we googled you hbr case

7/23/2019 We Googled You HBR Case

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We Googled YouCase Study

Submitted to:Sandip Timsina

(Course Instructor)Management Information System

Ace Institute of Management(Graduate Scool)

Submitted by:Su!ata Timsina"usma Sa#ya$usbu Sresta

%i#es &'a

uly *+,



We Googled You

Case summary

Fred Westen is the CEO of the luxury apparel retailer Hathaway Jones. Based on Fred'simpressive credentials and a lifetime's experience of worin! with luxury "rands# theprivately owned $.%. retail chain had hired him four years a!o with the heavy

responsi"ility of turnin! the trou"led company around. For the purpose# Fred too severalmeasures such as a!!ressive outsourcin!# "ut his "i!!est plan was to enter China'sluxury !oods maret which was !rowin! at a rate of &( per year. He had earmaredmillions of dollars to open new stores in three of the lar!est cities# includin! Be)in! and*uan+hou# with the fla!ship in %han!hai# China's wealthiest and most cosmopolitan city.Fred new that he needed an excellent team of carefully selected individuals to maeHathaway Jones' entry into China a success.

,round that time# Fred !ot into touch with his old roommate# John Brewster. -t happenedso that John's dau!hter imi was followin! Hathaway Jones' movements and "ein! awareof Fred's plan to expand into China# she wanted to "e a part of the move. imi had !rownup in China and could spea "oth andarin and a local Chinese dialect. %he had ma)ored

in Chinese History from Bereley and wored at a mana!ement consultancy ri!ht out ofcolle!e. %he then !raduated from %tanford with an B,. ,fter that# she was recruited "yEleanor *aston# the lar!est clothin!# shoes and accessories company in the $nited%tates. ,fter four years of experience there# she was now looin! for some !eneralmana!ement experience# prefera"ly in a fast !rowin! maret lie China. imi was veryconfident that she would "e selected for the )o" at Hathaway Jones.

,fter an initial meetin! with imi# Fred realised that she was the perfect candidate for thecompany. %o he set up an interview for her with the vice president of human resources#/ir!inia Flanders. /ir!inia Flanders was a lon! time employee of Hathaway Jones and shehad differin! views from Fred re!ardin! human resources. %he thou!ht that Fred i!noredinternal talent and relied too much on his sixth sense a"out who were the ri!ht people to

"rin! on "oard. ,s she put to!ether a file on imi# /ir!inia acnowled!ed that thecandidates' letters of recommendation were impressive. Employers descri"ed imi asa!!ressively creative# ori!inal# opinionated# and a ris taer 0which she thou!h mi!ht "ea little too much for the company1. But it was /ir!inia's practice to *oo!le applicants andscan the first 22 pa!es as a "ac!round chec. 3urin! this routine chec# she found outthat imi had "een the leader of a nonviolent "ut vocal protest !roup that helpedmo"ili+e campai!ns a!ainst the World 4rade Or!ani+ation. $pon further investi!ation# itwas clear that imi's involvement had "een more than )ust a student's expression ofdefiance. One newspaper story featured a photo of imi sittin! outside China's %anFrancisco consulate protestin! China's treatment of a dissident )ournalist.

-nitially# Fred downplayed the findin!s# assumin! that no one has a clean internet trail.

But upon further discussions with /ir!inia and his wife artha# he realised that it wouldput this venture of Hathaway Jones at stae. imi could "e the ind of person who could!et the company into trou"le in China. 5ow Fred was in a dilemma as to whether heshould hire a !ood candidate with a "ad online history 0which mi!ht "e false or fa"ricatedas far as he new1 or in the future# settle for a less 6ualified candidate with a !ood onlinehistory as candidates with imi's credentials and references was not common.



Sould -red ire Mimi despite er online istory./0pert 1ie's

on G2 3alfrey4 r240Clinical professor of law and the executive director of the Berman Center for -nternet 7%ociety at Harvard 8aw %chool# and also a founder of 9%% -nvestors1

r :alfrey thins that Fred should follow his instinct and hire imi if everythin! elsechecs out. He should tal to imi a"out everythin! honestly and hear her side of thestory. :eople who have "een saints all their lives are uninterestin! people and companieswhich hire only such people will lac leaders in the lon! run.

Furthermore# di!ital information cannot "e relied upon as anyone with a little expertisecan easily falsify the information. 4hese false remars travel very fast over the internetand it is very hard to trac them down and remove them. %o it is "ecomin! increasin!lyimportant for companies to "rin! in the concerned person to clarify the situation ifanythin! of concern is found online.

r :alfrey descri"es most senior executives as ;di!ital immi!rants< who have not

immersed themselves in the electronic culture and new !eneration in their =s as;di!ital natives< who share information online promiscuously without reali+in! theconse6uences of their acts. He says that the current hirin! standards will have to chan!eor companies will not "e a"le to hire !reat people. But that is very hard for the di!italimmi!rants to do so and will "e applica"le only when the di!ital natives themselves"ecome CEOs and H9 executives.

effrey A2 oerres0Chairman and CEO# anpower1

r Joerres descri"es the impact of online media and social networin! in the employmentlandscape. -t has led to the trend of informally checin! the "ac!round of individuals

online# prior to interviewin! them. 5ot very lon! a!o# someone with an imperfect pastcould move far away from his trou"led history and start fresh in a new location. 4oday#the online community nows no "oundaries and 6ualified candidates' "ac!round can "echeced online for an unfavora"le past even "efore he or she steps inside theor!ani+ation.

