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Candor ranks very highly among the characteristics we look for in good leaders. A culture of candor, established and reinforced by leaders who value and model it in their own behaviors, can be a source of competitive advantage for organizations. It ensures that good news travels fast and bad news travels faster, allowing mistakes to be recognized quickly and fixed promptly; people own their actions and own up to their errors so that they can learn from them; people know where they stand, know what's expected of them, and know what it takes to get promoted and fired. Candor is at the heart of aligning people with strategy, and is essential to effective execution, performance management and people development.

Leaders expect their followers to be loyal and to be able to depend on their loyalty. Good leaders understand that there is a difference between real loyalty and a related but different concept - fealty. Smart leaders understand that fealty is demanded whereas loyalty is earned. In this article, the author notes some things that leaders can do to earn loyalty.

The transfer of perinatal services at St. Joseph's Health Care Centre (SJHC) to the Women's and Children's Services at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), included the relocation of clinical programs, 500 staff and about 40 physicians. SJHC's perinatal program had been among the hospital's premier programs and was recognized as a world-class tertiary perinatal program for more than 30 years. The hospital's comprehensive care for newborns included providing care for very sick infants and extremely premature babies. The move to LHSC was a source of much concern to key stakeholders, leading scientists and specialists with much negative impact on recruitment, retention and staff morale. The vice-president, acute and ambulatory care at SJHC and the vice-president, women and children's clinical business unit at LHSC were appointed to help prepare leaders throughout all stages of the restructuring. On their agenda were the following issues: culture, safety procedures, team conflict, excessive turnover, structure, leadership orientation, among others. Where should they start; and how could they get physicians, patient care leaders and staff to think past six months, given that there are numerous issues that keep them busy on a daily, weekly and monthly basis?

Learning Lab Denmark, a research and development institute, encountered many of the difficulties typically experienced by start-ups, especially obstacles that involve developing a set of routines for getting things done. In other respects LLD faced several distinct challenges that are specific to its charter. This case describes in detail the history behind the formation of Learning Lab Denmark, the goals and the organizing principles underlying LLD and its sub-components, the various personnel roles and issues, including performance problems, criticism and paradoxes that arose in the first couple of years. The supplement, Organizing from Scratch: The Learning Lab Denmark Experience (B) case, product 9B06C007, picks up the story and discusses significant organizational changes.

This supplement to Organizing From Scratch: The Learning Lab Denmark Experience (A), product 9B06C006, identifies several of the consortia's achievements, notes some findings from LLD's self-evaluation report and discusses significant organizational changes.

A polymer chemist initiated a lawsuit against a national research institute for having failed to pursue a patent on his behalf, while he was employed as a post-doctoral research fellow. The chemist must now decide whether to accept a pre-judgement cash settlement of less than one sixth what his lawyer claims he is entitled to. Among the questions raised in this case are: Should the research institute have pursued a patent for an invention it did not own? In letting the institute file the patent application on his behalf, did the chemist not tacitly agree to assign his invention to the institute? The case outlines the importance of human resource policies stipulating the ownership of inventions made by scientists employed by an agency or others working onsite. It also shows how problems of assignment of intellectual property rights, if not resolved, can lead to failed technology transfer. The case also provides a detailed look at how a scientist would report an invention to its technology transfer office in order that a patent might be applied for.

The senior project manager at Metropole Services is getting the sense that her business relationship with her software development group is taking a turn for the worse. According to her, she was their project manager and it seemed strange that her team members - all subordinates, were excluding her from an important client meeting. She must figure out what the issue is, and if something truly is wrong, take the appropriate steps to correct it immediately.

Louise Chen must decide what performance assessment to give one of her employees who has, uncharacteristically, failed to meet one of her key objectives for the year. The situation is difficult for several reasons; the causes of the unacceptable performance are not clear; the employee has previously received excellent appraisals, including a recent one by the vice-president; and the employee was absent for a good part of the year on maternity leave. The various factors that influence sustained performance (ability, motivation, resources, role clarity, reinforcement) are examined, as well as steps leaders can take in improving performance of those for whom they are responsible.

The president of the University of Western Ontario was contemplating how to best handle a potentially explosive issue: the planned award of an honorary degree to Dr. Henry Morgentaler, a prominent abortion-rights activist and operator of six abortion clinics in Canada. The pressure from various interest groups opposing the award continued to grow and attracted considerable local and national media attention. The chair of the university's board of governors went on record stating his disagreement with award decision. With university's reputation at stake, the president knew that he had to plan for the worst, yet hope for the best. The supplement Weathering the Storm: The Fallout of the Decision to Award an Honorary Degree to Canada's Pioneer Abortion Doctor (B), product 9B05C034, looks at the events on the day of convocation.

The president of the University of Western Ontario was contemplating how best to handle a potentially explosive issue: the planned award of an honorary degree to Dr. Henry Morgentaler. In this supplement to Weathering a Storm: Awarding an Honorary Degree to Canada's Pioneer Abortion Doctor (A), product 9B05C033, the events of the day of convocation are highlighted.

