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The vice-president of the Bank of London was stunned to hear that the union representing clerical workers was initiating a complaint of gender discrimination in starting salaries. The vice-president had believed the Bank of London was actively promoting diversity and inclusion as a natural part of its culture; additionally, the senior leadership team understood how vital diversity and inclusion were to organizational effectiveness and growth. The vice-president was wondering what the accusation of discrimination was costing the Bank of London, and how to manage perceptions both inside and outside of the organization. To determine this, he wanted to understand if discrimination had in fact occurred and analyzed the following factors between male and female job-holders: beginning salary, time at current job, education and experience.

When Chris Chen founded VanceInfo Technologies in Beijing in 1995, the firm had 25 employees and one low-end IT services outsourcing project for a U.S. multinational. By August 2008, through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions, VanceInfo employed more than 4,800 people, had numerous Fortune 100 clients, and enjoyed revenues exceeding $80 million over the preceding 12 months. Although small compared to more sophisticated Indian rivals, VanceInfo was well placed to capture an expected explosion in demand for China-based offshore IT services. At the same time, rapid growth was straining the firm's management personnel, systems, and resources. Headcount was slated to quintuple to 20,000 in four to five years' time to keep pace with aggressive revenue targets. Old ad-hoc ways no longer could accommodate current or future needs. To succeed, management had to implement new financial, operational, and internal management systems, especially in the critical area of human resources where VanceInfo faced some of its greatest challenges. These included introducing effective processes for rapidly expanding, training, managing, and retaining its workforce. Moreover, in its quest to grow its workforce to 20,000 within five years, move into higher-margin business lines requiring new expertise, and beat out domestic and international rivals, management had to strike a balance between quick gains via acquisitions and potentially slower growth through organic expansion. The case helps students think through the complexities involved in managing a fast growing company. Specifically, it asks students to analyze whether VanceInfo's current strategy of growing organically and through selective strategic acquisitions will allow it to achieve its goals. It also asks them to analyze the company's human resource challenges and its efforts to meet them.

The case describes a real instance where a college student, Sarah James, attends a Mexican university (INI) for the summer to develop her language and cross-cultural capabilities. At the end of a successful semester, she e-mails the director of international recruitment for the Mexican University - with a copy to her major professor back in the United States - complaining about the treatment she received from her host family. She appears to have alienated all parties involved as she makes her exodus. The reader must decide how Professor McGill should respond. McGill had been attempting to build a relationship with the administration at INI in hopes of sending more students there for cross-cultural and language training. The reader must also evaluate Sarah's complaints to determine if they are a result of her own inflexibility or whether the host family was inappropriately screened or prepared. Will the remedy be found in having better policies governing host families or in having more culturally-attuned students?

Dr. Jeff Foreman, Professor and Chair of the Marketing Department at Carroll State University, had just left a meeting with the Dean of the College and other department chairs about the upcoming salary increase program. Since pay increases had been small in recent years, Foreman was quite pleased that there would be four percent merit money this year, in addition to the previously announced two percent across-the-board (ATB) increase. The ATB raise would be effective in July, and the merit pay would be implemented the following January. At the meeting, the Dean of the College informed the chairs that the merit-pay policy was subject to change, in order to reward the highest performing faculty. He stated that at a recent meeting with the Provost, the idea of a more "aggressive" approach to rewarding top-performing faculty members was discussed. This approach, it was advanced, would help the University retain its most productive and most mobile faculty members - those who had the talents to really advance the programs of the school. Subsequent discussion at the chairs' meeting was animated, and they expressed a variety of opinions about the advisability of the proposed changes in the merit-pay policy. As the meeting ended, the Dean asked each of the chairs to study the proposal and make a recommendation about the pay plan with a justification, noting that the group would meet again to make a policy decision for the College. Back in his office, Professor Foreman reviewed the existing policy on salary increases, salary information on his faculty, and their performance ratings for the last three years. He thought about the philosophy underlying the aggressive approach to compensation and the implications of rewarding only the top performers. But he also wanted to look at the actual impact of the proposed change on the salaries of his faculty members. What would it do to salary differentials? How would it affect faculty motivation?

When, in 1997, the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) decided to consolidate the Human Resources systems used by its three military services (Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force) into a small number of tri-service ones, it saw the challenge as an IT problem that could be solved through an IT solution. The goal was to increase efficiency and cut costs, and both would be achieved - the MOD thought - by streamlining the more than two hundred customized computer applications developed over time by each of the three services to meet their specific needs. The Texas-based Electronic Data Systems corporation (EDS) was hired to implement the project. But the first effort soon collapsed: the MOD had overestimated how much those systems had in common, and how quickly and easily they could be harmonized. This case describes the unusual partnering approach the MOD and EDS developed in order to make their second attempt a successful one. Realizing that what was needed was a business change, as opposed to an IT solution, the MOD revised the contract to better reflect the more fluid and organic process that would be required. There were a number of essential components to that new workflow: the decision to integrate EDS staff into all management meetings in order to develop mutual trust and a common knowledge base; the establishment of a clear division of labor and responsibilities by which MOD would focus on efficiency and EDS on IT, and an agreement to prioritize the schedule and resolve cost overruns after the fact. HKS Case Number 1900.0

Although women are making slow inroads onto the boards of the Fortune 500, those who have arrived are gaining influence at a good clip. The percentage of women sitting on, and heading, crucial committees - such as audit, compensation, and nominating and corporate governance - is increasing markedly.

