Exercise 4: BEST CANDIDATE

 
Purpose:  Leading of the POLC
The  parent organization and specifically Helen have been working to get the  initial planning of the new division started but it is time to hand  over the reigns to a new Executive Director who will be responsible for  bring the division together and establishing the new division as a well  working machine. This change will have implication on the HR plan and  how the resources will be aligned.

This  exercise draws from research from a previous exercise.  This exercise  also requires the use of course material and the case scenario facts.   Note that course material refers to those chapters listed under  content.  Course material is not being used to merely define terms but  to draw on concepts discussed in the course material.  There needs to be  a heavy dependence on the course material.

Scenario:
In  week 1 the question, “Who is a manager and what is their job in an  organization?” was asked.  As Great Start Nutrition launches a new  product division to design, develop and deliver infant formula globally,  the company will need to bring in someone to manage this division.  The  desire of Helen Crump, the head of R&D who has been tasked with  identifying the person to lead this new division, is that the new  Executive Director for the Infant Formula Division will be open to  innovative ways to develop green and sustainable products that will not  only be popular among the traditional Great Start Nutrition customer  base, but also will be the face of the organization when marketing  company products.  Partnering with the small consulting firm, Mayberry  Consultants, Helen will be vetting three potential candidates who will  jump right in and begin the development of management plans that will be  used to establish the new division.  A senior representative from the  firm was on the panel for the interview, and the transcripts of the  interview have been given to the Mayberry Consultants team that is  helping Helen with her tasking.  The new Executive Director will be a  Manager of the 21st Century who will be able to incorporate  the values, culture and traditions of Great Start Nutrition with the  values and traditions of the host nation employees that will be hired as  managers and employees. 
In  addition, the Executive Director will be the face of the marketing  brand in the beginning and this new employee will need to be able to  motivate not only the employee base of these new products but also  motivate a new customer base for Great Start Nutrition on the  ‘difference’ Great Start Nutrition will bring to the infant formula  industry.   Currently, the infant formula industry has a lot of well  established companies, and a strong entry will be key to grab market  share.  Innovative and well made products, good marketing, and a clear  strategy will be critical to a strong entry, so bringing in a strong  director will be key. 

Candidates

Erin Johnson
Erin  has been working as the Deputy Executive Director of the South America  Division for the last year mainly focused on helping the Protein and  Fitness branch become more environmentally and human friendly.  Erin  currently holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from State College and an  MBA from UMUC.  Prior to her current position with Great Start Nutrition  Erin was a production manager for the New Mexico facility for eleven  years and was highly regarded within the employee ranks as a fair  manager who was inclusive in her decision making.  This allowed her to  keep employees involved in the daily operations of the plant and helped  to foster a cohesive workforce.  Erin’s research in organic ingredients  was a major reason for the ascension of Great Start Nutrition in South  America’s list of environmental and human friendly companies.  Prior to  joining Great Start Nutrition twelve years ago, Erin spent one year as  an intern for a small non-profit company researching the long-term  effects of soy-based and animal-based products imported from Asia.   During her initial screening, Erin admitted she does not have any  marketing experience to help be the face of the new product, but has a  strong desire to work on those skills and believes she has the  managerial and leadership qualities to guide the team to success.  Erin  stated in her cover letter that although she only has twelve years of  experience she would be a great fit for this executive position not just  due to her familiarity with Great Start Nutrition, its core values,  understanding of its mission and vision, but also because of her desire  to see Great Start Nutrition become a leader in sustainable production  with a focus on being environmentally and human friendly.  Her degree in  chemical engineering paired with the desire stated previously, would  also allow her to focus on finding ways for Great Start Nutrition to  become the leader in quality, clean baby formula products.

Betty Jackson
Betty  has spent the past 25 years working for Little Ones Formula, a  mid-sized baby formula company currently operating out of Texas, which  recently was bought by a large health food company looking to expand to  infant formula.  For the past two years Betty has served as the Vice  President of Operations and Marketing where, according to her statements  in the interview, she was instrumental in helping Little Ones gain a  12% increase year-over-year in market share.  Before being named as a VP  for Little Ones, Betty worked for 10 years as a Regional Director in  Asia responsible for importing ingredients from Singapore.  During her  run as a Regional Director she was responsible for making visits to the  production plants in Malaysia and China to ensure compliance to company,  federal, and local safety and production regulations.  She credited her  success in that role to her strict management style of being a part of  each plants decision making process regardless of how small the issue.   She did this through modern communication channels that allowed  personnel to work remotely from anywhere in the world. The previous 13  years with the company were spent climbing the corporate ladder starting  with the company in the production line at the New York plant where the  company got its start.  During her interview Betty stated that Great  Start Nutrition should consider getting into the infant formula industry  with less focus on sustainability and green initiatives as it can be a  difficult industry for new entrants and just make quality products with  animal and soy based milk.  Once established, the company could initiate  a move to being more environmentally and human friendly as well as  introducing products like non-GMO formulas.  She stated she is an ‘old  school’ manager who had success in Asia due to her ‘hands on’ approach.   Betty stated in her cover letter that she is an experienced executive  with a successful track record.  

