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What Companies Still Get Wrong About Layoffs
Organizational Development Digital ArticleMany cling to the idea that reducing staff is the fastest, easiest way to cut costs. But there are smarter, more humane approaches. -
Layoffs That Don't Break Your Company
Organizational Development Magazine ArticleToday layoffs have become companies' default response to the challenges created by advances in technology and global competition. Yet research shows that... -
Downsizing Lost Its Bad Rap
Downsizing Magazine ArticleBig companies formerly took a reputational hit when they laid off massive numbers of workers. But according to E. Geoffrey Love and Matthew Kraatz, of the University of Illinois, U.S. business culture norms gradually changed from 1985 to 1994 as new ideas about boosting shareholder value took hold in executive suites and boardrooms. At the […] -
Prepare Your Workforce for the Automation Age
Analytics and data science Digital ArticleThe transition is coming sooner than you think. -
Keeping Your Team Motivated When the Company Is Struggling
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleDon't pretend you have all the answers. Do be prepared to deal with the messy emotions people may be experiencing. -
Helping Employees Navigate the Future
When implementing a major organizational decision, empower your employees through effective communication. -
Downsizing the Right Way
Communication Digital Article"The layoffs happened on the sixteenth," recalls Tom (not his real name), a survivor of a massive blood-letting at a major financial services firm. Employees... -
What Can CEOs Do for Displaced Workers?
Human resource management Magazine ArticleIn 1978, before restructuring was a common boardroom term, Jewel sold its Turn-Style discount department store business to the May Department Store Company. Because May could not immediately use many of the Turn-Style stores outside metropolitan Chicago, Jewel closed them. This meant that almost 3,000 full-and part-time employees were no longer needed. We in Jewel’s […] -
Look Before You Lay Off
Organizational Development Magazine ArticleConventional wisdom says that layoffs are a necessary evil during economic downturns, but new research shows that shareholders tend to punish companies... -
How I Downsized Myself
Change management Digital ArticleI know, I know. There’s nothing more boring than when bloggers write about their own experiences as a way to make a broader point about life, work, or society. But I hope you’ll indulge me this one time, as I reflect on a small matter of personal improvement and ask what it might say about […] -
How “Neutral” Layoffs Disproportionately Affect Women and Minorities
Diversity and inclusion Digital ArticleResearch on downsizing, gender, and race. -
The Gentleman's "Three" (HBR Case Study and Commentary)
Leadership & Managing People Magazine ArticleHow do you reduce headcount when almost everyone gets the same scores on performance reviews? HR vice president Nils Ekdahl confronts that question at... -
Case Study: Can You Fix a Toxic Culture Without Firing People?
Human resource management Magazine ArticleA CFO wonders how to turn around a struggling division. -
Cutting Costs Without Drawing Blood
Accounting Magazine ArticleWhen executives want to boost profitability, their first target is often headcount. But a better way to find value is to bring increased discipline to the capital budgeting process for small items. Here’s a framework for doing just that. -
The Layoff (HBR Case Study and Commentary)
Organizational Development Magazine ArticleAstrigo is in trouble. The home improvement chain has missed its earnings forecast badly and sales are falling. A 10% reduction in staff looks like the... -
Hard Work of Being a Soft Manager (HBR Classic)
Leadership & Managing People Magazine ArticleSoft management does not mean weak management, says William Peace in this 1991 article. It means candor, openness, and vulnerability, but it also means... -
When Lean Isn't Mean
Organizational Development Magazine ArticleThe trend is to downsize corporate headquarters--but sometimes a bigger HQ is better. -
Inside Outplacement—My Search for a Job
Human resource management Magazine ArticleIt took three months for the shock to wear off. There we were in England, the land of my birth. After 32 years with a global oil corporation, the only employer I had ever had, at the age of 54, with what seemed to me a string of successes in marketing behind me, I was […] -
The Layoff (HBR Case Study)
Organizational Development Magazine ArticleAstrigo is in trouble. The home improvement chain has missed its earnings forecast badly and sales are falling. A 10% reduction in staff looks like the... -
How's Your Return on People?
Organizational Development Magazine ArticleManagers pay lip service to employees as "valuable assets." But when numbers are down, staffers are often seen merely as costs to be cut. Treating employees...
