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Since its inception in 1994, Sterlite Copper (Sterlite), a subsidiary of UK-based mining and metals conglomerate Vedanta Resources plc, had encountered many controversies. Sterlite's difficulties included accusations of manipulative compliance practices, legal issues arising out of land acquisition, gas leaks, and the depletion of the environment around its plant in Thoothukudi (also known as Tuticorin) in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Sterlite planned to expand and double its copper production, but various stakeholders raised concerns regarding alleged misconduct by the company and the adverse impact of its actions on the lives of the community surrounding the plant.<br><br>In May 2018, these agitations took a violent turn. The public protest led to the death of 13 citizens, and the events attracted negative media exposure. As Sterlite awaited Madras High Court's ruling which was due in August 2020, the possibility of the plant's permanent closure seemed likely.<br><br>While Sterlite Copper had been an organization of national importance, contributing to the GDP and creating employment, it suffered from adverse community opinion of allegedly being unethical while remaining in the realm of legality. The entire incident had Sterlite fighting more for its image than its environmental and legal positions. What had gone wrong for Sterlite by August 2020?

Since its inception in 1994, Sterlite Copper (Sterlite), a subsidiary of UK-based mining and metals conglomerate Vedanta Resources plc, had encountered many controversies. Sterlite’s difficulties included accusations of manipulative compliance practices, legal issues arising out of land acquisition, gas leaks, and the depletion of the environment around its plant in Thoothukudi (also known as Tuticorin) in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Sterlite planned to expand and double its copper production, but various stakeholders raised concerns regarding alleged misconduct by the company and the adverse impact of its actions on the lives of the community surrounding the plant.<br><br>In May 2018, these agitations took a violent turn. The public protest led to the death of 13 citizens, and the events attracted negative media exposure. As Sterlite awaited Madras High Court’s ruling which was due in August 2020, the possibility of the plant’s permanent closure seemed likely.<br><br>While Sterlite Copper had been an organization of national importance, contributing to the GDP and creating employment, it suffered from adverse community opinion of allegedly being unethical while remaining in the realm of legality. The entire incident had Sterlite fighting more for its image than its environmental and legal positions. What had gone wrong for Sterlite by August 2020?

Founded in 2016, udaan operated India's largest B2B e-commerce platform, which catered to millions of vendors registered on its app and trading a wide range of products. Its Capital arm focused on enabling the country's multitude of micro-enterprises with financial services and products, so that sellers and buyers could grow their business with easily accessible trade credit. Having crossed the "small start-up" stage, the HR team at udaan Capital was weighing its options to grow the organization with structured yet empowering processes and policies. The case goes over how the Head of HR architected a performance management framework along contemporary lines. Its philosophy laid emphasis on combining organizational targets with employee aspirations via constructive dialog around goals. Skill ladders were drawn up to help employees at different career stages to navigate their path within the organization. The case reader is invited to contrast this approach with rank-and-yank approaches, which rely on assessments that craft a score to guide actions on rewards and layoffs. Managers were integral to this framework rollout and had to be carefully equipped to conduct productive conversations with employees. A technology tool captured the reviews and tracked the milestones of the exercise. Insights derived from these conversations informed the HR organization about the next steps.

HCL Technologies was successfully leveraging Application Tracking System till 2017 to fast track its recruitment process, which contributed effectively till then. However, by 2017, as the strategic business objectives changed, HCL decided to implement advanced technology to create more intelligent recruitment system called Techruit. The new system had to meet the broader objectives of experience, efficiency and impact. The decision dilemmas in front of the core HR team were to choose the right technology for enhancing the effectiveness of talent acquisition process, and the right combination of metrics to measure and improve recruiter performance.

Homemaking had been a centuries-old industry that supplied a variety of services to customers, from more commoditized tasks such as cleaning and laundry to specialized tasks such as elderly care, and prenatal and postpartum care. In China, this industry had traditionally been fragmented and associated with limited innovation. Homeking At Home Information Technology Co., Ltd. (HAH), a company founded in 2010, set the goal of transforming China’s home services industry in the digital age. Using an Internet-based operating model and a digital-first mindset, the company sought to reinvent homemaking, and grew from a startup into a leading player in the homemaking market in China. To sustain its success, the company needed to continually evolve.

Since 2000, Infineum International Limited had been expanding rapidly throughout the Asia Pacific region. The company launched its inclusion and diversity program in 2009, which saw strong progress after 2013, when the company established its inclusion-first vision. From 2016 on, numerous inclusion and diversity activities were held to generate involvement and feedback from the locally engaged inclusion and diversity champions. In February 2020, the company’s global talent and learning manager shared his concerns about the company’s future inclusion and diversity journey. He had devoted time and energy in the past few years to organize activities through town hall meetings, leadership training workshops, and the company’s intranet, but hoped to make the inclusive approach even more meaningful in the future. What kind of measures should they apply to assess what they have done so far? To what extent should human resources actions be aligned with the inclusive culture? More importantly, would the current model of inclusion and diversity be sustained in the future?

