A junior associate at a consulting firm is startled to realize that she may have accidentally sexually harassed a colleague during a passing conversation. She wonders if she was in the wrong and is left worried that her reputation and relationship with the person may be damaged. The case explores what to do when a workplace interaction goes awry, from both the victim and perpetrator perspective. The theoretical basis of the discussion relies on the .....more

Miland and his wife Deepika were new franchisees, having acquired a franchise under Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) Inc in 2022. Four months into their new business, Rob, the master franchisee for the region, visited the restaurant to assess its operations and discuss goals for the business. During the visit, Rob imposed stringent demands related to operational hours, billboard, new equipment, and ownership transfer. The professional discussion quickly .....more

The technical director of Diagnostico de Laboratorio Argentina (DLA), Mariana Vega, was responsible for ensuring that an average of 5,500 samples were processed at the lab daily. The samples had three sources: samples collected on-premises, samples sent from the 40 other DLA labs, and samples sent from external labs. The company had recently been experiencing long lead times and increased costs. Two large customers threatened to switch to competing .....more

Two entrepreneurial friends were planning a new business venture, Woodlot Carbon Collective (WCC), to capitalize on carbon offset markets in Ontario. They faced the dilemma of choosing between two paths: a collective marketing model for small woodlots, requiring minimal upfront investment, or a more capital-intensive pyrolysis project. The collective marketing model involved consolidating, verifying, and marketing carbon credits from numerous small .....more

Mohnish Gupta, an HIV-AIDS physician, left a government hospital position for a pivotal position at The Global Health Engine (GHE), an international organization renowned for coordinating and promoting scientifically based medical efforts on a global scale. GHE provided Gupta with career prestige and a comprehensive package that doubled his government salary, but the job was exhausting Gupta, jeopardizing his health, and robbing him of precious time .....more

In mid-2022, Simerneet Singh, founding and managing partner of Singh & Kaur Partners, a leading full-service law firm headquartered in Bangalore, India, faced mounting internal resistance after introducing a new group of non-legal professionals to drive practice development. Seeking to enhance collaboration and client management, the firm had also rolled out a data management tool designed to consolidate client and prospect information. However, .....more

In October 2024, an employee for the US financial technology company Gestrava Technology Corporation was feeling undervalued and facing challenges in communicating effectively with the senior management team due to a directive from his supervisor to be included in all communications. The situation escalated when a critical change was needed in the performance goal data that the employee had already submitted to the senior management team. The employee .....more

In January 2024, Stephanie Carteret, chief executive officer of environmental solutions provider Sensor-H, faced a pivotal moment in her young company’s development. A report summarizing responses to an internal employee consultation exercise revealed deep cause for concern about the management of the company. Rapid growth had brought in its wake a series of personnel problems, which she needed to fix if the company were to be properly positioned .....more

An account manager at the National Development Bank was tasked with evaluating a $400,000 loan application from Swing It Again Studios, an indoor golf simulation business located in Edmonton, Alberta. The proposal, submitted by the founder of the business, sought funding for advanced Golfman 4 simulators and facility enhancements to position the studio as a premium player in the market. While the business model demonstrated potential, uncertainties .....more

Oscar & Oliver Brothers was founded in 2002 and faced numerous challenges, including the death of one of its co-founders and the impact of the Russia–Ukraine war. The company had, however, been resilient and had continued to grow during the war. Maria, Oscar, and Andrey, the three current co-owners of Oscar & Oliver Brothers, gathered in January 2024 for their annual strategic planning meeting. Maria was reluctant to pursue a strategy of internationalization .....more