Module I: Moral Challenge Class Summaries

Sandra J. Sucher

Module Note | September 2004 (Revised November 2012)

Module I: Moral Challenge Class Summaries

Abstract

What is a moral challenge? Explores four main types of moral challenge: the challenge of survival, the conflict between "two rights," a moral dilemma—or situation in which it is impossible to satisfy conflicting moral obligations and commitments—and the challenge of "new principles" that raise questions about our values and beliefs. Explores these topics through literature, history, biography, autobiography, and background readings in moral philosophy.

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Leadership; Problems and Challenges; Conflict of Interests;

Language: English

Format: Print

8 pages

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Citation:

Sucher, Sandra J. "Module I: Moral Challenge Class Summaries." Harvard Business School Module Note 605-036, September 2004. (Revised November 2012.)

Related Work

Module Note | February 2007

Endurance Summary: The Challenge of Right Versus Wrong

Sandra J. Sucher

A summary of the major themes discussed in the first class of The Moral Leader (EC curriculum).

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; Leadership; Curriculum and Courses;

Citation:
Sucher, Sandra J. "Endurance Summary: The Challenge of Right Versus Wrong." Harvard Business School Module Note 607-065, February 2007. View Details

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Module Note | February 2007 (Revised March 2007)

Blessed Assurance: The Challenge of a Moral Dilemma

Sandra J. Sucher

A summary of the major themes discussed in the third class of The Moral Leader (EC curriculum).

Keywords: Moral Sensibility;

Citation:
Sucher, Sandra J. "Blessed Assurance: The Challenge of a Moral Dilemma." Harvard Business School Module Note 607-067, February 2007. (Revised March 2007.) View Details

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Module Note | February 2007 (Revised March 2007)

Things Fall Apart Summary: The Challenge of New Principles

Sandra J. Sucher

A summary of the major themes discussed in the fourth class of The Moral Leader (EC curriculum).

Keywords: Ethics; Leadership; Decision Making; Moral Sensibility;

Citation:
Sucher, Sandra J. "Things Fall Apart Summary: The Challenge of New Principles." Harvard Business School Module Note 607-068, February 2007. (Revised March 2007.) View Details

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Module Note | February 2007 (Revised March 2007)

Antigone: The Challenge of Right Versus Right

Sandra J. Sucher

A summary of the major themes discussed in the second class of The Moral Leader (EC curriculum).

Keywords: Values and Beliefs; Decision Choices and Conditions; Problems and Challenges;

Citation:
Sucher, Sandra J. "Antigone: The Challenge of Right Versus Right." Harvard Business School Module Note 607-066, February 2007. (Revised March 2007.) View Details

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Module Note | September 2004 (Revised November 2012)

Module I: Moral Challenge Class Summaries

Sandra J. Sucher

What is a moral challenge? Explores four main types of moral challenge: the challenge of survival, the conflict between "two rights," a moral dilemma—or situation in which it is impossible to satisfy conflicting moral obligations and commitments—and the challenge of "new principles" that raise questions about our values and beliefs. Explores these topics through literature, history, biography, autobiography, and background readings in moral philosophy.

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Leadership; Problems and Challenges; Conflict of Interests;

Citation:
Sucher, Sandra J. "Module I: Moral Challenge Class Summaries." Harvard Business School Module Note 605-036, September 2004. (Revised November 2012.) View Details

Cite View Details Purchase Related

Article | Harvard Business Review | May–June 2018

Layoffs That Don't Break Your Company: Better Approaches to Workforce Transition

Sandra J. Sucher and Shalene Gupta

Today layoffs have become companies’ default response to the challenges created by advances in technology and global competition. Yet research shows that job cuts rarely help senior leaders achieve their goals. Too often, they’re done for short-term gain, but the cost savings are overshadowed by bad publicity, loss of knowledge, weakened engagement, higher voluntary turnover, and lower innovation, which hurt profits in the long run. This article looks at better ways to handle changing workforce needs that make sparing use of staff reductions and ensure that if they do happen, the process feels fair and the affected parties have a soft landing. Most successful approaches begin with a philosophy that spells out a firm’s commitments and priorities, establish methods for exploring layoff alternatives (such as furloughs, retraining, and reassignments), and determine options for three scenarios: a healthy present, short-term volatility, and an uncertain future. As firms like AT&T, Michelin, Honeywell, and Nokia have learned, thoughtful planning helps organizations address workforce transitions and cope with a shifting economic landscape far better than layoffs do.

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Employees; Transition; Strategic Planning;

Citation:

Sucher, Sandra J., and Shalene Gupta. "Layoffs That Don't Break Your Company: Better Approaches to Workforce Transition." Harvard Business Review 96, no. 3 (May–June 2018): 122–129. View Details

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