Big data continues to gather increasing interest in the business press as well as within the management literature. While this interest has spilled over into the realm of human resources (HR) management, solid evidence of its positive performance impacts is lacking. I explore three possibilities for this lack of evidence: (1) HR possesses big data but largely lacks the ability to use it; (2) HR does not actually possess big data; and (3) big data is generating value for HR and positively affects organizational performance, but the winners in the race to utilize big data in HR are not publicizing their successes. Following this, I discuss current forms of big data implementation, highlighting an evolutionary progression of implementations in various settings and emphasizing the importance of balancing deductive with inductive analytical approaches. Finally, I discuss conditions under which big data may hold greater value for the HR function, and I suggest ways managers and organizations can make the most of big data.

A large body of research has well established that changes in net balances between labor supply and demand can drive competition for human capital. We propose that AI-enabled recruiting tools constitute a force that will intensify the war for talent above and beyond episodic changes in net balances. We also propose that three seismic shifts will further intensify the war for talent by increasing the value of human capital and lowering its switching costs. Lastly, we bridge human resource management and military escalation literatures and examine how three key onset conditions relative to the use of AI-enabled recruiting tools have the potential to spark an arms race for those tools. Finally, we examine the managerial implications of these dynamics so that managers prevail not just in short-term skirmishes but also in the long-term war for talent.

First Place Winner; DEI Global Case Writing Competition. With Johnnie Cochran Jr. and John Wooten, civil rights attorney Cyrus Mehri formed the Fritz Pollard Alliance to advocate for National Football League coaches of color. Their efforts resulted in the NFL adopting the Rooney Rule prior to the 2003 NFL season in order to increase representation of coaches of color in the head coaching ranks. Subsequently, Mehri lobbied the NFL to improve the rule (e.g., applying it to additional coaching positions) while also working with (and against) companies to implement similar policies. The rule became one of the most prominent diversity initiatives in the United States, with employers such as Amazon, Facebook, the City of Pittsburgh, and the University of Texas System adopting variations of it. In 2021, however, nearly two decades after the Rooney Rule's implementation, the total number of NFL head coaches of color was three-the same number as in 2003, when the rule took effect. Frustratingly for Mehri and his colleagues, two top applicants of color-the two offensive coordinators in the most recent Super Bowl, Eric Bieniemy of Kansas City and Byron Leftwich of Tampa Bay-were passed over for all seven head coaching vacancies after the 2020 season. The ongoing debate about the rule's effectiveness intersected with a pivotal moment in U.S. history. Corporate America, prompted by the Black Lives Matter movement and protests following the 2020 killing of George Floyd in police custody, had allocated billions of dollars to addressing racial injustice. Many more organizations would be considering personnel policies modeled after the Rooney Rule. Was the Rooney Rule really a best practice in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I)? Had Mehri, through his consulting firm Working IDEAL, identified practices that might strengthen or replace the Rooney Rule?

This case explores two dimensions of organization and human resource management (HRM). First, the case illustrates how Xibei evolved from an unknown northwest Chinese cuisine restaurant into one of the country's leading restaurant chains in a fiercely competitive catering market. Specifically, it describes how Xibei developed an organization and HRM system that supported strategic implementation, such as rapid expansion and product innovation. Second, the case expounds on how Xibei's founder and executive team responded to change. In particular, the case illustrates Xibei's paradox when reinforcing strategic implementation, such as the perspective of top-down versus bottom-up innovation, and centralization versus decentralization. It also stimulates discussion on organizational rigidity during growth, taking the chance on a Covid-19 outbreak.

The Pratham Institute for Literacy, Education & Vocational Training (Pratham Institute) in India, ran vocational education and training (VET) centres that were engaged in skilling the rural youth of India to prepare them for vocational careers. In April 2020, the organization’s centre in Pilani, Rajasthan, along with several other chapters, had noted that a significant share of the institute’s trainees were failing to sustain their employment for a long period and were returning home to their native villages instead. Though the VET centres had seen several success stories, they were somewhat perplexed about why so many of their trainees were not staying in their careers, despite the promise of greater financial benefits and job security compared to farming-based livelihoods. Some of the common concerns of trainees included urban culture shock, family pressures to return home, sustenance worries, career ambiguity, and a lack of psychological readiness to cope with harsh city life. The head of the Pilani centre was left pondering how to tackle such psychological issues among the Pratham Institute’s trainees and thereby reduce the dropout rate and fully realize the positive impact of the training programs.

