First-year MBA Research Articles

An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (a): Principal Matthew Landahl

This case reviews the facts behind an effort to transform an underachieving elementary school through the lens of the school principal and the district superintendent. Written from two different perspectives, the principal's A case (UVA-OB-1004) has Matthew Landahl, a principal at a high functioning school at central office meeting with superintendent and talking about his experiences as a Teach For America (TFA) teacher and how much he missed it. The superintendent asks him if he would be interested in taking on the principalship at Greer Elementary, explaining that it was about as close to a TFA school as he would find in a small city. Although he was told to take some time and think about it, Landahl immediately imagined himself in the role of principal at Greer and the challenges he would face. Would the position at Greer really offer the kind of leadership challenges and rewards he wanted? If he took the job, what strategies would be needed to help Greer students and staff succeed? And what kind of support would he need to ask of the superintendent? This case has been taught in an executive education school turnaround program for district administrators and principals. It could also be used in a first-year MBA leadership and organizational behavior course as an introduction on creating value through people-management and design. Excerpt UVA-OB-1004 August 30, 2010 AN ENTREPRENEUR IN THE EDUCATIONAL WORLD (A): PRINCIPAL MATTHEW LANDAHL A former Teach for America educator and a seasoned principal at a middle-class school in Charlottesville, Virginia, Matthew Landahl had all the right credentials. And he was bored. Although he was grateful for the opportunity to hone his leadership skills in a well-heeled, high-functioning elementary school, it was time for a change. Landahl intended to put some feelers out back home in Chicago about jobs openings for principals and decided it was only fair to let Albemarle County Public School Superintendent Pamela Moran know. They met in her office in the spring of 2007. As the two talked, the superintendent brought up Mary Carr Greer Elementary (Greer)—one of the two Title I elementary schools in the county system. Why was she talking to him about Greer? Was she thinking of making some changes there? If that school opened up, would he even be interested? . . .

Living Lean: Donna Johnson and the Bottlenecks

This case is part of the Living series, which presents accessible, everyday scenarios for a Lean process-improvement journey. In this episode on bottlenecks, an entrepreneurial stay-at-home mom contends with the limits of her own productivity and a shared laundry facility. Excerpt UVA-OM-1449 Rev. Nov. 4, 2013 LIVING LEAN: DONNA JOHNSON AND THE BOTTLENECKS Illustrations by Michael Twery. Donna Johnson lived in Trendy Hills, an apartment complex just north of the Darden School of Business, where her husband, Jordan, was a first-year MBA student. Donna had given birth to their son, Jake, only months before Jordan entered the program, and because her husband was often gone until late at night, Donna frequently found herself alone in the apartment with the baby. Out of boredom one day, she began to read the large casebooks that Jordan kept stacked in a precarious pile by the front door. Her favorite were the cases on Operations. Donna decided that she would do something with her time, so she began to research ideas for small businesses. She knew she'd stumbled upon something great when she saw some advertisements on Facebook for a local jewelry maker. “My designs are more stylish than that,” she thought. “I could drive traffic to a website with my own jewelry, using social media and other search engine optimization techniques. It's the perfect way to spend the time that Jake doesn't need me.” . . .

An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (a): Superintendent Pamela Moran

The superintendent's A case has Pamela Moran concerned about losing one of her up-and-coming administrative stars, who had accepted the position of principalship at Greer two years earlier. Moran had also heard whispers that she may lose a former TFA educator and a seasoned principal in a middle-class school because of his desire to lead in a more challenging environment. What should she do about the principal who was struggling and the principal who was bored? Would it make sense to offer the at-risk school leadership position to the ex-TFA principal? And if he accepted, what expectations would she set for him? And what about the school? What level of support should Moran provide Greer relative to the other 27 schools in the district? This case has been taught in an executive education school turnaround program for district administrators and principals. It could also be used in a first-year MBA leadership and organizational behavior course as an introduction on creating value through people-management and design. Excerpt UVA-OB-1006 August 30, 2010 AN ENTREPRENEUR IN THE EDUCATIONAL WORLD (A): SUPERINTENDENT PAMELA MORAN The irony, that Mary C. Greer Elementary in Charlottesville Virginia was named after a woman of color who devoted her life to educating youth, and that economically disadvantaged students at the school, many of whom were also of color, consistently failed to achieve ratings necessary to pass the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) benchmarks in either reading and mathematics or both, was not lost on Albemarle County School Superintendent Pamela Moran. Nor was the staffing problem she found herself thinking about during the spring of 2007. One of her most passionate, well-liked, and promising administrative stars had accepted the position of principalship at Greer two years earlier, and Moran was worried she was going to lose her because of that experience. In addition, Moran had heard whispers that she may also lose a former Teach for America (TFA) educator and a seasoned principal in a middle-class school because of his desire to lead in a more challenging environment. What should she do about the principal who was struggling and the principal who was bored? Would it make sense to offer the at-risk school leadership position to the ex-TFA principal? And if he accepted, what expectations would she set for him? And what about the school? What level of support should Moran provide Greer relative to the other 27 schools in the district? . . .