Today's business leaders increasingly rely on coaches for help in understanding how to act in a demanding and volatile world. These confidants and advisers can earn up to $2,000 per hour. To understand what they do to merit that money, HBR conducted a survey of 140 leading coaches and invited five experts to comment on the findings. Commentators and coaches agreed that the reasons for engaging coaches have evolved over the past decade. Ten years ago, most companies hired a coach to help fix toxic behavior at the top. Today, most coaching is about developing the capabilities of high-potential performers or acting as a sounding board. As a result of this broader mission, there's a lot more fuzziness around coaching engagements, whether it be with regard to how coaches define the scope of engagements, how they measure and report on progress, and what credentials a company should look for when selecting a coach. Do companies and executives get value from their coaches? When we asked coaches to explain the healthy growth of their industry, they said that clients keep coming back because "coaching works." Yet the survey results also suggest that the industry is fraught with conflicts of interest, blurry lines between what is best handled by coaches and what should be left to mental health professionals, and sketchy mechanisms for monitoring the effectiveness of a coaching engagement. The bottom line: Coaching as a business tool continues to gain legitimacy, but the fundamentals of the industry are still very much in flux. In this market, as in so many others today, we have to conclude that the old saw still applies: Buyer beware!

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS), India's largest IT services provider, reached a major milestone when manpower strength crossed the 100,000-employee mark in October 2007. Based on a business model heavily reliant on low-wage software engineering talent, TCS tapped with great success, India's large pool of engineering graduates, mainly from top universities, for its human capital needs. These software project consultants formed the backbone of the company's service delivery system and the lynchpin of TCS' growth as a global IT company. TCS used a systems approach to design a training and development framework that had enabled the firm to scale up the human capital requirements to meet rapid business growth. By the end of March 2008, TCS' global employee strength was more than 111,000. Ninety percent of its IT consultants were Indian nationals, as were majority of the TCS consultants in the USA. However, as TCS followed its multinational clients and set up operations in China, the Chinese government expected TCS to tap on local engineering talent as much as possible. The challenge for TCS was whether the training framework it had used to build its India-based human resource pool would also be effective in the Chinese context where TCS hoped to grow its second global delivery hub after India.

This note briefly describes compensation and incentive issues in one of the major US professional sports leagues, the National Football League (NFL). It first provides some background information on the labor market for players and the salary cap, and then describes incentive issues facing players and their agents.

This case is set at a golf course in Aurora, Ontario. The club superintendent and the assistant superintendent will be interviewing three candidates for a green keeping position at Maple Retreat Golf and Country Club. The club superintendent must decide what questions to ask of the three applicants, keeping in mind what questions he could not ask of the candidates. This case is intended to be used for the managing people module of an organizational behavior or human resource management core course, or for a managing people elective. The case provides students with the opportunity to develop interview questions for the candidates and to interview the candidates in role play situations.

Henrietta Mercer, the senior vice president for human resources at LaSalle Chemical, is facing a challenge unprecedented in her career: Steve Ambler, recently appointed the company's group sales director, has decided to change his gender identity. Before Henrietta can finish crafting a corporate response, someone slips a copy of her confidential memo to the executive committee to one of Steve's colleagues, whose outraged reaction suggests the difficulties that may lie ahead. How can she help him transition in a workplace where not everyone is on board with the plan? Three experts comment on this fictional case study in R0811A and R0811Z. Linda E. Taylor, the director of work life, equity, and inclusion at Raytheon Missile Systems, advises Henrietta to offer lots of gender identity training. When Raytheon employees question the morality of condoning transgender choices, she replies that the company doesn't pass judgment on its employees' private lives and that working for Raytheon means adhering to its policy of inclusion. Ronald K. Andrews, a vice president and head of human resources at Prudential, says it is crucial to work very closely with the person transitioning and points out that the individual's courage may be what most strikes colleagues. Prudential held a meeting to educate account executives and provide them with talking points before they spoke directly to key clients - not one of whom was lost. Stasha Goliaszewski, a scientist and engineer at Boeing, started her gender transition after four years with the company. HR support helped with other employees, and her professional expertise helped when she called on customers. She advises large companies to prepare their gender-identity policies and not be caught off guard, as Henrietta was. Statistics show that, sooner or later, they are bound to encounter the issue.

