Interactive Case Studies

May 13, 2008

The Issue: When a Takeover Creates Conflicts

Smurfit-Stone's parent was bought out by a group that owned rival papermakers. Some directors wound up serving two masters. They had to go.

May 08, 2008

The Issue: A CEO Cedes More Power to Shareholders

Individual and institutional investors want a say on executive pay, and Aflac agrees.

April 30, 2008

The Issue: A Blueprint for Attracting Talent

How did the global consulting company respond to the challenge of hiring tens of thousands of workers in India in just six years?.

April 22, 2008

The Issue: An X-Rated Work Habit

Violating workplace rules leads to a hasty exit.

April 09, 2008

The Issue: Workers as Crisis Consultants

When a sudden drop in demand forced electronic-signature service DocuSign to mull a strategy shift, senior management tapped the wisdom of its staff.

April 01, 2008

The Issue: A CEO's Call on Customer Service

James Parker, Southwest's former CEO, fought to save call-center jobs despite pressure from the finance team and tough times in the airline industry.

March 25, 2008

The Issue: A Guilt-Plagued Mentee

While an editor's star rises, her mentor crashes and burns. Should she have done more to help him?.

March 18, 2008

The Issue: Putting the 'R' Back in R&D

One of CEO Anne Mulcahy's first moves when she arrived at Xerox was to provide the freedom—and funds—needed to let innovation happen.

March 10, 2008

The Issue: New Franchise Is a Tough Sell

New franchise operators struggle to compete with scads of chains. Peter Taunton set his fitness franchise apart with an unusual fee structure.

March 04, 2008

The Issue: Immelt's Unpopular Idea

An environmental push has helped reduce GE's emissions and raise revenue. But when CEO Jeffrey Immelt proposed "ecomagination" in 2004, top executives resisted.

January 17, 2008

The Issue: For Cognizant, Two's Company

The tech-services provider found an approach, called "two in a box," that eased the headaches of managing—and being managed—from afar.

January 14, 2008

The Issue: When a CEO's Sacrifice Isn't Enough

When September 11 followed the dot-com bust, hotelier Chip Conley had to manage his way through a serious downturn in his business. Here are the tough choices he made.

December 17, 2007

The Issue: Using Sick Time for Interviews

A difficult choice about using time off strains an employee's conscience and leads him to fake being sick.

November 27, 2007

The Issue: JetBlue's Winter Blues

When winter travelers got stranded, former CEO David Neeleman went into high gear to show fliers that JetBlue took their complaints seriously.

October 23, 2007

The Issue: a Scruffy Financial Planner

When a high-performing employee insists on coming to work dressed for a block party, his manager has to think big-picture.

September 23, 2007

The Issue: What Price Reputation?

When a misprinted fare—Fiji for $51—got snapped up by hundreds of travelers, Travelocity CEO Michelle Peluso had to decide whether to honor the fare at a cost of almost $2 million or run the risk of damaging the company's customer-friendly branding campaign.

September 13, 2007

The Issue: A.G. Lafley's Judgment Call

The Issue: A.G. Lafley's Judgment Call.

September 13, 2007

The Issue: A New Mom; A Distant Boss

Post-maternity leave, a former rising star feels like her mentor doesn't value her as much as he used to. Does he question her dedication to her job? Is he justified? Is she misreading the situation?.

September 12, 2007

The Issue: A.G. Lafley's Judgment Call

A.G. Lafley, Chairman and CEO of Procter&Gamble, skipped over 78 general managers with more seniority in making a key staff appointment without even consulting the rest of his management team. Lafley says “there was almost a revolt” over his decision. What could Lafley do to win back the support of his team and engage them in a process that was just about completed?.