Management
Management
Title:
Assignment Instructions: Assignment 1
Please read ALL directions below before starting your final
assignment. INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Read the entire case study carefully and then respond to the four
Discussion Questions on page 5. Answer all questions and all parts
of each question.
2. Develop each answer to the fullest extent possible, including
evidence from the case and citations from course resources, where
applicable, to support your arguments.
3. Submit your assignment as a separate MS Word document in your
assignments folder. Do not type your answers into the case study
document.
4. Include a Cover Page with Name, Date, and Title of Assignment.
5. Do not include the original question. Use the following format:
Question 1, Question 2, etc.
6. Each response should be written in complete sentences,
doublespaced and spell-checked. Use 12-point Times New Roman
font with 1-inch margins on all sides.
7. Include page numbers according to APA formatting guidelines.
8. Include citations in APA format at the end of each answer.
9. Add in-text citation and add in-text citation in the conclusion.
Case Overview Part A
In August, Jason Hubbs submitted a résumé to the human resource department of Big Time
Computers Inc. in response to an advertisement in the local newspaper for a senior technical
writer. The résumé was forwarded to Big Time’s Manager of Technical Publications, Lisa
Cavanaugh, for her consideration.
Big Time Computers is a local high-tech firm with sales offices throughout the United States
and Europe. At the time of the senior technical writer job advertisement, Big Time employed
about 1,200 people. Big Time designs and manufactures high-end computer systems that sell in
the $500,000 to $6,000,000 range. Big Time’s products are sophisticated and complex, and the
working atmosphere is highly technical. The engineering department is the largest and most
dominant department. Engineers are in management positions throughout the company,
including top-level management. Due to the sophistication and complexity of their products,
employees in marketing, customer service, and technical publications are required to have
strong technical backgrounds; many have engineering or computer science degrees.
The technical publications department employed 14 people. This included the manager, two
senior writers (Mark Samson and Chris Murray), seven writers, one technical editor (Colton
Hamrick), and three editorial assistants. The manager had a business degree and had been
working in the technical publications field for 12 years. The senior writers had four-year
engineering degrees; the other seven writers had engineering degrees, computer science degrees,
or two-year associate’s degrees in a technical field. The technical editor had an English degree
and an associate’s degree in electronics, and the editorial assistants had English or liberal arts
degrees.
The department had a well-established set of procedures for new manuals and manual
revisions. When given a writing assignment, the writer would do the necessary research by
reading product specifications and interviewing the engineers involved with the product. The
writer would then develop an outline which was reviewed by the appropriate engineers and the
technical publications project leader responsible for that product. The writer then wrote a first
draft which was edited by the technical editor and reviewed company wide. The reviewer list
included key people from each area of the company. After making necessary changes, the
writer submitted the manual for a brief second review and made additional changes. An
editorial assistant did proofreading and formatting before each review, and when the two
reviews were complete, the editorial assistant did the final proofing and formatting. The
manual was then printed. This extensive review procedure gave the writers a great deal of
exposure throughout the company.
The current job opening was a new position at Big Time that was necessitated by an increased
workload. Although some internal people wanted to apply for the job, Cavanaugh believed that
no internal candidates had the necessary skills for the position; besides, she thought it would be
good to bring in new blood at the top. She found one strong résumé and began the hiring
process.
In considering Jason Hubbs’s résumé, Cavanaugh noted that Hubbs had a computer science
degree, was working toward a Doctoral degree, and had three years’ experience as a technical
writer in a local high-tech firm. Cavanaugh was impressed with Hubbs’s credentials and
scheduled an interview date. Cavanaugh included herself, the technical editor and the two senior
writers on Hubbs’s interview schedule. Cavanaugh’s interview was general, focusing on
background, goals and work habits. Hamrick, the technical editor, asked questions regarding
writing skills and techniques, while Samson and Murray, the senior writers, focused on Hubbs’s
technical skills.
Cavanaugh then met with the interviewers to determine if Hubbs was qualified for the senior
technical writer job. Cavanaugh was pleased with Hubbs’s responses to her general questions
and liked the writing samples he had given her. Hamrick felt that Hubbs had answered the
interview questions well but had reservations about his interpersonal skills and ability to
integrate into the department. He also had some concerns about one of the writing samples.
Samson and Murray thought his technical skills were excellent and had no strong feelings either
way about his interpersonal skills. Cavanaugh, Samson, and Murray all felt that Hubbs should
be hired; Hamrick disagreed. Cavanaugh checked two of Hubbs’s three references and got good
reports on his skills and work habits. She hired him.
©.D.
Big Time Computers inc.
Technical Publications Department
Answer the following:
1. A) Evaluate the recruiting strategy and methods used by the hiring manager and identify
and discuss any gaps or limitations. Address the following and explain your rationale:
• How would you describe the recruiting strategy used by Cavanaugh?
• What could have made the recruiting process more effective?
• Do you agree or disagree with the decision to not consider internal
candidates? What implications might this decision have for the team?
B) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of internal vs. external recruiting methods
as they apply to this case.
C) Discuss three additional recruiting sources that could have been used to find potential
candidates and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each as they apply to this
case.
2. A) Evaluate the selection methods, including the interviewing process used by the hiring
manager. Do you believe they were effective? Discuss any limitations or challenges that
may exist with the selection methods and the interview process used.
B) Discuss three other selection methods that could have been used and discuss the
advantages and disadvantages of each as they apply to this case.
3. Evaluate the decision of the hiring manager to make the candidate an offer despite the
concerns of Hamrick. Do you agree or disagree that a hiring decision should have been
made without consensus among all three team members? How could Hamrick’s
feedback have been handled by the hiring team?
4. Based on the recruiting and selection processes used, do you believe the hiring manager
was prepared to make a hiring decision? Why or why
Paper Format: APA
answer preview to Management
APA
1500 WORDS
