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This case study aims to expect the following learning outcomes. A better understanding of the nature of a psychological contract being developed by employees in non-profit organizations, especially working in the areas of social development and the impact of this contract on employee commitment. Enhanced understanding of conflict of interest (personal versus public) in social development organizations and its implications. Identification of issues of task conflict versus interpersonal conflict and its impact on organizational functions. Identification of dynamics of exclusion of internal stakeholders from organizational strategic decision-making process along with its impact on organizational performance and sustainability. Devising a mechanism to avoid such conflicts in social development organizations, in particular, and organizations in general.

This case highlights five issues as follows: it identifies and discusses conflict of interest between privileged class possessing decision-making positions in the board of directors and implementers working at the grassroots level at ANMOL (a non-governmental organization working for poor girls education in Baluchistan-hub of China–Pakistan Economic Corridor); it discusses the basis for formulation of psychological contracts and impact of its violation on stakeholder’s commitment and motivation; it discusses the implications of difference of opinion of both stakeholders regarding organizational vision and possible drawbacks of converting task conflict into interpersonal conflict on individuals, organization and end-users; it explores implications of exclusion of key stakeholders from organizational decision-making and its impact on organizational smooth working and sustainability; and it suggests a mechanism to avoid conversion of task conflict into interpersonal conflict and smooth functioning of an organization. Hence, this case discusses theories of conflict of interest between top-leadership and workforce, psychological contract and implications of its breach on employee motivation and organizational sustainability in the context of social development organizations.

This case provides sufficient material to be discussed at master level courses (management sciences – master of business administration (MBA) level) such as human resource management (dynamics of psychological contract and conflict resolution), leadership and change management in social development organizations (social enterprises).

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 7: Management Science.

The case primarily revolves around the establishment, alignment and maintenance of expectations within a work environment. Specifically, the case focuses on the challenges that were created by the expectations that Kofi Nyarkoh had of his employee, Kwame Owusu, and the expectations that Kwame in turn formed based on the process surrounding his employment relationship with Kofi. The case is intended to help students assess a business situation and define the perceptions and expectations of stakeholders; assess the impact of differences in perceptions and expectations on the attitudes, behaviors and motivation in the workplace and develop appropriate recommendations.

The case was written based on a combination of field and telephone interviews and other communication between one of the authors and Kofi.

The case presents the story of Rococo LLC's founder and one of his key employees. Both men were originally from Ghana. They met in the USA through a mutual friend, and Kofi hired him to work on a client site for Rococo LLC despite Kwame's insufficient work experience.

This case is intended for students of organizational behavior, human resource management and management both at advanced undergraduate and graduate levels.

The learning objectives to be drawn from the case are as follows: to explore the violation of the psychological contract; to understand the notion of the boundaryless career; to assess the advantages and disadvantages of leaving an employer; to explore the factors to be considered when contemplating a career move; and to identify career management strategies in the digital age.

Management practices at Media Inc. have resulted in a growing sense of dissatisfaction for Palesa Khume who had been hired to head up the management team of a new glossy women’s magazine, Mirror Me. This project was exciting and exhilarating for Khume. The shifting of agreed-upon objectives causes increased stress to Media Inc. employees and comes to a head with the reneging of the agreed-upon year-end bonus to Khume. She is now faced with the decision whether she should stay or leave the organisation.

Postgraduate Business students, especially MBA students.

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CSS 6: Human Resource Management

Ostensibly the case is about an employee resigning from the organization due to lack of support, job clarity, and information about reporting structure. It addresses issues of socialization process, performance appraisal, and communication issue between colleagues in a consulting organization. The case serves as medium for diagnosis and action planning around integration of new employees into the organization, effective performance appraisal, and resolving communication barriers.

Human Resource Management

Postgraduate business students, particularly MBA students.

This case examines the working environment of Fritz Publishing, a small independent South African publishing company. Fritz Publishing was established in 1960 by Nick Fritz. After his retirement, ownership passed to his son, Martin. In 2011, Martin Fritz decided to sell the company to the Prys Group, an international publishing house headquartered in Germany. February 2011 saw the arrival of a newly appointed CEO for Fritz Publishing, Vadim Arshavin, who had already experienced excellent financial results as the head of another publishing house. In the wake of his arrival, the company experienced several changes. The case highlights the challenges at Fritz Publishing that have resulted in a growing sense of dissatisfaction. After Martin Fritz sold Fritz Publishing, the organisational culture shifted quite drastically which created challenges for managers, employees and customers alike. Employees, including some members of management, are de-motivated, disengaged and frustrated because of the leadership style and behaviour of the new CEO Vadim Arshavin and consider their psychological contracts to have been breached. The case explores factors that have helped create this situation. It considers challenges to the sustainability of the organisation given recent events including an internal employee engagement survey and feedback from key customers. The case further examines the potential dangers that toxic leadership creates within organisations and encourages discussion on ways this form of destructive leadership can be handled.

