In June Elston sued IV for breach of contract, claiming his four-year relationship with IV was wrongfully terminated after he sent an e-mail to senior management in April, saying an IV employee was diverting unnecessary finder fees to a person with whom he had close ties.

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This has created a framework that is restricting business school graduates who may be equipped with a deeper understanding of the issues than the internal employee base but lack the industry experience to apply for the few available senior-level jobs.

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Those include growth opportunities, compensation, benefits, work-life balance, career advancement, senior management, job security and whether the employee would recommend the company to others.

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If the bully is a senior manager or CEO, resolving a complaint can be tricky for a low-level human resources employee.

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The compliance director, a lawyer, patiently explains that as an employee of the manager there is little he can do other than discuss the matter with senior management-a small group which includes the guilty portfolio manager.

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The senior executive is worried about how well-positioned he is for the next CEO job, while the employee is worried about how long he will be able to keep his job.

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