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From 2004-2009, almost 40,000 mass layoffs occurred in the US, representing over 7 million workers. This note describes the effects of layoffs on employees, firms, and communities.

This note reviews decision criteria for carrying out a layoff, best practices for implementation, and ways that managers can prepare themselves to conduct a layoff.

In October of 2010, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) was unable to extricate itself from a year long recall crisis that had subjected the firm to criticism from Congress and regulators, resulted in the resignation of one of the firm's most senior officers, and cost hundreds of millions of dollars from lost sales of J&J brands. This case examines the series of recalls, and the strategic and cultural changes at the company that may have led to the recalls. It allows for an exploration of the reality of the iconic J&J "Credo" - its long standing set of corporate values.

A practical framework for evaluating the ethical dimensions of a proposed course of action for managers and executives.

This note describes Socially Responsible Investing, providing a brief history, description of different socially responsible investing approaches, and overview of selected players and institutions involved in the socially responsible investing field. It has been written to provide background for the case study on Generation Investment Management.

In 2007 Jerry Yang, CEO of Yahoo!, was lambasted by U.S. Representative Tom Lantos, chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, for Yahoo's role in the arrest and imprisonment of Chinese journalist and democracy advocate Shi Tao. The case describes the actions that Yahoo! had taken to grow its business in China, its handling of a government request for the identity of a Yahoo! user, and subsequent actions by the firm to respond to negative publicity and Congressional inquiry. The case raises broad questions about the challenge of complying with domestic law when operating in states that do not consistently respect human rights, and satisfy stakeholders across national boundaries. It allows students to consider the practical steps that a firm can take to protect itself and its stakeholders in states where the law is not always a reliable safeguard.

Describes the actions that Jerry Yang took to manage the aftermath of the Shi Tao incident following the 2007 Congressional hearing.

This note reviews research findings on the leadership challenges of diversity, including the social psychology of similarity and difference, the value of multiple perspectives to problem-solving, the relationship between diversity and firm performance, and management paradigms for diversity.

In Differences at Work: Sameer (A) HBS Case No. 9-609-053 Sameer, an Indian Muslim, is a summer intern in a small, predominantly Jewish firm. Prompted by a conflict in the Middle East, members of the organization make a number of anti-Muslim jokes. Sameer wonders whether he should surface his discomfort; he otherwise enjoys the firm, and is hoping to be given a full-time job offer following his internship.

In Differences at Work: Sameer (B) HBS Case No. 9-609-054, Sameer leaves the firm at the summer's end without confronting his employer about the jokes and wondering whether he made the right choice. Later Sameer's former employer calls him to apologize for their behavior after discovering an email that Sameer wrote describing how offended he felt by the jokes. Accepting the apology, Sameer decides to take a full time position with the firm but reflects on how his own inaction at the time of the incident was a missed opportunity to educate his fellow colleagues.

When executives meet together to grapple with moral and ethical questions in literature, they end up applying their insights in practice. This Harvard Business School professor endorses book clubs as part of leadership development.

In Differences at Work: Emily (A) HBS Case No. 9-408-014 Emily, a private equity analyst, reads disturbing, sexually focused emails written about her by work colleagues and acquaintances after they all attended a work-related social event. Emily debates what she should do.

In Differences at Work: Jason (A) HBS Case No. 9-408-016 Jason is a member of his firm's recruiting team, which has a mandate to create a more diverse workforce. When the group decides to interview a candidate based on the candidate's race, Jason wonders whether they made the right decision and how, in general, diversity goals should be achieved.

Differences at Work: Jenny (A) HBS Case No. 9-408-017 is set in Amsterdam. Accompanied by her boss, Jenny is pitching a marketing engagement, but the prospective client keeps making comments about how attractive he finds her.

In Differences at Work: Emily (B) HBS Case No. 9-408-046 Emily considers whether to file a formal complaint with her Human Resources department about the emails but ultimately decides to confront the culprits herself, beginning by sending an email to one of her colleagues. He immediately apologizes.

In Differences at Work: Emily (C) HBS Case No. 9-408-047 describes how the original email author apologizes to her acknowledging that his behavior was extremely inappropriate. While Emily accepts the apology, she still forwards the email on to her boss with a note saying that she felt after reading the email that she could not remain quiet. Her boss never responds. Later, after Emily has left the firm, she asks her boss about his inaction.

In Differences at Work: Jason (B) HBS Case No. 9-408-049 Jason decides that his firm should have a more articulated position that everyone in the firm understands about why diversity benefits the firm instead of pursing diversity because it feels like the "right" thing to do.

In Differences at Work: Jenny (B) HBS Case No. 9-408-050, we learn that Jenny's boss is woman who thought the entire incident was funny. Jenny wonders whether to confront her boss about her discomfort with the situation.

In Differences at Work: Will (A), HBS Case No. 9-408-013 is set in London. Will, a gay man, must decide how to react to a senior colleague's question that assumes he is heterosexual. In the rest of Will's life, he does not keep his sexual orientation a secret.

In Differences at Work: Erica (A) HBS Case No. 9-408-015 Erica, a junior sales person, has just been offered the opportunity to attend an important client dinner. Later, Erica learns that she received the invitation because of her race.