The learning objectives to be drawn from the case are: to assess the impact of leadership on organisational culture; to analyse how leadership impacts the psychological contract; to identify the cross-cultural factors at play in an emerging market organisation and to understand the way a toxic leadership style can detrimentally affect a high-performance workplace. In addition, there are further learning objectives that can be explored. These are: to examine the change process and associated challenges with the introduction of new leadership into a family-type organisational culture; to understand how breach can be avoided and/or how the psychological contract can be reconstructed.

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

CSS 6: Human Resource Management.

In June 2013, redbus.in, a bus ticketing website, was acquired by the Ibibo Group, a subsidiary of South Africa based internet and media firm Naspers Ltd, for USD 135 million. Soon after signing the deal, Phanindra Sama - CEO and co-founder of redBus, went for a holiday to London along with his parents. Sama remained incommunicado during the 10 day trip by not acquiring a local number and not accessing his emails. During Sama's absence, senior management team of Alok Goel and Satish Gidugu at redBus along with three mid-level managers submitted their resignation. Apart from employees of redBus, the Ibibo takeover team was also ‘foxed’ as desperate calls and emails to Sama elicited no response. This case examines the chaos created due to Sama's absence and helps in understanding the issues when a technology start up is acquired.

Kevin McRider, the COO of a fledging research facility, needed to foster an environment where scientists explored the boundaries of the metals, chemicals, polymers and tools used to create innovating medical devices. The freshly-minted PhDs he hired were enthusiastic to design and conduct research projects that bridged their scientific disciplines, in a collaborative workplace, with time allocated to individual projects as well. Effectively managed, their research would help the parent corporation leapfrog over existing or near-future technology.

The problem for McRider was how to get Lintell to realize his vision of a collaborative organizational culture that promoted revolutionary scientific discoveries. His challenges included managerial behaviors that prohibited critical interaction and information sharing, as well as disruptive organizational dynamics he himself had set in motion including pressures to focus only on certain research goals and projects at the expense of creative exploration, and the violation of the psychological contracts McRider himself had created with the scientists during recruitment.

For 28 years Alaska, like the vast majority of the nation, has struggled with growing prison populations and shrinking budgets. In 1995, the Alaska Department of Corrections, faced with sanctions unless they ameliorated their crowded prison conditions, looked to the popular practice of contracting out its correctional operations by sending 650 prisoners to a private out-of-state prison. But, as the costs of prisoner litigation and transportation mounted, the state began to consider building its own private prison, a decision which many state lawmakers and business entrepreneurs argued would allow the state to stretch scarce dollars by providing cheaper and better quality prisons, return millions of dollars to the state economy, and create permanent jobs. In this decision case, students are required to put themselves in the role of the Alaska Legislature to determine whether they should permit the building and operation of a private prison in one of Alaska's remote communities. The students must analyze and juggle the complex and often competing set of objectives, values, and political tensions intrinsic to all privatization decisions.

Human resource management

This case is suitable for use for advanced-level undergraduate students (e.g. in their third or fourth year of study) and graduate-level students enrolled in human resource management, industrial relations, organizational behavior and legal courses (e.g. business law and ethics, employment law). It can be used also in training courses and sexual harassment workshops for employees, particularly those with supervisory responsibilities or who are involved in personnel, training, or industrial relations activities. The case has been class tested with MBA students enrolled in a course on organizational behavior.

In March 2014, William Wong, the CEO of Zejaya Corporation faced a dilemma. He had just been told some disturbing news about Larry Pang, his executive director, which may or may not have legal implications for the company in relation to sexual harassment. Two of his managers had confided in him that Linda Tan, one of his managers who had recently resigned, had asked them to tell him about Pang's repeated attempts to court her in the past several months. He was undecided on how he should handle the problem.

This case was developed for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation. The case provides students the opportunity to learn about the potential ethical and legal issues surrounding workplace romance and sexual harassment at work.

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The case illustrates the application of the prospect theory to risk-seeking investor behavior. It also provides an example that standard valuation methods such as discount cash flow), discount divided model and price multiples are not always applicable to value a stock. The students are exposed to a real situation where investors turn risk-seeking. The case offers insights into why irrational investors are attracted to risky assets and their probable socio-demographics.

This case illustrates a case when investors become risk-seeking and how the prospect theory explains the investors’ risk appetite. Energy Earth PCL is a coal importer and distributor incorporated in Thailand. Its shares had been suspended for trading before the Stock Exchange of Thailand allowed temporary trading in July 2019. A series of unfavorable events leading up to the temporary trading period suggest that the company’s financial health was severely distressed. Its book value was presumably negative and its going concern was threatened. However, investors still bought the shares with the hope of hitting the jackpot. The case presents an example of the psychological aspects of humans when investing in a stock market. With an application of the prospect theory, irrational risk-seeking behavior explains the motivation to invest in risky stocks.

Introductory finance course.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS: 1 Accounting and Finance.