Letter of Transmittal

Shubham Nishad PGP- 2013-15 Indian Institute of Management-Indore 07 Feb, 2014 Mr. Fred Weston Chief Executive Officer Hathaway Jones Analysis of the case We Googled You Dear Sir, Following the discussion we had on the case, We Googled You and as per your requirement, I am submitting this report to you that analyzes the dilemma faced by Mr. Weston while hiring Mimi Brewster for his companys expansion plans in China after knowing some of the unfavorable events that occurred in her past.

The following pages will give you a detailed analysis of the situation, alternatives available, options, recommendation and an action plan to act on.

Further I am also ready for any discussion or clarification required on this case. Sincerely XYZ

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Executive Summary
Fred Weston is the CEO of luxury retailer, Hathaway Jones and he is planning to expand his company in China. He is willing to hire Mimi Brewster, who has graduated in Chinese history and holds a post graduate from Stanford University, as her credentials are ideal for this job. But when Virginia Flanders, the vice president of Human Resources finds out that Mimi Webster had been actively involved in a nonviolent protest against China in the past, which may have an impact on the companys business interests in China, she conveys the information to Mr. Weston. Mr. Weston is forced to rethink on his decision to hire Mimi Brewster. He is contemplating on what action to take. If he hires Mimi Brewster, the companys business interests may suffer but if denies Mimi Brewster the job due to this reason, they will lose an excellent candidate and this may also have legal implications for the company.

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Contents
Situation Analysis .............................................................................................................................5 Problem Statement ......................................................................................................................... 6 Alternatives...................................................................................................................................... 6 Criteria for Evaluation ......................................................................................................................7 Evaluation of Options .......................................................................................................................7 Recommendation..............................................................................................................................9 Action Plan..9 Contingency Plan9

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Situational Analysis
Mr. Fred Weston is the CEO of United States of Americas luxury apparel retailer, Hathaway Jones. The company sells luxury brands and has 144 shops and outlets throughout the country. Though the sales of the company were good, Hathaway Jones was facing hard time. The companys image was getting old and Mr. Weston was concerned as how to revive the image of the company and the product line. Secondly the youth market in U.S. was shifting due to which youth were demanding more affordable cloths with more flair. They were seeking low priced apparels which Hathaway was not able to provide them. Also Mr. Weston wanted to expand in Chinese luxury market and he wanted to select a focused and winning team for this project. On the other hand, Mimi Webster had grown up in China and is a graduate in Chinese History. Also she is an MBA from Stanford University subsequent to which she has worked with Elenor Gaston and has shown a sharp eye for the fashion tastes of the young. She also has two product launched behind her name and is an ideal candidate for this job. Keeping in mind her credentials, skills and achievements, Mr. Weston wants to hire her for the companys expansion plans into Chinese luxury market. But due to sudden turn of events, her candidature is in jeopardy as Virginia Flanders, the Vice President of Human Resources makes a background check on Mimi Webster. She is impressed by her letter of recommendations. She had been described as aggressively creative, original, opinionated and risk taker candidate. But when she googled her, she found that she had been involved in a non-violent vocal protest group that had helped mobilized campaigns against World Trade Organization. She was also identified in a newspaper report, sitting outside Chinas San Francisco consulate protesting Chinas dissent treatment of journalists. As this data is available on internet, Virginia is worried that if she is hired, this may adversely affect the companys business plans in China. When Virginia Flanders tells Mr. Weston about Mimi Webster, he also fears the adverse effects of this on their companys business interests in China. He is in a dilemma as what to do because he knows that

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it is hard get candidates like that of Mimis credentials and if she is goes to their competitors, they will have to pay a heavy price for that.

Problem Statement
Given the current scenario which may hurt Hathaway Jones business interests in China, Should Mr. Weston hire Mimi Webster?

Alternatives:
Following are the alternatives available that can be implemented to solve the issue: (1) Mr. Weston should not consider online search and hire Mimi Brewster. (2) Mr. Weston should seek clarification from Mimi Brewster on the protests and hire her. (3) Have a talk with their counterparts in China and seek advice from them about the problem and then hire Mimi Brewster. (4) Offer the job to Mini Brewster at some other location and she can act as a consultant for the position. (5) Do not hire Mimi.

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Criteria for Evaluation:

S. No. A B C D E

Criteria Hathaway jones business interests in China should not be affected. In future, reputation of the company should not be tarnished. Revival of Hathaway Jones image of an old company. Mimi Webters credentials should be considered. Avoid getting into legal problems.

Weightage 0.40 0.20 0.10 0.15 0.15

Table: 1 Alternatives (Points out of 5) 2 3 4 2 4 4.5 3 3 4 4 4 4.5 4 3 4 2 2 4 2.85 3.5 4.3

Criteria A B C D E

Weightage 0.4 0.15 0.2 0.15 0.1 Total

1 1 2 4 4 3.5 2.45

5 4.5 4 3 2 2 3.575

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Evaluation of Options:
(1) Mr. Weston should not consider online search and hire Mimi Brewster. Since Mini Brewster was the best candidate for this position, and if Mr. Weston ignores the results from online search and hires Mini, they may get into problem because Mimi Brewster had protested against China and due to this they may not receive favourable response from Chinese government for doing business in china. Mr. Weston should not use this option. (2) Mr. Weston can arrange another interview with Mimi Brewster and seek clarification from her: But even if Mimi Brewster gives reasonable explanation about the incident, this may not be able to prevent the companys business from getting affected in future. So Mr. Weston should not exercise this option.

(3) Have a talk with their counterparts in China and seek advice from them about the problem and then hire Mimi Brewster. Mr. Weston can tell about the situation to their counterparts in China and ask for advice from them. He can seek clarification but he cannot be sure that this will not create a problem in future. So he should not exercise this option.

(4) Offer the job to Mini Brewster at some other location and she can act as a consultant for the project. Since Mimi Brewster has a sharp eye for fashion and she also had also had two brand launches. Also Hathaway Jones image is getting old and it needs revamping of its image. So Mimi Brewster can be a good candidate for this position. So she should be hired but placed in U.S. and she would look after the expansion plans from U.S. itself. So he should use this option. (5) Do not hire Mimi. Page | 7

Mimi Brewster is an excellent candidate for the position and has relevant experience in this field, not hiring her would be a mistake on the part of Hathaway Jones. So, at first, Mr. Weston should not use this option.

Recommendation
Mr. Weston should set up another meeting with Mimi Brewster and explain her about the protest she had done and what implications it could have on their business. He should offer her a role in U.S. only which would require her to look after their expansion plans in China form there only.

Action Plan

These are the steps that Mr. Weston should take: (1) Mr. Weston should immediately meet Mimi Brewster and explain her about the problems they could face in China due to some of her past events. (2) He should also set a meeting with Virginia Flanders and the executive committee, talk about the problem that are having. (3) After sorting out the problem with the executive committee, he should call Mimi Brewster for another interview and offer her a role in U.S. which allows her to look after their expansion in China from U.S. only.

Contingency Plan
If the above plan does not work out, and executive committee is against hiring Mimi Brewster, Mr. Weston should not hire her. He should arrange a meeting with Mimi Brewster and explain her the whole situation. He should assure her that, in case some other project comes out, they would definitely hire her. Mr. Weston should also talk to Mimi Brewsters father, john Brewster and explain him the situation at hand. As Mimi Brewster id the daughter of his friend John Brewster, she would understand and their relationship would also not be jeopardized and they would also be able to avoid any legal action.

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