Deciding at which business schools to recruit proved to be a controversial decision at SG Cowen

Question 1:

Deciding at which business schools to recruit proved to be a controversial decision at SG Cowen. Why was the choice of schools of such importance? What are we to make of Rae’s “core school strategy”? Would it make sense for Cowen to recruit at graduate programs in other areas such as law or technology?

Question 2:

What objectives did “Super Saturday” serve? What kind of information was collected through this process?

Question 3:

What would you have thought of Cowen’s recruiting process if you were a candidate that went through all the way to ‘Super Saturday’? Do you think the firm got a sufficient level of detail on their candidates?

Question 4:

If you were a senior banker at S.G. Cowen, what would you ask the candidates?

Question 5:

SG Cowen’s recruitment process has four primary components:core school strategies, on-campus presence, SuperSaturday and the interview process. Identify three (3) ethical or legal issues that may arise from SG Cowen’s current recruitment policies. Design procedures that bring these three identified issues into ethical and/or legal compliance.

Question 6:

Which two candidates would you select if you were a member of the recruiting committee?