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A vast literature seeks to explain the barrier to female advancement widely known as the “glass ceiling,” which is regarded as “an egregious denial of social justice” by the U.S. Department of Labor. But the two primary strands of this literature — one using experimental methods and the other using data gleaned from sports events — offer very different conclusions. Three key findings from the experimental literature are that women respond less positively than men to the incentives associated with competitive settings; are more easily discouraged than men by random adversities; and are more likely than men to avoid competitive settings. Recently, however, economists have turned their attention to whether male and female athletes respond differently to tournament incentives. And the findings of this literature generally contradict experimental results. This essay examines what these studies have added to our understanding of the glass ceiling and points out the limits of the methods that they employ.

In September 2012, the vice-president of Internal Audit at Prashanti Technologies, a multinational corporation headquartered in Mumbai, India, was reviewing an external audit team’s report before a meeting of the company’s ethics committee. The committee had only one item on the agenda: a sensitive case involving a company vice-president, the head of its financial services division, who had been accused by an anonymous whistleblower of conducting a workplace affair with a subordinate. Further, it was alleged that he had unfairly promoted her by giving her additional undeserved responsibilities and that she had taken undue advantage of her workplace romance by giving orders to the rest of the team. The ethics committee was required to decide what action, if any, should be taken against the vice-president and the junior manager.

The CEO of Coeur Mining, the largest U.S.-based primary silver producer and a significant gold producer, saw a need for immediate change during week one on the job. Instead of wasting time changing culture, Mitch Krebs built a new one by moving the company to Chicago, a non-traditional mining city, and replacing most of the corporate office. The firm he had inherited was informal and decentralized, as well as overly focused on next-month and next-quarter results to the extent that it risked losing sight of relations with the communities in which it operated and communication strategies. Krebs set a goal for Coeur to become the best precious metals mining company in the world, not the biggest. In this interview, he praises going big with organizational change as worth the effort, and recognizes the value of good relationships as the best lesson he learned in business school. For any team to excel, he states, a firm has to have the right kind of constructive conflicts that focus on the problem involved, not the people. Finally, he cautions against building anything in the mining industry until you know exactly where the money is going to come from.

With the 2010 FIFA World Cup fast approaching, Johannesburg, South Africa, needs a much-improved public transport system. A bus rapid transit (BRT) system is proposed and the key challenge involves getting buy-in from the minibus-taxi industry, which serves current commuters with 22,000 minibus-taxis, but which sometimes threatens violence to ensure there is little change in its way of operating. The leader of the main Johannesburg taxi association embarks on a process of personal growth to find the courage and capacity to lead the taxi industry away from resistance and into a business partnership with the city. He and his small team undertake a personally risky journey to implement BRT through the Rea Vaya project, thus changing the landscape of Johannesburg and bringing safe transport to hundreds of thousands of residents. But only days after the launch of the BRT system, two people in a BRT bus are shot by a gunman. With the 2010 FIFA World Cup less than a year away, is it worth commuters and Rea Vaya workers being shot and potentially killed? Could anything have been done differently to avoid this? Should the whole project be put on hold? If they stop one more time, it might never get off the ground again.

In July 2001, the newly elected president of the board of directors at Dovercourt Recreation Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, faces a dilemma. The facility’s executive director has suggested that in light of a poor performance review, his only option might be to resign. He is revered by his staff and the community for his passionate advocacy of outreach to disadvantaged and marginalized populations and has a successful track record in running the organization and popularizing its programs throughout the city. However, he is under great stress because his informal management style does not fit well with the board’s need for specific monthly accounting. The new president was recruited to improve unproductive board meetings, but he has quickly realized the root issue is the escalating tension between the executive director and the board. Confident that he can use his consulting background to deliver a solution to the conflict that threatens to undermine the centre’s strong reputation, he needs a plan and must act on it decisively and immediately.

