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Ann Hopkins Case Summary

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Ann Hopkins was an extremely accomplished member of the Price Water house community, who worked in the Management Advisory Services department of OGS. Because of her astounding productivity and commitment, she was nominated for partnership in August 1982. What should have been cause for celebration, became an intense legal battle over the discrimination that Hopkins faced during the process of becoming a partner. Hopkins eventually won her case in a hearing with the supreme court in 1989. Hopkins was one of, if not the most qualified candidate nominated for partnership during 1982. One aspect of Hopkins’ work that set her apart from her peers was her dedication, she spent countless hours working on projects to ensure the company’s success. During a large State Department contract “Hopkins… billed [2,442 hours …show more content…

Ann’s history is peppered with examples of her poor interpersonal skills, a partner at the St. Louis office said that she alienated most of her group and that she needs a dramatic improvement in her people skills (Ann Hopkins 9). For team projects to be successful, the team must behave as a unit, however, Hopkins’ demeanor would only dismantle any sense of teamwork. Also, a friend of Ann’s who was a partner at OGS named Thomas Beyer reported that she was quite critical of her coworkers. At a lunch one day “[Ann] began to criticize a number of people in the office… it got more vitriolic… [Beyer] began to get angry” (Ann Hopkins 7). This immature conduct is condemned amongst adolescents, let alone an adult such as Ann, this behavior is especially unacceptable from someone who wishes to be promoted to a leadership role. Imagine the distraction within a group setting if those in the group had to concern themselves with whether their superior was gossiping about them off the

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