In contrast to bankruptcy, which seeks to perpetuate a corporation, liquidation is the termination of the firm. When the industry is unattractive and the company too to sold as a going concern, management may choose to convert as many saleable assets as possible to cash, which is then distributed to the shareholders after all obligations are paid. Liquidation is a prudent strategy for distressed firms with a small number of choices, all of which are problematic,71 This was Circuit City's situation in 2008, when it liquidated its retail stores. The ben- t of liquidation over bankruptcy is that the board of directors, as representatives of the shareholders, together with top management make the decisions instead of turning them over to the bankruptcy court, which may choose to ignore shareholders completely. At times, top management must be willing to select one of these less desirable retrenchment strategies, Unfortunately, many top managers are unwilling to admit that their company has serious weaknesses for fear that they may be personally blamed. Even worse, top management may not even perceive that crises are developing. When these top managers eventually notice trouble, they are prone to attribute the problems to temporary environmental disturbances and tend to follow profit strategies. Even when things are going terribly wrong, top management is greatly tempted to avoid liquidation in the hope of a miracle. Top management enters a le of decline, in which it goes through a process of secrecy and denial, followed by blame and scorn. avoidance and turf protection, ending with passivity and helplessness Thus, a corporation needs a strong board of directors who, to safeguard shareholders' interests, can tell top management when to quit.