Marsha Harris accepted the job as chief financial officer for a large division of a global Fortune 50 manufacturing firm. She had won this position over divisional internal candidates despite the fact that only one other woman had ever held this job in this company. After the intense interviewing process and selection, Marsha appeared for her first day at work. Her former competitor, now subordinate, commented that she had only gotten the job because she was a woman. Shortly thereafter, her boss asked her to put together a plan for reducing payroll expenses in the face of a business downturn. She did this and was horrified to learn that she was then assigned to make the cuts, a huge decrease in her office.
The Case B describes how she went about making these cuts, including meeting with her people and reorganizing the office, and subsequently, an additional request to make more cuts. The Case C describes the aftermath, including Marsha's personal sadness, vandalism on her personal vehicle, and the frustration of being involved in the layoffs.
1. What are the problems here?
2. If you were in Marsha's position, what would you do and why?
3. What are the likely consequences of your actions? Have any of you been involved in downsizing efforts? What was it like and what conclusions did you reach afterward?
4. Case B and debriefing. What do we know about downsizing? What should Marsha have done?