Powermat, Inc., has encountered difficulty over the last few years filling its middle management positions. The company, which manufactures and sells complex machinery, is organized into six semiautonomous manufacturing departments. Top management believes it is necessary for the manager of these departments to make many complex and technical decisions. Therefore, the company originally recruited strictly from within. However, it soon found that employees elevated to middle management often lacked the skills necessary to discharge their duties.

A decision was made then to recruit from the outside, particularly from colleges with good industrial managements programs. Through the services of a professional recruiter, the company developed a pool of well-qualified industrial management graduates. Several were hired and placed in lower mismanagement positions a preparation for middle management jobs. Within two years, all these people had left the company.

Management reverted to its former policy of promoting from within and experienced basically the same rsults as before. Faced with imminent retirement of employess in several key middle management positions, the company decide to call in a consultant for solutions

1. Is recruiting the problem in this company?

2. If you were the consultant, what would you recommend?