Reference no: EM131215480

Jim Serra, vice president of engineering, must decide who to recommend for a new director-level position that was formed by merging the product (regulatory) compliance group with the environmental testing group? The top inside candidate is Diane Bryant, senior engineering group manager in charge of the environmental testing group. Bryant is 36, exceptionally intelligent and highly motivated, and a well-respected leader. She is also five months pregnant and is expected to take an eight-week maternity leave two months before the first customer ship dead-line (six months away) for a new product. Bryant applies for the job and in a discussion with Serra assures him that she will be available at all crucial stages of the project. Your colleague David Moss, who is vice president of product engineering, strongly urges you to find an outside person, insisting that there is no guarantee that Bryant will be available when needed. Much is at stake. A schedule delay could cost several million dollars in revenues lost to competitors. At the same time, offending Bryant could lead her and perhaps other valuable engineers whom she supervises to leave the company. What procedure would you recommend in reaching a solution?