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In less than six months, a telecommunications company has faced two incidents of alleged violations of the Canadian Human Rights Act. The general manager spent considerable time interviewing employees about the first incident. He then reported his findings, and the Canadian Human Rights Commission confirmed that no discrimination had occurred. Just a few months later, an employee approached her supervisor, alleging sexual harassment by a colleague. The company's general manager must not only deal with the second incident, he wonders whether he needs to draft a human resources policy to outline employee rights and responsibilities under the Canadian Human Rights Act.

A newspaper editor must decide how to deal with negative public reaction to items printed in the paper. He was concerned about the hurt to those involved, and about potential loss of readership and advertising dollars. He wondered what could be done to prevent future incidents.

Enron enjoyed a reputation as one of the best managed and highest performing companies of the new economy. In addition to the popular press, a number of leading academics joined in the parade of admirers. Author Gary Hamel featured Enron as one of the leading revolutionaries in his popular book on radical innovation. Another article cited the company's remarkable ability to embrace uncertainty in a highly dynamic competitive environment. Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Skilling recognized that in order to support the evolution from asset-heavy energy provider to a knowledge-dependent trading company, they would have to align Enron's human resources management policies and practices with their strategy.

In 2002, approximately 1,000 Arthur Andersen employees joined Deloitte & Touche, effectively creating the largest professional services organization in Canada. The combined entity employed 6,600 people and represented annual billings of over $1 billion. A co-chair for the national integration team was faced with a huge challenge: to develop a company-wide plan to create support materials to aid the Deloitte staff in integrating the Andersen staff in the organization. The integration process was monitored through a monthly survey and would be used by the team to benchmark unit to unit over time, and to take remedial action at specific stages if the integration goals were not attained. The most recent survey indicated that Deloitte employees felt that in the company's haste to finalize the deal with Andersen, it was forgetting about its own employees. Some within the Deloitte organization did not understand the amount of attention given to Andersen employees, whom they viewed as damaged goods. The co-chair and integration team must determine the best way to deal with the feedback and the cultural differences that are surfacing.

Strong leadership is a critical determinant of success in times of crisis. Most businesses operate in a complex and uncertain environment in which strategies that were successful in the past quickly become redundant in the face of change. Unless mitigated by a decisive leader, problems that ill-prepared organizations face are likely to evolve into a full-fledged crisis. This article identifies six behaviours or mindsets that are critical for leaders in crisis situations. While no one can be prepared for all possible crises, leaders have to use foresight to anticipate the worst and have a general idea about how they are going to respond if they face a crisis. A contingency plan should be created and existing response plans should be tested to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of various people on the crisis management team before a real crisis hits. While leaders have to be decisive and confront facts rather than try to explain them away, they also have to be exceptional communicators, making people feel informed, safe and connected. Leaders have to be visible and connect with the people on the shop floor as in the boardroom. Lastly, leaders must be prepared to take risks and make quick decisions in the face of uncertainty. They must have the courage to make the best possible decision with the set of all available facts, coupled with a solid professional background and instinct. The leader must then communicate that they have knowledge and control of the solution, and full confidence in the chosen course of action. Anything less and they will lose the confidence of the people and worsen the level of uncertainty and tension in a crisis situation.

To the surprise of many, it's back! We're talking about GROWTH, the intoxicating - and in many cases, company destroying -- strategy that had fallen out of favour these past five years or so. But look, along with a stock market revival, the pace of M&A's and other growth strategies has also picked up. But still, it's caveat emptor. This strategist and author has sound advice for today's hungry, growth-oriented CEOs.

The market is up, and the CEO is rewarded with a huge compensation package. The market is down, and the CEO is rewarded with a huge compensation package. There's plenty wrong with this picture, not the least of which is the lack of any link between pay and performance, and the absence of any long-term performance measures. This author, a recognized expert in executive compensation, has several excellent suggestions for changing the picture.

That the terrain of decision making is mined with moral hazards has never been much in doubt. But the real question for executives is this: Just how can you make your conscience your guide? This author has suggestions and strong advice that, when taken, can help restore public confidence in business leaders.

Rachel Turner works as a cook in the largest restaurant of the Lincoln Diner chain. There are a variety of human resources problems in this company and the staff association representing the employees is weak. In this context, Rachel stands up for her co-workers, almost as an unofficial steward. The situation culminates with Rachel's abrupt, unsubstantiated suspension by her difficult boss, leaving her wondering whether or not she should file a grievance. Her decision is complicated by the fact that she is romantically involved with the computer operations manager at Lincoln Diner head office, who also faces a decision as to how to react to this development. The supplement (B), (C) and (D) cases, product numbers 9B03C033, 9B03C034 and 9B03C035 follow the matter through two more decision points to its resolution.

