.94% 1.81%Department Manager 391 341 50 9

87.21% 12.79% 2.30%Assistant Store Manager 69 64 5 2

92.75% 7.25% 2.90%Store Manager 23 16 7 0

69.57% 30.43% 0.00%Overall Total 84.11% 15.89% 3.06%

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