Publications

September 2017 (Revised March 2018)
Case

Chai Point: Disrupting Chai

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Ramana Nanda and Rachna Tahilyani

Chai Point is India’s largest organized chai retailer. It has missed its target for retail store openings by approximately 25%, goals that are very important to its investors who are also board members. However, it has developed an exciting new internet-based tea... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Lawsuits and Litigation; Crisis Management; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Design; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Crime and Corruption; Business Organization; Business Model; Ethics; Corporate Accountability; Governance Compliance; Policy; Compensation and Benefits; Resignation and Termination; Laws and Statutes; Legal Liability; Business or Company Management; Risk Management; Business Processes; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Failure; Agency Theory; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Salesforce Management; Public Opinion; Banking Industry; North and Central America

June 2017 (Revised September 2021)
Case

Sales Misconduct at Wells Fargo Community Bank

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Dennis W. Campbell, Susanna Gallani and Amram Migdal

Set in early 2017, this case examines widespread sales misconduct at Wells Fargo Community Bank. Wells Fargo's governance and controls are described in the lead up to the September 2016 announcement that Wells Fargo had settled with regulators for $185 million in... View Details

January 2021 (Revised April 2022)
Case

Best Buy's Corie Barry: Confronting the COVID-19 Pandemic

By: William W. George and Amram Migdal

This case examines the leadership of Corie Barry, the new CEO of Best Buy, with a focus on actions the company took in 2020 to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. The case includes a history of Best Buy’s strategy and leadership, including the transitions between the... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Change; Disruption; Volatility; Communication; Competency and Skills; Customers; Decision Making; Ethics; Fairness; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Finance; Cash Flow; Financial Condition; Financial Liquidity; Goods and Commodities; Corporate Governance; Health Pandemics; Human Resources; Executive Compensation; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Resignation and Termination; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Innovation and Invention; Jobs and Positions; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Job Design and Levels; Job Interviews; Job Offer; Labor; Employment; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Law; Leadership; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Management; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Management Style; Management Succession; Management Systems; Management Teams; Risk Management; Operations; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Logistics; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Supply Chain; Organizations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Outcome or Result; Personal Development and Career; Retirement; Work-Life Balance; Planning; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Relationships; Business and Community Relations; Labor and Management Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Safety; Science; Strategy; Retail Industry; North and Central America; United States; Minnesota

September 2020
Case

Uber at a Crossroads (2017)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case describes the history of Uber, its business model—including the ways it differed from that of the traditional taxi industry—and its competition with Lyft. The case is set in 2017, a year in which Uber was plagued by even more scandals than usual, though its... View Details

01 Feb 1997
News

Ban the Butterfly Rule for Corporate Directors

You're only as good as your job title? Apparently so, if you're the director of a major company. A corporate governance precept currently in vogue calls for outside directors to offer to resign if they change (or lose) their jobs.... View Details

Keywords: Joseph Hinsey IV

18 Aug 2017
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: Courageous Leader Triggers a Moral Revolt of CEOs Against Trump

shadows of white nationalists. President Trump’s comments striking moral equivalence between these extreme groups and people who opposed them only deepened Frazier’s angst. By Sunday Frazier had decided to resign from President Trump’s... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George

Joseph S. Cullinan

In 1913, when Cullinan resigned his presidency, Texaco controlled over 4% of the nation’s oil production. Cullinan had grown Texaco from an initial capitalization of $3 million to one of $30 million with assets of approximately $60... View Details

Keywords: Utilities & Energy

September 2011
Case

Anne Riley: Laid Off

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Phillip Andrews

This case describes the experience of Anne Riley, a 28 year old private equity analyst, who was laid off in 2008. The case explores the emotions she felt throughout the process and how she handled the experience. View Details

Keywords: Resignation and Termination

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

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

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

01 Mar 2007
News

LBS Picks New Dean

London-based management consultant Robin Buchanan (MBA ’79), senior partner in the UK of Bain & Company. Buchanan replaces Laura Tyson (who once taught at HBS). Tyson resigned to return to teach at the Haas School of Business at the... View Details

Keywords: dean appointment; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

July 2002
Case

Bradley Marquez: Reduction in Force (B)

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Vineeta Vijayaraghavan

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Resignation and Termination; Employees; Advertising Industry

November 2005 (Revised July 2006)
Case

Two Tough Calls (A)

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.

A young female manager must decide whether to terminate two poorly performing managers who work for her. Shows the practical and ethical issues involved in firing decisions. View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Resignation and Termination; Management; Performance

Portrait Project

Lorrayne Ward

The woman carefully unwrapped three coins from her threadbare kanga and pushed them toward the shopkeeper. There was a mixture of desperate hope and resignation on her face. Though my Swahili was basic, I made out that she wanted to buy... View Details

07 Nov 2019
News

Scranton Elects First Female Mayor

fill out the remaining two years of former mayor Bill Courtright’s term. (Courtright, who faces federal corruption charges of bribery and extortion, resigned in July.) Cognetti moved to Scranton in 2016 following stints at Goldman Sachs... View Details

Keywords: politics; leadership; women; career paths; Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support; Government

01 Dec 2009
News

Hope for Reform Dims

excessive consumer and corporate debt. “Regulatory structures failed to keep up” with innovations in the marketplace, he added. Thain took the top spot at Merrill Lynch in December 2007, resigning as CEO of the NYSE Euronext. Previously,... View Details

Keywords: Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Finance; Administration of Economic Programs; Government

22 Jun 2021
Research & Ideas

The COVID-19 Mutiny: When Teams Leave and Take Their Clients

mentioned above are fundamentally NewCo’s to manage, because the hiring company has the means, motive, and opportunity to make sure the move is handled correctly. If you’re a NewCo leader, the 2019 book I Hereby Resign offers detailed... View Details

Keywords: by Robin Abrahams, Boris Groysberg, and Steven L. Manchel

December 4, 2023
Comment

The Great Resignation, Employment, and Wages in Health Care

By: Amitabh Chandra and Louis-Jonas Heizlsperger

Notwithstanding concerns about staffing levels and burnout in health care, federal wage and employment data does not support the suggestion that a COVID-19 pandemic-related spike in quitting has had an enduring impact for hospitals or physician offices. Employment in... View Details

Keywords: Resignation and Termination; Employment; Wages; Health Industry