Case study 4

Valassis Communications, Inc., a leader in the sales promotion industry, creates promotional inserts for newspapers. Employee selection is vital to Valassis, which attributes much of its success to its employees. It considers hiring the right people to be the most important aspect of management. Its human resource department is very selective when it evaluates job candidates. Because the company wants employees who fit into its organizational culture, the department also tests applicants in various ways to determine whether they would fit into the company environment. Applicants who can be assigned goals and are motivated to meet them are more likely to be satisfied working at Valassis. Once hired, employees who perform well are rewarded well so that Valassis can retain the best employees.

Questions

1. What kind of corporate culture does Valassis have?
2. Why does Valassis spend so much time and money on interviewing job applicants?
3. What could go wrong if Valassis did not recruit the right employees?