Question # 2: (15 points), this question is related to small case study. Students are required to read the case thoroughly and provide solutions to the question at the end of the case in their own words.

Because its Worth It!

If you work at L'Oral, the companys meals, gym, massage service, concierge service, day-nursery, and around three months salary in profit-sharing schemes may seem to be a good reason to be very satisfied with your job. Indeed, L'Oral is among the most sought-after companies to work for, with 1 million applications every year. The 2015 Universum survey, which is conducted yearly in 12 European countries from a sample of 168,000 undergraduate business school students, ranked L'Oral as the second most preferred employer in Europe.

Innovative recruiting tools such as REVEAL, Brandstorm, and Talentube support L'Orals reputation as an employer of choice by raising youngsters positive attitudes toward its brands. According to Bocco Chen, Recruitment and Integration Manager at L'Oral Hong Kong, what makes Brandstorm an efficient assessing tool is that competing teams of students from renowned business schools and universities play the role of a brand manager by analyzing market trends and creating product packaging so that they experience real work situations at L'Oral and can connect with their potential future jobs. In France, 90 percent of all new recruits at L'Oral were interns, the reason being that internships serve to build future employees organizational commitment. Before taking up any managerial position, new recruits are all sent on the road for six to twelve months to stack products on shelves at 5AM in supermarkets. It is an ordeal. Candidates are reportedly thrown in at the deep end and forced to learn on their own. The job allows little time for socialization outside the organization. Being part of L'Oral has been described as cult-like. In-the-field-initiations serve as filters. You must be highly engaged by your job even if you feel a lack of organizational support, or you will be seen as weak -- and the weakest do not last.

Everyone has key objectives and accountabilities. To ensure that employees will be devoted to their job and perform up to its standards, L'Oral has five Development and Learning Centers worldwide. Each Oralien has personalized access to learning modules that enable them to meet the needs of each function. To track and promote most talented Oraliens, L'Oral has a sharp management and performance appraisal process. Managers with strong potential who have completed several successful projects will be promoted every two or three years.

Indeed, at L'Oral, careers can be built quicker than elsewhere, but you have to first survive several challenges. Managers can be intransigent with employees who are dissatisfied with their jobs and also underperform, for staff satisfaction surveys at L'Oral show these employees often exhibit behaviors that demotivate their colleagues. Twice a year, the L'Oral international brand directors present their launch campaigns. Through this presentation and several others, top managers aim to spread a so-called healthy worry among Oraliens. They also make and break many careers. One Oralien said that she understood what humiliation really meant when she saw a colleague publically fired during one such meeting. And yet, to her, L'Oral is worth it.

Discussion Questions:

1. What positive and negative outcomes can L'Oral expect from its Oraliens devotion? To what extent do you think employers should require their employees to be totally devoted to their company?