Executive Summary
Shanthala, a new joinee in a technology startup, Augur, is struggling with the problem of her 
supervisor, Ritesh, taking credit for her hard work. She is deeply affected by Ritesh’s attitude 
towards her and other team members’ effort and she wants to come out with a solution. The 
options she has are talking directly to Ritesh, talking to Varun for Team Reallocation or 
complaining about Ritesh, do nothing and wait till Ritesh is promoted or switch her job. The criteria 
for evaluating these options can be expected effectiveness, potential damage to her career, time 
taken to implement and psychological pressure felt. Based on the evaluation of the various 
options possible, the best plan for Shanthala seems to be talking to Ritesh about her concerns 
and her expectations from the work. She must approach Ritesh to discuss her issue and 
emphasize that her contribution has been central to his successful presentation.

Index
1. Situation Analysis………………………….……………………………………………1
2. Opportunity Statement………………………………………………………………….1
3. Options for the Problem………………...………………………………………………2
4. Criteria of Evaluation……………………………………………………………………2
5. Evaluation of options……………………………………………………………………2
6. Recommendation……………………………………………………………......……...4
7. Action Plan and Implementation……………………………………………………….4
8. Contingency plan…………………………………………………………………….….4

Situation Analysis
Hailing from a small town, Shanthala wanted to come out of her cocooned existence and 
explore the ethos of a big city. An ambitious fresh graduate, she chose to join Augur, a 
technology startup. She was assigned under Ritesh, an achiever and also ‘a fun guy to 
work with. She was a disciplined, organized worker who finished her work well before the 
deadline and believed that one’s work should speak for oneself. Though Ritesh assigned 
a larger share of work to Shanthala, she sensed that he was denying her the due credit. 
On multiple occasions, he claimed her work to be his, thus garnering praise from Varun,
the CEO and others. Shanthala thought her eureka moment had arrived when she 
discovered an important flaw in the Neoven account. She was very disappointed and 
infuriated with Ritesh when he took all the credit for this too in the meeting but she did not 
speak up for herself.
Opportunity statement
Shanthala was deeply affected by Ritesh’s attitude towards her and other team members’ 
effort. Though she raised this issue with her team-mates, they brushed it aside saying
that Varun was aware of the team’s efforts. This left Shanthala wondering if her hard work 
was futile and what she could do to ensure that she got credit for her ideas and efforts.

Options
1. Shanthala can talk to Ritesh
2. Shanthala can talk to Varun for Team Reallocation/Complain about Ritesh
3. She does nothing and waits till Ritesh is promoted
4. She switches job
Criteria for evaluation
1. Expected effectiveness
2. Potential damage to the career
3. Time Taken to Implement
4. Psychological pressure felt
Evaluation of Options
First we score all the options according to the criteria form 1-5 (with 1 being least and 5 
being most) and then explain each of them in detail
Talk to Ritesh Talk to Varun Do nothing Switch job
Effectiveness 3 2 1 5
Potential damage 2 4 2 3
Time taken 1 3 5 4
Pressure felt 2 3 5 2
Option 1: Talk to Ritesh
Talking to her team leader will take the least time and since he is the team leader he is 
approachable. After listening to her, Ritesh may or may not take any action to redress 
her issues as he may have his sight set on his own promotion. Since the matter has not 
been escalated whatsoever, there will be almost no backlash to Shanthala’s office life, 
except if for some reason Ritesh becomes vindictive towards her.

Option 2: Talk to Varun for team reallocation/ complain about Ritesh
Shanthala will be bypassing her team leader and talking directly to the CEO. This might 
take more time because Varun is a busy man and talking to a new comer about team 
problems who is under a star performer is not at the top of his priority list. Shanthala’s 
problem might not get attended to effectively. Moreover, the potential backlash is 
enormous because if Ritesh comes to know of this conversation he may become less 
inclined to be friendly towards her. Hence Shanthala might feel immense psychological 
pressure. We also don’t have any information about the other team leaders and can’t 
comment if her problem will be solved by switching teams. 
Option 3: Do nothing until Ritesh’s promotion
Ritesh is rumored to become the next VP, so his actions may be directed towards that. 
There is no certainty regarding Ritesh’s promotion, so adopting this course will mean that 
her present state of mind will persist. There is a chance that Ritesh’s behavior will not 
change post-promotion so this may not be the best course of action. Also, Shanthala may 
continue to be subjected to the same practice in the future. 
Option 4: Switch jobs
The main reason for Shanthala to switch jobs would be lack of due visibility and injustice. 
Switching jobs to a bigger company will mean there will a dedicated department for 
redressals, in case she faces the same problem there. This might also be an opportunity 
for her to choose a company where she is better suited to the culture. Nevertheless, 
Shanthala’s hesitance to speak up or ability to cope up with corporate culture might 
persist.Recommendation
Based on the evaluation of the various options possible, the best plan for Shanthala 
seems to be talking to Ritesh about her concerns and her expectations from the work. 
Action Plan and Implementation 
Shanthala must approach Ritesh to discuss her issue and emphasize that her contribution 
was central to Ritesh’s successful presentation. Shanthala should adopt a demeanor
which is neither too confronting nor too meek. She could start by seeking feedback on 
her performance so far and inquire if Ritesh has any complaints regarding her work.
Further, she should clearly articulate to Ritesh how her morale has dropped low owing to 
Ritesh not acknowledging her contribution. With the amount of effort that the team puts 
in while working on a project, it is demotivating if the team leader does not appreciate the 
efforts of the individual members.
She could ask Ritesh the reason behind not being given due credit. At the same time, she 
needs to point out the way she looks at life and her work ethics. The reason behind her 
conduct is her previous experience and cultural upbringing. This will also portray her 
genuineness to understand the reason for the lack of recognition from Ritesh.
Contingency Plan
There is a possibility Ritesh will not pay enough heed to Shanthala’s grievances. In such 
a scenario, Shanthala will have to show some courage and leadership. She can choose 
not to reveal her findings to Ritesh but directly address it to the team during meetings. 
This can certainly gain her ample amount of visibility and also will prevent Ritesh from 
stealing her thunder.