Final answer:
The director of recruiting faces a financial constraint due to an airfare policy change, limiting the company's ability to hire the best candidates within a wider radius.
Step-by-step explanation:
The constraint most affecting the director of recruiting for the medium-sized West Coast manufacturer is a financial constraint due to a policy change that has led to restrictions on paying for airfare for college recruiters. This limitation has greatly reduced the geographical reach of the recruitment process, thus inhibiting the company's ability to attract a wider, potentially more qualified pool of candidates. In industries with significant location constraints, like dockworkers at major ports, workers often have the leverage to negotiate higher wages due to the difficulty of relocating such infrastructure. However, companies in more 'footloose' industries have the flexibility to move in pursuit of lower wage costs. The inability to cast a wider net for talent can limit the company's competitiveness and the quality of hires, especially when it is located in a region where the talent pool might not be demographically aligned with the required skill set.