Reference no: EM133023863

Candidate 1 - Jackie Johnson - Current Position - Director of Purchasing

Jackie Johnson currently works as Director of Purchasing and obtains this job directly after serving in the military. She is a graduate of UMGC's business administration program. Johnson entered the interview room all smiles and with a firm handshake. The interviewer admitted to being impressed by the firm handshake and the constant eye contact throughout the interview. Johnson was very prepared to discuss her future with the company. She had completed extensive research on all four geographic divisions before the interview. Johnson had also spoken with current employees throughout Headquarters. As Director of Purchasing, Johnson indicated that she had worked very hard to start a small business "subculture" within her department. She felt that her employees were empowered to make their own decisions, which freed her to think strategically about purchasing for LSN. She admits that this "free-rein" approach to leadership has sometimes allowed her department to have missteps in distribution with divisions outside of North America. She has worked hard to overcome that image by altering her leadership style according to the situation or the employee she is dealing with. 

Her approach to leading is to look for leadership opportunities and encourage employees to act upon them, if possible. Johnson believes she is positive about the future. While she admits to only having worked in the purchasing department, she feels that she can bring a big picture perspective to the company, having worked with suppliers and customers. When asked about her risk tolerance, she replied, "I believe that is demonstrated in the small-business, entrepreneurial subculture I created in purchasing. At the end of the day, I'm more risk-tolerant than cautious." Johnson said she sees herself as a transformational leader. She feels that good leadership is built on good relationships with followers. Relational Theory seems to make the most sense to her for the 21st century because people make change work and leading change in the future. 

Identity: 

• The internal candidate recommended for each position and why.
• A brief discussion about any candidate not chosen for a leadership position at this time, with justification for this decision.
• If any of the positions cannot be filled by the current candidate pool, describe why an external search is recommended.
• If any of the positions cannot be filled by the current candidate pool, briefly describe the qualities that you feel the LSN recruiting team should look for in the external candidate for this position