simulation page

Product Overview

This series of cases concerns Denny's Restaurants' responses to charges of racial discrimination in the late 1990s. It can be used for MBA and executive audiences to develop leadership, communication and social responsibility skills. The A case provides background on numerous incidents involving alleged racial discrimination at Denny's as well as at its competitor, Shoney's. Initially, Denny's parent company, TW Holdings took a "behind the scenes" approach, responding to the allegations without publicizing its actions. Once another incident takes place in Annapolis, CEO Jerry Richardson must decide what to do next. The A case can be taught with a narrow focus on employee communication, asking students to take the CEO's position and write a memo to employees. Alternatively, the A case can be used more broadly, framed as a look at corporate culture and crisis communication, using the B and C cases as a way of showing how the situation unfolded. See also the B case (UVA-BC-0118) and the C case (UVA-BC-0119).