CTU Industrial Design Memorandum

Deliverables:
 Using the information presented below, the material presented in class and assigned in readings, and any
external research you find necessary; prepare a memo based on the case below.
 Your submission should be written as a paper with a clean flow (e.g. logical transitions between sections)
that address each of the items. It should not be submitted as a series of questions and short answers.
 An important component of this assignment is for you to demonstrate your ability to synthesis the
(sometimes conflicting) information that has been presented in the course and form a logical argument with
supporting materials. Although this assignment has a large degree of opinion associated with it, remember
that your case is strengthened by the support of outside sources.
Formatting Requirements
 2 – 3 pages (maximum), Times New Roman 11 Point Font, 1.2 spacing and 1” margins, MS Word format
 Name and assignment right justified on top two lines of page 1 only
 Page numbers in the lower right corner of all pages
 APA format citations utilized for all outside references
o http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
o Turabian, K.L. 2007. A manual for writers of research papers, theses and dissertations: Chicago
style for students and researchers. (4 @ MSU Library)
 References included in APA format on a separate page (not included in page count)
 Your paper should be submitted by 1:40 p.m. on the due date through the Assignment folder in D2L. Any
students having difficulty with D2L should bring a hard copy of the paper to class to avoid late penalties.
Introduction
You have returned to your alma mater as a recruiter for Pro-Growth pesticides. It is late in the
semester and many students have already accepted positions at other employers, your job is to identify the
best candidate for a Chemical Engineering position that recently became available when another
candidate backed out. You are surprised to find a candidate, Casey Jones, who is near the top of their
graduating class and is still available. While they are your top candidate, you have concerns about their
fit with the company and the position. Your manager, Lynn Johnson, has asked you to send them a memo
that summarizes your thoughts and final recommendation.
Part I: The Interview – Uncovering the Path
You were pleasantly surprised to find a candidate with such strong academic credentials in your
candidate pool and invite Casey Jones in for an interview at the school’s career services. Early on , the
technical aspects of the interview go great. Casey not only has the needed skills in Chemical Engineering
that Pro-Growth is looking for, they were very well spoken and provided great examples of effectively
working in teams and dealing with difficult situations. You can’t help but be concerned about what you
are missing, so you ask Casey to explain why they have not accepted employment previously.
Casey explains that they were not expecting to be looking for work at all. They were scheduled to
complete their degree in chemical engineering in three weeks and planned to return to help their parents
run the family farm right after graduation. However, just a few weeks ago their father, Harold, became
seriously ill. After a few days in the hospital it was evident he would have an extended, expensive stay in
the hospital. Casey’s mother and older brother can continue to operate the farm as long as they could
manage the medical bills. But without an additional source of income, the family would soon begin
defaulting on the farm’s mortgage payments. The best hope for saving the farm is for Casey to find
employment as an engineer.
Consideration 1 – Was it ethical for you to ask this question? How should Casey’s response be
considered in their overall qualifications? What concerns does it raise for your consideration? What
ethical framework supports using this response?
Part II: The Interview – Uncovering a Potential Conflict
After empathizing with Casey about the difficulty of their situation, you find you are more excited
about their fit than before – they had not mentioned they were from a farming family earlier in the
discussion and Pro-Growth likes to hire “farm kids” both for their understanding of the industry and their
work ethic. You turn the discussion to the family farm to understand more about their operations. Casey
starts by saying, “look, I need to level with you” and then goes on to explain that the Jones’ farm uses
strictly organic methods, that their family has always opposed the use of pesticides, and that they felt a
little uncomfortable coming to the interview, but did research on Pro-Growth and saw that the company is
considering an expansion into products to support the organic farming movement. Casey says they are
hoping to work in that new area of the company.
Consideration 2 – Would it be a conflict of interest to hire Casey? Why?