Yahoo, one of Google’s strongest competitors, has been hogging the headlines lately – and all for the wrong reasons. It had just decided to fire the most overpaid CEO Carol Bartz, by phone, no less. This eventually sparked the exchange of words between both camps, Bartz calling her previous bosses and allies “doofuses” and Yahoo board insisting she should step down from the board too, which she wouldn’t do.

The rest of the financial and web community also took their stand. Just after a few hours of the announcement, Yahoo’s stock jumped to more than 6 percent from $12.91, which interestingly remained almost unchanged since Bartz took over the leadership. Pundits believed that firing Bartz was an excellent decision made by Yahoo. To quote Matt Rosoff of Business Insider, “The company’s stock is up more than 6% after hours on the news, validating the fact that Wall Street was placing a huge ‘Bartz discount’ on the company.”

Her ouster, however, brought another issue, which should never be overlooked by business owners, whether big or small. Is it really right to kick out someone, even as huge as a CEO, by telephone?

The Possible Reasons Why
No one really knows for sure why Yahoo did that. All we heard after Bartz herself broke the news was a series of obligatory well-wishes and apologies for a 30-month job cut short. Nevertheless, that doesn’t stop people from speculating.

Topping the list is practicality. If your mind is made up, why should you go through the lengthy explanations? The bottom line is she’s fired, and no amount of reasons from Bartz would probably save herself.

Many also think that Bartz herself scared them off. After all, she was known to be very. To make the saga even more interesting, she broke the “surprising” news to her employees through iPad. Surely, those who hold on to this theory believe Bartz has more guts than the guys currently controlling Yahoo. Besides, she wouldn’t be called “Hurricane Carol” (in reference to one of the most disastrous cyclones of New England) for nothing.

Yet There’s Still the Question of Ethics
But what do we really think about that? We still firmly regard that each management can adopt its own style of managing its employees, including terminating or dismissing someone in the top position. No law considers firing over the telephone is illegal. Nevertheless, we don’t necessarily agree to the process.

Bartz may have made decisions that didn’t sit well with the rest of the Yahoo board or didn’t bring back the glorious status of the search engine company, but one should be able to give credit wherever it is due. After all, she wouldn’t be considered as a CEO if her resume doesn’t speak volumes. On the other hand, the Letting People Go: The People-centered Approach to Firing and Laying Off Employees author, Matt Shlosberg, thinks that firing through telephone is inappropriate and, in turn, may only be risky for companies like Yahoo, who could already be viewed as unethical and unprofessional.

Termination is hard, even for ultra-large and well-known companies. The grim news, especially in these times, is a hard pill to swallow. But for respect’s sake, it’s best if both camps act like true professionals – especially on the part of Yahoo.

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