Publications

September 1998 (Revised December 1998)
Case

Infinity Carpets, Inc.

By: Ronald W. Moore and Thomas R. Piper

A turnaround expert must determine whether a firm in distress is worth more as a going concern than its liquidation value. If so, the finances of the firm must be restructured in a way consistent with the bargaining power of the holders of the various securities. The... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Liquidity; Crisis Management; Value; Apparel and Accessories Industry

October 2004 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Alibris in 2004

Alibris, an online marketplace for rare, used, and out-of-print books, is trying to communicate to the professional book dealers who are its main suppliers that they are in the middle of a crisis. Supply is flooding the market, in part from individuals who simply want... View Details

Keywords: Price; Books; Crisis Management; Supply and Industry; Service Operations; Online Technology; Consumer Products Industry

November 1997 (Revised February 1998)
Case

Finansol

By: James E. Austin, Roberto Gutierrez, Marc Labie and Enrique Ogliastri

Finansol, created to provide loans to micro-entrepreneurs, encountered considerable difficulties after rapidly growing to become the biggest micro-enterprise lender in Colombia. Major restructuring was required to rescue it. View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Microfinance; Crisis Management; Problems and Challenges; Social Enterprise; Financial Services Industry

Find at Harvard

05 Jul 2011
First Look

First Look: July 5

(A): U.S. Treasuries in November 2008 Ryan D. Taliaferro and Stephen BlythHarvard Business School Case 211-049 Investment manager James Franey confronts an apparent arbitrage opportunity during the global financial View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2002 (Revised May 2003)
Case

Sa Sa Cosmetics

By: David E. Bell and Iris T. Li

Sa Sa Cosmetics has had spectacular success as a low-price retailer of branded cosmetics. But recently, growth has slackened. What are the causes? This case describes recent strategic initiatives and provides market research data to aid the students in diagnosis. View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Distribution; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Fashion Industry

06 Dec 2021
News

Rescue & Recovery

need humanitarian aid by the end of this year, an increase of 40 percent over 2020. Meanwhile, much closer to home, Mercy Corps is still recovering from a crisis of its own, after an abuse scandal in 2019 that led to the ouster of its... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; photographed by Stephen Voss; Social Assistance; Health, Social Assistance

01 Sep 2010
News

The Natural World

middle of the night wondering how I was going to get my job done,” recalled Tercek. “That never happened to me at Goldman Sachs.” Tercek has found that “a mission-driven nonprofit is harder to manage than you think,” in part because of... View Details

Keywords: Conservation; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Finance

Web

Leadership Execution and Action Planning (LEAP) - Course Catalog

challenges for companies in crisis situations. Unlike a turnaround, a crisis can be a catastrophic event, or a series of seemingly small events, that often surprise leaders. Most organizations are not... View Details

June 2001
Case

Cerner Corporation (A)

By: D. Quinn Mills and Matt Salloway

The CEO thinks people are not working long enough hours. He sends a memo. This series describes the backlash. View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Management Style; Leadership Style; Nonverbal Communication; Employees; Organizational Culture; Health Industry

November 2024
Supplement

FedEx Cyberattack (B): Reflections and Lessons

By: Hise Gibson, Frank Nagle, Alicia Dadlani and Martha Hostetter

Set in 2024, this (B) case provides an update to the (A) case (no. 625-049) about a devastating cyberattack that destroyed thousands of computers and business systems at FedEx’s European division in 2017. It describes lessons learned and changes made in the wake of the... View Details

Keywords: Cybersecurity; Disruption; Crisis Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Europe

December 2003 (Revised September 2005)
Case

Rein Chemical Company: Specialty Division

By: Francis Aguilar

This case describes corporate management's recent discovery of widespread unethical pricing transactions in one division and key managers' different views on how to respond. Students are asked to evaluate management's position and decide who should do what to resolve... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Price; Ethics; Business Divisions; Chemicals; Crisis Management; Chemical Industry

16 Mar 2023
News

SVB Collapse: HBS Faculty Perspectives

March 2011
Supplement

Padraig O'Ceidigh and Aer Arann: Building a Business in the Context of a Life - What Happened

By: Janet J. Kraus and Shirley Spence

Provides an epilogue to the problem posed in the companion case: what to do in the face of potential liquidation? View Details

Keywords: Natural Disasters; Crisis Management; Air Transportation; Entrepreneurship; Management Teams; Business or Company Management; Success; Decision Making; Air Transportation Industry; Republic of Ireland

December 1997
Case

Franco Bernabe at ENI (B)

By: Linda A. Hill, Jennifer Suesse and Mara Willard

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Leadership Style; Personal Development and Career; Management Teams; Management Style; Strategic Planning; Crisis Management; Privatization; Italy

04 Nov 2020
News

The Long View: Persevering Through Past Crises

perspective, we reached out to alumni who had confronted similar challenges—including the OPEC crisis, the Vietnam War, the Financial Crisis of 2008—and we asked them how they made it through those difficult times. And in this special... View Details

November 2006 (Revised August 2012)
Background Note

A Strategic Perspective on Bankruptcy

By: Bill George, Jim Sharpe and Andrew N. McLean

An overview of bankruptcy procedures in U.S. courts, recent filing data and a framework for evaluating a reorganization with creditors or considering opening a court-supervised reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. View Details

Keywords: Bankruptcy; Financial Distress; Turnarounds; Legal Aspects Of Business; Liquidation; Boards Of Directors; Hedge Funds; Strategy; Law; Governing and Advisory Boards; Negotiation; Crisis Management; Policy; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Credit; Financial Crisis; United States

July 2020 (Revised September 2020)
Case

MobSquad

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury, William R. Kerr and Susie L. Ma

Irfhan Rawji (MBA 2004) launched MobSquad in October 2018 to help American tech start-ups retain hard-to-find talent, many of whom struggled with U.S. work visa issues, such as software engineers with experience in artificial intelligence, machine learning, or data... View Details

Keywords: Work Visas; H1-B; Business Ventures; Business Startups; Labor; Human Capital; Human Resources; Crisis Management; Employment Industry; Canada; United States

Web

Challenges and Opportunities in the Restaurant Industry - Course Catalog

distinguish trends from fads, what drives their selection of menu items and how they manage their supply chain. Crisis Management. We’ll consider the critical issue of food safety and the View Details

October 2022 (Revised September 2023)
Case

SolarWinds Confronts SUNBURST (A)

By: Frank Nagle, George A. Riedel, William R. Kerr and David Lane

On December 12, 2020, SolarWinds learned that malware had been inserted in its software, potentially granting hackers access to thousands and thousands of its 300,000 customers. General Counsel Jason Bliss needed to orchestrate the company response without knowing how... View Details

Keywords: Cyberattacks; Cybersecurity; Corporate Disclosure; Crisis Management; Customer Focus and Relationships; Legal Liability; Information Technology Industry; United States