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In April 2014, the co-founder of lifestyle brand dpms., situated in London, Ontario, has a dilemma. Started as an opportunity to showcase her partner’s graphic designs, dpms. first produced silk-screened t-shirts, then branched into jewelry and other locally produced products as the company succeeded. They maintain a booth at a weekly farmers’ and artisans’ market and travel to other festivals around the province but rely mainly on word-of-mouth promotion and their social media presence to advertise their wares. She was excited about an article that was to appear in a local newspaper, but when the article was published, it contained several inaccuracies. She is deciding how she should handle the situation and how the options to confront or not confront the reporter will reflect on her fledgling company.

In November 2013, GoldieBlox was accused of copyright infringement. It used the Beastie Boys song “Girls” in one of its advertisements promoting new toys for girls without permission. The company’s reaction to file a lawsuit against the band was not well received and perhaps a little hasty.<br><br>In the wake of the crisis, the chief executive officer of GoldieBlox Toy Company and her team had some decisions to make regarding how to handle the lawsuit they filed against the Beastie Boys that then backfired. The hostile environment was not conducive to the image of the company and the negative media was of concern to GoldieBox and its employees.

A managing editor is attempting to navigate a communications and leadership disaster after receiving an email from one of her colleagues at Tehelka Magazine (Tehelka), alleging that the founder/proprietor/editor-in-chief of the magazine had sexually assaulted her. Although the managing editor felt that she handled the situation appropriately via her communications with the victim, the perpetrator and other Tehelka staff, the crisis worsened when those communications were leaked to the media and the general public. In addition, the victim resigned, asserting that the managing editor, a renowned crusader of women’s rights, had been dismissive and overly tolerant regarding the complaint. When both the victim’s resignation email and the editor’s acceptance of that email were also leaked to the media, it generated a fresh round of controversy and debate on the manner in which Tehelka had handled the entire issue and forced the managing editor to announce her decision to step down from her position with Tehelka as well. As she prepared to face the press regarding her resignation, the managing editor could not help but wonder what she could have done differently in handling this difficult situation.

This is the fourth case in the Azza Fahmy series. This case and the three others in this series (9B13M097, 9B13M098 and 9B13M099) can be used together or on a standalone basis.<br><br>Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post-revolution (B) (9B14M024) is a supplement to this case.<br><br>This case series features a female Egyptian entrepreneur who faces the challenge of developing her self-titled jewellery brand. This case describes the changes that have occurred in the external environment and their effect on strategy implementation. The Egyptian Revolution on January 2011 has forced the entrepreneur to re-evaluate her strategy and make the necessary changes. The use of social media, which was a catalyst of the revolution and also affected its outcome, presents a great opportunity for expanding her business even further.

Inaash is a Lebanese non-profit organization that supports the development of Palestinians in refugee camps. Inaash has created jobs for thousands of women in the camps through the production of traditional Palestinian embroidery items such as shawls and dresses, which the association sells in its shop and at exhibitions. The organization has also been successful in creating valuable social infrastructure in many camps through offering medical support to the elderly and sponsoring children’s education. Major changes in the macro environment have resulted in diminishing sales and an increased dependence on donations. Inaash must rethink its strategy and consider improving its performance measurement, using social media to connect with stakeholders and raise awareness, and professionalizing its donor management. How can Inaash bridge the chasm between social purpose and financial viability?

Shankaboot, the world’s first Arabic-language web series, was created in Lebanon as a social development project carrying forward the following message: “to defy traditions and explore taboos. The overarching vision was to use the web to create a forum for raising awareness, sharing alternative viewpoints and generating constructive discussions about the social issues that were often experienced by Arab youth, but which no one dared to speak up about. The project was a resounding success and received a 2011 International Digital Emmy Award. In July 2011, the producer of the web drama was approached by potential funders to scale up the Shankaboot project to the rest of the Arab world. She had to decide where Shankaboot could expand to, given censorship laws and Internet connectivity levels in the region.

In 2011, IBM India was experimenting with social media applications to extend its marketing mix. A social media campaign named Digital Influence was launched to gain market share for the company’s software products, influence groundswell and develop technical evangelists. Within a year, the share of voice and reach for the company’s five software brands increased significantly. However, the company’s marketing and communications director was hesitant to declare victory. Was the model sustainable? What challenges would the company face in the implementation process? Would the plan of operations continue to help the company gain market space and create technical evangelists?

A local, non-profit, no-kill animal shelter is committed to rescuing homeless cats and helping them find permanent homes. This shelter offers a wide variety of services, including adoption, foster programs, low-cost spay and neuter services, and low-income assistance programs for local pet owners. With a personnel shortage at the shelter and increasing numbers of homeless cats in the area, the executive director must look for ways to effectively allocate the organization’s limited resources. She wonders whether some form of social media marketing might be the answer.

The relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the Canadian government has been characterized by conflict and change. Although the Conservative government seemed to support Aboriginal objectives when it issued an historic apology in 2007 for the abuses suffered under the residential schools program and signed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People in 2008, it included changes to the Indian Act in its 2012 omnibus Bill C-45 that put economic development ahead of environmental protection and violated numerous First Nations treaties. In response, a group of First Nations activists initiated the Idle No More movement, which used social media to organize demonstrations around the country, including teach-ins, flash mob round dances and blockades of major transportation routes. Although supported by many non-Aboriginal environmental and human rights groups both in Canada and abroad, the movement appeared to lose steam after the prime minister met Aboriginal leaders to outline eight key items of consensus for action to address Aboriginal and treaty rights, health care, education and employment issues and Chief Theresa Spence suspended the hunger strike that had galvanized support. How could Idle No More organizers maintain the momentum and awareness they had worked so hard to achieve?

