February 19, 2011

XYZ Limited

Q. 1. If Chaudhari had been an external candidate, would he have got the job? As an internal candidate,
did he deserve to be treated in a different fashion?

Ans. Yes, Chaudhari would have got the job if he were an external candidate since he met all the
eligibility criteria and had performed ‘exceedingly well’ in the interview.
Though Chaudhari didn’t ‘deserve’ to be treated in the manner he was, owing to the company’s
recruitment policies and rules for internal candidates, he couldn’t be offered the job he was
deemed fit for. Chaudhari had proven his ability and skills to occupy the Assistant Engineer’s
position but the GM had to take this tough decision to avoid losing the other four Junior Engineers.

Q. 2. Did the management make a mistake in calling Chaudhari for an interview and selecting him when
he was ‘too junior’ in the organization?

Ans. Yes, the management made a mistake. They could easily have foreseen the situation and acted
accordingly. Upon receiving Chaudhari’s application, it should have been screened and the whole
situation could have been nipped in the bud. Since he was ‘too junior’ by organization’s norms, he
shouldn’t have been called for the interview at all.
Actually, the real problem lies in the inter-mixing of the external and internal candidates. The
Direct Recruitment channel shouldn’t have been opened to internal candidates at all.

Q. 3. Are there any drawbacks in the recruitment / promotion policies of the company?

Ans. Upon scrutinizing the recruitment / promotion policies or processes of the company, the following
drawbacks stand out:
a. The Direct Recruitment channel should not be open to internal candidates, at least in the
beginning. If required, it can be opened upon unavailability of suitable external candidates. This
would help avoid situations like the ones mentioned in the case.
b. There can be an upper cutoff for the ‘relevant work experience’ criterion to fill the Junior
Engineer post. (Chaudhari had a work experience of 4 years and was actually ‘senior’ to all the
other JEs where as he was deemed ‘junior’ in terms of experience with XYZ Limited.)
c. When specifying the requirement for relevant work experience, the advertisement floated by
the company should exactly specify the kind of experience required, e.g. ‘x’ years as a manager +
‘y’ years at an entry-level position. (Chaudhari’s four years’ experience helped him in being
considered for the Junior Engineer post. The same experience got him the Assistant Engineer’s
post!)

Submitted by:
Name: Ankit Kumar
Roll No.: 10IB-013
Section B