Candidature Analysis of Mimi

Brewster
Written Analysis and Communication
Prof. Papiya De

Group 10
Division E

Ragini Sundarraman
Ajitesh Agarwal

E002
E003

Shashank Easwaran

E013

Ashish Mathew

E028

Shelton Nazareth

E038

Amit Saikia

E046

Letter of Transmittal
To Prof. Papiya De
From Group 10 (All Subject Ninjas)
To analyse, in detail, the situation faced by Fred Westen. Our view is that Mimi
should be hired in a non-leadership role for Hathaways China Operations.
The following pages present a detailed analysis of the prevalent situation and
available options and the evaluation, recommendations and action steps to be
followed.

Table of Contents

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Executive Summary
Situational Analysis
Problem Statement
Options
Criteria for Evaluation
Evaluation of Options
Recommendations
Action Plan

Executive Summary
Hathaway is a luxury apparel store based in the USA. Due to changing customer
preferences, Hathaway has failed to attract young people who form a major
portion of their customer base, as a result of which they are losing their foothold
over the market. As a final attempt to salvage the brand, they have decided to
venture into the Chinese Market, which has a growing demand for the luxury
apparel segment.
Their venture into the Chinese market is crucial for their survival and hence,
recruiting the perfect individual to lead the team at China is of utmost
importance. During their search for the perfect candidate, they come across Mimi
Brewster, who seems to be ideal for the role. She is a confident individual,
speaks Mandarin, has an expatriate background and knows the Chinese culture
well. However, an incident from Mimis past surfaces when the organization
Googles her, putting them into a dilemma. Though extremely happy with her
skills, they are now hesitant to hire her as she had spearheaded a movement
against the Chinese government in her graduation days. This could be a problem
for the company as success in the Chinese market is their only hope.
In the course of this analysis, we have evaluated Mimi based on certain criteria,
to ultimately arrive at the decision that she should not be hired to lead the team
at China, but could be hired to be a part of the team involved in the China
market operations.

Situational Analysis
Hathaways current status
Hathaway is a luxury apparel retail store based in the USA. Hathaways
image is now that of a fading brand. Young people, who made up a large
segment of Hathaways customer base, were looking for affordable
clothing with flair.
Hathaway attempted aggressive outsourcing in order to stay competitive
in the market but their brand was still perceived as old and this was a
large hurdle. Hathaway had decided to try to revive their brand by
venturing into China because of the presence of a large number of Yuppie
lifestyle customers available in China.
Chinas Growth Story
Chinas economy is picking up. Chinas luxury market has been growing
and their potential customers have a rising need for luxury clothing that
Hathaway can satisfy. China has exhibited a sudden interest in image and
celebrity. As a luxury brand Hathaway can look to satisfying this demand.
Hathaways Survival Strategy
Hathaway has already set aside millions of dollars to try to expand in
China. Based on Hathaways studies of the Chinese luxury market,

Hathaway feels a good expansion in China could help the brand survive
and cope with the slow progress in the USA.

Mimis Strengths and Weaknesses

Mimi comes across as headstrong, confident and determined. She has an
expatriate background. She speaks Mandarin and the local dialect. She
has good insights into the Chinese market and culture. She is creative and
has two successful brand launches under her belt.
On the downside, her activist past against the Chinese government would
count as a negative not against just Mimi but against Hathaway as a
whole. She is aggressive and dominating in nature, which may not fit well
with Chinese culture.

Problem Statement
Hathaway faces a dilemma on whether or not to hire Mimi for China
Operations.

Options
The options Hathaway has are:
Reject Mimis candidature outright
Hire Mimi for the Chinese market in the position of team leader.
Hire Mimi for the Chinese market in a different capacity.

Criteria for Evaluation

Based on Hathaways Chinese expansion plans, the evaluation criteria are
as follows:

Experience in brand launch

A leader Chinese Employees would prefer and gel with.

Understanding of the Chinese market and culture

Capability to get along with the Chinese government, trade unions

and employees.

Creativity and decision making capability

Effective communication skills knowledge of Mandarin

Evaluation of Options
Reject Mimis candidature outright
Hathaway would take up a risk in hiring Mimi. This is because Mimis
activist past comes into play. Chinas government and press could easily
find out about Mimis past, regardless of Mimis current attitude. By
avoiding this, Hathaway will not risk its image in China. The downside is
that Hathaways competitors may hire Mimi.
Hire Mimi for the Chinese market in the position of team leader.
Hathaway needs to survive in the Chinese market. For this they need a
candidate with creativity and an insight into the Chinese market which
Mimi clearly exhibits. Hathaway also needs a candidate that can bring in
some much needed energy. She is also aware of Chinese culture and can
speak Mandarin and a local dialect. She is confident, determined and has
an action plan on how to improve Hathaways fortunes in China.
Hire Mimi for the Chinese market in a different capacity.
Hathaways competitors would be only too willing to hire Mimi if Hathaway
rejects her candidature. In order avoid a face-off with the Chinese
government and take advantage of Mimis strengths Hathaway could hire
Mimi in a capacity which would not show Mimi as the face of the company
in China.

Recommendations
Hathaway should hire Mimi in a capacity other than that of leader.

Action Plan
Fred and Virginia should reject Mimi for the lead position of the team that
handles the Chinese Market for Hathaway Jones, but should also interview
her for a subordinate position in the team.
Virginia and Fred should jointly convey this decision while also
interviewing Mimi for the subordinate position.
General inquiries on her opinions on the Chinese Government should be
made.

Fred and Virginia should indirectly try to extract as much information on

the protests she participated in and her stand on them today.