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Eleganzia Group management faces tough decisions heading into the summer of 2010. With tourism on the decline due to the global economic recession, General Manager Giannuzzi must decide how to set prices at the Forte Village Resort, the Group's most well-known property. His management team is further divided on whether the pricing model at the resort should change to being all-inclusive (as opposed to one where guests are charged for each additional activity or dining option on a pay-as-you-go basis), and whether to convert a large number of the 4-star rooms into 5-star suites. Recently acquired properties, such as the Castel Monastero in Tuscany and the Maddalena Hotel & Yacht Club in north Sardinia, pose a branding challenge. Can all the properties, including the Forte Village, be successfully brought under one umbrella brand, namely, Eleganzia? Moreover, what should the character of each these new properties be?

A budding entrepreneur, with her father, has purchased exclusive Canadian distribution rights to Nutrifusion, a new health supplement that provided servings of fruits and vegetables when added to a variety of foods. They are contemplating launching Healthy Life Group (HLG), a company to market and distribute Nutrifusion in Canada. They want to evaluate the product's financial feasibility for the company's first year of operations, ending December 31, 2011. If the financials look favorable and the business plan seems feasible, the father and daughter will proceed with the new venture. This case serves as an introduction to financial analysis and the development of projected financial statements. Students are given the opportunity to assess the food and health industry qualitatively, analyze a proposed distribution strategy, prepare the first year's projected income statement and balance sheet and then make an overall decision based on their analysis.

Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E. (OTH) was established in 1998 in Egypt and had grown exponentially to become one of the major players in the global telecommunications market. OTH was considered to be among the largest and most diversified network operators in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. Orascom Telecom Algeria (Djezzy) was launched in February 2002 and it grew to become the market leader in terms of both subscriber numbers as well as the quality of telecommunications services provided. Djezzy served more than 14.7 million subscribers on its network and had a 62.9 per cent market share. After the great success Orascom had realized in Algeria, Orascom wanted to further expand. The manager thought that India could also be a great opportunity in which Orascom could expand its business. In 2006, OTH agreed to acquire a 19.3 per cent stake in Hutchison (HTIL) to penetrate the Indian market. India was an excellent opportunity as there were strong complementary similarities between Orascom and Hutchinson Telecom: both were successful operators offering mobile services in countries with large populations and low penetration levels of telecommunications services. However, despite this appearing to be an excellent opportunity, Orascom was not able to complete this operation because it did not consider the expenses in an accurate way and many factors were ignored, concentrating only on the positive aspects.

It was early 2010, and the Twitter Trio, the founders of Twitter, were faced with a changing market situation and a pressure to make money. Twitter was a free service that had been operating without a viable business plan since 2006. In early 2010, Twitter was still not making enough money and it was time Twitter showed real return on investment. The trio had to decide on a business model that was competitive. There was a data mining project that could bring all the funds Twitter needed to stay in business, make profit and compete with others. However, the founders were concerned that this project might be perceived to intrude on users' privacy, even in a company that was founded on the basis of sharing information publicly.

This note was developed to summarize how some managers and firms are approaching risk management, and to provide a risk assessment tool that can be used to complement current risk management frameworks. Leaders are compensated and operate in conditions of risk. The risk assessment tool is based on: identification, information, interests, incentives and infrastructure.<br><br>The note was developed to provide participants with an integrated framework to identify and manage risk. It clearly shows that risk is endemic to business activities but needs to be managed in a strategic manner. It also points out that risk management has strategic, operational and tactical dimensions and is much broader than the volatility dimensions of risk stressed in financial management.

The founder of Lakkard Leather Company has headed the company for 24 years. He is proud of his business, and attributes much of its success to his own leadership style, which did not allow for anyone else's participation in decisions of substance. When he was badly injured in a car accident, his son stepped in and kept the business going. Without any intention to take over, the son altered the leadership and operations of the company in the space of a few months, so that by the time the founder returned, the company had changed and his role was significantly reduced. The son, in the meantime, grew to like his interim position and believed he did a better job than his father. Both men become locked in a power struggle; yet the company faced several key decisions that had to be taken in terms of expansion, product offering and sale opportunities.

Student spreadsheet for case UV1189.

The new senior vice-president of marketing at Vista-Sci Health Care Inc. must decide which of two very good candidates he should promote to the position from which he has just been promoted. Each of the candidates has demonstrated strengths and weaknesses in their current jobs; the question is whether or not these competencies and other personal characteristics will make them a good fit for their new roles.

