We Googled You

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WE GOOGLED YOU

WRITTEN ANALYSIS AND COMMUNICATION

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

11 January, 2016

Prof. Madhulika Saxena

Faculty, Written Analysis and Communication

NMIMS, Mumbai

Sub: Submission of the report of the case ‘We googled You’

Dear Madam,

As per your instructions, we have analyzed the case ‘We googled You’ as a part of the Written Analysis and Communication course. The report is based on the dilemma CEO of Hathaway Jones, Fred Westen faces regarding the hiring of Mimi Brewster.

The following pages contain detailed analysis and evaluation of different alternatives, recommendation and the plan of action. Our recommendation for Fred Westen is to hire Mimi Brewster, not as the Team Lead for the Shanghai store but for a background role in the Strategy team which will handle the campaign in all three cities.

Yours sincerely,

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The CEO of the luxury apparel retailer Hathway Jones, Fred Westen plans to expand the Philadelphia based retailer into China. He interviews Mimi Brewster, the daughter of his old roommate at Andover. Fred is impressed with her knowledge of the fashion industry and Chinese history and culture. With two successful brand launches and her ability to be creative and an out-of-the-box thinker, she seems to be a good fit to launch a store in Shanghai. But on unearthing her involvement in vocal protests against the Chinese Government through Google, Fred is faced with the choice of either hiring her because of her excellent credentials or not hiring her to avoid issues with the Chinese Government. Fred could avoid both the risk of Mimi being absorbed by a competitor and jeopardizing the company’s expansion plans by hiring her for a strategic role that will enable her to work in the background and handle the company’s China operations. The criteria for evaluation of the options include Hathway Jones’ current requirements for expansion, credentials of the candidate,stance of the Chinese government, online reputation and legal issues. After detailed analysis and evaluation of the options, the recommended course of action is to consider the option of hiring Mimi but not as the Team Lead for the flagship store inShanghai but as a part of the strategic team.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Situation analysis

Fred Westen, the CEO of Hathaway Jones, a luxury apparel retailer,is looking to expand into the Chinese luxury market, which was growing at 70%, as a solution to wake up the sleepy, conservative brand. He interviews Mimi Brewster, the daughter of his old roommate at Andover.Born in China ad having majored in Chinese history, she has a solid understanding of the Chinese market and has successfully launched two luxury brands. She is also creative, an out-of-the-box thinker and has demonstrated leadership skills. Based on her credentials, she seems to be ideal for the Team Leader role at the Shanghai store. Virginia Flanders, VP-HR, on Googling Mimi finds that she was involved in vocal, non-violent protests against the Chinese Government. It is possible that this might escape the public eye because the results turned up in the 9th page which could mean that it doesn’t get much traffic or might be old or unimportant news. However, this does put Fred Westen in a dilemma as he is unsure whether Mimi’s past could jeopardize the company’s expansion plans in China, the reason being that the Chinese people, being internet savvy could easily unearth this information, putting the company’s plans at risk. By rejecting her candidature, Hathaway Jones loses an accomplished candidate who would readily be absorbed by a competitor. Fred must now take a decision.