Barsade, PONPO, CNG 24, 3/01 consolidation, she had had more flexibility to influence her teachers' salaries. Now consolidated, it seemed the board was exerting more and more control over all of ABC's departmental operations. For the past three years, ABC had closed the year in the red, and had depended on the YMCB to make up their deficit. Last year, they closed comfortably in the black, and will almost certainly do so again this year, contributing positively to the overall financial health of the YMCB. Her previous employer, an independent nonprofit childcare center, had been equally demanding and money conscious, but was never tied to the ups and downs of a larger organization in this way. She wanted to share the situation with her teachers, to gain their understanding, but was specifically constrained from releasing financial information to them. Dissatisfaction was smoldering, and teachers were increasingly tense. Elizabeth felt that without the ability to offer even the most modest of raises, she could not overcome her teachers' waning motivation. Elizabeth walked past the classrooms where Sheryl, Wendy and the other teachers were winding down their day, en route to her weekly meeting with Claire and Sheila, feeling an acute responsibility both to her staff's well-being and to the well-being of the YMCB. To Elizabeth, the teachers seemed a little tense, but reasonably content. The situation could only get worse, though, and she is concerned about the longer-term implications. First and foremost, believed Elizabeth, she and Claire and Sheila must develop a strategy to re-energize her teachers as they were unable to influence the board to provide any additional monetary compensation for them