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In 2010, Friend Bank was entering the fifth year of Hope Harris Johnson's ambitious 20-year growth plan to transform her family's one-branch community bank into an institution with a substantial presence in southeastern Alabama. Harris Johnson was pleased, so far, with the results. Strategically they had exceeded expectations in opening a second office and execution of the plan was going well. And while the financial and economic crisis that began in 2008 had affected the financial results, it also presented Friend with competitive opportunities. Nonetheless, realizing her ultimate goals for Friend would not come easily. This is a shorter version of "Friend Bank: The Time for Hope," HBS No. 310-070.

The case centers on the dilemma faced by Carlo Fontana, the owner-operator of a small chain of two four star urban hotels located in Lugano, Switzerland and the other in Milan, Italy. Having developed an extensive customer service and operations information system, called Happy Guests Relationship Management, Fontana is entertaining the possibility of commercializing his innovation. Doing so may provide a welcome new source of income during the greatest economic slowdown in recent history and it would help in keeping the HGRM design and development team motivated to refine and improve the solution. However, commercializing the innovation may also stretch his organization too thin, and bring his team into a business, the software industry, completely foreign to them.

Shanghai Diligence Law Firm continued with its approach to grow through a merger, rather than organically, and was eventually merged into a bigger law firm in China. After the merger, a refined A-B-C-D model is still in use as compensation system, although the challenge remains as for how to enhance both willingness and capabilities of associates to improve team performance at the firm.

The Hidesign case examines issues facing a niche fashion company in pursuit of its next growth phase. After three decades of offering a leather products portfolio, the founder and president of Hidesign has decided to extend Hidesign's portfolio to include non-leather product categories such as sunglasses and pens. The company's advertising tagline - "Real leather. Crafted the forgotten way." - has helped position Hidesign as a quality leather accessories brand. How should Hidesign position its new product range? Should different taglines be used for its leather and non-leather products? Should Hidesign do away with taglines altogether? Could the decision to extend the brand to non-leather product categories dilute its carefully cultivated core identity? Or could this decision help transform Hidesign into a fashion lifestyle brand?

The case is about a non-profit organization located in Manchester, England. As a regional association helping smaller voluntary organizations and groups survive and grow, the organization itself depends on fundraising and donations and runs on project-based funding. The projects normally run for three to five years. Hiring and training new employees every two to three months is common. Due to project timelines, employees leave as soon as they find another job. Many complain about the lack of development opportunities within the organization. The chief executive officer has seven people working for him and needs to make a plan to retain his employees for the whole life of each project. For this purpose, he has decided to devise training and development programs for them. There are different options available for this purpose, each with pros and cons. Considering scarce funding, small project tenure, and his goal to provide fair opportunities for all, he must decide which option best fits his organization's needs and resources.

Meredith, the head of a major division of a financial firm, must confront an unexpected response and challenge from a senior colleague when she proposes shutting down an underperforming unit.

A business unit leader faces a major decision when an employee critical to a high profile transaction asks for a unique compensation arrangement that has implications for the culture of the business.

A business unit leader faces a major decision when an employee critical to a high profile transaction asks for a unique compensation arrangement that has implications for the culture of the business.

The leader of a small business team must deal with an employee who is unwilling to reveal to him the profitability of a transaction for the firm and client.

The leader of a small business team must deal with an employee who is unwilling to reveal to him the profitability of a transaction for the firm and client.

The leader of a small business team must deal with an employee who is unwilling to reveal to him the profitability of a transaction for the firm and client.

Nalli Silk Sarees Private Limited was a family owned and operated business that retailed Indian ethnic wear. This 83-year old company had enjoyed impressive growth with a $95 million turnover, a 22 store retail footprint, and had outdone its competitors by being the only player in its segment to have a national presence. Headquartered in Chennai, India, the company built its unique national brand by emphasizing innovation, customer centric practices, quality and honesty across the store's retail operations. In 2011, with changing dynamics in the Indian apparel market, the company started to face intense competition from small and large Indian and foreign retailers. The company's chairman, Dr.Nalli Kuppusamy Chetty, announced a $25 million expansion plan and proposed the opening of 12 new stores over a period of two years. This case focuses on the company's pricing strategy, merchandising process and product assortments to support its own competitiveness and overall customer experience.

