Is it ever ok to break a promise pdf

Case Study: Is It Ever OK To Break A Promise?

The submission of the project will be done 10/5/19 EST. After studying the case you have with the situation and answer the following questions (minimum length requirement 1,500 words).

We all break promises - when and why is it ok?
How would you summarize Sameer’s situation?
If it were you in this situation what would you do?
Assuming that Sameer took the competitors offer and you are Mr. Baba. Would you ever sponsor another employee’s MBA? Explain.

Case Study

TO: Patrick Fishburn, Asst. Manager, Operations FROM: Sameer Hopskin, Asst. Manager, Operations DATE: January 20, 2012 20:41 SUBJECT: RE: lunch today?

thanks for the burritos—and the advice. i’m totally convinced i need to go for the MBA and move into the business side of things. i’ve learned a lot here, but i can’t be a college-educated factory hand forever! but man the tuition is crazy expensive!

TO: Ioana Romano, VP, Operations FROM: Sameer Hopskin DATE: January 23, 2012 14:18 SUBJECT: Meeting with Mr. Baba

Dear Ioana, I want to ask a big favor: I’d like a meet-

ing with Mr. Baba to discuss the possibility of the company sponsoring me in an MBA program. I’m sure that I could add a lot of value if I had more business training.

In my time at BABA, I’ve had four pro- motions and consistently high evaluations. I can do the job of just about anyone in the factory and can work most of the software the engineering guys use. But I feel pretty far behind on the business side of things.

Please help me get a meeting with Mr. Baba. If he agrees to sponsor my MBA, I’ll be able to bring so much more to this company.

Sincerely, Sameer

TO: Sameer Hopskin FROM: Ioana Romano DATE: January 23, 2012 14:42 SUBJECT: RE: Meeting with Mr. Baba

Hi Sameer, Anil doesn’t think it makes sense for us

to send people off to do MBAs. He thinks it’s best to have our employees “get their hands dirty” and give them the training they need here.

He’s also worried that they’ll leave the company if they get “fancy credentials.” Manufacturing is not the most glamorous business, and MBA recruiters are known for tempting people into more “presti- gious” careers. Anil is big on commitment. He still talks about one senior manager—a man he’d spent years teaching the busi- ness to—who left a while back after taking

Is It Ever OK to Break a Promise?

A student must decide whether to leave the company that sponsored his MBA for a dream job. by Neil Bearden

The Experts

Carolin Oelschlegel, principal, Strategy&

J. Frank Brown, managing director and COO, General Atlantic

HBR’s fictionalized case studies present dilemmas faced by company leaders and

offer solutions from experts. This one is based on a class exercise used by the author.

Neil Bearden is a professor at INSEAD in Singapore.

September 2014 Harvard Business Review 119

HBR.ORGEXPERIENCE

an executive education program and being wooed away by one of our competitors.

I’ll try to get you a meeting, but I wanted to give you this background first. Anil started this company 20 years ago, and it wasn’t easy to get it where it is today. He’s really a committed boss, and he ex- pects the same from his employees.

Regards, Ioana

TO: Anil Baba, CEO FROM: Ioana Romano DATE: January 23, 2012 17:52 SUBJECT: Sponsoring an MBA

Hi Anil, Sameer Hopskin has worked for us for

five years. He joined just after completing his BS in engineering and has had an excel- lent progression with the company. He’s part of my operations team now, and he hopes to transition to a management posi- tion. I think his real goal is to work more closely with you at headquarters.

He’s hoping we’ll give him a one-year leave of absence to do an MBA, and that we’ll cover his tuition.

I know you don’t like this kind of thing in general, but I think you should meet with Sameer. He’s a real asset to us. Will you do that for me?

Respectfully, Ioana

TO: Ioana Romano FROM: Anil Baba DATE: January 23, 2012 18:37 SUBJECT: RE: Sponsoring an MBA

Fine. Tell him to come to my office tomorrow at 8 a.m. sharp.

TO: Ioana Romano FROM: Sameer Hopskin DATE: January 24, 2012 10:17 SUBJECT: Never Give Up

Dear Ioana, Thanks for arranging for me to meet

with Mr. Baba. I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, Mr. Baba was not keen

on my idea. I know he is a very successful man, but I think he may not appreciate fully what I could add to this company with some formal business training. The landscape is getting more competitive and

complex. Surely the company could bene- fit from a more contemporary perspective.

I know Mr. Baba respects you. I would really be grateful if you would talk to him again. I am a loyal employee. Please help me get Mr. Baba to understand that.

Thanks in advance, Sameer

TO: Ioana Romano FROM: Anil Baba DATE: January 29, 2012 05:02 SUBJECT: RE: Sponsoring an MBA

You’re right about that Sameer kid. He reminds me of me. If he works hard for a few more years I can see him on my team. See what we can do to keep him around.

