DEVELOPMENT OF A MULTINATIONAL PERSONNEL SELECTION SYSTEM

DEVELOPMENT OF A MULTINATIONAL PERSONNEL SELECTION SYSTEM

PROBLEM DEFINITION
The lack of understanding by the top management about the intricacies involved in the designing of global personnel selection system and hence forcing the HR department to come up with an ad-hoc selection system which might create problems for the organization in future.

The HR department head, Dr. Koch believes that creating a uniform global personnel selection system would not be feasible for ComInTec because of the economic, educational and cultural differences among different countries. But here we see that Mr. Koenig is giving an ultimatum to Dr. Koch and his team to come up with a detailed selection plan within a week and threatening him that the project would be transferred to the headquarters if they failed to do so.

ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS
As we can see from the case, the HR team working on this global selection system development project is a highly diverse group, having a mixture of people from China, Germany and America; there are a lot of cultural differences among the group members. During the meeting itself we see that there are a lot of confrontations among the team members, like between MR. Mueller and Goldmann and Goldmann had gone out crying from the room. Hence, this maybe a reason for the
slow progress of the group and the cultural diversity maybe obstructing the work of the team.

CRITICAL FACTORS CONSIDERED
 THE URGENCY OF THE TOP MANAGEMENT

The top management is in a haste to come up with a new selection model because of the 25 new middle level managerial positions that it needs to fill at moment. Hence, the top managers are pressurizing the HR department to come up with a quick solution.
 LONG TERM BENEFIT FOR THE COMPANY
One of the important factors for the company would be to develop such a system where in the personnel selected are the best fit for the company requirements. The company is currently hiring for middle level managerial positions which are highly significant for the company’s future performance and hence every care should be taken to develop a system that hires the best people.
 TIME REQUIRED TO DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE PERSONNEL
SELECTION SYSTEM
The process required to develop a comprehensive personnel selection system is highly complicated and the factors that need to be taken into consideration are plenty. Hence the team working on the project requires a lot of time to decide on the exact factors to considered. This process requires a thorough testing before implementation. Even though the time required is high, the same needs to be done because of its high strategic importance.

SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
1) New concept of cross-functional project teams was followed.
2) Human resource instruments were standardized across the world.
3) 6 -eye method was implemented and followed.
4) Team members were very hard working and devoted.

WEAKNESSES
1) Poor team dynamics.

2) Prevailing bureaucratic environment resulted in low motivation among employees.
3) Only on 6 dimensions candidates were evaluated instead of 15 dimensions which was more advantageous.
4) Thoughts processing of team members different from each other due to cultural differences.
OPPORTUNITIES
1) Different ideas and perspectives will be generated because of cultural diversities in the organization which will be beneficial.
2) The interviewee and the interviewer can be of the same background which will bring in better evaluation. THREATS
1) The Standardized test may have disadvantage of not being generally accepted.
2) Difference in culture and ideology among German and Chinese team members may lead to disputes.
ALTERNATIVES/OPTIONS
 DR. KOCH CAN TRY TO CALL FOR A BOARD MEETNG IN ORDER TO HIGHLIGHT THE ILL-EFFECTS OF MAKING AN AD-HOC SELECTION SYSTEM
Dr. Koch believes that there needs to be a separate selection system for all locations as there exist a lot of differences among the economic, social, cultural and educational system of different countries. He also knows that the development of a uniform global selection system without considering all the factors may bear its ill-effects on the company in the long term. He can try to call for a board meeting and try to explain the consequences of the same to the top management.

 TOP MANAGEMENT CAN ITSELF TRY TO SLOW DOWN THE PROCESS OF GLOBAL RECONSTRUCTION OF THE COMPANY FOR THE LONG
TERMBENEFIT OF THE COMPANY

Taking cue from the warnings of Dr. Koch, the top management can decide to delay the implementation of cross-functional teams in Asia Pacific Region in order to provide time to come up with a more robust recruitment strategy which could provide a competitive edge to the company.

 DR. KOCH CAN TRY TO CONTACT THE HR TEAM OF THE HEADQUARTERS WHICH IS NOW GOING TO HANDLE THE PROJECT AND ASK THEM TO CONSIDER THE CONCERNS OF HIS TEAM
Since the project has already been transferred to the headquarters, it would make sense for Dr. Koch’s team to ask the headquarters’ team to consider the concerns of his team. In this manner, if the headquarters team feels that the concerns are reasonable and can have a heavy bearing on the company’s future, the they might ask the top management to give some more time to Dr. Koch’s team.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Given the current situation of the company, a proper global recruitment system can be developed only if the HR team is supported by the top management. Hence, Dr. Koch should try to convince the top management to provide some more time to his team in view of the long term benefit of the company.