This case traces the various events that happen in the organizational journey of a newcomer to the corporate world. It is based on the real-life incidents of a new employee in a leading information technology (IT) services company, Xciting, in India. Xciting is one of India’s top IT and IT-enabled services companies, with offices around the globe. With revenues in excess of $6 billion in 2010 and a global headcount of around 100,000, Xciting is a popular and reputable company in the global software services industry.<br><br>The case covers the initial year of the employee’s work with Xciting, following college graduation. She undergoes a training period with examinations in order to determine an appropriate work domain and relocation destination within India. She experiences organizational culture shock and location anxiety, and must respond to difficult co-workers and cancelled projects. In September 2011, with the first yearly review approaching, she reflects on her journey at Xciting and has to decide on what she wants to do with her career. Is there a mismatch between her expectations and those of Xciting?

In March 2010, a newly promoted engineering area manager at Military Arsenal Systems, a Vancouver-based defence contractor, has just become team leader for a key program at the firm. His biggest challenge is how to lead his team, given that he is dealing with a range of personalities and the fact that he was a peer before he became their leader. How can he prove himself to be an effective leader not only to his team but to senior management? Can he rally the team quickly enough to meet the stringent deadlines for supplying the sophisticated armoured vehicles contracted by the U.S. Army for its mission in Afghanistan? See supplement 9B14M058.

This is a supplement to 9B14M057.

In late 2005, Risk Control Strategies, a canine training security company in Islamabad, Pakistan was formed. To ensure that the company was a class apart in security provision, the company founder designed an induction procedure based on employee referrals followed by a thorough two-month training program that encompassed both pure theory and practical dog-handling sessions. The extensive training increased employees’ market value, and they often left for higher salaries in other companies, without considering the added compensations Risk Control Strategies offered, such as medical benefits, free accommodation and basic health and education coverage for their families. The hiring process also contributed to the turnover; many of the friends and relatives who were given references by current employees came from villages and often returned to help their families with harvests. The founder needed to address the problem of employee retention before considering the future expansion of the company.

In 2005, the police service in London, Ontario is faced with growing complaints about street-level prostitution in a neighbourhood trying to make an economic recovery. At the time, all Canadians are following the shocking case of Robert Pickton, a serial killer charged with the murder of over 20 prostitutes in Vancouver. The deputy chief asks the superintendent of Operations to devise a plan to deal with the local issue, including current news reports about the failure to solve a 10-year-old murder of a street worker. The latter recommends assigning an officer to begin a proactive approach to prostitution by monitoring and helping women to get free of the drug addictions that have led them into the business instead of arresting them. Is the superintendent overreacting to public pressure and sensational reports of events in Vancouver? Is this really a job for police? Can they sell this plan to their chief?

A novice entrepreneur and a strong believer in ethical business practice has tried to build a family-oriented culture in his business process outsourcing company. However, although he created a friendly atmosphere, he still faced performance and attrition issues. The company grew in size and financial worth but the entrepreneur persisted in looking for better opportunities for a new business venture. He developed the idea of a new e-commerce venture that would sell Chinese products online. Juggling human capital risks and entrepreneurial exit, he had to consider the merits of his decision and determine whether to leverage the same team or hire a dedicated team for his new venture.

In 2013, controversy arose over the actions of Adria Richards, a developer-evangelist, in response to remarks she overheard being made by two male attendees at a technology conference. After she reported what she believed to be sexist remarks by posting a photo of the men and a comment on Twitter, the two men were asked to leave the conference session and one was soon fired. A firestorm ensued during which Richards' actions were subjected to scrutiny and the larger question of whether sexism hindered women's participation in the technology industry received a great deal of attention.

A vice-president of human resources at a technology software provider was reviewing the employee appraisal submissions for her firm. After years of rapid growth, the firm was underperforming relative to its peers and it seemed that part of the problem was its relaxed performance appraisal system. As much had been written about Microsoft Corporation’s stack ranking system, the human resources executive wondered how much she could learn about appraisal systems from this example.

