Publications

February 2004 (Revised May 2005)
Supplement

Confronting a Necessary Evil: The Firing of Alex Robins (B)

By: Joshua D. Margolis

A manager recounts his experience firing the person he was asked to replace and reflects on the challenges of the experience. Teaching Purpose: To role-play and reflect on tasks that entail harming other people to fulfill one's responsibility. View Details

Keywords: Resignation and Termination

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

January 2011 (Revised July 2011)
Supplement

Caterpillar, Inc. (B)

By: David F. Hawkins

Analyst must identify role of management and actuarial judgment in measuring corporate post employment benefit obligations and assets. View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Compensation and Benefits; Resignation and Termination; Manufacturing Industry; Mining Industry; Consumer Products Industry

15 Jul 2019
Book

Many Executives Are Afraid of Finance. Here's How They Can Gain Confidence

Finance can be intimidating, and many business executives don’t even try to get their arms around it. But Harvard Business School Professor Mihir Desai says business leaders need to engage with the world of finance in order to succeed.... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

January 2011
Supplement

Exit Strategy (C)

By: Clayton S. Rose and Justine Kelly Lelchuk

Supplements the (B) case. View Details

Keywords: Resignation and Termination; Service 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

October 2018 (Revised March 2019)
Background Note

Note on Managing Workforce Reductions

By: Ethan Bernstein and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Each individual who enters an organization will, at some point, leave. And yet most future leaders spend significantly more effort learning about recruiting than departures, despite the sensitivity and challenges associated with the latter. This note is intended to... View Details

Keywords: Layoffs; Downsizing; Workforce; Workforce Reductions; Delayering; Human Resources; Employees; Resignation and Termination; Management; Organizations; Reputation

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

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

August 1993
Case

You've Just Got to Fire Him (A)

A CEO has decided to fire his head of sales, but stumbles over the question of when and how? This case describes the background and the resolution that it had to be done in June of 1992 in a particular way. View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Resignation and Termination

Find at Harvard

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

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

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

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

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