The founders of Protein Power Plates--a company with the slogan "Let's meat!"--contemplate adding plant-based burgers to their menu. This fictional case study by Lena G. Goldberg and Michael S. Kaufman features expert commentary by Lynn Blashford, Scott Uehlein.

The founders of Protein Power Plates--a company with the slogan "Let's meat!"--contemplate adding plant-based burgers to their menu. This fictional case study by Lena G. Goldberg and Michael S. Kaufman features expert commentary by Lynn Blashford, Scott Uehlein.

The founders of Protein Power Plates--a company with the slogan "Let's meat!"--contemplate adding plant-based burgers to their menu. This fictional case study by Lena G. Goldberg and Michael S. Kaufman features expert commentary by Lynn Blashford, Scott Uehlein.

Thomas Keller, the first and only American-born chef to hold multiple three-star ratings from the prestigious Michelin Guide, and Joe Essa, the immediate past Board Chair of the National Restaurant Association and the CEO of Keller's restaurant group, were class guests in the HBS course "Challenges and Opportunities in the Restaurant Industry" on March 12, 2020. Then, that night, they began to confront a situation they could not have imagined, the declaration of a national emergency and the immediate closure of all of their restaurants. Pondering how they could best save their restaurants, their staff, their communities and the restaurant industry, they examine how to navigate uncharted waters locally within their restaurant communities and nationally in an upcoming meeting with the President of the United States.

This note focuses on managers' responsibilities-economic, legal, and ethical-to investors. In capitalist and some socialist economies, these responsibilities traditionally have been grounded in fiduciary duties and are typically part of the common law or statutory law or are incorporated in civil codes. But, as this note will show, fiduciary obligations are deeply intertwined with economic and ethical responsibilities.