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Webster Industries (B)
Organizational Development Case Study5.00View Details Supplements the (A) case. -
HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing in a Downturn, Expanded Edition (with bonus article "Preparing Your Business for a Post-Pandemic World' by Carsten Lund Pedersen and Thomas Ritter)
24.95View Details How do the most resilient companies survive--and even thrive--during a slowdown? If you read nothing else on surviving a tough economy and coming back... -
Cat Is Out of the Bag: KANA and the Layoff Gone Awry (A)
Organizational Development Case Study8.95View Details Vicki Amon-Higa, vice president of KANA, a publicly traded, midsize development company, was working with Bryan Kettle, KANA's CFO, to plan a layoff in... -
The Breakfast of Champions: Can General Mills Make the Dough with Pillsbury? (A)
Organizational Development Case Study8.95View Details Why do so many corporate initiatives, such as mergers and acquisitions, downsizings, or re-engineerings, look good on paper and turn out so poorly? This... -
Cat Is Out of the Bag: KANA and the Layoff Gone Awry (B)
Organizational Development Case Study5.00View Details Supplements the (A) case. -
Overcome Career Hurdles
99.00View Details Feeling stuck in your career or rebounding from a setback? Treat career impasses, ruts, and uncertainties as opportunities to follow a more fulfilling... -
British Petroleum (B): Focus on Learning
Strategy & Execution Case Study5.00View Details British Petroleum (BP) had very profitable years in 1996 and l997. However, CEO John Browne knew that BP could not rest on its laurels. In Browne's view,... -
Cambridge Cooling Systems: Global Operations Strategy
Technology & Operations Case Study8.95View Details The chief operating officer (CEO) at Cambridge Cooling Systems (CCS), an industrial cooling system manufacturer, has been asked for his recommendations... -
Large-scale Change at the WSSC
Technology & Operations Case Study6.95View Details Describes the organizational transformation occurring at the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), a public utility. Faced with the possibility... -
Sun Hydraulics: Leading in Tough Times (A)
Organizational Development Case Study8.95View Details Sun Hydraulics, 32-year-old global hydraulics engineering and manufacturing company headquartered in Sarasota, Florida, confronts tough choices due to... -
Zaplet
Strategy & Execution Case Study8.95View Details Zaplet faces internal challenges following the dramatic change in the economy and the resulting market demand for its product. -
Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B)
Leadership & Managing People Case Study5.00View Details Five years after the Great Recession, Honeywell's CEO Dave Cote and his executive team reflect on the choices they made to manage costs and earnings forecasts... -
Vector (C): Labour Negotiations at Maxime Platform
Strategy & Execution Case Study5.00View Details Case C gives an account of the last three months of negotiations. Negotiations lead to a win-win conclusion of the project for all stakeholders as activity... -
FAG Kugelfischer - A German Restructuring
Finance & Accounting Case Study8.95View Details A large German manufacturer of ball bearings and precision machinery experiences severe financial difficulty brought on by poor management practices,... -
Sun Hydraulics Corp. (B)
Organizational Development Case Study5.00View Details Fifteen years later, the company has achieved widespread recognition in the industry for its innovative designs, its quality products, and its highly... -
Donald Trump Calls Carrier Corporation
Global Business Case Study8.95View Details This case examines the influence of political pressure on corporate decision-making. It questions whether fidelity to domestic operations ought to be... -
Nick Fiore: Healer or Hitman? (A)
Strategy & Execution Case Study8.95View Details Many general managers face this predicament at one time or another: if I don't deliver the numbers, senior management won't invest in our growth. But... -
LiuGong: Integration Challenges in Poland (A)
Organizational Development Case Study8.95View Details This case series tells a story of post-merger integration, depicting a string of challenges faced by Guangxi LiuGong Machinery Co., Ltd. during its cross-border... -
Sun Hydraulics: Leading in Tough Times (A) (Abridged)
Organizational Development Case Study8.95View Details Sun Hydraulics, 32-year-old global hydraulics engineering and manufacturing company headquartered in Sarasota, Florida; confronts tough choices due to... -
Vector (B): Labour Negotiations at Maxime Platform
Strategy & Execution Case Study5.00View Details Case B covers the period between May and October 2001. It describes the change and effects of a new leadership style on the negotiation process. It shows...
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What Companies Still Get Wrong About Layoffs
Organizational Development Digital ArticleMany cling to the idea that reducing staff is the fastest, easiest way to cut costs. But there are smarter, more humane approaches. -
Layoffs That Don't Break Your Company
Organizational Development Magazine ArticleToday layoffs have become companies' default response to the challenges created by advances in technology and global competition. Yet research shows that... -
Webster Industries (B)
Organizational Development Case Study5.00View Details Supplements the (A) case. -
HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing in a Downturn, Expanded Edition (with bonus article "Preparing Your Business for a Post-Pandemic World' by Carsten Lund Pedersen and Thomas Ritter)
24.95View Details How do the most resilient companies survive--and even thrive--during a slowdown? If you read nothing else on surviving a tough economy and coming back... -
Downsizing Lost Its Bad Rap
Downsizing Magazine ArticleBig companies formerly took a reputational hit when they laid off massive numbers of workers. But according to E. Geoffrey Love and Matthew Kraatz, of the University of Illinois, U.S. business culture norms gradually changed from 1985 to 1994 as new ideas about boosting shareholder value took hold in executive suites and boardrooms. At the […] -
Prepare Your Workforce for the Automation Age
Analytics and data science Digital ArticleThe transition is coming sooner than you think. -
Cat Is Out of the Bag: KANA and the Layoff Gone Awry (A)
Organizational Development Case Study8.95View Details Vicki Amon-Higa, vice president of KANA, a publicly traded, midsize development company, was working with Bryan Kettle, KANA's CFO, to plan a layoff in... -
The Breakfast of Champions: Can General Mills Make the Dough with Pillsbury? (A)
Organizational Development Case Study8.95View Details Why do so many corporate initiatives, such as mergers and acquisitions, downsizings, or re-engineerings, look good on paper and turn out so poorly? This... -
Keeping Your Team Motivated When the Company Is Struggling
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleDon't pretend you have all the answers. Do be prepared to deal with the messy emotions people may be experiencing. -
Cat Is Out of the Bag: KANA and the Layoff Gone Awry (B)
Organizational Development Case Study5.00View Details Supplements the (A) case.