Arthur Davidson
Arthur  is the current owner, along with his wife Tammy, of A&T’s Health  Care Supplies that focuses on organic supplements for women and  children, with over $300M in sales annually.  Great Start Nutrition  recently agreed to purchase A&Y Health Care Supplies and made a  promise for Arthur to receive a position within the organization as part  of the purchase agreement.  It was agreed that his wife, Tammy would  take over as Director of Operations for the Great Start Nutrition’s  Personal Care operations.  Warren Pfife has asked to have Arthur vetted  carefully to see if maybe this new position would be a good fit for his  executive level management and leadership skills.  Warren also believes  that since ‘Arthur can run his own company he should be able to run a  new division.’  The purchase of Arthur’s company by Great Start  Nutrition has a stipulation that Arthur must be provided with a ‘high  level’ position within the organization. Prior to starting the company  17 years ago Arthur was an officer in the US Air Force working in  logistics, and his wife was a local consultant for a health services  company.  During Helen’s conversations with Arthur, he admitted that he  handled the operations and financial side of the company for many of the  company’s initial years and Tammy led the marketing campaigns that  helped the company grow exponentially for the first few years, and  maintain steady growth after that.  However, he believes that since he  has been leading A&T’s through its growth that he could easily  manage Great Start Nutrition into a new venture.  Arthur spent 10 years  in Japan as a Logistics Officer with the Air Force, which is where he  met his wife who was a Japanese citizen at the time.  Arthur believes he  has the cultural awareness to be successful in Asia or anywhere in the  world, and since he is guaranteed a position with the company, he feels  this would be the perfect fit.  Arthur feels confident that the  remaining interview process for this position should just be a  formality.  

Exercise Instructions:
For  this exercise, you will act as the group lead from Mayberry Consultants  assigned to Great Start Nutrition.  You are preparing your research and  putting together a document with your rationale for the selection of  the best candidate.   Make sure the document clearly provides a heading  for the Best Candidate.
Due Date:  Week 6 – Saturday 11:59 p.m. eastern time.

Step 1: Course Material
Although  you are required to research information for this project, you are also  accountable for using the course material to support the ideas,  reasoning and conclusions made.  Course material use goes beyond  defining terms but is used to explain the ‘why and how’ of a situation.   Using one or two in-text citations from the course material and then  relying on Internet source material will not earn many points on an  assignment.  A variety of source material is expected and what is  presented must be relevant and applicable to the topic being  discussed.   Avoid merely making statements but close the loop of the  discussion by explaining how something happens or why something happens,  which focuses on importance and impact.  In closing the loop, you will  demonstrate the ability to think clearly and rationally showing an  understanding of the logical connections between the ideas presented in a  case scenario, the course material and the question(s) being asked.

Step 2:  Write an Introduction paragraph 
The  Introduction paragraph is the first paragraph of the paper and will be  used to describe to the reader the intent of the paper explaining the  main points covered in the paper.  This intent should be understood  prior to reading the remainder of the paper so the reader knows exactly  what is being covered in the paper. 
Write the introduction last to ensure all of the main points are covered.

Step 3:  Management/Leadership
The new Executive Director will have a lot of responsibility in managing and leading.  

Differentiate between management and leadership

Identify and discuss management skills needed by the new Executive Director
Identify and discuss leadership skills needed by the new Executive Director
Discuss the leadership style that best fits the new Executive Director position

Step 4:  Candidate Assessment and Selection

You have been asked to assess the three candidates listed below.   

You  will evaluate each of the three candidates considering each candidate’s  full body of experience and how their experience aligns with Helen’s  expectations for the new position as well as how each candidate will  lead within the context of Great Start Nutrition’s mission and vision  and how each candidate’s leadership style.
Determine  one candidate Mayberry Consultants should recommend to Helen Crump at  Great Start Nutrition and explain why this candidate is the best  choice.   

Candidates:

Erin Johnson
Betty Jackson
Arthur Davidson