Sanofi-Aventis's Tender Offer for Genzyme

In October 2010, Henri Termeer, the chairman and CEO of Genzyme, received a letter from the CEO of Sanofi-Aventis announcing its intention to commence a tender offer for Genzyme. Termeer thought the offer undervalued Genzyme, given the number of promising new drugs in the company's pipeline and the success of its current drug portfolio. The case focuses on the strategic and financial considerations of a large corporate acquisition. To estimate Genzyme's fundamental value, students must conduct a discounted cash flow and other valuation analyses. This case is designed to be part of a firm-valuation module within either a first-year MBA principles course or a second-year MBA elective; it can also be taught to executives who have M&A experience and can bring extra insights regarding the strategic fit and leadership issues. Excerpt UVA-F-1716 Rev. Jun. 21, 2018 Sanofi-Aventis's Tender Offer for Genzyme On the foggy morning of October 5, 2010, Henri Termeer, the chairman and CEO of Genzyme Corporation, drove to the firm's headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Termeer usually spent his early mornings working from the indoor garden on top of the building, but on that day he went straight to his office, grabbing a cup of coffee on his way. One thing was on his mind—the letter he had received from the CEO of Sanofi-Aventis (Sanofi) announcing the company's intention to commence a tender offer for Genzyme (Exhibit 1). Termeer had been Genzyme's CEO for more than 25 years, leading the company through its growth from an entrepreneurial venture to one of the country's top five biotechnology firms. Yet the past two years had presented a significant test. Genzyme was just recovering from an unexpected contamination in 2009 at its major production facility in Allston, Massachusetts, which had led to shutting down the plant and limiting the supply of life-sustaining drugs for Genzyme's patients. As a result of the economic and reputational damages, the company's stock had plummeted, before rebounding as a result of the news of the tender offer (Exhibit2). When compared to the industry and the overall stock market during the previous decade, however, the stock had performed very well (Exhibit 3). The recent downturn in the stock price had attracted activist investors, which resulted in Genzyme entering into a cooperation agreement with Relational Investors and subsequently fending off a proxy battle with Carl Icahn. But Termeer fully understood that together the two activists controlled a substantive position of Genzyme shares and wanted to exit their positions at a gain (Exhibit 4). Sanofi, the leading French pharmaceutical company, had approached Genzyme as a potential acquisition at the start of the summer. After a few rounds of negotiating, Termeer and his board publicly rejected Sanofi's cash offer of $ 69 per share on August 29, 2010. The letter from Sanofi's CEO conveyed frustration with Termeer's unwillingness “to engage in constructive discussions” (Exhibit 1) and announced that Sanofi would be circumventing Termeer by taking the $ 69 tender offer directly to Genzyme's shareholders. . . .