This supplement to Lincoln Diner (A), product 9B03C032, covers Rachel Turner's decision to grieve her suspension and eventual dismissal by the Lincoln Diner restaurant chain, and the complete failure of both the company and the employees' staff association to address her formal grievances about her treatment. As this process is unfolding, Rachel's boyfriend continues to work as computer operations manager in the Lincoln Diner head office, but finds he is treated differently by his fellow managers. The case culminates with Rachel's deliberations about whether or not to file a complaint with the labor board. The supplement (C) and (D) cases, product numbers 9B03C034 and 9B03C035 follow the matter through another decision point to its resolution.

This supplement to Lincoln Diner (A) and (B), product number 9B03C032 and 9B03C033, covers Rachel Turner's decision to file a labor board complaint against the employee association of which she is a member for its failure to represent her properly in grievances related to her suspension and eventual dismissal by the Lincoln Diner restaurant chain. The labour board rules in her favor which sends her grievances to arbitration. However, prior to the arbitrarion hearing, the company makes her a series of financial offers to settle and Rachel must decide whether or not to do so. The supplement (D) case, product number 9B03C035, presents her decision and rationale.

This supplement to Lincoln Diner (A), (B) and (C), products 9B03C032, 9B03C033 and 9B03C034, presents Rachel Turner's rationale for settling a grievance just prior to going to arbitration. It also provides some insights she gained after the fact about the incident precipitating her suspension and eventual dismissal by the Lincoln Diner restaurant chain, and her reflections on how the experience affected her.

The director of occupational health & safety services at St. Joseph's Health Care London reviewed a report which stated that roughly half of the staff working at the veterans care facility at the Parkwood Hospital were vaccinated against the influenza virus. With the flu season quickly approaching, the director knew that she had to motivate a larger number of staff in the veterans care facility (as well as other staff at St. Joseph's) to be vaccinated against the influenza virus in order to reduce the risk of life-threatening flu outbreaks among the patients. She wondered what specific actions she could take improve the vaccination rate at Parkwood Hospital and other St. Joseph's facilities.

This note provides background information on alternative approaches to evaluation in the workplace. Presented is a discussion of 360-degree feedback; the arguments for and against its use; and some of the requirements for effective application. Also presented is a discussion of the balanced scorecard; its benefits and main sources of failure; some potential measures; and the relationship to strategy maps, the links it can create within the organization, and the need to link it to rewards. This note is intended to be used in conjunction with sessions on performance evaluation and rewards.

Salco (China) is a global manufacturer of burners for hot-water boilers and industrial furnaces and ovens. The company has recently hired a new operations manager for their plant in China whose mandate is to improve the efficiency of the Beijing office, to eliminate Salco's Chinese distributors' poaching behavior and to elevate Salco's brand equity in the Chinese market. After implementation, the initiative to eliminate distributors' poaching had failed and the company's operations manager must determine why this initiative failed and prepare a report for senior management.

John McCulloch takes a job as assistant general manager at a meat packing plant. After a short time in the job, he discovers it was nothing like he expected, worker safety is constantly compromised, the safety of the public from consuming tainted food is compromised and everything is subordinated to the production line's constant movement. He must decide whether or not he will stay with the company.

A policy advisor in the Ministry of Industry, working on a summer job, has received an offer from the Minister of Industry to stay in his current position for another year, and to pay for his MBA degree at the end of it. He must decide whether to accept this offer, or leave as planned to continue his studies. He must consider whether short-term financial gain outweighs long-term career objectives.

Omega Air Charters is an air transportation company that provides service to the global mining industry. The company has negotiated a contract with a group of European mining companies that requires Omega Air to provide air service in Azerbaijan - once part of the former Soviet Union. Based on the agreement made with the country, the company must staff the operation with Azerbaijan pilots and engineers who resent a western corporation operating western aircraft in their country. The executive vice-president must resolve this issue and gain the trust of the pilots and engineers if this project is to succeed.

Brookfield Properties is a publicly held, North American commercial real estate company focused on the ownership, management and development of premier office properties located in the downtown core of selected North American markets. Most of Brookfield's assets are in the United States with headquarters in New York and an executive office in Toronto. Four of the properties that Brookfield owns are adjacent to the World Trade Center site and on September 11, 2001 the terrorist attacks had an immediate impact on Brookfield employees, tenants and physical property. With little reliable information and in the face of chaos and human tragedy, the president and chief executive officer must develop an action plan that will ensure the safety of all employees and tenants, deal with grief and suffering, assess the damage, enable the company to return to 'business as usual' and reassure investors and the media of the company's commitment to restore Brookfield's position of market strength.

Elise Smart 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.