CASE STUDY 2.1: Who Would You Hire?

Worldwide Manufacturing Inc. has just weathered intense scrutiny after it was investigated

and fined for violations of improper chemical storage and waste disposal. Worldwide is a

special-order manufacturer that makes plastic products in whatever shapes and sizes a

customer specifies. In order to do so, it makes special molds for each project for pouring

and shaping the plastic into the forms requested by customers. Each order takes retooling

and reorganizing of the manufacturing floor. To help prevent further issues in the future,

the company has decided to add a compliance department that will ensure that not only are

EPA regulations followed but also other legal regulations, from proper accounting to

ensuring everything is in compliance with OSHA. You have been promoted to be the firms

compliance officer and are now looking to hire several new members of the compliance

department, including a compliance manager, compliance analyst, as well as an auditor and

inspector.

You decide to begin with filling the compliance manager position. A compliance manager is

a professional that keeps the legal and ethical integrity of a company intact through policy

enforcement and program planning. He or she makes sure all departments of a business are

complying with the rules and regulations the company is required to uphold and should

regularly meet with managers in the areas of finance and accounting, cybersecurity, human

resources, and operations. Compliance managers are responsible for keeping up to date

with changing laws that affect the corporate world and are responsible for preparing reports

to present to their upper management detailing these laws and how the policies of the

company are ensuring that employees are following them. After advertising for 2 weeks on

indeed.com and Monster.com, youve begun to look through resumes. You have two

promising candidates who have made it through initial phone interviews, and you have

flown them out to meet with you and see the headquarters and manufacturing operations.

Now you have to review what you have learned about each candidate and make your

decision.

Aarya Song

Aarya Song grew up on military bases and joined the military after completing high school.

Over a 15-year career, Aarya worked with base operations managers on a team that handled

everything needed for running a base. Aarya worked in supply chain management, both in

procurement and disposal, in facilities planning, inventory management, and even in

operations planning for setting up new bases. All of these positions required great

organization and time-management skills. In addition, part of Aaryas job was to ensure

everything was to regulation and followed local regulations as well. While serving in the

military, Aarya earned a bachelors degree in logistics and later an MBA.

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After leaving the military with highest honors, Aarya worked as the transportation manager

for an international manufacturer of wind turbines. However, after talking on the phone

during the first round of interviews, you have learned that Aarya is now looking for a new

job that will provide new challenges.

During the onsite interview, Aarya excitedly chatted with you about how Worldwide could

ensure compliance and start building interorganizational teams to ensure companywide

compliance. Aarya shared the logic behind these ideas, which you found impressive and

well thought out. Your only concern is that Aarya seems to be very direct and no-nonsense,

and while a zero tolerance stance on policy violations is likely needed after the investigation,

it may be too rigid for the organizations existing culture.

Francis Simmonne

Francis grew up in an industrial city and began working in manufacturing while in high

school at a plant that made various rubber-based components for automobile assembly.

After attending a regional university to learn about engineering for product design, Francis

began working as a designer for a firm that designed and manufactured toys. However,

Francis was better at helping the men and women on the manufacturing floor fix the

problems that arose with making the first batches of new toys. After a few moderately

successful products, Francis was promoted to production manager because of the skills he

demonstrated on the shop floor. Three years later, Francis started working on an MBA and

ended up taking a materials manager position with a construction firm. It was very

important in this position that all materials were to code, and Francis took that

responsibility very seriously. Five years later, Francis took a position as a work site inspector

for the construction company, examining work sites and ensuring all health and safety

policies as well as building codes were being followed. While these later positions had

increasing responsibility, he did not have any direct reports.

Francis is getting married and is looking to move to the city Worldwide calls home, and so

has applied for the compliance manager position. When you spoke on the phone, Francis

seemed practical yet reserved, a perception you had reinforced during the site interview.

Francis relies on instinct more than evidence to make decisions, which helps to quickly

provide a course of action. However, you have concerns that Francis might not be a firmenough

manager as he likes to work with the production teams and crews and has had very

little direct management of teams or departments.

So now you have a choice: Simmonne or Song? Both candidates have strong points and

weak points, and both could do the job.

Discussion Questions

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1. Identify each candidates personality characteristics using the Big Five and the Myers-

Briggs typology.

2. Based on personality, is there a candidate that you think would fit the position

better?

3. Why is it important to consider personality in hiring? What other individual

differences should you consider in hiring?