The Accounting Case @ Learning Team 50

This case works well following an introductory class on transaction analysis and preparation of basic financial statements. A learning team of Darden MBA students meets to discuss the case assigned for the following day's accounting class. Two members who are CPAs realize that the team will lack basic understanding of the material unless they intervene. The case-within-a-case structure serves to highlight common misconceptions among students new to the material on one level and, simultaneously, common accounting oversights among entrepreneurs on the other. Excerpt UVA-C-2344 Rev. Mar. 24, 2014 THE ACCOUNTING CASE @ LEARNING TEAM 50 It was getting late on a cold Wednesday as Sim, delegated to prepare the next day's accounting case, began to share his work with the rest of his learning team. (An integral part of the first-year MBA experience at Darden, learning teams comprised five or six classmates who met nightly to prepare for the next day's classes.) It had been a grueling week, and everyone was tired and restless, so after a long discussion about a marketing case whose numbers made absolutely no sense, nobody objected when Michelle and Caroline suggested Sim share his spreadsheet with the group. Then they could all go home and prepare the case individually. Sim responded sheepishly: I had a company briefing, an office meeting, and a Global Business Experience Program briefing today, so I didn't spend as much time on the case as I would have liked. Honestly, I didn't even get to the second assignment question! Maybe Michelle and Caroline can check my numbers and help us out with that one. Michelle and Caroline, housemates who were the learning team's accounting experts, admitted that they hadn't read the case at all, but promised they would read it, review Sim's work on the first question, and address the second question. . . .

Tarp Warrants: How Much to Bid?

In 2009, Tim Laramy, a portfolio manager, was trying to decide what amount, if any, to bid for TARP warrants soon to be up for auction by the U.S. Treasury. This case discusses the 2008 Wall Street bailout, the Capital Purchase Program, and the histories of three major banks. It has been used in a first-year MBA program. Excerpt UVA-F-1642 Rev. Feb. 16, 2016 TARP Warrants: How Much to Bid? For once we'd like to get a fair value when we come into contact with the banking system. We don't want a ruthless bargain. —U.S. Congressman Brad Miller (D-NC), May 22, 2009 In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, Laramy Capital Management had managed to rebound nicely. Scooping up beaten-down financial stocks that had become out of favor following the broad market meltdown, portfolio manager Tim Laramy recouped a healthy share of his fund's 30% loss from 2008. . . .

Musictoday, Llc: Managing Inventory for Night Train

Musictoday, a music merchandising company based in Charlottesville, Virginia, began as a much smaller outfit working for the Dave Matthews Band. It grew to manage a significant, complex value proposition for a wide variety of performers, including the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Katy Perry, Depeche Mode, and the estates of Michael Jackson and Jimi Hendrix. Due to the many changes in the music industry, including streaming services and online purchases of branded merchandise, Musictoday managed complete websites, branding, and merchandising services for its clients. One of its smaller acts, Night Train, ran out of posters during the previous holiday season, and Musictoday's VP of Operations was reconsidering the inventory planning process for Night Train's next season, including the optimal order quantity. The updated case is an excellent way to introduce economic order quantity (EOQ) calculations in a core first-year MBA course. The case is also supported by supplemental videos that may be accessed in the instructor's Teaching Note. Excerpt UVA-OM-1204 Rev. Feb. 28, 2019 Musictoday, LLC: Managing Inventory for Night Train On a frosty morning in January 2019, Jack Murphy sat at his desk and thought about how he could get his client, Night Train, back on track. Murphy was VP of operations for Musictoday, a provider of e-commerce, ticketing, and merchandising services to the music industry. For a wide variety of artists, Musictoday sold tickets to live events, built custom online stores, and fulfilled orders for merchandise (often referred to as “merch” by fans), including CDs, vinyl, T-shirts, hats, posters, and stickers (Exhibit1). Musictoday also packed and shipped those orders from inventory that the company stocked in its warehouse in Charlottesville, Virginia. Sales of CDs and downloaded music over the past five years had taken a nosedive for most artists as consumers tended toward using subscription services such as Spotify and Pandora to listen to music. For revenue, artists relied increasingly on touring and merch, which was offered both at concert venues and online, via personalized websites. Music sales represented, for many artists, less than 5% of revenue. By 2019, 30% of an artist's revenue, on average, was derived from merch. Because of these changes, the merch industry had grown at 10% a year or more over the past three years—jumping from $ 2.82billion in 2015 to $ 3.1billion in 2016, and expanding from there. As often happened, growth in sales attracted competition. Merch companies created unique VIP kits, held promotional and pop-up store events, bundled merch with concert tickets, adopted a wider variety of clothing styles to appeal to a discerning market, and designed unique merch kits with specific relevancy to an artist's particular fan base, such as masks, poly resin toy guns, photographs, and more. It was imperative that Musictoday keep up with the market to remain profitable and take advantage of the growth potential—but due to the expanding complexity required to deliver such a wide variety of products, Murphy knew that doing so would require a more sophisticated approach to inventory management. . . .