TO: Anil Baba FROM: Ioana Romano DATE: February 3, 2012 12:17 SUBJECT: RE: RE: Sponsoring an MBA

Dear Anil, I talked with HR, and we can structure

a contract so that Sameer Hopskin will be obligated to work here for at least three years after finishing his MBA. If he leaves beforehand—and Legal says there’s noth- ing we can do to make that impossible— he’ll be required to repay us for his tuition.

Sameer is a good kid, and I think he’s right about the advantages of having a few more MBAs around here. This investment might not look so bad if you consider how much we paid those consultants last year.

Should I push this forward with HR? All the best, Ioana

TO: Ioana Romano FROM: Anil Baba DATE: February 3, 2012 12:27 SUBJECT: RE: RE: RE: Sponsoring an MBA

Get HR to draft the contract, and have that guy with the Russian name in Legal look it over. He doesn’t miss a thing.

If this kid comes back afterward work- ing for one of those consulting shops and charging us $10,000 a day, we’ll pay him out of your salary.

TO: Sameer Hopskin FROM: Ioana Romano DATE: February 6, 2012 13:42 SUBJECT: RE: Never Give Up

Sameer, I talked to Anil, and he’s open to spon-

soring your MBA. I also talked with HR about how to formalize this. The deal is the company would pay your tuition and commit to a position (with a promotion) upon completion of the degree. You would be obligated to work here for three full years; otherwise, you would have to repay the tuition. It’s a pretty standard setup— more or less what the consulting firms do.

That’s the legal part of it. But I don’t want to offer you this unless we settle something more important. As you know, Anil’s main worry is that you won’t return after your MBA. It’s not about the money. It’s about the precedent. If you set a good example, Anil may see value in sending more of our people to get their MBAs, something I know several others, includ- ing your friend Patrick, are interested in. But if you violate his trust, no one else will get the chance. You have to promise that you’re going to bring all your new knowl- edge and skills back to this company.

Sincerely, Ioana

TO: Ioana Romano FROM: Sameer Hopskin DATE: February 6, 2012 13:49 SUBJECT: RE: RE: Never Give Up

Dear Ioana, Thank you so much. I am fully commit-

ted to BABA. I will study hard and come back to really help this company grow.

Faithfully, Sameer

TO: Sameer Hopskin FROM: Patrick Fishburn DATE: February 6, 2012 20:41 SUBJECT: RE: MBA here I come

dude that’s amazing! you’re totally paving the way for the rest of us!

TO: Raji Hopskin FROM: Sameer Hopskin DATE: May 12, 2012 21:37 SUBJECT: RE: RE: Back to School

Mom, Tell dad I gave Mr. Baba the bottle of

whiskey he sent. Mr. Baba asked for your address, so I assume he’ll be sending you

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120  Harvard Business Review September 2014

a thank-you note. He’s old school just like dad. Please thank dad again and tell him I did look Mr. Baba in the eye when I shook his hand today. (By the way, I don’t need any more lessons in “how to be a man.”)

Love, Sammy

TO: Sameer Hopskin FROM: Lucia Baltimore, VP, HR DATE: August 15, 2012 09:49 SUBJECT: Tuition Payment Confirmation

Dear Sameer, Per our signed contract, we have made

a bank transfer, and your tuition is paid. Regarding your last question: Yes, your medical insurance will remain active. There is no cost to you.

See you in a year. Lucia Baltimore

TO: Sameer Hopskin FROM: Patrick Fishburn DATE: June 6, 2013 20:16 SUBJECT: catching up

dude, how is b-school wrapping up? things are good here. they gave me your old job, and i’m learning a lot. i’m psyched to do an mba myself. peace, p

TO: Sameer Hopskin FROM: Dana Knight, Principal, Zeisberger Assoc. DATE: June 10, 2013 07:12 SUBJECT: Employment Opportunity

Mr. Hopskin, I work with Zeisberger Associates, an

executive search firm, and we represent a client who is interested in your profile. It is a startup in Silicon Valley with some serious VC backing. Your background in engineering and manufacturing, together with your stellar MBA performance, is really appealing to the company.

Can we arrange a meeting to discuss? Cheers, Dana Knight

TO: Dana Knight FROM: Sameer Hopskin DATE: June 10, 2013 07:22 SUBJECT: RE: Employment Opportunity

Dear Ms. Knight, I have class all day, but I can talk this

evening after 6. Sorry to ask, but how did you find me?

