Succession Planning at CapraTek
Order Instructions:
In the CapraTek: Succession Planning simulation, you identified the three best candidates for the plant manager position, interviewed each candidate, and selected your top choice. For this assignment, you will create a career development plan for the candidate you chose.
Assignment Instructions
Write an analysis of your experience and results, addressing the following:
• Articulate why you selected the candidates you chose to interview for this position.
• Analyze why you chose the candidate you decided to hire for this position.
• Develop a career development plan for your chosen candidate, based on your practice with the CapraTek simulation.
Background info on company:
CapraTek is leveraging its culture of innovation to expand into emerging wireless technologies. As part of that diversification, CapraTek is developing advanced smart-home technology.
Last month, CapraTek announced that it will begin development of an integrated wireless system that will provide seamless integration of virtually all home electronics and appliances all controlled through a single, wireless device and a simple web-based interface. The system (Alfred!) will be produced in a new manufacturing facility in central Illinois. Groundbreaking on the new facility will begin this summer with full operations to be accomplished in three phases over the next two years.
While most workers at the new plant will be hired locally, manager and supervisor positions will be filled through a combination of transfers and promotions from the two current U.S. CapraTek manufacturing plants and local hires. The new plant manager, Mark Cranston, had been the assistant plant manager at CapraTek’s Spartanburg South Carolina plant. His promotion leaves a vacancy at the South Carolina plant that will need to be backfilled quickly as the current plant manager is scheduled to retire in less than two years.
Email you received:
From: Evelyn Unger, Senior HR Generalist
I am assuming that you have had a chance to read Kathleen’s announcement on the company intranet – if you haven’t, you should.
The bottom line is that we didn’t see Mark’s promotion coming and there has not been much done in terms of succession planning at that plant (or, to be honest, at our other plants). It is looking like there isn’t a strong internal candidate to take Mark’s place, so we will be posting the position and looking externally to fill the position.
With the current plant manager slated to retire, we’d like to avoid this kind of thing happening again, so I’d like you to take a look at the management and supervisory in Spartanburg and come up with a development plan for one of those individuals. Basically, identify one person who you think has the potential to be a strong internal candidate to replace Chuck when he retires. Identify what needs to be done in terms of succession planning and career development planning, and be prepared to talk about it later this week. You’ll probably want to set up virtual meetings with several potential candidates to talk about their goals and current plans.
I’m asking a couple of other people to do the same thing, so be prepared to defend your choice!
I’ll follow up with you later.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Succession Planning at CapraTek – Week 9
Introduction
Succession plan is important for any business to help them avoid inconveniences. This planning ought to start early to ensure that events and activities flow smoothly. This paper aims to develop a career development plan for selected candidate to take up the position of manager in CapraTek Company. It as well provides reasons for selecting candidates selected for interview, and provides an analysis for choosing the candidate hired.
Reasons for selecting candidates selected for interview
In organizations such as CapraTek, changes are deemed to occur. Some of these changes require immediate course of action as opposed to others. The current plant manager is destined to retire in less than two years and this will leave vacant position of an assistant plant manager as Mark Cranston is promoted to the position. The vacancy left requires an individual that has the requisite skills and experience to fill the same. According to Tichy (2014), It is important for organizations to have a clear plan on its succession strategy to ensure continuity and success. Succession sometimes may be problematic and even cause negative implications to an entity. The process of succession should be done right and should not merely be selection of names to fill the position. One of the most important things to do is to engage all the stakeholders fully (Hall & Hagen, 2014). They must be part of the process to ensure selection of the right candidate. Potential candidates require serious scrutiny and assessment to determine their capability to take up the position. The scrutiny may require hiring of an external manager to take up the position as is the case at CapraTek. The third important consideration is to carry out a stress test and simulation to determine indeed whether the candidate has the skills and the ability to take the organization to the next level even in absence of the CEO (Tichy (2014). The last point of consideration is acknowledging that the successor needs to recover from mistakes and have the heart and willingness to learn (Barbour, 2014). The successors require mentors and conducive working environment as preparation for the bigger task.
To ensure smooth transition, it is important to start early preparations to identify the right candidate to fill the position that will be left vacant (Sims, 2014). Selection and recruitment is the first stage. The recruitment panel has to carry out an assessment to determine whether there was any suitable person within the organization for the position. However, there was no suitable candidate and this necessitated consideration of an external recruitment. Through the process of recruitment, three candidates emerged to be the best and therefore were invited for an interview to take up the position. A number of reasons were considered and these three met the threshold. The three have enough experience in working in companies that deal with similar technologies that Capra Tek is dealing in. There leadership have been tested for many years and was recommended. All of them have managed to transform their companies and driven them to grow and become successful. For instance, one of the candidate selected managed to achieve 80 percent growth rate in the company he used to work within a period of two years. The company had stagnated, hence was not making profits and the investors were now getting discouraged and withholding their investments. The three candidates as well exemplified qualities of leadership. Their communication skills and social skills were astounding. The level of intelligence was also astonishing, hence; they emerged to be the potential candidates that would help Capra Tek achieve its goals even as it embarked on expansion initiatives as part of its diversification initiatives. The candidates’ competencies were assessed using multiple tools and even their personality assessed using Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (Mattone, 2013). The results indicated the three candidates fit for the position. The qualities and qualifications of the three therefore matched the requirements of the position, hence contributing to their selection.
