Abhishek Rungta- PGPUAE- We Googled You

An analysis of the Case We Googled You Submitted to: Prof Madhusri Shrivastava Submitted by: Abhishek Rungta Roll No: 2013PGPUAE002 In partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Written Analysis and Communication (WAC) course April 1, 2014 Memo of Transmittal 1-Apr-2014 Prof. Madhushri Shrivastava IIM Indore India Sub: Submission of WAC report o the ase We Googled You Dear Madam, As per your instructions, I have prepared a detailed analysis report on the situation faced by Fred Westen. I suggest that Fred should not hire Mimi for the company s China operations. Instead, he should hire Mimi for another position in USA. The following pages present a detailed analysis of the situation and available options and their evaluation, recommendation and action steps to be followed. Yours sincerely, Abhishek Rungta PGPUAE: 2013-15 IIM Indore (Dubai Campus) U.A.E. Executive Summary Fred Westen was contacted by his old roommate John Brewster to consider his daughter Mimi for Fred s company s decision to expand into China. When Fred forwarded Mimi s profile to Virginia, she did a normal Google search on her. The search revealed Mimi s involvement in protests that included China s treatment against a dissident journalist. Based on these findings, Fred is in a dilemma whether to hire Mimi for China operations. He has to take into account various factors like the success of expansion plans, both company s and his personal reputation. Considering various evaluation criteria and options, I suggest Fred should not hire Mimi for the expansion plan in China. But given her credentials, he should hire her for a position in USA. Table of Contents 1. Situation Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 5 2. Problem Statement ......................................................................................................................... 5 3. Options ............................................................................................................................................ 5 4. Criteria for Evaluation of Options ................................................................................................... 5 5. Evaluation of Options...................................................................................................................... 5 6. Recommendation............................................................................................................................ 7 7. Action Plan ...................................................................................................................................... 7 8. Contingency Plan ............................................................................................................................ 7 1. Situation Analysis Fred Westen, CEO of Hathaway Jones, pla ed to e pa d the o pa s operatio s i Chi a. Fred s old roommate, John Brewster, called him and asked him to meet his daughter Mimi who was interested in being part of the expansion plan. Fred met Mimi a month later in his office where she tried to impress him with her insights and knowledge of Chinese culture. Fred was already impressed with her credentials and recommendations and noncommittally offered to arrange some interviews. Fred forwarded her file to Virginia Flanders who did a routine Google search on her. The information on the net revealed that back in 1999 Mimi was the leader of a non-violent vocal protest group against the World Trade Organization. She was also part of another protest agai st Chi a s treatment of a dissident journalist. Virginia reported these findings to Fred and suggested that Mimi, if hired, could get the company into trouble in China. She also told Fred that discussing these matters directly with Mimi could get the company into legal troubles of internet searching. But Fred does not want to lose a candidate like Mimi. 2. Problem Statement Should Fred hire/do not hire Mimi for China operations based on the above findings? 3. Options 1) 2) 3) 4) 4. Hire Mimi for China operations Do not hire Mimi Hire Mimi for other position Hire for a different role for China operations Criteria for Evaluation of Options 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 5. Success of China/company operations Co pa s reputatio i Chi a Culture Fit Credentials of Mimi Fred s reputatio Use of internet information by competitors Mimi works for a competitor Possible litigation from Mimi Fred s relatio ship with Joh Evaluation of Options  Hire Mimi for China operations- There is a huge cultural misfit if Mimi is hired for China operations. Even though she has good credentials, previous employers of Mimi have described her as aggressive and opinionated, whereas the Chinese expect humbleness and    modesty from their leaders. Thus, there are huge chances that company s China operations may not be successful. Competitors can use the information available on net which can cause a huge setback to the reputation of the company in China. This will also adversely affe t Fred s reputatio as he was hired to restore the o pa s fortunes and image. However, the company will not lose a good candidate to the competitor. There will also be o litigatio fro Mi i a d Fred s relatio with Joh will further improve. Do not hire Mimi- Even if the company does not hire Mimi, it can always find a suitable candidate who has same or better credentials and who fits nicely in Chinese culture. So the co pa s operatio s a d reputatio i Chi a will not be affected. However, the company will lose a good candidate to the competitor. If Mimi founds out that the company has Googled her, there are high chances of possible litigation from Mimi that will affect Fred s reputation. Also Fred s relation with John will worsen. Hire Mimi for other position- Previous employers of Mimi have described her as creative and original. Hiring her for other position in USA will definitely help in restoring the company s fortune and will have no adverse effects on its reputation in China as competitors will not find viable using the information on the internet. Her working style is more suitable for USA operations than China s, thus ensuring a better culture fit. A good hire will definitely strengthen Fred s reputation. The company will not lose a good candidate to the competitor. There will also e o litigatio fro Mi i a d Fred s relatio with Joh will certainly improve. Hire for a different role for China operations- Given her credentials, Mimi could be hired for a different role like strategy for China operations. These roles will not require Mimi to go directly to China and solve the problem of cultural misfit. With her originality and creativity, there will be high chances of success of company s operations in China and no adverse affect on company s reputation. Fred s reputation will definitely increase with success. However, how competitors will use the information on the internet and its impact is unknown. The company will not lose a good candidate to the competitor. There will also be no litigation fro Mi i a d Fred s relatio with Joh will certainly improve. Following table shows a summary of evaluation of each option on the above mentioned criteria: Options Hire Mimi for China operations Do not Hire Hire for other position Hire for a different role for China operations Worsen No affect Improve Improve Worsen No affect No affect No affect No NA* Yes Yes Worsen Worsen Improve Improve Criteria Success of China/company Operations Company's reputation in China Culture Fit Fred’s Reputation Credentials of Mimi Use of internet information by competitors Mimi works for a competitor Possible litigation from Mimi Fred's relationship with John Positive Positive Positive Positive Worsen NA No effect Uncertain NA Worsen NA NA No Maybe No No Improve Worsen Improve Improve *NA means Not Applicable 6. Recommendation Based on the evaluation it is suggested that Fred should not hire Mimi for China operations. However, he should hire her for a position in USA. 7. Action Plan 1) Both Fred and Virginia should interview Mimi without letting her know that the company has done a Google search on her 2) Fred should personally make the offer if Mimi is selected and tell her upfront that she could be hired for this position only 3) At a later stage Fred should have more informal discussions with Mimi to know her views on China 4) Fred should indirectly try to extract as much information on the protests she participated and her stand today on them 5) Based on the above points, Fred should offer her a role in the company s expansion plan in China if he feels she fits well 8. Contingency Plan If Mimi is not satisfied with the position being offered, Fred could tell her that she could be included in company s expansion project in China based on her performance and management s decision after 6 months.