The authors argue that in our highly-connected environment, it's all-too-easy to forget how important 'inner work life' is to an organization's progress: when one goes downhill, so does the other. They define inner work life as consisting of each employee's emotions, perceptions and motivations -- and show that leaders can't help but influence their subordinates' inner work lives on a daily basis. The only question, they say, is what direction that influence will take. They describe three key 'influencers' of inner work life and show how managers can use them to foster productivity and well-being. The article is an adapted excerpt from the authors' book, The Progress Principle: Creativity, Productivity, and the Psychology of Everyday Work Life (Harvard Business Review Press, 2011).

Techno Systems, an industry leader in providing electronic kit assemblies for customized commercial applications and government, is currently undergoing a transition from a heavy government orientation to a more commercial customer base. A director of sourcing has been asked to prepare a review of the sourcing function by using benchmarking. She is considering how to effectively implement a benchmarking effort that would contribute to the sourcing review. Based upon her presentation, the upper management will determine the need for strategy development in the sourcing department. In essence, she is determining the hierarchical placement of the sourcing department for the future. This case affords the student an opportunity to examine sourcing in relation to operations strategy and to investigate benchmarking practices. It includes information compiled from benchmark studies conducted by the Center for Advanced Purchasing Studies (CAPS) and provides an insight into gated benchmarking.