To borrow your words: your core thesis[0] is fundamentally flawed. There is no requisite for the person hiring to be the one firing for the person hiring to hi

To borrow your words: your core thesis[0] is fundamentally flawed. There is no requisite for the person hiring to be the one firing for the person hiring to hire a sacrificial lamb. A rational actor could easily decide 'Hey, I like my team, if I hire this guy/gal who the firing manager definitely won't like[1] He/she'll be fired before anyone on my team.' Morality aside its the same as serving up a secondary 'bad' idea to your boss to give him/her the illusion of choice, and get him/her to go with the plan you want. [0]>So the core thesis of the article is fundamentally flawed, since the decision maker for hiring is not the same person who decides on firing [1]For personal or professional reasons.