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Case Study

GMC managing through the Covid-19 pandemic: Shooting for the moon or set up to fail

By Kamran Kashani, Tawfik Jelassi and Pallivathukkal Cherian Abraham

10 pages

December 2021

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Reference: IMD-7-2289

The case describes the challenges faced by a young and ambitious woman taking on a high-risk project during the unusual environment of the Pandemic. Her new innovative ideas are flatly rejected by her senior colleagues, mostly men but also a powerful woman Partner. While failure is not an option for the young consultant, it is not excluded either. Her upcoming promotion would largely depend on her performance on this highly visible project. The firm’s politics could derail her project and her promotion.

Learning Objective

Capture the challenges of a newcomer to a well-settled and highly successful organization as she takes charge and innovates
To highlight the issues faced by an innovative and ambitious young woman in an organization populated mostly by powerful older men with a history of success behind them.
To discuss options and tactics of change agents in an organization settled in its ways. Or, put differently, “how to fix it before it’s broken”.

Keywords

Taking Charge, Change Management, Woman, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Organizational Politics, Gender Equality

Settings

World/global
GMC (Disguised), Consumer Services
2020

Type

Field Research (Disguised)

Available Languages

English

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