Abstract

The decision of whether to promote from within or look elsewhere had always been an organizational dilemma. In 2004, JC Penney was faced with this dilemma while appointing the successor for its chairman and CEO, Allen Questrom. JC Penney surprised many by passing over Vanessa Castagna, who was instrumental in turning around the company between 1999 and 2004, in favor of an outsider.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Recruitment/Hiring
• To promote from within or from outside
• Job satisfaction/dissatisfaction
• and Employee reaction to job dissatisfaction.

Keywords

JC Penney, retail, department store, executive search industry, turnaround, leadership skills, organizational dilemma