He says that he would have sidelined imi as a candidate. ,part from the onlinerevelation# former employers descri"ed her as opinionated and "rash. -n the interviewwith Fred# it seemed 6uite inappropriate for her to win at him and call him ;"oss< on theway out of his office. 4hese concerns mi!ht not have "een a "i! deal if imi was applyin!for a )o" in the west# "ut China was a different case.

imi's 6ualifications and her "ac!round in China are not enou!h to maer her a !oodmana!er there. For the venture# Hathaway Jones needs a person who can "uild aconstructive relationship with the local !overnment. Hirin! a person without suchcapa"ilities may hinder the company's a"ility to succeed in the Chinese maret. ,nd thefact that Chinese people are very we" oriented and now how to *oo!le would also maeimi a "ad candidate for the position. Furthermore# the local nature of the retail andservice "usinesses would mae it a "ad choice to put an expatriate in the %han!haiposition. imi's personality was also opposed to the type of personality that Chineseemployees expect in their leaders i.e. modest and hum"le.



Finally# r Joerres hi!hli!hts the need for potential employees to protect their reputationsand thin twice a"out the online personale they are presentin! to the world. Herecommends that candidates search the internet to find anythin! a"out themselves thatmi!ht come up and "e prepared to answer any 6uestions that mi!ht crop up in relation tothe findin!s. Furthermore# they should consider how they mi!ht use the we" todemonstrate attri"utes that would mae a positive impression on potential employers.&ana M2 5oyd

03octoral candidate at the $niversity of California# Bereley# and an adviser to ma)ormedia corporations1

s 3anah . Boyd is from the same !eneration as imi and she )ustifies the actions ofher !eneration on the internet. 4he youn! people today are doin! what the youn! peoplehave always done> tryin! to fi!ure out who they are. 4hey are puttin! themselves inpu"lic for the others to examine and ad)ustin! themselves accordin! to the reactions thatthey are !ettin!. 4he only difference is that they are doin! it throu!h a new medium# theinternet. ,nd as always# the adults are upset "y the en!a!ement of the new !enerationwith new cultural artifacts.

4he so called pro"lematic "ehavior of the teena!ers can "e traced "ac to the narratives

of the media. 4eena!ers are prone to imitate the activities of the people that themainstream media portrays as cele"rities. 9eality 4/ shows lin success with fullexposure. ,ll these factors have teena!ers to "e narcissists and attention seeers. %o theWorld Wide We" has "ecome a place for friends and also a space to see attention.

any youn! people will have 6uestiona"le online presence. -f Hathaway Jones doesn?twant to hire these people# it will miss out the "est minds of the new !eneration. Bri!htpeople push the ed!e and what constitutes the ed!e is a matter of time. While a!eneration a!o# it was a"out minisirts and roc and roll# this time around# it is a"outhavin! a complex di!ital presence. While Hathaway Jones mi!ht "e a"le to find peoplewho always play "y the rules and do not have any "lemishes on their records# it will alsoneed some people who are creative. 8ie for instance# the )o" that Fred is tryin! to fill

needs a creative lie imi. %o Fred should tal with imi and strate!i+e to!ether a"outhow to handle the potential challen!es posed "y her online records.

Micael -erti# 0Founder and CEO# 9eputation 3efender1

ichael Ferti is also from the same !eneration as imi. He acnowled!es the fact thattoday# if we *oo!le anyone hard enou!h# there is "ound to "e somethin! "ad. Our C/ isno lon!er what we send to our employers @ it's the first 2 thin!s that show up on *oo!le.

r Ferti thins that imi presents a ris to Hathaway Jones as the online content a"outher is sensitive enou!h for Chinese decision maers even thou!h it appears only on the

ninth pa!e of *oo!le's search results. %omeone is "ound to find it sooner or later. 4henpeople will write a"out it a!ain on the internet and the community will tae heed. %inceimi didn't put the content on the internet herself# she is powerless to remove it#especially owin! to the fact that it is a newspaper article.

imi should have disclosed the newspaper articles to Fred "efore the H9 did. 4his wouldhave helped her !ain some favor. But this does not mean that she cannot pursue a"usiness career in China all her life. %he can carry out various activities lie participatin!in pu"lic forums and writin! "lo!s that show that her opinion has matured and admit thatshe has chan!ed her earlier views.