Internal communication in organizations has been significantly changing under the influence of the latest advancements in the digital space. Recently published research suggests that the majority of companies use internal communication for a variety of purposes, including helping employees understand the business and providing performance information. This technical note examines the importance of social media used for internal purposes, provides relevant examples from companies taking leading positions in adopting social media technologies, and presents an overview of the existing internal social media tools that are commonly used in organizations.

Founded in 1995 by Zhang Xin and her husband Mr. Pan Shiyi, SOHO China has developed into a world-class real estate development firm that has consistently delivered high-quality projects known for their cutting-edge designs and investment potential. Despite the tremendous success of the firm, Zhang Xin still looks at the future with great uncertainty. Average residential pricing in China has dropped, as government continues to put downward pressure on residential housing prices through restrictions on the number of apartments a resident is allowed to purchase, and aggressive promotion of affordable housing on the low-end of the market. Zhang Xin wonders what opportunities and threats such market conditions present to SOHO. On the sales and marketing front, SOHO China has historically been geographically-focused only on high-end, design-driven projects in Shanghai and Beijing. As the market became more competitive, Zhang Xin wondered what key strategic decisions in regards to design, financing, and sales the company would need to make in order to maintain its competitive advantage in China.

LEGO has emerged as one of the most successful companies in the toy industry. The case describes LEGO's gradual rise, rapid decline, and recent revitalization as it is keeping up with a changing market place. Central to LEGO's management model is the ability to find the right balance among growing through innovation, staying true to its core, and controlling operational complexity.

Examines the investment process of Generation Investment Management, a "sustainable" investing firm established in 2004 by David Blood and U.S. Vice President Al Gore. Places students in the position of David Lowish, director of global industrials, who must decide whether to recommend an investment in ABB India. The decision pits economic development-supplying energy to impoverished rural areas in India, against environmental damage-caused by the use of coal-fired power plants. This case and/or its teaching note includes references to case supplement videos that are intended for students to view, along with the written case, before class. As a reminder, the (A) video supplement is intended for students to view before class, along with the written case, while the (B) video supplement is for faculty only and to be used in-class.

This case explores French consumer goods company Danone's novel approach to knowledge management. In 2007, Human Resource Chief (Executive Vice President) Franck Mougin assessed the company's knowledge-sharing tools and considers his options going forward. Through informal knowledge marketplaces and sharing networks, Danone had helped managers connect with each other and share good practices peer-to-peer, rather than relying on traditional hierarchical lines of communication or IT repositories. From 2004 to 2007, Mougin and his team had found that 5,000 Danone managers around the world-the company conducted business in 120 countries-had shared about 640 now-documented good practices. In 2007, the strategic importance of saving time in a decentralized organization through adoption of colleagues' good practices was put to a test. Should the knowledge management tools be extended to include all employees and external partners on a regular basis? And on top of sharing good practices, could it be extended to include the creation of new solutions and processes? Would this require more formalization of processes and more tracking of results? The case illustrates Mougin's options on taking knowledge management into the future of Danone.

Spreadsheet supplement for case 206019.

Financial results and conditions vary among companies for a number of reasons. The differences in industry characteristics, in company policies, in management performance, and in responsiveness to the macroeconomic environment are reflected in the financial statements published by publicly held companies and can be highlighted through the use of financial ratios.

This case and the Warner Bros. Pictures: The Harry Potter Dilemma case are set in December 2010 and represent industry consultants thinking about how to market the final installments of very successful movie franchises. Both Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures want to market their movie to gain the greatest gross (i.e. box office ticket revenue). Each company must take into account the scheduling of the other players in the market. The cases also deal with changes in the movie industry. These include the expansion of the number of 3D movies and the importance of franchise movies.