This case describes the economic development problems faced by the small Caribbean-island country of Jamaica over most of the past half-century. The Jamaican economy showed relatively strong growth in the 1960s but stagnated in the 1970s. By the end of that decade, Jamaica was forced to turn to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for balance-of-payments support. Over the 1980s and early 1990s, the unpopular policy conditions associated with IMF loan programs made the Fund a lightning rod for criticism over Jamaica's lack of economic progress. Jamaicans celebrated the end of IMF borrowing in the mid-1990s, but a severe financial crisis later that decade created a new layer of economic problems. In 2010, in the context of the global economic downturn, Jamaica once again returned to the IMF for financing support. This case allows students to explore the complicated economic difficulties faced by Jamaica, which remains burdened by a self-reinforcing set of interrelated factors, including high public debt, a sluggish private sector, an inefficient public sector, poverty, and crime, among others.

Supplement to "U.S. Healthcare Reform: International Perspectives," HBS No. 710-040, updating key events and disputes concerning the reform law, including the 2010 Congressional elections, legislative proposals, legal challenges, and responses by employers.

On January 1, 2011, Tadashi Yanai, the CEO of Fast Retailing Group (FR), sent his annual New Year's message to everyone in the company. The message, entitled "Change or Die," declared that FR which included UNIQLO, Theory, Comptoir des Cotonniers, Princesse tam.tam and others within the group - would become the No.1 apparel company in the world.

Fifteen years after ending apartheid, formal unemployment in South Africa was still at 24%. While the country had grown at 4 to 5% annually during the 2000s, the financial crisis set it back by 1 million more unemployed. Moreover, it seemed as if the nation were stuck between low wage and fully developed competitors. The government of Jacob Zuma has just adopted a "New Growth Path," hoping to create several million jobs over the next few years. Both the Finance Minister and the head of the Central Bank support the initiative, but worry how they can sustain fiscal discipline and control inflation, in light of these stimulative policies. Organized labor, meanwhile, has little sympathy for any sort of sacrifice.

15 years after ending apartheid, formal unemployment in South Africa was still at 24%. While the country had grown at 4 to 5% annually during the 2000s, the financial crisis set it back by 1 million more unemployed. Moreover, it seemed as if the nation were stuck between low wage and fully developed competitors. The government of Jacob Zuma has just adopted a "New Growth Path," hoping to create several million jobs over the next few years. Both the Finance Minister and the head of the Central Bank support the initiative, but worry how they can sustain fiscal discipline and control inflation, in light of these stimulative policies. Organized labor, meanwhile, has little sympathy for any sort of sacrifice.

Jane Chen (GSB '08) and Brian Trelstad (GSB '99) had known one another for years. Trelstad, the chief investment officer of the nonprofit global venture fund Acumen Fund, had been a mentor to Chen and her colleagues as they worked to develop a low-cost infant warmer to meet the needs of low-birth-weight babies, their mothers, and healthcare providers in developing countries. Chen, who became the chief executive officer of Embrace Global, the nonprofit founded to achieve this objective, had come to value Trelstad's guidance and trust his advice. In late 2010, as she and her team were on the cusp getting their innovative new product to market, Chen and Trelstad's relationship took on a new dimension. Embrace was seeking an infusion of funds to support its product launch and help the company rapidly achieve scale. In parallel, Acumen Fund was continuing to look for organizations with game-changing products and services in need of patient capital on their way to becoming self-sustaining businesses that effectively serve the poor. Suddenly, Trelstad was a potential investor and Chen was a prospective investee. As they explored the possibilities of a financial partnership, one of the key questions facing Embrace was whether or not it should consider adopting a for-profit or hybrid organizational structure so it could raise more substantial funding by taking on equity investors. Acumen Fund had to think about whether or not it was interested in investing in Embrace, how to value the company, and how large a stake it might be willing to take if a deal moved forward. This case explores the situation from the perspective of both organizations and can be used to support a high-level negotiation between the two parties.

