Getting the Right People at the Top Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

There are three reasons why companies have problems finding and hiring top-notch managers. First, even organizations that have extensive experience in the selection of the winners will have great difficulty because of the way in which managerial talent spread across the population. Second, the assessment of people in leadership positions are inherently difficult for several reasons. On the one hand, differentiating competencies for senior management, usually in the "soft" areas - such as the ability to develop people and manage change efforts - all of which are very difficult to measure in any reliable way. Finally, a powerful psychological biases impair the quality of the decision to hire. However, organizations can overcome these obstacles by deploying a set of core practices: Define before searching, cast a wide net, to compare apples to apples, to evaluate fully, filter bias, limit the number of people involved, to close the deal, and to promote integration. While some of these methods may seem obvious, many companies fail to follow them. Too often, for example, organizations make the mistake of starting Executive Search, before they know what they are really looking for. Or are they overly restrict the search to certain markets, industries or geographic regions. "Hide
by Claudio Fernández Fern-Ar ounces Source: MIT Sloan Management Review 8 pages. Publication Date: July 1, 2005. Prod. #: SMR180-PDF-ENG