Elizabeth’s International Placement: Should She or Shouldn’t She?

Elizabeth’s International Placement: Should She or Shouldn’t She?

In October 2013, 25 youngsters landed at the Dhaka International Airport, Bangladesh. They were final year International Business Management students from the globally renowned School of Management Studies and Research (SMSR), London, UK. They had come to Bangladesh for a 45-day immersion program, a student exchange program between SMSR and the prestigious Management Institute of Bangladesh (MIB), Dhaka.

The course required each student to attend an immersion program at one of the companies from developing economies. The program, carrying 4 credit points, would enable them to learn International Retailing and Managing Global Supply Chains.

Accordingly, the students were to attend immersion programs at different partnering companies. One of the groups comprising Sebastian, Elizabeth, Sam, Zuben and Josh, was assigned to Golden Textiles Ltd. (Golden)................

Golden Textiles Ltd.

Golden was one of the leading textile manufacturers of Bangladesh. As of 2013, Golden’s products were sold in 38 countries and its annual revenues stood at $150 million..........

Immersion Program at Golden

The group of five from SMSR was assigned to various departments as per their specializations (Exhibit I). It was a rigorous immersion program wherein the students were involved in one of the on-going projects. They were also given the support of one mentor each............

Elizabeth’s Dilemma

At SMSR, as the placement season approached, many students expected a call from the companies they had attended their immersion program at, one such student was Elizabeth...........

Assignment Questions

I. What is your assessment of Golden Textile’s business practices? Do you agree with Sam’s assessment?

II. Analyzing the pros and cons of either accepting or rejecting the offer, what would be your advice to Elizabeth regarding her placement with Golden Textiles Ltd.? Should she accept or should she reject the offer?

III. .............

Exhibits

Exhibit I: Department Allocation of SMSR Students

Elizabeth’s International Placement: Should She or Shouldn’t She?

Synopsis

This caselet enables an interesting discussion on the concept of immersion programs, college/campus recruitment and the ethical dilemmas in opting for an international assignment. Elizabeth, who participated in an immersion program at Golden Textiles Ltd., (Golden) is offered a final placement at Golden upon completion of her course. She, however, learns from Sam (a fellow participant in the immersion program at Golden) about the prevalence of poor business ethics at Golden and is in a dilemma whether to accept or reject the offer. Her rejection would negatively affect the relationship between all the stakeholders – the two business schools, Golden and Elizabeth herself. What should she do? This caselet is suitable to understand the concept of college/campus recruitment as an external source of candidates. It is also suitable to understand the significance of immersion programs and the role of B-schools in preparing management students.

Prerequisite Conceptual Understanding/Before the Classroom Discussion

Prerequisite Conceptual Understanding (PCU) material is the background study material that would aid immensely in mapping the decision areas of this caselet. Having read this background material, the students/ participants would be better prepared to learn the underlying concepts.

• • Gary Dessler and Biju Varkkey, “Human Resource Planning and Recruiting”, Human Resource Management, 12^th Edition, Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd., 2011 – To develop an understanding on the concept of college/campus recruitment

Case Positioning and Setting

This caselet can be suitably used in either of the following programs/courses:

• • MBA program in Human Resource Management course – To teach the concept of college/campus recruiting, focusing on immersion programs and their relevance to placements
• • MBA program in Organizational Behavior course – To teach the concept of values, linking an individual’s personality and values to the workplace

Assignment Questions

• I. What is your assessment of Golden Textile’s business practices? Do you agree with Sam’s assessment?
• II. Analyzing the pros and cons of either accepting or rejecting the offer, what would be your advice to Elizabeth regarding her placement with Golden Textiles Ltd.? Should she accept or should she reject the offer?
• III. .....................

Suggested Readings for the Faculty

The following articles are suggested to make this caselet’s classroom discussion and analysis more broad-based with relevant insights into the underlying theme:

• •Joel M. Podolny, “The Buck Stops (and Starts) at Business School”, Harvard Business Review, June 2009 – To understand the reasons behind loss of trust in B-schools and the ways in which B-schools can build that trust
• •Joseph L. Badaracco Jr., “Personal Values and Professional Responsibilities”, Harvard Business School Publishing, April 14^th 2005 – To identify the obstacles that restricts managers from working and living as per their personal values and the options that a manager has in dealing with these obstacles

Preamble to this Caselet’s Analysis

The primary objective of this caselet is to sensitize the participants (especially fresh MBA students) to the nuances of decision-making for an international job offer, arising primarily out of their immersion programs (can also be internships in few cases). The other objective is to highlight the role of immersion programs in an MBA program and accordingly this caselet can be orchestrated as suggested in the following exhibit [Exhibit (TN)-I]..........