Westwood Publishing
Jennifer Nguyen
Buad 301-14
2/10/2011
Case 7.1 Westwood Publishing
Prewrite:
• Westwood Publishing is a magazine publishing company.
• Dan Cassidy is director of employee relations for Westwood Publishing.
• Catherine Callahan is the vice president of human resources.
• Catherine Callahan proposed that with the layoffs, offer a voluntary severance package or early retirement package.
• Westwood Publishing had never laid off anyone in the 13 years of their existence.
• Started in 1995 by Linda Bosworth with only $10,000 borrowed from her father.
• As business grew, Bosworth turned the day-to-day operations over to professional managers.
• Many of Westwood’s competitors had trimmed their workforces repeatedly after the dot-com bubble burst in early 2000.
• One-quarter of the American newspaper jobs that existed when Bosworth launched in 1995 disappeared by 2008.
• Westwood Publishing avoids the messy consolidation.
• Bosworth delivered a speech to all the Westwood employees that she outline the company’s philosophy saying that despite difficult times, she would never ask any of the employees to leave for economic reasons.
• Craig Stevens handles public relations.
• Eric Ridgway was a 25-year veteran of the Los Angeles Times, but was hired on as a favor to Bosworth’s father. He had no experience in the trade magazine business.
• CEO against the ‘voluntary’ severance package and early retirement program.
• Dan Cassidy asked Bosworth to be a part of the announcement to the employees.
• Bosworth leaving for New York the day after tomorrow for business.
• Dan Cassidy and Catherine Callahan in charge of letting all the employees know about the packages and the new plans for the company
The business problem facing management:
• Bosworth made an announcement early on in the year saying that her employees are everything to the company
Buad 301-14
2/10/2011
Case 7.1 Westwood Publishing
Prewrite:
• Westwood Publishing is a magazine publishing company.
• Dan Cassidy is director of employee relations for Westwood Publishing.
• Catherine Callahan is the vice president of human resources.
• Catherine Callahan proposed that with the layoffs, offer a voluntary severance package or early retirement package.
• Westwood Publishing had never laid off anyone in the 13 years of their existence.
• Started in 1995 by Linda Bosworth with only $10,000 borrowed from her father.
• As business grew, Bosworth turned the day-to-day operations over to professional managers.
• Many of Westwood’s competitors had trimmed their workforces repeatedly after the dot-com bubble burst in early 2000.
• One-quarter of the American newspaper jobs that existed when Bosworth launched in 1995 disappeared by 2008.
• Westwood Publishing avoids the messy consolidation.
• Bosworth delivered a speech to all the Westwood employees that she outline the company’s philosophy saying that despite difficult times, she would never ask any of the employees to leave for economic reasons.
• Craig Stevens handles public relations.
• Eric Ridgway was a 25-year veteran of the Los Angeles Times, but was hired on as a favor to Bosworth’s father. He had no experience in the trade magazine business.
• CEO against the ‘voluntary’ severance package and early retirement program.
• Dan Cassidy asked Bosworth to be a part of the announcement to the employees.
• Bosworth leaving for New York the day after tomorrow for business.
• Dan Cassidy and Catherine Callahan in charge of letting all the employees know about the packages and the new plans for the company
The business problem facing management:
• Bosworth made an announcement early on in the year saying that her employees are everything to the company