Compliance in HR

199,00 €

This case study is ideal for a 45 to 90 minute session.

For more details visit the product page.

What you will get:

The case which you can distribute among your students.
A mini teaching note, as a supplement, that you can take into the classroom for a quick overview
A very detailed teaching note that provides a detailed walkthrough through each part of the case. I recommend to not send this to your students.

Occasionally, I send out additional material (slides, videos, audios, free of charge, when you are registered and have bought the product.

When compliance is compromised, it’s rarely just about the rules.

At first glance, this case appears to be a straightforward compliance issue: a promising employee in the U.S. subsidiary of a German company is denied the opportunity to apply for an internal position. But beneath the surface, this is a story about blurred boundaries, role confusion, and the fragile fabric of trust in international HR leadership.

Meet Peter, the recently appointed global Head of HR at GWS, a growing, family-owned company. He receives a troubling email from an employee in the U.S. branch. A complaint has gone unanswered. Digging deeper, Peter discovers that the local HR Head, Lisa—once a trusted colleague and now his subordinate—has concealed the issue. Complicating matters: the employee was blocked by Lisa’s husband, Markus, a senior executive at the same site.

The dilemma isn’t just ethical or procedural—it’s relational. Lisa was once Peter’s peer. Now he must confront her actions as her superior, risking not only operational fallout but also political blowback and personal discomfort. What should Peter do when competence, loyalty, and power are entangled?

This case is ideal for a 45- to 90-minute session in:

HR leadership seminars
Compliance and ethics training
Organizational development or role theory courses
International management or global HRM programs
Coaching or supervision workshops focused on authority, trust, and systems dynamics

Key learning themes include:

When role boundaries erode: navigating dual relationships in HR
Understanding compliance not as control, but as an expression of trust
Diagnosing organizational silence and subtle resistance
Exploring the leadership task of balancing ethical clarity with relational complexity
Systemic consequences of inaction at the top

What you will get:

The full case text, ready to share with students
A concise, in-class teaching note for quick orientation
A detailed teaching note, with learning outcomes, discussion plans, and role-based analysis (not intended for student distribution)