Analysis for choosing the candidate hired
The position however, required one manager and therefore, further scrutiny was done to find the most qualified person to take the position. One candidate emerged the best after further evaluation of their suitability. One of the reasons that promoted or contributed to hiring of this candidate was his style of management and leadership. The candidate style of management rhymes with that of Capra Tek. Hence, was not going to be hard for him to acquaint himself with the systems of operation. The candidate, as well gets along well with other stakeholders. In this company, stakeholders play a key role and are valued. Someone that will be able to create a conducive environment for all stakeholders will therefore stand higher chances of achieving goals. Involving others in key decision reduces the resistance level towards change and as well contributes to teamwork. The culture of the organization is hinged on innovation and to achieve this, people must be involved in key decision-making processes.
Other reason that guided the selection of this candidate is his previous performance rate. He was the only candidate that has recorded consistence performance record. He had opportunity to work in different companies and all this companies he left a legacy that many other people admire and remember. Therefore, his consistency in his performance as documented in his performance reviews as well as his appraisal makes him outstanding candidates to take the company to the next level.
Career development plan for candidate selected
Career development plan is a framework that provides guidance regarding ones career planning (Furbish, 2013). Every individual has to have a plan on what they wish to achieve in their careers. The goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, and reliable and time bound (Furbish, 2013). It is important to understand the exact thing that you are trying to accomplish. One should also be in a position to know whether the goals have been achieved through assessment and measurement. The goals should be reliable and the actions to take known. The goals as well require a specific timeframe to achieve (Mattone, 2013).
The candidate currently holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from University of Harvard. He also holds a degree in Engineering from Boston University. He has wide array of skills and knowledge in management having held managerial positions in various organizations for more than 10 years. The candidate as well has vast skills in leadership that has contributed to his success in the organizations that he has worked.
The candidate has as well diverse knowledge in wireless technologies, having worked in a technology company for duration of 5 years. The experience he holds therefore, matches the job description, something that makes him the best for this position.
Despite these achievements, the candidate has not yet achieved all his goals and visions. He is still working hard to become the best manager across the world. This is his long-term goal. The short-term unattained goal is to train on cross culture. This will allow him to understand people diversity and global environment when interacting with people across the globe. The other long-term goal is to pursue a Doctorate degree in Business Management to advance his knowledge in the business management. The candidate believe that in-depth knowledge in business coupled with his already experience will enable him execute his duties diligently.
Achieving these goals is yet another important question that one ought to ask him/herself. The candidate has clear about the strategies that will enable him to achieve the goals. He will have to utilize online learning opportunities to pursue courses on cross culture. He also plans to undertake evening classes to accomplish his career goals of acquiring a doctorate degree. This however, will require proper time management to be in a position to manage his managerial duties in the company as well as his personal ambitions.
To be among the best managers across the world, is something that will be determined by his performance in the current job. Therefore, working hard and applying suitable management strategies will be key to achieve these dreams.
It is important to note that, it may not be easy to achieve these goals solely. He will require other people and resources to facilitate their accomplishment. The candidate has his savings as well as company sponsorship that will aid him to achieve his career objectives. He also plans to learn and share with other executives, colleagues, and experts to improve his skills and knowledge base in management.
Conclusion
It is evident that success plan is critical to ensure better transition. Organizations that have put in place appropriate procedures on filling of vacancies experience smooth transition and vice versa. It is also important for entities to ensure that they adopt suitable recruitment and selection procedures to attract the right candidates for their organizations. Career development planning as well is important to help provide insights on the future plans of candidates. Every person should have a career development plan to ensure success in his or her future endeavors.
References
Barbour, T. (2014). Business Succession Planning Best Done from Day One. Alaska Business Monthly, 30(12), 40-43.
Furbish, D. (2013). A review of career development and planning: a comprehensive approach. Journal Of Employment Counseling, 50(3), 138-140. https://www.doi:10.1002/j.2161-1920.2013.00032.x
Hall, L. O., & Hagen, C. D. (2014). Holistic Approach to Succession Planning Provides Added Value for Clients: Financial Service Professionals Play Key Role in Successful Plans.(cover story). Journal Of Financial Service Professionals, 68(1), 78-83.
Mattone, J. (2013). Powerful succession planning, USA: American Management Association
Sims, D. M. (2014). 5 ways to increase success in Succession Planning. TD: Talent Development, 68(8), 60-65.
Tichy, N. (2014). Succession: How to Get This Process Right. Mworld, 13(4), 26-30.
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