Question

You have worked long and hard to become the chief marketing officer (CMO) of a global retailer, Fast Fashion, with revenues of over $5 billion. Fast Fashion offers casual and career apparel and accessories at value prices for women ages twenty-five to thirty-five. It operates approximately 3,800 stores in the United States, Europe, Puerto Rico, and Canada. Because you recognize the growth and future impact of social media, you work with the chief executive officer (CEO) and human resources (HR) director to fund and develop a new position for the company, social media manager. Your goal is to find the perfect candidate to promote the company brand and—as all businesses hope—build customer engagement through social media. With HR, you develop the job description and advertise the job, screen applications, and select three candidates to interview. Although their strengths and weaknesses differ, all three meet the job requirements, have excellent references, and are impressive interviewees. With résumés, interview notes, and the job description in hand, you sit down at your desk to develop a decision matrix and list the pros and cons of each candidate in order to write a report for the CEO, concluding with your recommendation. Candidate 1: Shawna Jackson Shawna has a BS degree in mass communication from a state university. She earned a 3.0/4.0 cumulative GPA, worked part-time as night manager in women’s apparel at WalMart while in college, and participated in extracurricular volunteer activities in the community provided by student organizations in her major. Since graduating three years ago, Shawna has worked as assistant to the social media director of a national home furnishings retail chain. In the interview Shawna appeared a bit nervous and shy, but warmed up when she showed her portfolio. Her portfolio includes samples of work in a wide range of social media channels, including Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat, and Instagram. It illustrates her strong written, visual, and technological skills. Candidate 2: John Andrews John graduated at the top of his class with a BS degree in computer information systems from a private college. While in college, he worked 30 hours a week in the campus Computer Services Department. Upon graduation, he worked for a major electronics retailer for three years, starting as the technology department manager and moving up to store manager. He left this management position to start his own company, in which he oversaw the marketing of products and services through websites, social media, and text messages. For two years John built his entrepreneurial business and recently sold it. Ready to use his business knowledge in a large corporation, he wants to focus on social media in a corporation that offers opportunities for promotion and growth, and fulfill his desire to run a business. During the interview, John shared his salary history, revealing that he made much more than this position offers. He seems to be a confident and extroverted interviewee. Candidate 3: Lauren Chin Lauren earned a BS degree in fashion merchandising from a state university, graduating with a 3.5/4.0 cumulative GPA. She worked in Nordstrom’s Executive Trainee Program for two years in apparel merchandising at corporate headquarters. While there, she recognized that she loved her social time online as much as she disliked her time developing and analyzing quantitative merchandising reports. Ready for a change, she returned to college to complete a master’s degree in digital media. Lauren worked part-time in apparel retailing chains while in college. For three years she has operated a blog with a growing number of followers. Lauren is active on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. In the interview she appeared relaxed and well versed in using new and growing social media channels. YOUR TASK Write a memo report of three to five pages. Complete the decision matrix with the weights provided, and include it in your report. No weight is necessary for education, as all candidates fulfill this requirement. For each criterion in the decision matrix, provide one of three rankings for each candidate with a score of 3 as the highest, 2 as the second highest, and 1 for the candidate who ranks the lowest. For example, if you believe Shawna has the highest level of social media marketing experience and Lauren has the lowest level, you would post 3 for Shawna, 2 for John, and 1 for Lauren. Multiply each weight by the ranking, repeat for the other criteria, and then add the results to compute a total. From your decision matrix, draw conclusions and then make recommendations in your yardstick report. Overall, which candidate is best for the position, and why?

Answer 1

Here is the response:

Fast Fashion

Shawna Jackson

1. Shawna has a BS degree in mass communication from a state university. She earned a 3.0/4.0 cumulative GPA
2. Worked part-time as night manager in women’s apparel at WalMart while in college
3. Participated in extracurricular volunteer activities in the community provided by student organizations in her major.
4. Since graduating three years ago, Shawna has worked as assistant to the social media director of a national home furnishings retail chain.
5. Strong written, visual, and technological skills - her portfolio includes samples of work in a wide range of social media channels, including Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat, and Instagram.
6. In the interview Shawna appeared a bit nervous and shy but warmed up when she showed her portfolio.

John Andrews

1. John Andrews John graduated at the top of his class with a BS degree in computer information systems from a private college.
2. While in college, he worked 30 hours a week in the campus Computer Services Department.
3. Upon graduation, he worked for a major electronics retailer for three years, starting as the technology department manager and moving up to store manager.
4. He left this management position to start his own company, in which he oversaw the marketing of products and services through websites, social media, and text messages. For two years John built his entrepreneurial business and recently sold it. Ready to use his business knowledge in a large corporation, he wants to focus on social media in a corporation that offers opportunities for promotion and growth and fulfill his desire to run a business.
5. During the interview, John shared his salary history, revealing that he made much more than this position offers. He seems to be a confident and extroverted interviewee.

Lauren Chin

1. Lauren earned a BS degree in fashion merchandising from a state university, graduating with a 3.5/4.0 cumulative GPA.
2. She worked in Nordstrom’s Executive Trainee Program for two years in apparel merchandising at corporate headquarters. While there, she recognized that she loved her social time online as much as she disliked her time developing and analyzing quantitative merchandising reports.
3. Ready for a change, she returned to college to complete a master’s degree in digital media.
4. Lauren worked part-time in apparel retailing chains while in college.
5. For three years she has operated a blog with a growing number of followers.
6. Lauren is active on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. In the interview she appeared relaxed and well versed in using new and growing social media channels.

Here is the summary of my decision report:

	Weightage	Shawna Jackson	John Andrews	Lauren Chin
Highlights		1. BS degree in mass communication from a state university. She earned a 3.0/4.0 cumulative GPA 2. Part-time as night manager in WalMart. Extracurricular volunteer activities in the community provided by student organizations in her major. 4. Work experience - 3 years - assistant to the social media director of a national home furnishings retail chain. 5. Strong written, visual, and technological skills 6. Interview handling - bit nervous and shy but warmed up when she showed her portfolio.	1. Top of his class with a BS degree in computer information systems from a private college. 2. While in college, he worked 30 hours a week in the campus Computer Services Department. 3. Upon graduation, he worked for a major electronics retailer for three years, starting as the technology department manager and moving up to store manager. 4. Started his own company which was recently sold. 5. He seems to be a confident and extroverted interviewee.	1. BS degree in fashion merchandising from a state university, graduating with a 3.5/4.0 cumulative GPA. Master's degree in digital media. 2. She worked in Nordstrom’s Executive Trainee Program for two years in apparel merchandising at corporate headquarters. While there, she recognized that she loved her social time online as much as she disliked her time developing and analyzing quantitative merchandising reports. 3. Lauren worked part-time in apparel retailing chains while in college. 5. For three years she has operated a blog with a growing number of followers. 6. Lauren is active on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. In the interview she appeared relaxed and well versed in using new and growing social media channels.
Graduation and GPA	9	3	2	4
Volunteering experience	8	4	2	4
Corporate work experience	8	3	2	4
Interview presence	6	2	2	3
Score		95	62	118

Recommendation is to hire Lauren Chin.

If you like the response, please do up-vote.