Henrietta Mercer, the senior vice president for human resources at LaSalle Chemical, is facing a challenge unprecedented in her career: Steve Ambler, recently appointed the company's group sales director, has decided to change his gender identity. Before Henrietta can finish crafting a corporate response, someone slips a copy of her confidential memo to the executive committee to one of Steve's colleagues, whose outraged reaction suggests the difficulties that may lie ahead. How can she help him transition in a workplace where not everyone is on board with the plan? Three experts comment on this fictional case study in R0811A and R0811Z. Linda E. Taylor, the director of work life, equity, and inclusion at Raytheon Missile Systems, advises Henrietta to offer lots of gender identity training. When Raytheon employees question the morality of condoning transgender choices, she replies that the company doesn't pass judgment on its employees' private lives and that working for Raytheon means adhering to its policy of inclusion. Ronald K. Andrews, a vice president and head of human resources at Prudential, says it is crucial to work very closely with the person transitioning and points out that the individual's courage may be what most strikes colleagues. Prudential held a meeting to educate account executives and provide them with talking points before they spoke directly to key clients - not one of whom was lost. Stasha Goliaszewski, a scientist and engineer at Boeing, started her gender transition after four years with the company. HR support helped with other employees, and her professional expertise helped when she called on customers. She advises large companies to prepare their gender-identity policies and not be caught off guard, as Henrietta was. Statistics show that, sooner or later, they are bound to encounter the issue.

Henrietta Mercer, the senior vice president for human resources at LaSalle Chemical, is facing a challenge unprecedented in her career: Steve Ambler, recently appointed the company's group sales director, has decided to change his gender identity. Before Henrietta can finish crafting a corporate response, someone slips a copy of her confidential memo to the executive committee to one of Steve's colleagues, whose outraged reaction suggests the difficulties that may lie ahead. How can she help him transition in a workplace where not everyone is on board with the plan? Three experts comment on this fictional case study in R0811A and R0811Z. Linda E. Taylor, the director of work life, equity, and inclusion at Raytheon Missile Systems, advises Henrietta to offer lots of gender identity training. When Raytheon employees question the morality of condoning transgender choices, she replies that the company doesn't pass judgment on its employees' private lives and that working for Raytheon means adhering to its policy of inclusion. Ronald K. Andrews, a vice president and head of human resources at Prudential, says it is crucial to work very closely with the person transitioning and points out that the individual's courage may be what most strikes colleagues. Prudential held a meeting to educate account executives and provide them with talking points before they spoke directly to key clients - not one of whom was lost. Stasha Goliaszewski, a scientist and engineer at Boeing, started her gender transition after four years with the company. HR support helped with other employees, and her professional expertise helped when she called on customers. She advises large companies to prepare their gender-identity policies and not be caught off guard, as Henrietta was. Statistics show that, sooner or later, they are bound to encounter the issue.

The case describes existing performance management systems at a leading business school in India, the National Institute of Management - Central India campus (NIM CI campus). The institution, which is ranked among the top 20 business schools in India, is facing critical issues of attracting and retaining faculty members. The director of the NIM CI campus has implemented a unit based performance measurement and incentive system, which has worked favorably and enabled the institute to recruit top academicians. However, the management committee believes that the system has outlived its utility and desires to replace it with more robust systems that are less vulnerable to misuse. The faculty members, however, support retention of the existing system. The key teaching objective of this case is to understand performance management systems from the perspectives of different stakeholders and develop a framework that meets all objectives of performance management. The case enables users to understand all steps in performance management and examine shortcomings at each stage. The role of incentive systems, both as a tool to enhance individual performance and as a management control mechanism, is also discussed. The case provides users an opportunity to evaluate the strategic significance of performance management.

Teena Lerner, the CEO of Rx Capital, had a problem. Her three-year-old hedge fund was highly profitable, but in 2004, one of her four equities analysts lost a lot of money for the firm. If Lerner followed her existing compensation system, designed to reward teamwork, he would wind up significantly underpaying her other analysts, all of whom had performed well. Should she follow the compensation system or not? And what should be done about the underperforming analyst?