The Pratham Institute for Literacy, Education & Vocational Training (Pratham Institute) in India, ran vocational education and training (VET) centres that were engaged in skilling the rural youth of India to prepare them for vocational careers. In April 2020, the organization's centre in Pilani, Rajasthan, along with several other chapters, had noted that a significant share of the institute's trainees were failing to sustain their employment for a long period and were returning home to their native villages instead. Though the VET centres had seen several success stories, they were somewhat perplexed about why so many of their trainees were not staying in their careers, despite the promise of greater financial benefits and job security compared to farming-based livelihoods. Some of the common concerns of trainees included urban culture shock, family pressures to return home, sustenance worries, career ambiguity, and a lack of psychological readiness to cope with harsh city life. The head of the Pilani centre was left pondering how to tackle such psychological issues among the Pratham Institute's trainees and thereby reduce the dropout rate and fully realize the positive impact of the training programs.

Rodey Wing, a partner at global management consulting firm Kearney, had to decide what to recommend to a struggling retailer client with over 200,000 employees. With the client’s optometry division suffering from an excess of employees partly due to a pandemic downturn, Wing had initially planned to cut 1,500 employees from the division---laying off those with the lowest performance review ratings. However, a disproportionate impact assessment of the plan showed that employees from protected classes would make up a much larger share of terminated employees than expected. Wing had to determine how this information should impact his recommendations to the important client.

When researchers from Cass Business School compared data on board diversity with fines levied for misconduct, they found that banks with more female directors were fined less often and less significantly.

Most companies say they're committed to advancing women into leadership roles. What they may fail to recognize, though, is that systemic barriers are holding women back. As a result, women remain disadvantaged at every stage of their employment and underrepresented in positions of power. Drawing on their own research and the scholarship of others, the authors describe common forms of gender discrimination in seven key areas of talent management: attracting candidates, hiring employees, integrating newcomers into the organization, developing employees, assessing performance, managing compensation and promotion, and retaining employees. Companies can level the playing field by identifying patterns of gender bias in the way they treat people and then systematically making appropriate changes. They can, for example, avoid loaded language in job postings, anonymize the resumes of applicants, cultivate an inclusive culture, increase women's access to mentors, set clear criteria for salary offers and raises, and destigmatize flexible work arrangements. Research has shown the value of all these practices in fully leveraging women's talents.

Homemaking had been a centuries-old industry that supplied a variety of services to customers, from more commoditized tasks such as cleaning and laundry to specialized tasks such as elderly care, and prenatal and postpartum care. In China, this industry had traditionally been fragmented and associated with limited innovation. Homeking At Home Information Technology Co., Ltd. (HAH), a company founded in 2010, set the goal of transforming China's home services industry in the digital age. Using an Internet-based operating model and a digital-first mindset, the company sought to reinvent homemaking, and grew from a startup into a leading player in the homemaking market in China. To sustain its success, the company needed to continually evolve.

Mathilde Johnsen was a highly motivated environmental systems engineer in the real property branch of Public Services and Procurement Canada. Johnsen advanced a job grade about every 18 months, and in 2016, she successfully applied to the management stream. In 2019, after completing an MBA, Johnsen pursued an opportunity in the executive stream of the civil service. Her past behaviour raised concerns for the selection committee, who decided that, rather than promote Johnsen, they would give her a one-year secondment in the executive position so they could assess her growth. Unfortunately, her inability to deal effectively with subordinates, peers, and superiors resulted in Johnsen’s effective demotion and transfer out of the department. Could this unfortunate career derailment have been avoided?

Supplement for product 9B21C005.

Supplement for product 9B21C005.

This case offers students an opportunity to observe employee engagement through key events that took place at YellowStarr Financial Services before and during a software platform migration. Steve Keldan, who served as CEO of YellowStarr, founded the company in 2002. Lisa Murphy was hired as the Human Resources Director for YellowStarr in 2011. In her first few years, Murphy was challenged with building a human resource team that could manage more than 100 new employees for the growing company. In 2015, YellowStarr needed to undergo a software platform migration with FinanceConnect, its proprietary customer data web-based software that presented retirement plans, investment options and pricing in a simple, easy-to-navigate way. As Human Resources Director, Murphy was tasked with the duty of supporting the migration from an employee standpoint, which meant hiring new talent, minimizing employee turnover, and promoting a healthy, positive culture that encouraged employee engagement. Before and during the migration, Murphy made decisions that appeared to both help and hurt engagement. Implementations included fewer training initiatives, relaxed dress code, and employee-led activity committees. As of 2018 with the migration project almost complete, YellowStarr faced high employee turnover rates. No longer having to deal with the firefighting associated with the migration, Murphy needs to decide what steps to take both short-term and long-term to improve upon YellowStarr's employee engagement so the company is an employer of choice for new and existing employees.