Reference no: EM132869146

Hiring Decision

There will be a vacancy for a station manager soon. The station manager is the top manager in one of the airline's airports and is responsible for all activities at the airport, from ticketing passengers to handling the fueling and turnaround of an aircraft. The station manager usually supervises one or two ticket clerks, two baggage handlers, and one or more aircraft-servicing people. He/she works from the first flight in the morning until the last flight at night, often a 10- to 12-hour day, 5 to 6 days a week. He/she must be good with the public and very passenger oriented. When anything out of the ordinary happens, it falls on the station manager to make things right with the passengers.

The station with the opening currently has an all-white, all-male crew. The only requirement in the job advertisement is that the applicant has related experience in the airline industry. You have pared the list of applicants down to four individuals. Whom will you select?

SELECT ONE OPTION FROM BELOW:

1. A middle-aged, minority female who was formerly a cabin attendant for an airline that went bankrupt. She received excellent annual evaluations and one award for "Cabin Attendant of the Year." She is bright, eloquent, and seems to be highly motivated. She stated that she could learn technical parts of the job quickly (supervision of baggage handling, fueling, restocking the aircraft, etc.). She is the only applicant with a college degree. One of your staff people stated, If we are going to stay ahead of minority hiring practices, now is the time to start.

2. A middle-aged, white male who was assistant station manager for five years for a large airline who wanted to relocate. He appears to be pleasant and easy-going and has good recommendations from his former employer. He could step in and immediately do the job well.

3. The young ticket agent at the airport where the opening has occurred. She has been working for the airline two years and has very good performance evaluations. She worked as a baggage handler a few times when needed but has not done some of the other jobs she would be supervising. The out-going station manager has stated, I think, in time, she could learn how to be a good station manager. She will make some mistakes, but everybody does. The company should send a strong message to employees that promotion from within is our policy.

4. The son of the owner of the largest employer in town. He has just graduated with a two-year associate degree from a well-known aviation management program. He is very mature for his age (28) and a sharp individual. He did have training in station management in his aviation program. The bonus in hiring this young person is that the airline would undoubtedly get all the business from his father's firm, which is substantial, since he brings people in from all over the U.S. to his plant. His father is very influential in the city and has made it known to the president of your airline that he would consider it a personal favor if the airline hired his son.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

A. Which prospective employee appears the most promising? What problems do you foresee with hiring him/her for the job?

B. What effect will hiring from outside the company have on current personnel?

C. What sort of message will hiring someone from outside your company convey to your other employees?

D. What choice did you make? Why?