___________________________Quality

compliance at the Hawthorne

Arms

___________________________

Prepared by,

Parth v. Purohit (19)

(Ahmedabad Mgnt. Association)

Summary of the case:

This case is presented to highlight the complex and dynamic relationship between an

international assignment and the selection of a qualified expatriate manager for that

assignment.

The changing nature of the job – from a Plant Manager of a wholly owned subsidiary

to a Quality Compliance Officer in a ten year joint venture – combines with a cast of

three interesting and yet very different potential assignees to show how potentially

complex such global selection decisions can be.

The importance of personal and the ambiguity and unexpected timing of these critical

HR decisions are also dealt with in this case.

One of the issues in the case is the tradeoff between the specifics of a focal job

description and the availability of candidates for the assignment.

QUESTION-1:

Things to Consider :

Write (think up) a job description for the “Quality Compliance Officer”

and then look at how that job description relates to each of the three

candidates.

A more sophisticated approach might be to step back and consider the best

of the three candidates overall and then revise the job description to that

candidate’s strengths and provide outside help from other managers on site

in Hungary or in the region in order to insure that critical activities outside

of the selected candidate’s background.

Important Factors:

The three candidates represent a balance of strengths and weaknesses.

Marie represents organizational and technical process abilities.

Janos represents local cultural understanding and some local product

knowledge.

Sinead represents global product knowledge and organizational process

abilities in the area of joint ventures.

By weighting which of these abilities is most crucial to the success of this

assignment, one can determine the optimal if not perfect expatriate/local

for the job.

Your sense of Sinead’s ability to negotiate the problems inherent with dual

career couples is critical in your choice process. She has both the greatest

strengths and the greatest weaknesses. Selecting Sinead is a riskier choice.

Marie is less risky, but she lacks specific joint venture skills.

Janos may be the most risky choice, given his short time frame with

Trianon and a potential to side with local managers in joint venture

processes. If Janos is able to balance his perspective, his contacts could

provide Trianon with significant advantages in the long term.

QUESTION -2:

We would follow the selection criteria which are given as under:

Technical ability

Cross cultural suitability

Family requirements

Country cultural requirements

Company’s requirements

Language

The use of selection tests

QUESTION-3

HR should be involved in strategic decisions relating to international business operations such as finalizing a joint venture agreement.

For examine the candidates following types of hurdles which can be used to test them:

(Test and solutions)Work sample tests

These come in a variety of forms, but are characterized by asking candidates to perform a typical piece of work that they would encounter in the job.  These are often based on real examples, but may be shortened or simplified, and are usually timed.  Examples of this might be drafting a letter or memo, producing a spreadsheet or writing a response to an e-mail, having been given a few basic facts and figures to interpret.

These sorts of tests are usually fairly short, and you won’t be able to prepare for them, although it is good practice for you to be told in advance that you will be doing a test either before or after your interview.  They test a range of competencies, from basic numeracy, spelling and punctuation, to IT ability, analytical skills and written communication.  They can also be good indicators of ability to work under pressure, attention to detail and time management, as they usually have a time limit and written instructions for you to follow.

In tray exercises

Similar to work sample tests in that they are time limited and based on typical examples of things you might encounter in the job, in tray exercises are designed to test your prioritization skills.  You will be given a number of competing priorities - sometimes in the form of actual e-mails, letters, messages, memos etc - and asked to prioritise them in order, giving your reasons for your choice and noting any assumptions you have made.  As with work sample tests, you will need to work quickly, and pay close attention to instructions and the descriptions of the priorities, to make sure you don’t miss any important clues.

Presentations

Presentations covers the whole range of tasks where you are asked to prepare something in advance, and then come to the interview either to give a formal presentation, or prepared to talk informally about what you have done.  You will usually have a few days’ notice in which to prepare your task, and will either be sent material with all the information you need, asked to do independent research, or come up with your own ideas (for a more creative project).

