Black Caucus Groups at Xerox Corp. (A)

In 1970, Xerox had a very advanced affirmative action program, but once hired, black employees faced serious problems, both due to outright discrimination and their exclusion from the informal support, information, and mentoring networks shared by other vendors. . Black workers responded by establishing seven independent advocacy groups in the United States. These black factions …

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The Mentorship of John Cooper (B)

John Cooper spent the past five years at Standard Holdings, an early-stage business development and private equity division of the Standard Group of Companies (Standard). Cooper had benefited greatly from the rich mentorship that Standard founder Alan Kirkpatrick had provided. Cooper was confident that he would reach his full potential and then decided to leave …

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Nadine Vogel: Negotiating Life and Work

Even as a teenager, Nadine Vogel knew she wanted to become a manager for a FORTUNE 500 company. This case documents her trajectory and life and career choices, from college to her decision to leave Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, where she led the creation of a new division to help parents of children with disabilities. …

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Wal-Mart Through An Associate’s Eyes: Ria Kumar’s In-Store Experience (B)

Choosing the right summer internship can often mean landing a good position with the company after graduation. Ria Kumar arrived well prepared for the summer interview after studying industry reports, research articles, and analyst reports. She spoke with alumni and even spent time at the local WalMart to study merchandising range and product placement. As …

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UltraTech Cement: A Transition Towards Behaviour-Based Safety

UltraTech Cement Limited was a leading global cement manufacturer that had implemented best safety practices in all of its units. Still, the company’s Rawan cement factory in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India, had experienced some serious security incidents in the past that had resulted in low morale. A detailed analysis showed that unsafe behavior on the part …

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Navigating Organizational Politics: The Case of Kristen Peters (A and B)

Columbia Business School freshman Kristen Peters hoped her summer internship at Taylor Reed (TR) would lead to a job offer in private wealth management. However, in the middle of her internship, Peters received poor feedback as TR executives mentioned her low energy and her disregard for company rules by looking at her phone during class. …

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Friends of Western Buddhist Order – Windhorse: Evolution

The Friends of the Western Buddhist Order, an organization dedicated to spreading the Buddha’s teachings in a modern context, founded a gift company called Windhorse with a two-part vision of making work a context for spiritual growth and fundraising. for charity. After more than 20 years in business, Windhorse faced challenges keeping up with its …

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Worlds Collide: Work, Life, and Social Media

While some cases may focus on the use of social media to promote the interests of a company or brand, this case is best as a springboard to explore social media because they can coexist or be integrated into corporate life. The case presents a challenge for a young direct reporter, a relatively inexperienced manager, …

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Lucinda Stewart: Attracting Allies and Mentors

For most of her career, Lucinda Stewart has been a woman involved in private equity investment banking, a largely male-dominated venture capital. Still, from the beginning of her career, Ella Stewart was able to find allies and mentors and thus accelerate her career progression (for example, she was a member of VC when she was …

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Managing a Public Image: Sophie Chen

Sophie Chen, an Asian-American MBA student at Harvard Business School, describes a career situation in which she was unable to effectively mentor a young man because her Asian-American apprentice conformed to an ethnic stereotype disapproved of. . Chen herself felt the need to distance herself from the stereotype and she concluded that there was little …

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