The following paper consists of a review of the case study Executive Search: Unexpected Directions May Benefit the Organization published by Bridgestar. The article itself is based on the experiences of the mental health service agency Fellowship Health Resources in their endeavor to fill leadership gaps within the company that appeared through the rapid expansion of services. The main focus of this paper is to address and critique the decisions made by the director and the board of Fellowship as well as to analysis the relationship between these parties at Fellowship Health Resources. To accomplish this, the following paper will first introduce the main themes of the case study before analyzing the specific relationship that is in place at Fellowship Health Resources as well as questioning whether a ‘cultural fit’ represents an important consideration in terms of employing a future candidate.
The Executive Search in Fellowship Health Resources
As a brief synopsis of the company, Fellowship Health Resources provides care assistance to persons recovering from mental illness and individuals with neuro-cognitive behavior disorders. The chief executive officer is Mr. Dziobek who joined the company in 1975 and witnessed a massive increase in growth and services offered. Geographically the company primarily expanded within the New England and mid-Atlantic region. The prompt to reorganize the internal structure of the company was due to this expediential growth in the company which has resulted in a bureaucratic nightmare as the ever growing number of sites reported to the central office. The initial strategy of Fellowship Health Resources was to appoint two regional and internal chief operating officers (COO’s) to maintain a quality level of service in an ever expanding company. This decision was short lives as the company experienced a drop in staff moral and quality of services. This promoted a reorganization of the management structure of the company.
Mr. Dziobek and the board of Fellowship Health Resources first decided to source two external candidates for the regional positions but during the interview process began to reevaluate the position as a whole, placing a greater emphasis on the cultural fit of the potential candidates as well as the realistic possibility of finding a suitable candidate who would fill all the necessary requirements. Indeed, it was during the interview stage that it became apparent to both the board and Mr. Dziobek that rather than merely find a suitable candidate for the position, the entire management structure within the firm needed to be reorganized. Indeed, on reflection it seems the learning process during the interview stage of recruitment helped aid and inform what qualities the company required. After a period of reflection both the board and Mr. Dziobek decided that it would be nearly impossible to find a suitable candidate with all of the job requirements. Instead the board of Fellowship Health Resources and Mr. Dziobek decided that the best method to move forward would be to restructure the company’s existing management. This decision resulted in two existing internal employee’s being retrained and filling the two positions of regional directors of operations for New England and mid-Atlantic region.
This seemed to be the best outcome for the organization as in practice it has dramatically improved the service of care after this decision was made. Furthermore this revealed the type of relationship which existed between the board and Mr. Dziobek which is cooperative and places a high value on the opinion and decision of the board. Indeed, the board was instrumental in both the interviewing process as well as the later decision to restructure the existing management. In such a situation the board of a company should play what can be described as an advisory role, rather than have a direct bearing on the decision making process. Although in the case of Fellowship Health Resources the close relationship between the board and the chief executive officer has resulted in a favorable outcome. This close relationship where the board were a major part of the decision making process reveals how the underlying ideology of the company operates as a cooperative structure and emphasizes an important characteristic of a ‘cultural fit’ between the board and executive.
Indeed, as a final point it is worth noting the importance that a ‘cultural fit’ played within the decision making process of the company. As Mr. Dziobek noted that any potential candidate would need strong cultural fit and flourish within a hands on environment. Such a characteristic would also act to increase moral for other employees within the company as it demonstrates a willingness to lead by example and remove the barriers between management and employees.
Conclusion
In conclusion it seem the strategy employed by Fellowship Health Resources was a success insofar as the process of finding a suitable candidate led the company to reevaluate its overall management structure to meet the demands from its impressive business expansion. The close relationship between the board and the executive worked in the company’s advantage as it lead to a reshuffle of management which in turn produced an efficient and productive company. This case study demonstrates that the interviewing process can be informative for the employers and through a close intercompany relationship yield greater efficiency and a reevaluation of the companies needs through the recruitment process.