Transformation of Marketing at the Ohio Art Company (a)

This case is intended to be part of a first-year MBA marketing course or a second-year elective in advertising, integrated marketing communications, market research, or marketing analytics. It provides students with two real advertising experiments and the challenges involved in executing them. It allows for discussion of the need for advertising experiments, and, at a more general level, the need to measure the return on marketing. Biases surrounding the field experiments provide an opportunity for discussion about the problems with establishing a causal relationship between advertising and sales. Excerpt UVA-M-0833 Rev. May 27, 2014 Transformation of Marketing at the Ohio Art Company (A) Ohio Art Company History The Ohio Art Company—among America's oldest toymakers—was headquartered in Bryan, Ohio, a small town in the northwest part of the state. Although Ohio Art made over 50 toy varieties including dolls and water toys, its flagship product was a drawing toy it had been selling for more than 52 years: the Etch A Sketch (EAS®). In that time, over 100 million units had been sold to consumers in dozens of countries. Ohio Art's slogan, “Making Creativity Fun,” demonstrated the company's commitment to arts and crafts products. Although most of its sales came from its toy business, Ohio Art also produced and sold custom metal lithography, which contributed one-third of the company's revenues and a disproportionate share of profits. In recent years, Ohio Art's toy business had experienced a bumpy ride, alternating between profits and losses throughout the 1990s and up through 2011. Product placement of EAS in the hit animated movie Toy Story was a shot in the arm for Ohio Art in 1995. In 1998, the company introduced a new doll called Betty Spaghetty, which was an initial hit with consumers, but its popularity and sales had waned over time. “Aimed at girls ages four and up, the small doll featured interchangeable limbs, spaghetti-like hair, and a variety of accessories, such as a cell phone, a laptop computer, and in-line skates.” Toy Supply Chain and Seasonality . . .

Veet: facing a cultural challenge in Pakistan

Subject area This case has been written after extensive field research. It is designed specifically for the International Marketing course. However, it can be used in Brand Management, Consumer Behavior and Marketing Management courses as well. Study level/applicability Final-year BBA students or first-year MBA students. Case overview Although introduced in Pakistan in 1999, Veet, a personal hygiene brand, has failed to realize its potential even after a decade. Pakistan is a conservative society and women feel embarrassed buying hair-removing creams. Humayun Farooq, the new brand manager, is at a crossroad; he believes in giving the brand a bold take-off by using fashion as a platform, whereas both top management and his assistant brand manager are skeptical of his proposition, as they see it as risky. His decision is critical, as there is pressure to strike a balance between global standardization and local cultural norms. Expected learning outcomes The students will be able to: understand how global brands need to conceptualize and implement local brand strategies, given the different market challenges; and apply key theoretical concepts in International Marketing such as cultural product adaptation. Supplementary materials Instructors must ask the students to study the following before discussing the case in class. For the on-air 2009 advertisement of Veet in Pakistan, visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Va9bA-ebqE. Although the case sheds light on the relevant Pakistani cultural and religious norms, students may further research and study the Pakistani culture. Nijssen, E.J. and Douglas, S.P. (2011). “World World-mindedness and attitudes toward product positioning in advertising: an examination of global versus foreign versus local positioning”, Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 113-133. Shivkumar, H. (2006), Managing global brand advertising, World Advertising Research Centre. Subject code CSS 8: Marketing

