Iggys Bread of the World

Submitted to:

A report on

Prof. Madhushri Shrivastava in partial fulfillment of the requirements of Written Analysis and Communication course
Submitted by:

Mahajan Mayur Laxman 2013PGP204 Section B, PGP-1 3rd March, 2014

To Prof. Madhushri Shrivastava Indian Institute of Management, Indore Madhya Pradesh, India Date: February 7, 2014 Dear Madam, Presented below is my analysis of the case: Iggys Bread of the World, along with a recommendation and an action plan. In this report, I have discussed the dilemma faced by Fred Westen, CEO Hathaway Jones, suggested various options before him and have offered a suitable recommendation for him. Please contact me if you have any queries or clarifications. Sincerely, Mahajan Mayur Laxman 2013PGP204 Section B, PGP-1 Indian Institute of Management, Indore E-mail: p13mahajanm@iimidr.ac.in

Executive Summary
This report describes the dilemma faced by Fred Westen, CEO of Hathaway Jones. Fred sees Mimi Brewster as a promising candidate to open the companys flagship store in Shanghai thereby making entry into the Chinas luxury goods market. Entry into the Chinese market is crucial to revive the companys image which is getting old fast. At the same time, Fred can not ignore the revelations made by Virginia Flanders, Vice President of Human Resources about Mimis involvement in protests against the World Trade Organization and against Chinas treatment of a journalist. If Fred hires Mimi, it may spoil the companys relationships with Chinese Govt. but he does not hire her, he may end up losing a very good candidate. The best option for him is to hire Mimi for a strategist position in China and ask her to work on improving her internet reputation while working in that role.

Table of Contents
Sr. No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Content Situation Analysis The Problem The Options Criteria for Evaluation Evaluation of Options Recommendation Action Plan Page No. 5 5 5 6 6 7 7

The Report
Situation Analysis This case describes the dilemma faced by CEO Fred Westen about whether he should consider Mimi Brewsters past records discovered in a Google search during her selection. Fred Westen was hired in 2002 as the CEO of Hathaway Jones, a luxury apparel retailer in the United States to turn around the companys fortunes. The companys image was getting old fast which reflected in the declining sales of their high-priced designer clothes. Because of his impressive credentials and lifetime experience with luxury brands, Fred was hired for revitalizing the apparel companys image. Fred had been successful in increasing companys margins through aggressive outsourcing but his biggest bet was to enter into Chinas fast growing luxury goods market by setting up new stores in Chinas three largest cities Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai. He was focused on selecting a winning team to accomplish his plan and it seemed he had found the perfect candidate in Mimi Brewster grown up in China, spoke Mandarin, majored in Chinese history from Berkley, an MBA degree from Stanford, four years of experience including two successful brand launches at Eleanor Gaston, the largest clothing, shoes and accessories company in the United States. Mimis employers also described her as aggressively creative, original, opinionated, a risk taker in the letters of recommendation. Mimi was daughter of John Brewster, Freds old roommate at Andover. Mimi knew that Hathaway Jones was expanding to China and wanted to lead the team opening the flagship store in Shanghai. On Johns insistence, Fred agreed to meet Mimi. During the meeting, Mimi talked about the significance of look and feel of a brand in woman fashion and how she could help in bringing Hathaway Jones brand alive using Chinese archetypes. Fred, impressed by her pitch, agreed to arrange some interviews for her. After the interview with the CEO Fred, Virginia Flanders, vice president of human resources, while putting together a file on Mimi for the staff, ran a routine search about her on Google. The results were concerning. They showed Mimis involvement in some protest groups against World Trade Organization and other Chinese events, like the treatment of a dissident journalist. When the CEO became aware of these facts, he was no more so sure that Mimi could represent the best choice for the company. The Problem Fred had to decide whether he should just ignore the findings made by Virginia and hire Mimi or whether he should take a note of these findings and react in suitable a manner. The Options 1. Dont hire Mimi 2. Hire Mimi to lead the Shanghai team 3. Hire Mimi for a strategist position in China rather than a front end job

Criteria for Evaluation 1. 2. 3. 4. Ensure success of the plan to enter Chinas luxury goods market Maintain a good rapport with senior Chinese business executives and Chinese Govt. Maintain a good rapport with Human Resources dept. in the company Dont get into any legal trouble

Evaluation of Options 1. Dont hire Mimi: This might save the company from future trouble with the Chinese Govt. The company can also get a Chinese person for this job thus fulfilling criterion 2 (Maintain a good rapport with Human Resources dept.) Criterion 3 will also be fulfilled as the Human Resources dept. will feel that their opinions were respected. Whether they would get a candidate as capable as Mimi for this job to ensure success of the plan is a question thus criterion 1 (Ensure success of the plan to enter Chinas goods luxury market) may or may not be fulfilled. If the news of Mimi not hired because of the Google search results leaks out, it may cause legal trouble. Hence criterion 4 (Dont get into any legal trouble) is not fulfilled. 2. Hire Mimi to lead the Shanghai team: Mimi, if hired, will increase the chances of success in China thus fulfilling criterion 1 (Ensure success of the plan to enter Chinas goods luxury market). This option may jeopardize the relationship with Chinese executives, Chinese Govt. and Human Resources dept. Thus, criteria 2 (Maintain a good rapport with senior Chinese business executives and Chinese Govt.) and 3 (Maintain a good rapport with Human Resources dept.) will not be satisfied. This will save them from any legal trouble. Thus criterion 4 is satisfied. (Dont get into any legal trouble) 3. Hire Mimi for a strategist position in China rather than a front end job: Similar to option 2, this will also satisfy criterion 1 (Ensure success of the plan to enter Chinas goods luxury market) as Mimi will work on the market strategy for Chinese luxury goods market. This option will also satisfy criterion 2 (Maintain a good rapport with senior Chinese business executives and Chinese Govt.) as Mimi will not be dealing with the customers directly. The Human resources dept. may still feel ignored if Mimi is hired without their consent. So criterion 3 (Maintain a good rapport with Human Resources dept.) will not be satisfied. Criterion 4 (Dont get into any legal trouble) will be satisfied. Ensure success of the plan to enter Chinas luxury goods market Maintain a good rapport with senior Chinese business executives and Chinese Govt. Maintain a good rapport with Human Resources

Options

Criteria

Dont get into any legal trouble

Dont hire Mimi Hire Mimi to lead the team in Shanghai Hire Mimi for a strategist position in China rather than a front end job

Recommendation I recommend that Fred hire Mimi for a strategist position in China rather than to lead the team opening the flagship store in Shanghai. Action plan We recommend the following action plan for Green. 1. Meet company lawyers and get their feedback on the matter. 2. Take Virginia into confidence by telling her that her concerns have been taken into consideration. This will help maintain the relationship with Human Resources dept. and at the same time will ensure that Virginia does not stop her background check and routine online search on candidates. 3. Call Mimi and tell her that the company is considering her for the post of a market strategist for all the three cities rather than the team leader for the Shanghai store. Assure her that she can change the role if she wishes to, in future. 4. After getting Mimis consent, let the interviewers conduct further interviews for the post of a strategist rather than for the team leader for the Shanghai Store. 5. Provided that Mimi clears all the interviews and perceived capable for the job by the interviewers, hire Mimi for a strategist position. While working in that role, ask her to work on improving her internet reputation.