Indian Institute of Management Indore

PGP I | 2019-21

We Googled You

Case study analysis

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 We Googled You

Case study analysis

Submitted to:
Prof. Abha Chatterjee
Communications Area
IIM Indore

Prepared by:
Ashish Satish Bhiwapurkar (2019PGP086)

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for

Written Analysis and Communication course

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 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

Ashish Satish Bhiwapurkar

Section B
PGP-I, Term -II
IIM Indore

23th November 2019

Prof. Abha Chatterjee

Communications Area
IIM Indore

Dear Madam,

I submit herewith the case analysis report on ‘We Googled You’ as part of the Written Analysis
and Communication course.
I thank you for this opportunity and look forward to your feedback on the same.

Best Regards,
Ashish Satish Bhiwapurkar
Section B
2019PGP086

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Fred Westen, Hathway Jones’ CEO, is planning to expand in growing Chinese market and has
found a promising candidate- Mimi, to open company’s flagship store in Shanghai. However, a
routine Google search on Mimi has revealed some results which could be potentially derail the
company’s plans. Fred is in dilemma whether to hire Mimi or reject her or give her a chance to tell
her side of the story and then decide. Fred wanted to hire the best people for the job, keep the
company out of trouble and maintain good relations John and Mimi. Considering long term
implications, it is recommended that Fred should not hire Mimi.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Situation Analysis ………………………………………………………………… 6

Problem Statement ………………………………………………………………... 6

Alternative Solutions ……………………………………………………………... 6

Evaluation Criteria ………………………………………………………………... 6

Evaluation of Alternatives ………………………………………………………... 7

Recommendation …………………………………………………………………. 8

Implementation Plan ……………………………………………………………… 8

Contingency Plan …………………………………………………………………. 8

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 SITUATION ANALYSIS
Fred Westen, CEO of Hathway Jones (HJ), a luxury brand operating in the US, is planning to
expand in rapidly growing Chinese market by opening three new stores, with a flagship store in
Shanghai. Fred is a rational and dynamic leader who trusted his sixth sense to hire right people for
the job. Meanwhile, he received a call from old roommate-John Brewster who referred his
daughter-Mimi for being a part of company’s expansion plans in China. Mimi had grown up in
China, spoke Mandarin and local dialect. She graduated from Berkeley, known for its liberal
education, with majors in modern Chinese history. She chose MBA at Stanford for being close to
the fashion hub of San Francisco. She is young, stylish with has taste in luxury fashion goods.
With commendable work experience in fashion industry of launching two successful brands, she
is looking forward to be a part of HJ’s expansion plan in China and is confident of getting the job.

Fred is quite intrigued by Mimi’s pitch and referred her to Virginia, VP-HR, for further onboarding
process. To put together a file on Mimi, Virginia ran a routine google check and found that Mimi
was involved in leading a campaign against WTO and protests against China. Virginia highlighted
her findings to Fred to re-think his decision of hiring Mimi. She also advised him to consult
company’s lawyers who were studying potential legal implications. Fred knew that he has to put
business considerations first to keep the company out of trouble and also felt the responsibility of
hiring the best people.

PROBLEM STATEMENT
Should Fred hire Mimi despite her potentially malign online history?

ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS
 Hire Mimi for launching flagship store in Shanghai
 Reject Mimi’s candidature and not get involved any further
 Give Mimi a chance to tell her side of the story and then decide

EVALUATION CRITERIA
 Hire the best people for the job
 Keep the company out of trouble
 Maintain good relations with John and Mimi

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 EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES
 Alternative 1: Hire Mimi for launching flagship store in Shanghai
Criteria 1: Hire the best people
With a commendable work experience and background knowledge of Chinese culture, she
is a good fit for the job.
Criteria 2: Keep the company out of trouble
China being a country with close-minded and naïve culture, even an old and seemingly
insignificant story of Mimi protesting against China could land the whole company into trouble.
This has a potential to derail the entire expansion plans in China and anyone person is not worth
the risk.
Criteria 3: Maintain good relations with John and Mimi
By hiring Mimi, Fred would do a favor to his friend John and continue to maintain good
relations with both in the short run. However, if this information gets into wrong hands, they will
strongly despise each other.

 Alternative 2: Reject Mimi’s candidature and not get involved any further
Criteria 1: Hire the best people
By rejecting Mimi’s Candidature, Fred would not fulfill the criteria of hiring best people
at this stage. However, by further headhunting he may eventually find a suitable candidate like
Mimi.
Criteria 2: Keep the company out of trouble
Since, no one person is bigger than the company’s well-being, not hiring Mimi would
completely eliminate the risk of any negative publicity and is a sustainable action to keep the
company out of trouble in a foreign country like China.
Criteria 3: Maintain good relations with John and Mimi
This may sever Fred’s relations with John and Mimi for now. But Fred being in a powerful
position has to put business considerations above his personal relations and if John is a true,
considerate friend would respect Fred’s stand.

 Alternative 3: Give Mimi a chance to tell her side of the story and then decide
Criteria 1: Hire the best people
Giving Mimi a chance to justify her actions and then deciding seems a rational choice to
hire best people.

Criteria 2: Keep the company out of trouble

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 By disclosing to Mimi that she is judged based on her internet history, she might get
offended and sue the company causing unwanted legal troubles.
Criteria 3: Maintain good relations with John and Mimi
This alternative will definitely sever Fred’s relations with John and Mimi causing problems
in personal as well as professional life.

RECOMMENDATION
Considering long term implications, it is recommended that Fred should not hire Mimi.

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
Fred can decide to not hire Mimi and not disclose the reason of potentially malign internet search
history. He can do so by citing some diplomatic reasons through HR such as – not fit as per
company’s cultural matrix or found another candidate for the job. This will ensure complete
neutrality on his part and keep the company out of trouble.

CONTINGENCY PLAN
Fred may ask Virginia to take another round of stress interview and set the stage for rejection of
Mimi’s candidature. This may break Mimi’s morale and ultimately Virginia can reject her without
citing any reason.