The Absheron Project: Bp's Production Sharing Agreement in Azerbaijan

This case is used in a Darden second-year elective in corporate finance, Corporate Financial Policies. It asks students to analyze the cash flows estimated for a production sharing agreement (PSA) between BP and the Azerbaijan government targeted for signing by year-end 2014. The primary relationship is a joint venture (JV) between BP and the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR). The JV is entitled to recover operating costs and capital costs from the proceeds of sales of the early production of the project and share profits earned from production, called the profit petroleum (PP), with Azerbaijan after the cost recoveries. Students are provided a detailed cash flow model for the project and for BP's equity investment and are asked to explain how the value estimates correlate with the risks assumed by the respective parties. This case is appropriate for students who have studied the principles of discounted cash flow and cost of capital. It is best positioned as part of a first-year MBA finance course as the last case in a module related to cash flow analysis. The case can also be taught in an MBA elective containing advanced corporate finance topics. It would be of special interest to students planning for a career related to energy, banking, or consulting, and also relevant for students interested in international business. Excerpt UVA-F-1753 Apr. 12, 2016 The Absheron Project: BP's Production Sharing Agreement in Azerbaijan Samira Bayramli, a recently promoted finance analyst in the Azerbaijan office of the global oil and gas company, BP, had a lot on her plate. It was November 2014 and Bayramli's office window at Port Baku afforded a picturesque view of the Caspian Sea. Earlier that week, Bayramli's supervisor had asked her to review a proposed structure for a new production sharing agreement (PSA), for which BP aimed to complete negotiations with the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) by year end. This contractual agreement would define the cost and profit-sharing scheme between BP and Azerbaijan for the exploration, development, and production of the shallow-water offshore hydrocarbon fields surrounding the Absheron Peninsula (Exhibit 1). The contract structure was complex, and Bayramli wanted to understand the project's risks and rewards and how those were to be distributed between BP and the host country. Production Sharing Agreements A PSA was a contract in which an oil-producing state granted an international oil company (IOC) the exclusive right to explore and produce hydrocarbons (oil and natural gas) at a defined location called the “contract area.” PSAs were used to provide a legal framework for investment in developing countries that lacked the financial or technical capabilities to develop their own hydrocarbon reserves. The IOC bore all the financial, geological, and operational risk associated with the project and was obligated to undertake a minimum exploratory work program (geological/seismic studies and wells). If a commercial discovery occurred, then the IOC paid the full costs of the field's development. . . .

Student Learning and Performance in Information Systems Courses: The Role of Academic Motivation

Despite the need for information technology knowledge in the business world today, enrollments in information systems (IS) courses have been consistently declining. Student performance in lower level IS courses and student assumptions about the level of difficulty of the courses seem to be reasons for lower enrollments. To understand how student motivation may explain learning outcomes in introductory IS courses, this study investigates the impact of intrinsic and extrinsic academic motivations as framed by self-determination theory on two measures of learning outcomes: (1) student self-reported measures of learning and (2) actual grades obtained in courses and course components. Using 269 student responses collected in a second-year undergraduate core course and a first-year MBA core course, both of which are offered in a traditional face-to-face classroom environment, study hypotheses are analyzed. Results indicate that the motivational model explains both the affective and cognitive perceptions of learning held by students. In examining overall grades and grades in course components, the motivational model, however, was unable to sufficiently explain student performance. Data also indicate that there are significant differences between undergraduate and graduate students in terms of their motivation and learning outcomes.

Book Reviews

Considers how moral conduct is encouraged in organizations through indirect guidance and the promotion of morals via routines, with a special focus on the students and faculty of Harvard Business School. Discusses Harvard Business School's physical environment; how the ordering enterprise extends to the academic labor market; Harvard Business School's supporting routines designed to facilitate skillful in-class delivery; an analysis of a random sample of teaching notes from the first-year MBA program; faculty members' nonteaching activities and what they say about the perspectives the school might favor; and the “quality control” needed in such an organizational model. Anteby is Associate Professor and Marvin Bower Fellow in the Organizational Behavior Unit at Harvard Business School.

The Search for Common Ground: Audience Closure and Producer Legitimation

We ask how the structure of audiences affects the evaluation of producers. We present findings from two different settings showing that audience closure generates a systematic positive influence on evaluations of producers. We attribute this effect to “common ground”, a positive impact on the identification of evaluators with the audience, facilitated by closure. The first empirical study, a re-analysis of Ezra Zuckerman’s 1999 study of stock analysts, demonstrates that financial markets reward firms covered by analysts with high closure, independent of the category mismatch effect that was Zuckerman’s focus. The second study is a natural experiment where instructors randomly assigned to teach first-year MBA course sections spanned pairs of student groups with differential amounts of closure. We find that the average rating given to an instructor improves as a function of closure in their evaluators’ network and that closure increases the buzz around an instructor, an indicator that audience members are s...

