Running head: PROJECT 3 1

Project 3

Student’s Name:

Institutional Affiliation:
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Project 3

Introduction

In the current case, Wonder Products has to hire a new senior director who will be not

only a 21st-century manager but also an individual who will be able to instill the value, culture,

and traditions of the company. The role of the associate is to review the interview transcripts of

the three candidates and recommend the best candidate. The current paper analyzes the

leadership and management skills that each of the candidates possesses, with a primary focus on

their strengths and weaknesses. The article, then, recommends the most fitted candidate to fill the

position and explains why the other two were not selected.

Leadership and Management Skills

From the transcript, Nancy appears to possess a wide range of management skills. Her

excellent management skills are evident as she exercises leadership roles as the vice president of

the new product design and marketing department. In this leadership role, Nancy demonstrates

exemplary people management skills. In any organization, managers deal with teams of people

who become fatigued, stressed, and demotivated ("10 Key Skills Every Manager Needs," 2017).

However, a skilled manager applies emotional intelligence to motivate them even in their lowest

moments. In the current case, Nancy has been successful in managing a team of workers and

farmers. Her performance as a regional manager in Idaho shows that she is an outstanding

project manager. Moreover, she proves to be exceptional in business strategy and planning.

From the current case, Nancy is not only a skilled manager but also a successful leader.

As a leader, she possesses brilliant communication, delegation, creativity, and influencing skills.

Nancy gave her team of workers the freedom to make choices. It is also clear that she attributes

her success to the collaboration she had with the junior staff. At the community level, she
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successfully influences farmers into action, an indication that she is influential. From these skills,

it is apparent that Nancy applies a transformational leadership style when delivering her mandate

as a leader. According to Yahaya and Ebrahim (2016), transformational leaders always appeal to

higher moral values and ideals and empower workers to produce fundamental and profound

change. These leadership elements are visibly evident in Nancy’s every-day performance. Hence,

she has witnessed overwhelming success as a leader and has spent most of her years climbing the

corporate ladder.

Dane Evers is also a brilliant manager and leader whose skills are evident in his unique

entrepreneurial skills. He established Evers Vegetarian, a company that significantly grew in size

till the day it was acquired by Wonder Products. As a manager, he is competent in business

strategy and planning. As a leader, he is creative and believes in teamwork. Collective efficacy

and social cohesion are significant components of teamwork ("Why It Matters: Groups, Teams,

and Teamwork," n.d.), and Dave has strategically utilized them to make his business successful.

He is, moreover, an excellent motivator who believes in his workers' abilities. Based on the case,

Dave uses transactional leadership to manage his employees. According to Yahaya and Ebrahim

(2016), leaders who apply transactional leadership set clear expectations and goals of

performance and selects appropriate motivating rewards. As Dane noted in the interview, every

employee in his company is willing to roll up their sleeves to meet pre-set deadlines.

Joe Johnson also demonstrates a variety of management and leadership skills. From the

case, Joe is a chemical engineer who possesses admirable technical, conceptual, and

interpersonal skills. As the deputy director of the Southern Division, he has demonstrated project

management skills. While working at San Diego faculty, he demonstrated superb people

management skills and was regarded as a fair manager by all the employees. His relationship
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with the junior staff is a show of positivity, delegating, and outstanding communication skills.

Like Nancy, Joe also applies the transformational leadership style to manage his junior staff. He

mentors, guides, and empowers the workers to take the ball and run with it.

Candidate Recommendation

Number One Management Consultants Company recommends Nancy Drew as the best

candidate for the current position. In human resource management, all the job applicants are

screened to assess if they possess the relevant knowledge, skills, qualifications, and aptitude for

the job, and then the best candidate is selected ("Core Functions of Human Resource

Management," n.d.). In the current case, Wonder Products is looking for an individual who

possesses both leadership and management traits and will be open to innovative ways of creating

new products that address specific consumer needs. Moreover, the new senior director will be the

face of the company’s marketing brand. On top of that, he or she will need to be able to motivate

both the employees and the new customer base.

Nancy Drew meets all the above requirements. She has first-hand experience in the food

industry, having worked for Star Lite Foods for 20 years. Most precisely, she has been in charge

of new product design and marketing for the last three years. In this position, she has been

instrumental in deciding what products to pursue and the marketing strategies to be applied for

the new products. Under her leadership, Star Lite recorded a double-figure increase in market

share. Nancy also has extensive experience working with people. After spending ten years as a

regional manager in Idaho, she demonstrated outstanding collaboration skills when working with

farmers and her staff. During the interview, she already knows what initiatives should be

embraced now, and the ones that should be put on hold. She has a successful track record, an

indication that she is exactly what the Wonder Products wants.

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Why the Other Two Candidates were not selected

Dane Evers also has first-hand experience working in the food industry. However, he is

only used to working in his small company, Evers Vegetarian, and Wonders Products may be too

much for him. He does not also possess any experience working in a new product design. He is

used to managing a smaller workforce, which may not be the case at Wonder Products. His

desire to apply for the position may be motivated by the latest acquisition of his company. He is

good at people management but has limited experience in marketing. Hence, he does not have

what it takes to head the new line of all-natural energy bays.

On his part, Joe Johnson possesses attractive skills but still ranks far much below Nancy.

He has worked for Wonder Products as the deputy executive director for only one year, which

earns him the inadequate experience to head a new division. He has not worked in new product

design, even in his previous division in San Diego. His academic qualifications are exceptional

but still not enough to propel him to the new leadership position. He has good people

management skills but lacks marketing experience. Unlike Nancy, he has a few achievements to

show in the years he has worked as a manager. Thus, Joe cannot compare with Nancy in any

way.

Conclusion

This paper contains the views of the associate regarding the three candidates interviewed

for the position of a new senior director. It analyzes the leadership and management skills that

each of the candidates possesses, especially their strong and weak areas. These strengths and

weaknesses are analyzed based on their previous leadership positions and achievements. Then,

the paper recommends the most qualified candidate for the position based on individual

leadership, and management competencies demonstrated. Furthermore, it highlights why the

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other two candidates were unsuccessful. The two candidates’ weaknesses and skill inadequacies

are thoroughly highlighted to show why they do not meet the position’s requirements.
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References

10 key skills every manager needs. (2017). Management Centre Europe (MCE). Retrieved from

https://mce.eu/ten-key-skills-every-manager-needs/

Core functions of human resource management. (n.d.). Lumen Learning.

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-management/chapter/core-functions-of-

human-resource-management/

Why it matters: Groups, teams, and teamwork. (n.d.). Lumen Learning.

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-principlesofmanagement/chapter/why-it-

matters-groups-teams-and-teamwork/

Yahaya, R., & Ebrahim, F. (2016). Leadership styles and organizational commitment: Literature

review. Journal of Management Development. Retrieved from

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JMD-01-2015-0004/full/html