Textbook: Management, 13th Edition by S. Robbins and M. Coulter, published by Pearson Education.        The book we are using

Part A Chapter 1

This is a three part question:

• Why are managers important?
• What characteristics do you already possess to help you become an effective manager?
• What experiences do you think you need to become an effective manager in the future?

Part B Chapter 2

1. This is a four part discussion board question.

• How do managers make decisions?
• What would impact your decision-making process if/when you become a manager?
• How would you protect the integrity of your decision-making process as a manager?
• Provide a hypothetical example of an important managerial decision you would need to make as a manager.

Part C

It never ceases to amaze me that hiring managers tell me they have a “good feeling” about a candidate. “Let’s hire the person!” If a manager makes a fact-based hiring decision and has a good feeling, that’s OK!   However, if the hiring manager is just going by “gut feeling,” or an intuitive approach alone, that is a big mistake and a bad decision.

In this role-play, your role is that of the company’s Recruiter.

The scenario is as follows:

Several candidates are being interviewed for positions at Visa. After going through a number of evaluation and eliminations rounds you are down to the final five candidates. Employment history (all currently working at American Express), technical expertise and educational level of the candidates are similar and all seem totally qualified for the positions. Considering these factors, feedback from the recruiter and other members of the selection team gain in importance in the final selection decision-making process.

Everyone on the Selection Team has a good feeling about three of the candidates but isn’t so excited about the other two. Pressure from the top of the organization builds and word gets to the team that the President of Visa has given the order to “fill the openings now!” The Selection Team goes with its “gut feelings” and hires the first three candidates.

At the end of the three-month probationary period, one of the three candidates is doing well: she is a good match to the company culture, her boss likes her, she is contributing to her team and she is learning quickly. However, the other two candidates that were hired are not doing well. They don’t seem to be acclimating to the company’s culture since it is not as structured as American Express. They are stubborn and don’t work well on project teams. They are “know-it-alls” and team conflicts have erupted around projects and the work is not getting done. Individuals on their teams are looking into transfers to different teams.

Role-play: Questions to be answered…

1. Why do you think the one candidate did better than the others?
2. Did the HR Recruiter or Selection Team make any mistakes? If no, why not? If yes, what mistakes were made?
3. Now what? What can be done to rectify the situation?