Transformation of Marketing at the Ohio Art Company (A)

This case is intended to be part of a first-year MBA marketing course or a second-year elective in advertising, integrated marketing communications, market research, or marketing analytics. It provides students with two real advertising experiments and the challenges involved in executing them. It allows for discussion of the need for advertising experiments, and, at a more general level, the need to measure the return on marketing. Biases surrounding the field experiments provide an opportunity for discussion about the problems with establishing a causal relationship between advertising and sales.

Curricular Innovations on Sustainability and Subsistence Marketplaces

Using synergies between research, teaching, and social initiatives, the author designed and offered a number of courses in the arena of sustainability: a first-year MBA course on sustainability for all contexts, a module required for all first semester business undergraduates on sustainable businesses for subsistence marketplaces as part of a broader course on professional responsibility, and a year-long interdisciplinary graduate course on sustainable product and market development for subsistence marketplaces. The author describes the approach in terms of its philosophical orientation of envisioning a better world as well as associated challenges, its substantive focus on subsistence marketplaces, and its methodological orientation of employing bottom-up teaching approaches. A concluding discussion places the author’s educational endeavors in perspective in light of the literature and existing learning frameworks as well as the principles of responsible management education.

About the Authors

About the Authors

Wlr Foods and Pilgrim's Pride

This case is a sequel to WLR Foods and Tyson Foods (UVA-F-1465), which presents Tyson Foods' attempt to acquire WLR Foods in 1994. Over the ensuing six years, WLR's stock price slides consistently downhill until 2000, when it is trading at a fraction of its 1994 value. When WLR's share price hits $4.59, Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (PPC) views the company as an attractive acquisition. The case asks students to determine how much of a premium PPC should offer and whether WLR's management will resist a takeover in 2000 as it did in 1994. It provides financial information that allows students to compute both stand-alone and with-synergies valuations. The case is best taught immediately following UVA-F-1465. It is designed to be taught as a firm-valuation exercise in a first-year or second-year MBA finance course. It is also suitable for executive and undergraduate audiences. Student and instructor spreadsheets are available for use with this case.

Quick-Start Guide for Crystal Ball

Designed for first-year MBA students, this note introduces them to Crystal Ball and thus includes the basic information about Crystal Ball that they will need for introductory courses on decision analysis.

Racial Homophily and Its Persistence in Newcomers' Social Networks

This study examined the formation and persistence of homophilous, or same-race, friendship ties among racial minorities and whites in a “newcomer” setting. Homophilous ties provide valuable sources of mutual support but may limit racial minorities' access to resources and information in organizations. Study participants were first-year MBA students who entered a program at the same time. We measured network ties at two times: six weeks after the beginning of the students' first semester in the program, and at the beginning of the following semester 3 1/2 months after the second survey. We also administered a separate survey measuring social identity salience prior to the first network survey. Despite the fact that there were fewer same-race ties for racial minorities to choose from, their friendship networks demonstrated greater homophily than those of whites early in the formation of the network and over time. Also, African-Americans were more likely than whites to seek out homophilous friendship ties in other class sections. Race as a salient social identity group membership was positively related to homophily for African-Americans, Hispanics, and whites. Over the time period studied there was no significant change in homophily among the racial groups' networks, despite the explicit promotion of diversity in recruitment of students, formation of heterogeneous classes and teams, and active support by the MBA program administrators. We discuss the practical implications of our findings for organizations that are attempting to increase cultural diversity and promote active interaction among individuals from different racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Newcomer Socialization and Stress: Formal Peer Relationships as a Source of Support

The present study examined formal peer developmental relationships within a graduate academic setting. Specifically, the relations between short-term mentoring provided by more experienced peers, multiple aspects of socialization, and stress were investigated. Data were collected from first-year MBA students working in teams which were formally assigned to second-year MBA peer mentors. Results indicated that the psychosocial mentoring provided by peers related positively to politics and performance aspects of socialization, while career-related mentoring related positively to the aspect of socialization that deals with the establishment of successful and satisfying relationships with organizational members. Both mentoring functions were positively related to the amount of help in coping with stress that respondents indicated their mentors provided. Further, mentoring was related to overall socialization, and overall socialization was related to work-induced stress; however, socialization did not mediate the relationship between mentoring and work-induced stress. The results underscore the valuable role that more experienced peers can serve in mentoring newcomers and enhancing socialization. The results also provide empirical support for expanding conventional views regarding the network of viable mentoring relationships.