In the world of Human Resources, the acronym "KSA" stands forKnowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Assessors apply it to evaluatecandidates' qualifications in terms of the general requirements ofa job, With this in mind, please identify the key advantage, interms of knowledge, skills, or abilities, of each of the sixcandidates.
1. Atasi Das: Born in the United States, Das joined TCT nineyears ago after earning her MBA from a university in New England.At 37, she has successfully moved between staff and line positionsand assumed broader responsibilities in strategic planning. For twoyears, she was the assistant director of a midsized product group.Her performance regularly earns excellent ratings. Currently, shedirects supply-chain logistics from TCT’s home office. Upon joiningTCT, she stated her goal was to work internationally, pointing toher undergraduate major in international management. She hasreiterated her interest in international responsibilities and herinterest in continuing with TCT. She is open to looking for helpopportunities elsewhere. She speaks Hindi and is unmarried. Herparents, who now live in the United States, are first-generationimmigrants from India. She has relatives in India’s northernstates, Kashmir and Punjab.
2. Brett Harrison: Harrison, 44, has spent 15 years with TCT,running both line activities and supervising staff centers. Hissuperiors consider him a seasoned executive poised to move intoupper-level management. For the past two years, he has worked inthe Singapore-based Asian Regional Office, as director of strategicplanning. He regularly tours TCT’s Asian operations. He and hiswife, along with their two teenage children, have traveled to Indiaa few times and are familiar with its geography, politics, customs,and outlooks. The Harrisons know other expats in Bengaluru. Mrs.Harrison works as the marketing director for the Singaporesubsidiary of a Japanese pharmaceutical MNE. It presently hassales, but no operating unit in India.
3. Jalan Bukit Seng: Seng, 52, is the managing director of TCT’slaser printer manufacturing plant in Malaysia. A citizen ofSingapore, he has worked in Singapore or Malaysia. He has regularlycommuted to various TCT factories, helping to reset assemblysystems and supervising equipment refits. He earned anundergraduate and MBA degrees from the National University ofSingapore and speaks Singapore’s four official languages--Malay,English, Mandarin, and Tamil. His performance reviews areconsistently positive, with a periodic ranking of excellent. Sengis unmarried but has family members in Singapore and Malaysia.
4. Ravi Desai: Currently an assistant managing director in TCTJapan, Desai oversees production units in Japan and South Korea. Acitizen of India, he has spent his 15 years with TCT working invarious operational slots throughout Asia. Now 37, he holds an MBAfrom the prestigious Indian Institute of Management. Some see himas a likely candidate to direct the Indian operation eventually. Heis married, has two children (ages 2 and 7), and speaks English andHindi well. His wife, also a native of India, neither works outsidethe home nor speaks English.
5. Saumitra Chakraborty: At 32, Chakraborty is the assistant tothe departing managing director in India. He has held that positionsince joining TCT India upon graduating from a small privateuniversity in Switzerland eight years earlier. Unmarried, heconsistently earns a job performance rating of excellent incustomer relationship management. He has increased TCT India’ssales, largely owing to his social connections with prominentIndian families and government officials along with hisskillfulness in the ways of the Indian business environment.Besides speaking India’s main languages of English and Hindi,Chakraborty is the only candidate who speaks Kannada (the locallanguage of Bengaluru). Presently, he lacks line experience.
6. Tom Wallace: A 30-year veteran of TCT USA, Wallace has broadtechnical skills and sales experience. He worked with Gary Kent onsupply-chain projects in the United States. Although he has neverworked abroad, he has toured TCT’s foreign operations. He recentlyexpressed interest in an expatriate slot. His superiors typicallyrate his performance as excellent. Wallace is set to retire inseven years. He and his wife speak only English. They have threeadult children who live with their families in the United States.Presently, Wallace manages a U.S. unit that is a little larger thanthe present size of TCT India. The merger of his unit with anotherTCT division will eliminate his current position in ninemonths.