After a series of strikes in its Manesar manufacturing plant in 2011, Maruti Suzuki India Limited is beginning to recover from the after-effects of the strike. Amid this tense atmosphere, a minor brawl breaks out between supervisors and workers, then escalates into full-scale violence and arson, which results in the death of the plant’s general manager of human resources. The company locks down the plant, and law enforcement agencies initiate criminal proceedings against the workers. The incident raises serious questions about industrial relations at the plant and, in particular, the suitability of the Japanese management style in the Indian context.<br><br>See A case 9B13C009.

By 2013, the Indian Metal Company, headquartered in Metconagar in eastern India, had been a leading metallurgical company in India for 100 years. While it had ambitious expansion plans, both at home and abroad, it was bedeviled by an increasing attrition of professionals and difficulty in attracting candidates from premier educational institutions. This shortage of talent could jeopardize the company’s investments. The chief executive officer convened an urgent meeting of senior executives to discuss the problem and explore possible solutions. The meeting ended in a confusing barrage of views and counterviews. A committee was appointed to synthesize the competing views and prepare a master plan for talent management. It began its work by reviewing past data related to attrition and holding discussions with small groups of young professionals. The time had now come to prepare its report and recommendations.

Narayana Hrudayalaya (NH), a leading cardiac hospital network with many firsts to its credit, has revolutionized heart care in India. It has a market share close to 15 per cent in the cardiac sector, has successfully completed 70,000 surgeries and has given insurance to over four million farmers through its microinsurance scheme. Its motto, “caring with compassion,” is its guiding philosophy and the telemedicine network set up at NH has been able to provide treatment for over 50,000 cardiac patients free of charge. The case highlights the evolution of NH and the vision of its founder, and outlines his ambitions and struggles in seeking to increase the number of cardiac surgeries performed each day. How can he retain the top surgeons and fulfill his mission to offer affordable heart care while the compensation of doctors is rapidly increasing?

In July 2009, C&F Consulting, Inc., based in Toronto, sends a team of five brand strategists to work with a client in China on marketing and advertising for a car brand specific to the North American market. The team, consisting of four men and one woman, often meet for dinner after their day’s work, which consists of conducting a crash course in North American-style marketing for the Chinese client’s cohort of new recruits. The woman feels that one of the men on the team treats her with great disrespect, bordering on sexual assault. If she brings up the issue, will all four of her male colleagues take offence? Will they gossip about her at the office and isolate her at work? What might be the impact on her career if she is perceived as anti-social or thin-skinned? How will her superiors react to her accusations? What is the definition of sexual assault in Canadian law, and can she pursue a civil case against her alleged assailant although the acts happened in a foreign country?

By the spring of 2014, the founder of EarthWear Face & Body is in desperate need of part-time employees to help run her successful skin care retail business, which she runs out of her home in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. After eight years of hard work, she has turned her part-time hobby making all-natural skin care products into a thriving business. She sells her products online, through retail stores, at craft and trade shows and at the Saskatoon Farmers' Market. But her successful business has become too much work for her to manage on her own. A failed attempt to bring on a part-time employee made it clear that she needs to develop a targeted recruitment strategy. How can she effectively communicate her corporate culture to attract the best candidates? See supplement 9B14C046.

Supplement to 9B14C045.

An academic and medical practitioner leaves Harvard Medical School to join the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) as dean of the School of Medicine and vice president of medical affairs. Faced with unmotivated staff, a huge deficit, a plethora of procedural inefficiencies, and the chaotic political situation of the country, he is determined to turn things around and raise the institution to international standards and position it as the premier medical institution in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. He restructures the management team and sets a new vision of growth and expansion. However, he must face problems related to a lack of patient-centered service, tense relations between nurses and doctors, operational inefficiencies, and branding issues. Will AUBMC be able to pursue an ambitious growth strategy in the face of an adverse financial and political situation?<br><br>See B Case 9B14C043.