Analytical Heirarchy Process

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Change in Image

Arvind told Nitish that Solutions Unlimited in India had been a software solutions provider since its inception. Solutions Unlimited worldwide had decided in July 1999 to realign itself as a Management Consultant to be able to position itself as an IT consultancy firm in the next three years. To initiate this change in image and the line of activity, HR had put the word out in the company for existing employees to refer people who had knowledge about business processes in the software industry in particular, and the entire industry in general.

Hiring at Solutions Unlimited

Solutions Unlimited as a matter of policy did not advertise its job vacancies. Resource requirements were advertised internally in all offices of Solutions Unlimited (worldwide). A new member was offered a job on the basis of referrals from three existing employees, excluding the person who refers the name of the potential candidate to the HR. Referrals for new recruitment at any level could come from existing employees regardless of their position in the organization. However, for final hiring at least one referral had to come from an employee at a level equal to or higher than the level at which the new employee is likely to be placed. Of the three referrals at least one referral was based on interviews both technical and personal.

Nitish's selection into Solutions Unlimited

On getting a positive response from Nitish regarding his interest in Solutions Unlimited, Arvind forwarded Nitish's name, educational, and experience details to the HR department. Nitish’s interview with Mr. Kapoor, Director Marketing was arranged Two days later Mr. Kapoor interviewed Nitish for about forty-five minutes on the phone in the evening at his home. The interview mainly consisted of finding out about Nitish's present experience and also about his work in the Banking Division of Infosys. At the end of the interview, Mr. Kapoor welcomed Nitish to Solutions Unlimited and expressed enthusiasm and eagerness to see Nitish in person very soon at Hyderabad as a colleague.

Nitish got a call at 10:30 the next morning from Venkat of the HR department of Solutions Unlimited. Venkat explained that he was a recruiter in Solutions Unlimited and had been asked by Mr. Kapoor to get in touch with Nitish. Venkat asked when would it be convenient for Nitish to come to Hyderabad for an interview and a meeting with the HR department. Nitish was able to get reservations for two weeks later but Venkat had indicated in the reply email that it was too bad that he could not come earlier. Nitish remembered he had felt overwhelmed with the speed at which things were moving.

The Interview Visit

Nitish reached Hyderabad two weeks later as per plan. Venkat asked him to come to the office at 11 am. Nitish however, reached the office an hour early and spent some time with Arvind. Arvind and Nitish went over to meet with Mr. Kapoor who welcomed Nitish to Solutions Unlimited and added that he hoped Nitish would join them soon especially because a very large and important project could benefit from Nitish's expertise. Nitish found out from Arvind that Venkat and Meena were the only two people in HR department. Venkat was at AOO level 4 and Meena, his boss was at OO level 2. Venkat was an MBA from Calcutta and had been working for Jenson & Nicholson in Calcutta for 6 months before joining Solutions Unlimited. Meena had completed her MPhil in Psychology from Allahabad University. They had both joined Solutions Unlimited 4 months ago. Mr. Alagu and Vidya had been carrying out all HR activities until then. Nitish reached Venkat's office a few minutes after eleven.

Nitish recalled that the initial interview with Venkat had lasted for 20 minutes and it was very pleasant. Venkat ended the interview saying that Solutions Unlimited would be interested in hiring Nitish if he was interested in working for them. Nitish asked him a few questions about the nature of his job at Solutions Unlimited. Venkat said that he would have to work on changing the image of the company from a software company to a management consulting company. He might be expected to talk to various employees within the company and help them change their mindset. He would also be required to assist in preparing for bids for management related projects. Venkat also indicated that he would not be expected to do all of this alone, as more people like him would join Solutions Unlimited soon. Until then he could work on any of the existing projects that he thought he could contribute to. Nitish liked the description of the job and also the flexibility it would afford him in the beginning. He thought to himself, "I would not mind working on a hands-on development project for a few months".

Venkat, at that point, gave him an offer letter that had already been prepared in anticipation. The offer was for Rs. 2.55 lakhs p.a. at the level of Developer 3. Nitish remembered his inability to suppress his disappointment after looking at the offer for a few minutes. He dejectedly told Venkat that the offer was not acceptable because of the low salary and the level in the organization. Venkat was nonplussed. Nitish having had some time to collect himself, politely explained that though he was earning Rs.2.50 lakhs p.a. in his previous job, salaries in the eastern parts of India were typically 50-75% lower than in other parts of the country. Also, that he was living in his parents’ house in Jamshedpur and if his wife and he were to live independently in Hyderabad he expected at least 4 lakhs p.a. to be able to maintain the standard of living he did in Jamshedpur. He then told Venkat plainly that he would consider moving from Jamshedpur only if Solutions Unlimited offered him Rs. 4 lakhs p.a. s

Venkat said that in that case he would have to bring Meena, his boss, to the negotiation table and that her decision would be final. Meena and Venkat came back after five to seven minutes. Meena came across as friendly and started the conversation by saying that Nitish was the first person to bargain with Solutions Unlimited. Nitish also replied in good humor, “I am only asking for what I think I deserve. If you think it is not fair you are free to refuse.” Meena did not seemto like his reply and got serious and came down to business almost immediately. Meena asked Nitish if a salary of Rs. 3.1 lakhs p.a. would be Okay. Nitish took out his calculator to calculate his take home salary. Nitish noticed that both Venkat and Meena had looked obviously shocked when they saw Nitish taking out his calculator. Nitish felt uncomfortable but had kept smiling

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