The public editor of The Globe and Mail, Canada’s leading national newspaper, faces a significant ethical situation. An advocate of media standards has released a blog post outlining allegations of plagiarism against a prominent newspaper columnist. Following the release of the blog post, numerous members of the public and the journalism community began commenting on the situation. The public editor is responsible for upholding journalistic ethics and for investigating and responding to public concerns. She needs to respond to the allegations of plagiarism and ensure the public that the national newspaper upholds strong ethical standards.

On September 26, 2013, the chief executive officer of the world-leading pasta manufacturer, the Barilla Group, was challenged with a precarious situation. A day earlier, during an interview on an Italian radio show, the company chairman made a series of anti-gay remarks when asked why the company did not feature advertisements with gay families. Social media exploded with negative comments and numerous equality themed pictures creatively featuring pasta. U.S. late night television shows mocked the company, and various equality rights organizations around the world called for a boycott of its products. Competitors also issued statements and ads extolling their respect for diversity. Everyone — customers, news media, competitors and organizations supporting diversity — were looking for an explanation. The company desperately needed to devise a strategy to publicly respond and avoid the negative long-term consequences of a damaged brand name, decreased market share and ultimately lost revenues.

A management consultant has been hired to fix the morale issues at a branch of SkillsForTomorrow (SFT) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. SFT is a government-sponsored organization tasked with helping at-risk young adults gain vocational training toward preparing them for a successful work career. Several factors appear to be influencing the morale of the SFT management team. Unfortunately, some of these factors point directly to the sponsor of the consulting project, the executive director at SFT Harrisburg. The consultant must identify the root causes of the management discord and derive a solution that can help solve the various issues. At the same time, the consultant will need to consider the political and interpersonal aspects of the consulting relationship between herself and the executive director in crafting and presenting a solution.

La Presse, a French language newspaper in Montreal and the largest French language newspaper in North America, published an article summarizing the judgment of a trademark infringement case involving Lassonde Industries, a large Quebec conglomerate with sales of almost Cdn$760 million, and Olivia’s Oasis, a small Quebec manufacturer of health and beauty products with sales of Cdn$250,000. Initially, Olivia’s Oasis had successfully defended itself and it was awarded damages and costs by the courts. However, Lassonde appealed, which resulted in Olivia’s Oasis having to pay its own legal costs — a judgment that could bankrupt the small company. By the end of the day, thousands of readers and members of the public had reacted via social media with such vehemence that Lassonde felt pressured to pay Olivia’s Oasis’ costs. The issues are related to the management of a company’s reputation and the potential impact of negative public reaction in the long term.

An accounting firm has just informed the president of a 55-year-old, third-generation family-owned and -operated company that the family business is beginning to struggle financially. This news pushes years of simmering tensions and conflict within the family business into open conflict. The president has accused his sister, a vice president, of not doing her job. The sister is frustrated and needs to decide what action to take.

In 2012, small upscale bakery produces artisan-quality, hand-decorated cookies, generating $1 million in annual revenue. In the (A) case, the two co-owners investigate the role of pricing in driving growth for their business and allowing them to achieve several fundamental financial goals. In the (B) case 9B13A005, the partners explore the possibility of a website to drive direct-to-consumer sales on an e-commerce platform. <br><br>The multimedia elements of the case 7B13A004 will add to the richness of the conversation. (A higher price applies to this case due to color exhibits.)

A small upscale bakery produces artisan-quality, hand-decorated cookies, generating $1 million in annual revenue. In the (A) case 9B13A004, the two co-owners investigate the role of pricing in driving growth for their business and allowing them to achieve several fundamental financial goals. In the (B) case, the partners explore the possibility of a website to drive direct-to-consumer sales on an e-commerce platform. <br><br>The multimedia elements of the case 7B13A004 will add to the richness of the conversation.

The managing director of a multinational company turns a loss-making business into a profit-making venture by using his unique brand of leadership to change the organizational culture and develop a responsible proactive attitude in his employees. Throughout this process, many difficult personnel decisions must be made, including the decision to remove some senior employees who resist the necessary changes.<br><br>Once under the new leadership team, recruitment and talent development become essential to the future growth of the company. The managing director wonders how to manage this challenge.

The vice-president and general manager of the Canadian operations of a multinational vehicle manufacturer learns that the plant he supervises will be shut down in 15 months. In the months leading up to the shutdown announcement and subsequent winding down, he needs to manage the communications and followup with several stakeholder groups. The vice-president and general manager needs to balance several issues, including the need to keep production high and waste down, while preparing to lay off the workers who will be contributing to the plant’s short-term success. To be used with supplemental cases (9B13M019, 9B13M020).

Greg Popovich, head coach of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) San Antonio Spurs (Spurs), decides to rest his three aging star players during a highly-anticipated game against the NBA champion Miami Heat (Heat). Miami fans have paid a premium for tickets to the game. Many intend to bring their children to see the young, upstart Heat face the much older, but still highly-competitive Spurs. This is a Thursday night game, nationally-televised by the important sponsor of the NBA, TNT. Not to have the Spurs’ stars in the game is very disappointing to fans and to the NBA itself. Popovich needs to decide whether it's right to rest his players, and what to say to the fans and to the NBA.

The CEO and founder of ExerciseApp decided to take the plunge and spec out the features of his new iPhone mobile application and supporting website. He planned for ExerciseApp to stream exercise workouts from pro-athletes to followers who wanted to “Train. Play. Be. Like the Pros” and get an edge to their workouts. As he envisioned the application, he realized he would need a lot of help with the technology and the setup of this entrepreneurial venture in order to successfully bring it to market. With limited funding, he must decide on the next steps for the business, including the application’s features, business model and market strategy.