Thanks, Sameer

TO: Sameer Hopskin FROM: Dana Knight DATE: June 10, 2013 07:25 SUBJECT: RE: RE: Employment Opportunity

Sameer, we looked through your school’s CV book. Your profile is clearly the best fit. Trust me, it’s a very cool company. Amazing office, tennis court, gourmet lunches, jazz playing all the time, etc. I would so work there! Talk at 6. Cheers,

Dana

TO: Dana Knight FROM: Sameer Hopskin DATE: June 10, 2013 19:21 SUBJECT: RE: RE: RE: Employment Opportunity

Dear Dana, I really appreciate your time today.

The job does sound perfect. As I said, however, my company is sponsoring me, and I promised my boss I would return. I wouldn’t be here without their support. I need to think about this.

Thanks again, Sameer

TO: Sameer Hopskin FROM: Dana Knight DATE: June 14, 2013 19:26 SUBJECT: RE: RE: RE: RE: Employment Opportunity

They loved you! But their investors are on their Board, so they’re being pushed to fill critical vacancies ASAP. Sorry but they want a decision quickly. You said your contract requires you to pay back your tuition. I can try to arrange for CloudSkim to cover those costs. As long as you honor the contract, you’re fine. Cheers.

TO: Raji Hopskin FROM: Sameer Hopskin DATE: June 14, 2013 23:47 SUBJECT: RE: RE: Tough Decision!

Mom, I still can’t figure out what to do. I feel

really bad about all this. I didn’t look for it. They came to me! I know how you and dad feel, but the new job is an unbelievable opportunity—with a salary twice what I’d be making at BABA. When I promised Ioana I’d go back, there’s no way I could

have predicted this. Please make sure dad knows that the world is different these days. Things are more competitive now.

Love, Sammy

TO: Sameer Hopskin FROM: Ioana Romano DATE: June 17, 2013 18:22 SUBJECT: RE: Headhunter

Sameer, That’s pretty common. Headhunters

have approached me several times in my career. I appreciate the heads-up. (No pun intended.) I presume you told them you already have a job?

See you soon, Ioana

TO: Sameer Hopskin FROM: Lucy Vinapola, HR Manager, CloudSkim DATE: June 24, 2013 10:14 SUBJECT: Offer of Employment

Dear Mr. Hopskin, I have attached your offer, with an an-

nual base salary of $146,000 and a sign-on bonus of 50% of your MBA tuition. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Yours, Lucy Vinapola

TO: Sameer Hopskin FROM: Ioana Romano DATE: June 25, 2013 18:22 SUBJECT: RE: RE: RE: Headhunter

Sameer, The job sounds fantastic. I get it. I

just want to remind you that you gave us your word you would come back. I want the person I supported then to make this decision, the one who swore to me he’d help the company that helped him. I trust you’ll do the right thing.

Sincerely, Ioana

HBR.ORG Tell us what you’d do. Go to hbr.org.

QShould Sameer return to BABA or take the CloudSkim offer? See commentaries on the next page.

HBR.ORG

September 2014 Harvard Business Review 121

SAMEER SHOULD take the job with CloudSkim. His intellectual opportunities there will be far better than with BABA. But he has an obligation to respect his agreement with his previous employer. So he must manage the emotional and moral side of things with BABA—and I believe he could make a very good argument that the decision to support him wasn’t a bad one even if he departs the company.

Both parties need to take a long view and refrain from burning bridges. For BABA, constraining Sameer and having an unhappy employee seems much less appealing than benefiting from an alumnus with great potential for a stellar career.

Let’s put this in perspective: We’re not talking about a marriage. It’s a market contract of sorts, and as with everything in the market, conditions change and people have to adapt. If BABA were to get into trouble, how long would it be before it laid Sameer off, pointing to the unexpected change in fortunes? As long as Sameer honors the contract and repays his tuition, why should he be expected to take a dif- ferent approach?

To be sure, BABA made a major good- will gesture, which it saw as setting a

precedent. So Sameer has a moral obliga- tion to his former bosses and colleagues to be very open and honest. He needs to make Anil and Ioana—and eventually

Patrick—understand what a big opportu- nity the CloudSkim job is and how much more he stands to gain in terms of per- sonal development than from what BABA can offer him.

Sameer should also try to engage Anil and Ioana in a discussion about how his presence at CloudSkim could benefit BABA in the long term. They might explore how he could maintain ties with the company and perhaps find new market opportuni- ties for it. He should think about people in his new networks who might work for BABA or how he could serve as an adviser. It’s certainly in Sameer’s interests to stay on good terms with BABA. He has spent

several years working hard to build his reputation there.

For their part, Anil and Ioana need to adapt to the changed circumstances. In fact, the situation is as much a leadership test for Anil as it is a moral test for Sameer. Does Anil really want to deny a promising young manager such an attractive op- portunity? That would give Sameer an even stronger justification for leaving, because the potential for growth at a company run by such a patriarchal leader would be limited. Anil and Ioana should accept that Sameer will leave them and should work with him to find ways to maintain a reward- ing long-term relationship.

