Publications

January 1998
Case

Jeffrey Smith

Jeffrey Smith and David Johnson have apparently irreconcilable differences over their firm's strategy, which have led Jeffrey to conclude that he must fire David. Focuses on whether Jeffrey has used his influence in such a way as to avoid conflict. If he has no other... View Details

Keywords: Resignation and Termination; Conflict and Resolution

10 Nov 2015
Op-Ed

Authentic Leadership Rediscovered

difficult decisions, terminating people and going against the will of the majority, as required to meet the situational imperative. These difficult actions can be taken while still retaining their... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George

January 1996 (Revised September 1997)
Case

Scott Paper Company

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Jeremy Cott

A professional turnaround manager attempts to implement a massive global downsizing program at the world's largest producer of consumer tissue products. The plan involves laying off almost one third of the company's 34,000 hourly and salaried employees and dramatically... View Details

Keywords: Assets; Global Strategy; Resignation and Termination; Goals and Objectives; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Sales; Value Creation; Pulp and Paper Industry

December 2010 (Revised September 2014)
Background Note

Layoffs: Effects on Key Stakeholders

By: Sandra J. Sucher, Elana Sara Green, David Alberto Rosales and Susan J. Winterberg

From 2004-2009, almost 40,000 mass layoffs occurred in the US, representing over 7 million workers. This note describes the effects of layoffs on employees, firms, and communities. View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Decisions; Employees; Resignation and Termination; Business and Stakeholder Relations; United States

12 Jul 2004
Research & Ideas

Enron’s Lessons for Managers

Skilling as COO. Putting aside the matter of business models and controls, "The main story," he said, is a case of "ethical drift." If you look at a lot of the fraud cases, before fraud there was View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

03 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

The Box Office Power of Stars

such, from the perspective of the trader, the market works much like any other stock exchange. Movies have an initial public offering once the project first takes shape, and traders can buy, sell, cover, and... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Entertainment & Recreation; Motion Pictures & Video

September 1992 (Revised August 2004)
Case

Martin Marietta: Managing Corporate Ethics (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine

Senior managers at Martin Marietta are considering two questions: how to assess the company's seven-year-old ethics program; and how to deal with employees' fear of retribution--real or imagined--for alerting the corporate ethics office to potential problems. The case... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Resignation and Termination; Employees; Law; Business or Company Management; Programs

18 Sep 2019
Op-Ed

WeWork—The IPO That Shouldn’t?

at least for a few months. Why the seeming vitriol around WeWork and Neumann? [Editor's note: Neumann resigned as CEO on September 24.) After all, the company has posted stellar top-line growth. View Details

Keywords: by Nori Gerardo Lietz; Financial Services; Real Estate

August 2010 (Revised August 2011)
Case

Richard Jenkins at SciMat

By: John J. Gabarro, Thomas J. DeLong and Jevan Soo

Written from the point of view of Richard Jenkins, the Executive Vice-President of Medical Devices at SciMat. Presents his reflections on the series of events leading to the firing of one of SciMat's general managers, Erik Peterson. A redisguised and updated version of... View Details

Keywords: Resignation and Termination; Managerial Roles; Situation or Environment; Perspective; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

03 Dec 2014
What Do You Think?

Can the Brilliant Jerk Be Managed Effectively?

on; beginning an intervention with the offender early on; providing an opportunity for attitude improvement, possibly with the engagement of a counselor or coach; and then terminating in a timely fashion the... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

January 2011
Supplement

Exit Strategy (B)

By: Clayton S. Rose and Justine Kelly Lelchuk

Case Supplement for 311075. View Details

Keywords: Resignation and Termination; Service Industry

22 May 2017
Lessons from the Classroom

A Luxury Industry Veteran Teaches the Importance of Aesthetics to Budding Business Leaders

Pauline Brown joined the HBS faculty following a tenure as Chairman of North America at the French luxury goods conglomerate, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. (Photo credit: Albert Cheung) To future CEOs who want to succeed in the business of making View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Beauty & Cosmetics; Apparel & Accessories; Auto; Tourism

March 2010 (Revised April 2012)
Case

Sheila Mason & Craig Shepherd (Abridged)

The case describes two individuals who have met and are in the process of starting a company together. Each is still at his/her former employer, and each has signed a different employment agreement that, on paper, may prohibit some of the contemplated acts—i.e.,... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Resignation and Termination; Intellectual Property; Law; Agreements and Arrangements

October 1996 (Revised May 2001)
Case

Cantuga Farmworkers Clinic (A)

By: James E. Austin and Catherine Overholt

The board of directors of a rural health clinic fires its executive director. The case elaborates the evolution and progress of the clinic under this director during a period of growth and a changing health care environment. Factors contributing to and questioning the... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Resignation and Termination; Managerial Roles; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Evaluation; Problems and Challenges; Rank and Position; Social Enterprise; Health Industry

December 2021
Article

Employee Responses to Compensation Changes: Evidence from a Sales Firm

By: Jason Sandvik, Richard Saouma, Nathan Seegert and Christopher Stanton

What are the long-term consequences of compensation changes? Using data from an inbound sales call center, we study employee responses to a compensation change that ultimately reduced take-home pay by 7% for the average affected worker. The change caused a significant... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Wages; Compensation and Benefits; Change; Performance; Resignation and Termination; Retention; Analysis

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March 2003 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Bertelsmann AG

By: Bharat N. Anand, Michael G. Rukstad and Christoph Kostring

On July 28, 2002, Bertelsmann announced the firing of its CEO, Thomas Middelhoff, in a move that surprised industry observers, analysts, and many employees. Bertelsmann, a privately held company headquartered in Germany, was one of the largest global media... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Corporate Strategy; Entertainment; Media; Change Management; Integration; Resignation and Termination; Private Ownership; Initial Public Offering; Business Units; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Germany

06 Jul 2009
Research & Ideas

Conducting Layoffs: ’Necessary Evils’ at Work

In this uncertain economic climate, downsizing and layoffs are a sadly frequent occurrence. Although bad news is always painful to deliver and to hear, the process of conducting "necessary... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

March 1999 (Revised June 2004)
Case

Keurig

By: Paul W. Marshall and Jeremy Dann

Nick Lazaris becomes Keurig's third CEO in three years, after one founder was fired and the other decided to leave the company. He inherits a company that has made several abortive attempts to launch its new coffee brewing system. Now, problems with crucial suppliers... View Details

Keywords: Resignation and Termination; Product Launch; Supply Chain Management; Problems and Challenges; Risk and Uncertainty; Manufacturing Industry