Mark Landstad, relatively new to CliffBank's investment banking division, has a veteran teammate, Nicole Collins, who appears to be a reliable ally. However, when Mark needs her help in locating vital information for his part of a presentation they will be doing together, she feigns ignorance. During the meeting, Nicole produces the data out of the blue and wows the attendees with her analysis. Knocked off balance by the sabotage, Mark clumsily seeks advice from his boss, who is a brick wall when it comes to interpersonal dynamics. How should Mark deal with his backstabbing colleague? Three experts comment on this fictional case study in R0811A and R0811Z. Maggie Craddock, president of Workplace Relationships, classifies Mark as an anxious pleaser, one of four power styles identified by her firm's research. She surmises that Mark is actually sabotaging himself and recommends that he address his dilemma by first examining his own modus operandi. R. Dixon Thayer, former CEO of I-trax and himself once the victim of coworker sabotage, has empathy for Mark. However, he criticizes Mark's hasty, open-ended way of approaching his superior. Thayer lists four "rules for boss engagement" that Mark should follow, beyond proving that his sneaky colleague won't stop him from getting results at CliffBank. Deborah Kolb, of the Simmons School of Management, contends that Mark does not yet understand his division's culture well enough to know whether Nicole's behavior is the rule or the exception. Only by overcoming his political and interpersonal naivete, she argues, can he learn how to negotiate relationships in his new setting.

"This war for talent is like nothing we've ever seen before," write the authors, who have spent decades studying talent management and leadership development. Recently they interviewed executives at more than 20 global companies to identify strategies for attracting talent in developing economies - where, they learned, brand, opportunity, purpose, and culture play out in particular ways. A desirable brand affiliation in conjunction with inspirational leadership appeals to eager young high potentials suddenly awash in possibilities. Opportunity should imply an accelerated career track - or at least a fast-paced acquisition of skills and experience. Purpose ought to benefit a job candidate's home country and express the value of global citizenship. A company's culture should be meritocratic, value both individual and team accomplishments, and follow through on promises implied in recruitment. The authors claim that emerging markets pose special challenges for foreign multinationals. For instance, talent strategies that work at home will probably need extensive tailoring to succeed in the developing world, and an overreliance on fluency in English may impede spotting talent. It's critical to develop a core of local talent and to embrace and leverage diversity. In the talent race, a local company that creates genuine opportunities and exhibits the desired cultural conditions will often win out over a Western multinational offering higher pay.

Mark Landstad, relatively new to CliffBank's investment banking division, has a veteran teammate, Nicole Collins, who appears to be a reliable ally. However, when Mark needs her help in locating vital information for his part of a presentation they will be doing together, she feigns ignorance. During the meeting, Nicole produces the data out of the blue and wows the attendees with her analysis. Knocked off balance by the sabotage, Mark clumsily seeks advice from his boss, who is a brick wall when it comes to interpersonal dynamics. How should Mark deal with his backstabbing colleague? Three experts comment on this fictional case study in R0811A and R0811Z. Maggie Craddock, president of Workplace Relationships, classifies Mark as an anxious pleaser, one of four power styles identified by her firm's research. She surmises that Mark is actually sabotaging himself and recommends that he address his dilemma by first examining his own modus operandi. R. Dixon Thayer, former CEO of I-trax and himself once the victim of coworker sabotage, has empathy for Mark. However, he criticizes Mark's hasty, open-ended way of approaching his superior. Thayer lists four "rules for boss engagement" that Mark should follow, beyond proving that his sneaky colleague won't stop him from getting results at CliffBank. Deborah Kolb, of the Simmons School of Management, contends that Mark does not yet understand his division's culture well enough to know whether Nicole's behavior is the rule or the exception. Only by overcoming his political and interpersonal naivete, she argues, can he learn how to negotiate relationships in his new setting.

Mark Landstad, relatively new to CliffBank's investment banking division, has a veteran teammate, Nicole Collins, who appears to be a reliable ally. However, when Mark needs her help in locating vital information for his part of a presentation they will be doing together, she feigns ignorance. During the meeting, Nicole produces the data out of the blue and wows the attendees with her analysis. Knocked off balance by the sabotage, Mark clumsily seeks advice from his boss, who is a brick wall when it comes to interpersonal dynamics. How should Mark deal with his backstabbing colleague? Three experts comment on this fictional case study in R0811A and R0811Z. Maggie Craddock, president of Workplace Relationships, classifies Mark as an anxious pleaser, one of four power styles identified by her firm's research. She surmises that Mark is actually sabotaging himself and recommends that he address his dilemma by first examining his own modus operandi. R. Dixon Thayer, former CEO of I-trax and himself once the victim of coworker sabotage, has empathy for Mark. However, he criticizes Mark's hasty, open-ended way of approaching his superior. Thayer lists four "rules for boss engagement" that Mark should follow, beyond proving that his sneaky colleague won't stop him from getting results at CliffBank. Deborah Kolb, of the Simmons School of Management, contends that Mark does not yet understand his division's culture well enough to know whether Nicole's behavior is the rule or the exception. Only by overcoming his political and interpersonal naiveté, she argues, can he learn how to negotiate relationships in his new setting.

Simple, inexpensive programs that teach managers to be more supportive of their direct reports' work/life issues can generate big returns in employee health and satisfaction, according to a multiyear study of hundreds of frontline workers and dozens of supervisors.