Earlier today, you attended a meeting with Shawn Williams, the new VP of global human capital management at Atlantis Global Corporation (AGC), and John Dawson, the company’s chief executive officer (CEO). John was very concerned about the financial losses at AGC. John’s main concerns were product market share and the threat of losing AGC’s market position as the top manufacturer of electronic circuit boards for high-definition television screens. However, John did not mention any issues relating to the employees who work at AGC. Last month, the general manager of one of AGC’s global subsidiaries told Shawn that it is difficult to recruit talent for AGC, that employees are not happy, and that many are leaving AGC to work for other organizations. Shawn discussed developing a new recognition-and-rewards program to attract talent, motivate employees, and improve job satisfaction. When Shawn brought the up human capital concerns at AGC in the meeting, John was not very interested and thought that employee-related issues are not critical to AGC’s performance. Shawn thinks that it will be challenging to work with John to implement a global human capital management strategy.
You and Shawn are scheduled to meet next week with John and the board of directors at AGC. Due to the urgency of the company’s situation, you and Shawn decide to create a briefing about the value and need for an optimized program for the management of global human capital.
Review the AGC scenario for this course and with your classmates; discuss the following questions that will help you and Shawn prepare for the briefing:
- What are the differences between the leadership styles of Shawn and John? What are the pros and cons of each style?
- What is your own leadership style? During the briefing, how will you use your leadership style to illustrate the intrinsic value of human capital?
- What human capital management strategies will you recommend to John and the board of directors? What examples from other organizations can you provide to strengthen the board’s knowledge of global human capital trends and problems?