Business // HR Training Class
To: Mr. Walter Pidgeon
Vice President, International Sales
From: _________
Re: The Candidate Selection Report
Introduction
In the pursuit of the company’s vision of helping provide the highest level of health to everyone through the manufacture of safe, effective, affordable and natural products and care and in line with its philosophy of establishing a strong link with the community through its products, this report is being submitted on the analyses of the candidates for Sales Directors for Saudi Arabia and Angola and recommendations for the positions.
The company’s high valuation of employee hard and soft skills alike, its interest in broadening its control over the nutraceutical market, and the two target countries distinct respective cultures were the bases of the analyses and recommendations.
These efforts took ample consideration of the significance of soft skills in the candidates, often influencing the selection more than hard skills, which can be learned with ease (Doyle, 2012; FNU, 2018). These soft skills have been succinctly described as “good people” skills or personal attributes that are tied up with one’s performance. Soft skills involve the emotions and are of paramount importance in successful leadership in the workplace. They are specifically important in introducing the company’s new products in completely different cultures like those of Saudi Arabia and Angola. These Middle East and African countries observe customs, beliefs and traditions that must be thoroughly studied and adapted to in order to succeed in getting the company’s new products accepted.
Among these soft skills are a positive attitude and a humble and sincere reaction to cynicism and sarcasm (Saddleback, 2018). Self-confidence, courteous and pleasant communication skills, flexibility and adaptability, humble and sincere acceptance of criticism or mistake, and a good team player or leader are other examples. Other soft skills are creative thinking, capacity to present a concept well to individuals or groups ( Doyle, 2012). Bortz (2018) adds problem-solving capability, conflict resolution and critical observation. Hayes (2017) lists critical thinking and communication, curiosity and creativity and responsibility and conflict management. Soft skills cannot be measured like hard skills (FNU, 2018). They reveal themselves as part of one’s personality in the way a person answers or asks a question. The significance of soft skills lies in the way accomplishes something. Soft skills must be attuned to one’s job description.
These are the major and preferred attributes or soft skills of the selected applicants for the positions open in Biotech for sales director in the two countries. Both positions require that the selected candidates should have traveled extensively, possess a successful career in sales in the pharmaceutical or nutraceutical industry, supervised at least 20 subordinates, and preferably fluent in Portuguese or French for the selected candidate to be assigned in Saudi Arabia and Hejazi Arabic for the candidate to be assigned in Angola.
But these intents, preferences, vision and mission must adapt to the cultural peculiarities of Saudi Arabia and Angola as the target business partners and buyers of the company’s new products.
Saudi Arabia
Foreign men and women who intend to do business in this country are expected to respect and abide by their customs, beliefs and traditions (Kwintessential, n.d.). They are expected to conduct themselves with deportment in clothing and behavior. They should shake hands with the natives with their right hand only, as the use of the left hand is considered offensive. They are not to raise or show the soles of their footwear, which is a sign of insult and hostility to the natives.
In the conduct of their business, foreign representatives should exert effort and patience in first building a trust relationship with the sought native business partners or government officials. Natives of the country practice only indirect communication in avoiding offending the other party. They also express interest through loud communication, which in contrast, is rebuffed by Westerners. Silence in the native is usually a sign that something is wrong and Western proponents should be wary of it. Decision-making is slow and hierarchial, i.e., decisions are made by elders or by seniority.
Angola
Foreign proponents are expected to be modest in their clothing (IMA,. n.d.). Unlike Western businesses where punctuality is the rule and time is almost always of the essence, Angolans are flexible about time in conducting business meetings. Foreign proponents should adapt to this cultural trait. Like the people of Saudi Arabia, Angolans practice hierarchial decision-making, giving their elders the first prerogative to make decisions. They too take time to make those decisions, unlike Western business people who arrive at decisions quickly, simply and accurately. But Angolans are transparent about their preferences and other realities right at the initial stages of business transactions (IMA, n.d.).
