Assessment requirements: You are working in a temporary contract position for a HR consultancy. The consultancy is assisting in the recruitment of a CEO for a client business. The client is operating globally in the automotive business with manufacturing and sales activities. There are production sites and sales offices in different countries. You have honed down the list of applicants to a shortlist of three and you have now been asked to prepare a 2000-word report on the required skills and characteristics of a CEO. The report is for the client company’s directors, but you will also want it to impress your line manager in the hope that you will be appointed to a permanent position. The assignment is both a practical and an academic exercise. It is practical in that it puts you into a situation where you need to demonstrate skills and knowledge in making a number of recommendations to your immediate line manager and to a Board of Directors. But it is also an academic exercise for college purposes. It should have the appearance of a professional paper - one which might decide if you are offered a full-time position. It should also be academically rigorous with references to academic authors to support the points or arguments you make throughout your report.
Your line manager gives you some brief guidelines on what the report should contain at least:
• An attention-grabbing introduction. (LO5)
• Some key points on management and leadership theory/models. (LO1, LO2)
• Clear recommendations on the skills and characteristics needed to lead a globally operating business in the automotive industry. (LO3, LO4)
• An overall executive summary with conclusions. (LO5