Evaluating misalignment in academic recruitment: a case study on talent, fit, and performance in university faculty hiring

This is a case study of the hiring of a university faculty 'Felix Ibe'. Felix Ibe, a confident, well-educated, and intelligent individual, faces significant challenges in his first teaching role at the University of Ikeja. His students are unhappy with his teaching methods, resulting in many complaints. Felix, accustomed to the teaching methodologies of American universities, struggles to adapt to the different approaches used in Nigerian universities. His students, who are more familiar with book learning and lack prior work experience and a solid theoretical base, struggle to grasp his practical teaching style. This situation has led the university management to reconsider their recruitment methods, questioning whether the selection process adequately addresses the differences between American and Nigerian teaching methodologies, the distinction between training and teaching cultures, and the contrast between multinational corporate and academic organisational cultures.