Recommended Candidate for Saudi Arabia
Candidate 2 Jose Ortega is the closest to the perfect candidate for this position in this country. He is a top salesman and team leader in the company’s New Mexico branch, underlining his successful sales career and leadership. He naturally enjoys dealing with customers and seeing to their satisfaction. He collaborates with their culture. He is flexible, insightful, earnest and honest, and compassionate. His flexibility is as strong as his results-driven motivation. He attests to being a situational leader who encourages freedom of choice and innovativeness in his subordinates. He says he observes the contingency theory that assimilates both the external and internal circumstances and realities of a company or given situation in solving an issue or initiating an action. He is fluent in Portuguese. He falls short only in the requirement of travel. He has not traveled as extensively as his competitors, except in Brazil where his wife is a native. But he can learn about Saudi Arabia through frequent visits, tutorials and research as hard skills, which he can always form. He has proven his competence in all other aspects, so there is no reason why this deficiency cannot be made up for or filled up by other and easily available means.
Recommended Candidate for Angola
Candidate 4 Adriana White best suits this position. She comes from the marketing department of the sales division of Biotech. Although a nurse, she managed to etch a sales career as a highly motivated and company-rated competent sales employee. This speaks of her successful sales background in the pharmaceutical field.
While pursuing a nursing career at the University of Chicago, she was exposed to a large Muslim community and attended Arabic classes. From there, she learned how to converse with non-English speakers, which should qualify her for the preferred fluency requirement.
Further on her sales career, White is distinctively vigorous in realizing her visible potentials in other countries where she feels she will be comfortable and successful in a sales undertaking. She expressed confidence that she can overcome cultural drawbacks and obstacles despite her gender.
She admits not knowing much about Angola but has gathered some information about it and could learn its precise language. These are hard skills that a vastly motivated and competent sales person like her can quite easily acquire. Her exposure to non-English-speaking patients and community is also an adequate substitute for the extensive travel requirement.
Candidates not Selected
Candidates 1 and 3 possess respective attributes that make them just as valuable to the sales department of Biotech as the other two.
Alberta Raynard has a military upbringing, which is useful for turning out results. She speaks advanced French and is familiar with many countries, like Angola. She has been exposed to other cultures and this could have made her an asset if chosen as Sales Director for either Saudi Arabia or Angola.
But Raynard’s stiff and intolerant orientation is a liability that disqualifies her. Although she scored very well in hard skills, her soft skills rated poorly. She demonstrated and expressed intolerance towards those without a European or American background. This can be taken as racial discrimination if she is selected as sales director in either Saudi Arabia or Angola.
All in all, Raynard personally believes that she can conduct business well in either country and improve or adjust her skills quickly if given the opportunity.
She stated that she practices the transactional leadership style, but the interview thought it to be more authoritarian. Her subordinates consider her the “Type A” leader who feels she can well adjust in an all-male work environment. Her military background will enable her to do that.
Jonathan Washington could have been ideal with his superb soft skills in either country. First of all, he also excels in hard skills as he, like Raynard, has a military background. But unlike her and the two selected candidates, Washington is not familiar with the medical aspecs of Biotech products. This familiarity is an implied requirement of the positions.
But Washington’s warm, impressive, eye-to-eye contact habit, motivation for cooperation and overall extroversion are soft skills that will win most companies today. He is also a transformational leader, which makes him a successful team leader. However, he speaks only English and this disqualifies him in the preferred fluency requirement of the positions. His current job likewise does not seem to be in the direction of a managerial position, which is an implied requirement or preference.
His soft skills, while definitely desirable and more often preferred to hard skills, may make Washington too naive in dealing with the natives of other cultures, especially in introducing new products.
Respectfully submitted. Thank you.
(SIGNATURE)
WORKS CITED
Bortz, D. (2018). Soft skills to help your career hit the big time. Monster. Monster Worldwide.
Retrieved on February 14, 2018 from
Doyle, A. (2017, Dec 25). The most important soft skills employers seek. The Balance:
The Balance.com. Retrieved on February 14, 2018 from
FNU (2018). The soft skills that matter most for the millennials in the workplace. Florida
National University. Retrieved on February 14, 2018 fromhttps://www.fnu.edu/importance-soft-skills-workplace/
Hayes, K. (2017, Sept 5). The soft skills that matter most for millenials in the workplace
IMA (n.d.). Doing business in Angola. Institute of Export: International Market Advisor.
Retrieved on February 16, 2018 from
http://www.angola.doingbusinessguide.co.uk/the-guide/business-etiquette,-language-culture/
Kwintessential (n.d.). Guide to Saudi Arabia – etiquette, customs, culture and business.
Retrieved on February 15, 2018 from
Saddleback (2018). Soft skills in the workplace. Saddleback College. Retrieved on February
14, 2018 from http://www.saddleback.edu/book/export/html/4405
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