Bankruptcy involves giving up management of the firm to the courts in return for some settlement of the corporation's obligations. Top management hopes that once the court decides the claims on the company, the company will be stronger and better able to compete in a more attractive industry. Faced with a recessionary economy and falling market demand for casual dining, restaurants like Bennigan's Grill & Tavern and Steak & Ale, that once thrived by offering mid-priced menus with potato skins and thick hamburgers, filed for bankruptcy in July 2008. Within the troubled airline industry, at least 30 airlines went bankrupt during just the first half of 2008 with 30 more bank- expected by the end of the year. A controversial approach was used by Delphi Corporation when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy only for its U.S. operations, which employed 32,000 high-wage workers, but not for its foreign factories in low-wage countries. 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 prob- lematic,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 retrench mentstrategies, 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.