The case is designed to encourage readers to select among three highly qualified candidates for an important managerial position. In doing so, readers are required to establish the set of criteria that they believe should be taken into account when making an important hiring decision for the bank. Through the process of considering and prioritizing potential criteria with respect to the three potential candidates, readers are led to evaluate and reflect upon the vision, mission and core ethical values of the bank.

Wayward or doomed are the projects that are poorly managed. This author proposes standards and metrics that will make a project initiated a project that succeeds.

Organizations need to be built to change and to attract the behaviours they reward. Traditional reward systems lead to stability and often fail to motivate either performance or change. Merit-based salary increases are typically small and permanent, meaning they don’t significantly increase motivation, but can result in poorly performing but highly paid long-term employees. They create a situation in which the only way to punish underperforming or change-resistant employees is to fire them. Bonus pay is a superior reward system, as it provides more money (and hence motivation) and is impermanent. It is particularly valuable for driving organizational change. The impact of stock plans on motivation is likely less than bonuses, because the connection between performance and pay is weaker. But stock plans can create a culture of ownership and “common fate” and may better motivate change than profit sharing. Person-based pay, which pays an employee according to their skills and knowledge, is more effective in a work situation with changing task assignments than paying someone for a particular job. As this article shows, decreasing the rewards for seniority and job size are important, but they are unlikely to be as powerful as rethinking how the system should reward individuals for their skills and how it should reward performance.

Breaking down the barriers that stifle employees is easier said than done. These authors have helpful advice for well-intentioned managers.

Before you can say What crisis? you will find your organization already in the thick of it. Which is why leaders who know how to respond will be favourably judged.

Companies that create an environment that challenges employees and enables them to achieve their goals will find employees richly engaged.

An engaged employee is a person who is fully employed in, and enthusiastic about their work. The authors of this article believe that executives must be concerned about the current level of engagement in the workplace. The Employment Engagement Index published by the Gallup Management Journal indicates that only 29 percent of employees are actively engaged in their jobs, fifty-four percent of employees are not engaged while seventeen percent of employees are actively disengaged. Managers should be concerned about such results as New Century Financial Corporation statistics show that employee engagement does not merely correlate with bottom line results - it drives results. The article also describes the ten C's of employee engagement that make great leaders. The authors suggest that leaders connect with their employees and make them aware that they are valuable assets. Leaders should provide challenging and meaningful work with opportunities for career advancement. While challenging employees, good leaders also instill the confidence that the challenges can be met. Leaders should convey and clarify their expectations about employees and provide feedback on their functioning in the organization. Exceptional leaders also congratulate i.e. they give recognition, and they do so a lot; they coach and convey. Good leaders help people see how they are contributing to the organization's success and future. They also create opportunities for employees to exercise control over the flow and pace of their jobs and communicate their vision clearly. Great leaders are also team builders, they encourage collaboration. Furthermore, good leaders are credible. They strive to maintain a company's reputation and demonstrate high ethical standards. Lastly, good leaders help create confidence in a company by being exemplars of high ethical and performance standards.

The chief information officer of Regent Street Bank is trying to weighing the merits of installing word recognition software at Regent. In light of recent financial scandals, a compliance tool like word recognition software would enable Regent to electronically monitor transactions between employees and clients. From a business standpoint, the ability to reduce the risk of illegal activities would reassure stakeholders in the bank: employees, clients and investors. Besides, Regent's email policy, available to all employees, clearly stipulated that electronic mail systems provided by Regent are its property and that the bank reserves the right to access, monitor and archive all email messages without prior notice. On the other hand, what if the word recognition software flagged a personal email message, resulting in his or her direct manager finding out about a private situation? After all, Regent's email policy did allow employees to use email for personal reasons. More importantly, how should the CIO consider the potential ethical issues, such as privacy.

After the U.S. sales manager of a large multinational company emails his supervisor regarding the supply of a new product, the message is forwarded to two others. The final recipient, the president of the Franco-Japanese joint venture partner that is manufacturing the new product, is offended by what he perceives as unfair criticism. The supplemental case, Charles Foster Sends an Email (B), product number 9B05C020, includes the sales manager's response to the president, and the ensuing correspondence from the joint venture. Together, the (A) and (B) cases present a setting for discussing three issues; the relationship between a communication situation and the medium chosen to deliver it, the effects on business relationships when an inappropriate communications medium is chosen and the processes needed to communicate effectively in multicultural business relationships.

After the U.S. sales manager of a large multicultural company emails his supervisor regarding the supply of a new product, the message is forwarded to two others. The final recipient, the president of the Franco-Japanese joint venture partner that is manufacturing the new product, is offended by what he perceives as unfair criticism. The sales manager draws on his recent training in intercultural management to try to salvage the situation. The companion case, Charles Foster Sends and Email(A), product number 9B05C019, includes the complete series of email. Together, the (A) and (B) cases present a setting for discussing three issues: the relationship between a communications situation and the medium chosen to deliver it, the effects on business relationships when an inappropriate communications medium is chosen and the processes needed to communicated effectively in multicultural business relationships.