Sould -red ire Mimi despite er online istory.Indi1idual 6pinions and Issues

Su!ata Timsina

Had - "een in Fred's position# - would have hired imi tain! the followin! points intoconsideration>

2. One cannot discriminate a potential candidate for a )o" )ust "ecause hisAher onlineprofile contains some information which mi!ht not "e supportive to the )o". Just "ecausea person has a clear online profile does not mean that the person is a perfect candidate#it mi!ht )ust "e "ecause the person had played the entire thin! safe.

=. However# online profile information cannot "e "lindfolded as well .Even thou!h thatinformation mi!ht not have any si!nificant impacts on the "usiness# when it is noticed "ypeople they !o on di!!in! up the information so vi!orously that it ends up into a "i! issueputtin! the "usiness at stae.

. -nternet has "een a platform on which anyone can put information of any sort and the

ma)or issue associated with it is that even if true information is placed on the internet #itcan easily "e falsified and false information can "e made seemin!ly true.

"usma Sa#ya

Considerin! the fact that China is a communist state# - wouldn?t hire imi after findin!such 6uestiona"le online "ac!round and would play it safe "y hirin! a "etter candidate"ecause sooner or later in time they would definitely *oo!le a"out imi. nowin! thefact that the online articles are difficult to remove from the internet - would not tae anyris "ecause it is an extremely important investment for Hathway Jones. But assumin!her talent and creativity she can "e hired for Hathway Jones international operation# asthe company would not want to lose someone lie her.

$usbu Sresta

Fred Weston should hire imi Brewster "ecause she already has "road "usinessexperience. ,lso she has wored in Eleanor *aston and has reDlaunced two "rands whichwere successes. With her experience and nowled!e a"out "rand reDlaunches and theemer!in! fashion trends she should definitely "e hired. ,s she was raised in China andnows andarin and local 3ialect this acts as an advanta!e for hirin! her for worin! atthe China "ranches as she nows the country and its culture well.9e!ardin! her internet postin! it is !ood that her protest activities were nown "y the H9mana!er "efore hirin! her. Fred Weston and H9 ana!er /ir!inia Flanders must schedulesecond interview with imi so that she can clarify the reasons "ehind her protest

activities. -f she can clarify her "ehavior and convince "oth of them that her activities willnot "e repeated they should hire her.With such sills and experience Hathaway Jones cannot tae a ris "y not hirin! imi "y

)ust dependin! upon the information found in the internet.

%i#es &'a

-f - were Fred# - would try to !et hold of a "etter candidate than imi and play it safe asfar as possi"le. 4he information on the internet re!ardin! imi is "ound to "e discovered"y others sooner or later. 4he Chinese maret that is !rowin! at a rate of &( per year



will also attract Hathway Jones' competitors. Once they find out that a ey employee ofHathway Jones' has such online records# they will surely use it a!ainst the company.

4hou!h imi has impressive credentials# - donot thin it is enou!h for someone to "econsidered to lead a multiD"illion dollar company into a forei!n maret. %ome experiencein the international arena would have made imi a far more suita"le candidate.

%o Fred should try to !et hold of someone "etter with a safer trac record and moreexperience "ecause the foray into China is an extremely important investment forHathway Jones# considerin! that it is loosin! hold of its !rip in the $% maret and millionsof dollars are at stae.

Te -inal 7erdict

,fter "rin!in! all our differin! views to ta"le# we concluded that Fred should set up asecond meetin! with imi. ,fter hearin! her side of the story# they should devise a planof action that would help to create an online trail that overshadows her existin!ne!ativity a"out China. 8ie r ichael Ferti recommended# imi could considerpu"lishin! stories a"out !lo"ali+ation on a home pa!e that she creates# or )oinin! an

online discussion forum a"out China and the World 4rade Or!ani+ation. -n these pu"licforums# she can explain that she had many political and social interests when she wasyoun!er and how her opinions have differed now.

,part from the unfavora"le online trail# it is reasona"le to assume that imi is one of the"est candidates that could have applied for the )o". One can ar!ue that imi is not veryexperienced in the international arena# "ut we cannot foresee these facts that mae heran ideal candidate>

2. %he !rew up in China.=. %he speas "oth andarin and a local Chinese dialect.. %he ma)ored in modern Chinese history.

. %he had a "road "usiness exposure and had completed her B, from one of the"est "usiness schools in the world

. %he had four years of experience in the lar!est clothin!# shoes and accessoriescompany in the $nited %tates. Furthermore# she has also "een a part of twosuccessful "rand launches there and was aware of the emer!in! fashion trends.

G. From her "rief conversation with Fred# we can infer that she had a !oodunderstandin! of the Chinese culture.

%o# rather than focusin! on the ne!ative aspects# Fred should focus on how he can helpimi improve her online trac record and let her develop as an individual to her truepotential. Hirin! and retainin! dynamic individuals such as imi will not only "enefitHathaway Jones in the short term expansion into China# "ut also ensure that the company

will never "e short of capa"le leaders in the lon! run.

/alue people on their potential# not on their history.<D Bo Bennett 0"usinessman# author# pro!rammer# philanthropist# martial artist and

motivational speaer1

we googled you hbr case

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