When he took over as chief executive, the former state-owned telecom monopoly was in bad shape. Having long been one of the dominant players in Europe, DT's share price had collapsed in just a few years, as had its grip on its home market. Shortly before Obermann was appointed, DT's share of new broadband customers in Germany - its traditional stronghold - fell to below 10 percent. And with its 260,000 strong workforce, DT's labor costs compared to sales were up to twice as high as those of its main European rivals. Still living on past glories, the company was heavily siloed and bloated. While its structure was not suited to the new market realities, few employees felt a strong need for anything more than incremental change. Yet many analysts foresaw either bankruptcy or break-up for DT within a matter of three or four years. Under Obermann's leadership, DT underwent a dramatic transformation, regaining its dominant position in the large domestic market within three years - but it remained too early to declare a full-fledged turnaround. Case A describes Deutsche Telekom's competitive challenges prior to René Obermann's appointment as CEO. It gives a few background details on the new CEO and describes some of the key moves he made during his first two years at the helm - and his success in stabilizing DT. Case B covers the second phase of DT's recovery and the continued drive to create a single integrated company, to overcome resistance and to encourage new behaviors. Learning objectives: The cases cover three key themes: 1) The advantages and disadvantages of a strong organizational culture. 2) The process of organizational transformation and the challenge of building on success. 3) Some of the psychological challenges of leadership.

Supplement for IMD509

Daniel Kim was considering "blowing the whistle" on his friend, the CEO of a fast-growing startup where Kim had spent most of his professional career. When Kim joined the company, called Cardio-Metric, in 2002, it consisted of seven young engineers (including its two 25-year-old founders) working from a one-bedroom Minneapolis apartment. By 2008, when the venture capital-backed company recorded $110 million in revenues, Kim had become close friends with the founders, who served as CEO and chairman. Cardio-Metric's success, however, concealed troubling internal developments. Since 2002, the CEO's management style had progressed from unconventional, to questionable, to egregious. Kim, Cardio-Metric's on-and-off CFO, had repeatedly confronted the CEO over his behavior-including charging large purchases with no clear business purpose to Cardio-Metric and presenting unrealistic financial projections to investors-but the CEO dismissed Kim's concerns and ordered him not to share them with others at the company. By April 2009, Kim believed the problem had grown out of control, and he was considering disclosing the CEO's actions to the board of directors and a team of external auditors. There was much at stake. Kim's disclosure would undoubtedly ruin his friendship with the CEO, endanger Kim's own role at the company, and even jeopardize the future of Cardio-Metric itself.

Daniel Kim was considering blowing the whistle on his friend, the CEO of a fast-growing start-up where Kim had spent most of his professional career. When Kim joined the company, called Cardio-Metric, in 2002, it consisted of seven young engineers (including its two 25-year-old founders) working from a one-bedroom Minneapolis apartment. By 2008, when the venture capital-backed company recorded $110 million in revenues, Kim had become close friends with the founders, who served as CEO and chairman. Cardio-Metric's success, however, concealed troubling internal developments. Since 2002, the CEO's management style had progressed from unconventional to questionable to egregious. Kim, Cardio-Metric's on-and-off CFO, had repeatedly confronted the CEO over his behavior-including charging large purchases with no clear business purpose to Cardio-Metric and presenting unrealistic financial projections to investors-but the CEO dismissed Kim's concerns and ordered him not to share them with others at the company. By April 2009, Kim believed the problem had grown out of control, and he was considering disclosing the CEO's actions to the board of directors and a team of external auditors. There was much at stake. Kim's disclosure would undoubtedly ruin his friendship with the CEO, endanger Kim's own role at the company, and even jeopardize the future of Cardio-Metric itself.

Dr. Yusuf Hamied, head of the Indian pharma and generics manufacturing company Cipla, is weighing options for how to continue to support the global fight against HIV/AIDS while positioning his company for growth in a changing regulatory landscape.

After three years of rapid growth in a relatively young industry, the affiliate and payment processing company RevenueWire.com found itself operating in a very different environment. Sales growth in the company's affiliate network service had leveled off, and orders for Q1 2010 looked just like those for Q1 2009. New competitors, low entry barriers, and a plateau in the affiliate market meant few opportunities for growth across the industry. Despite those conditions, the company's owners had set aggressive revenue targets for 2010 to 2012. The general manager must evaluate options for growth, including new markets and new products, to determine how to meet her targets. Because RevenueWire.com's competitors are privately held, there is little public data on the state of their finances or the size of various markets. The general manager has learned how to use surrogate data to gauge the market and make strategic decisions, and the students must do the same to develop an effective three-year plan that will meet or exceed the owners' expectations. The case exposes students to decision making in a global industry dominated by privately held companies. It also exposes students to the affiliate marketing industry from the viewpoint of an entrepreneurial company that serves as an intermediary between merchants and affiliates. It describes many of the challenges facing an intermediary in an industry that includes not only legitimate merchants but also a vast array of scam artists and phony products.