If Sameer was feeling trapped in his job, perhaps Patrick and other bright young managers there are feeling the same way. Sponsoring MBA degrees for promising employees is a smart way to invest in their goodwill and commitment, and as Ioana pointed out, it can bring skills into the company that are more ex- pensive to obtain otherwise. The fact that CloudSkim made Sameer an offer he can’t refuse doesn’t make the decision to sup- port him a bad one. Anil and Ioana might need to think about their value proposi- tion to talent.

The Experts Respond Carolin Oelschlegel is a principal at Strategy& (formerly Booz & Company) in London and the European lead of the company’s Katzenbach Center.

This isn’t a marriage— it’s a market contract of sorts. Conditions change, and people have to adapt.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? SOME ADVICE FROM THE HBR.ORG COMMUNITY

SAMEER SHOULD go back. With business as well as technical knowl- edge, he would be highly valued and a poten- tial successor to Anil. CloudSkim is not an es- tablished firm, and there is no guarantee he’ll like or adapt to its culture. Michael Lu, actuarial analyst, Towers Watson

HE SHOULD go to CloudSkim and pay the penalty. Maybe BABA will make a counteroffer, but if it’s below the new com- pany’s, he has the right to switch jobs. Kornelis Wicaksono, master’s student, Lund University, Sweden

IF THE difference between the two jobs is purely monetary, Sameer should go back to BABA. If the new job provides him with an opportunity to better utilize his MBA skills, he should consider joining CloudSkim. Harjeev Sabherwal, MBA, ESSEC Business School, Paris

I DON’T see this as an employee–employer situation. Sameer made a personal commitment to an individual who helped make his MBA possible. I cannot conceive of any reasonable rationale that would justify breaking that promise. Rick Hasz, project management professional, Time Warner Cable

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122  Harvard Business Review September 2014

SAMEER SHOULD decline the CloudSkim offer and go back to BABA, as he promised.

He should consider the long-term per- spective: He has his whole career ahead of him, maybe 40 years. Many people who decide early on to go where the grass looks greener come to regret it. Besides, if Sameer is as smart and hardworking as he seems, I’m certain that more “dream job” opportunities will come his way.

This is a chance to prove that he has principles as well as talent, which would only make him more attractive. Any future employer would see three years of suc- cessful post-MBA work at the company that sponsored him as a very positive signal. And Sameer should know that the work he’d be doing after his return to BABA would be much more interesting than his previous work there. Anil and Ioana wouldn’t have sent him off to business school if they wanted him to go back to his old job. They’ve gone out of their way to invest in him because they think he’ll be a real asset.

Sameer shouldn’t think only about himself, either. If he proves to BABA that there’s ROI in sponsoring employee MBAs, it could help others who, like his friend Patrick, want to develop their skills. If he leaves, however, there is very little chance that anyone else in the company will get the same opportunity he did.

In addition, he should be wary of the headhunter’s advice. Dana Knight’s main concern is to fill the post for CloudSkim, not to help Sameer further his career. It’s true that those in executive search firms are interested in long-term relationships with talented people, but that applies mostly at the senior level, not with un- proven youngsters. I’d also advise Sameer to be a bit suspicious of the new company itself. I wouldn’t ever want someone to break a promise in order to join my orga- nization. If CloudSkim’s people take a dif- ferent view, it might say something about their values.

Finally, leaving BABA just feels morally wrong. Sameer should reread the e-mail

he sent to Ioana swearing that he would return. I’d find it hard to look at myself in the mirror if I went back on such a firmly expressed commitment.

I have some advice for Anil and Ioana, too. They’re absolutely right to expect Sameer to come back, though I think a three-year requirement is maybe a bit long. (I’d have made it two.) They were perfectly clear with Sameer about the

deal. But they seem to have more or less left him alone during his MBA experi- ence, and that was a mistake. The new environment, with new contacts and distractions, was bound to make BABA feel very far away.

It’s much smarter to keep in close touch with the students you sponsor. Consulting firms are good about doing that. They treat the time in school like an assignment for the employee and do their best to make sure it’s a successful one, in many cases setting up regular check-ins with mentors who see what the students are finding in- teresting, offer help, and share ideas about next steps. The goal is to keep the student engaged with the firm.

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The Experts Respond J. Frank Brown is the managing director and COO of General Atlantic, a global growth investment firm headquartered in New York. He was previously the dean of INSEAD.

Many people who decide early on to go where the grass looks greener come to regret it.

“I hate when our grandparent company visits.”

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