When asked to do something like this, always ask for clarification if you are not sure exactly what is required - how formal/informal are you expected to be; is a Powerpoint presentation needed; what audiovisual equipment is available; how long will you be expected to talk for; how many people will be there?  Check that you’re not expected to

submit something prior to the interview.  Give yourself plenty of time to prepare, and have a dry run on friends or relatives first - get their feedback on your style, pace, timing etc.  Even if you’ve not been asked, take along handouts or copies of your notes for the interviewers - these will be appreciated and will also be a reminder of your task after the interview has finished.

Selection Procedure of the candidates.

This is the one of the best method for selecting the candidate, which is generally accepted by the most of the company.

1. The first round of selection is made on the basis of what can be gathered from the resume and application . The criteria that go into the making of a shortlist are:

a. The quality of writing : Candidates whose resumé and applications do not exhibit a reasonable standard of writing are eliminated. The aspects of writing that the employer is particular about are: clarity, precision, brevity, relevance, grammar, and spelling.

b. Educational Institutions : Graduates from ill-known overseas universities are considered less preferable to local graduates and graduates from well known overseas universities. The rationale is that many people go overseas for a degree because they were unable to get into a university in Singapore .

c. Grades : There is very little correlation between the grades that students get and their subsequent success in their career. Hence no distinction is made between high grades and medium grades. However, poor grades are warning signals, as applicants with consistent D's and C's are unlikely to perform well in their jobs. 2

2 . The final selection is made on the basis of interviews .

a. Personal grooming and appearance : A candidate who projects a good appearance has an edge over the others. Candidates who are inappropriately dressed are eliminated. Both flashy and sloppy clothing would be considered inappropriate.

b. Responding to questions : (i) Candidates must be able to understand the questions clearly. (ii) They must be able to respond to them fairly quickly and effectively, since there is very little time. Hence the speed in comprehension, thinking and formulation is very important. (iii) The positive qualities that the employer looks for in a response are clarity, pointedness, brevity, and relevance. They should be able to speak the language that communicates to the employer. Candidates who come across as direct and honest are preferred. Candidates who are vague, and tend to beat around the bush are eliminated.

c. Flexibility and range : The positions that employees are allocated to may often change, both horizontally and vertically. Hence it is crucial that candidates indicate sufficient flexibility and a wide range of abilities and interests. Candidates with extracurricular activities such as participation/membership in various societies are therefore preferred to those whose interests are restricted to what they have to study.

d. Adaptability and ability to learn : Candidates should not be afraid of doing new things. They should also exhibit the ability to learn new things.

3 . An employee needs to meet two kinds of challenges, namely

a. Successful completion of tasks which are allocated to him/her, solving problems, making decisions, etc. at an individual level.

b. Presenting ideas and solutions to subordinates, peers, and superiors.

4 . At an individual level (3a), higher level positions in the career ladder call for a number of mental qualities:

a. Learning skills: the ability to learn new things fairly quickly (short learning curve); ability to master knowledge of a technical nature if the need arises.

b. Creativity/innovativeness: the ability to come up with ideas/ solutions. c. Insight: the ability to understand the less obvious aspects of a situation, to grasp more

than what is actually said. d. Critical judgment: the ability to make reliable assessments, often involving domains

outside one's area of specialisation. e. Leadership: the ability to hold a team together. f. Thinking skills: The ability to think clearly and act without panicking in an emergency. g. Interpersonal skills : street savvy, "emotional intelligence". h. Well rounded education, not narrow specialisation.

5. The "front room" tasks (i.e. those that involve interaction with people) require the following abilities:

a. Communication: the ability to express ideas/solutions in a simple, clear, precise, concise manner. (skills of exposition)

b. Persuasiveness: : the ability to sell the ideas/solutions, which involves:i. making a case for one's ideas,

ii. showing that these are better than their alternatives.

(skills of argumentation)

c. Quick thinking: the ability to deal with questions: quick processing of questions, quick decisions about how to deal with them, and effective response to questions.

d. Personal/social intelligence: the ability to sense the audience reaction and respond accordingly, not putting down the comments from peers, etc. (The "emotional intelligence" of the employee)

e. Personal charisma

*****