Requirements for this case analysis:

1. Problem statement
2. Discussion of first, second, third key issues
3. Recommendation - executive summary
4. First alternative with pros and cons, second alternative with pros and cons
5. Justification of recommendation
6. Implementation plan with timeline
7. First risk & contingency plan; second risk & contingency plan

Transcribed Image Text:

FACE OF THE BUSINESS Ramona, Alexander, and Rafael are three TRSM students who founded a tutoring service for university students called Hoshi. Ramona is an IT management major, Alexander a finance major, and Rafael a global management major. Recently, in a meeting discussing marketing Hoshi to potential customers, the following conversation took place. Alexander: Tutoring is a personal service, so Hoshi needs a face. We need a picture of, like, a student. Someone who is going to catch people's attention. Rafael: Ramona, you have done some modelling, right? Before we met in class, I just knew you as the hot girl from the poster on the 9th floor. Ramona: Not really. I used to work part-time in the dean's office two years ago, and they put a picture of me and some other staff on the poster. I was pretty embarrassed by that, and really wish they didn't leave it up that long. Anyway, long story short, I'm not a model, nor do I want to become one. Rafael: But, look, hiring a professional model will cost a bunch of money we could really use elsewhere. And you know as well as I do that you're very attractive. Alexander: Rafael is right, Ramona. Come on, be a team player. Also, you'll be the face of Hoshi! Ramona: Fine, I guess. Just don't you guys forget that I'm not just a pretty face. The meeting continued and Ramona agreed to meet with Raphael's brother, a serious amateur photographer to take a few "casual" glamour shots the next day. Later in the week, the team got the pictures, and all three of them were impressed. Ramona looked great in the shots, and the three of them quickly agreed on which one they wanted to use. Ramona used photoshop to adjust the background colour, and to edit out a stray bit of hair that was hanging down onto her forehead. As she was playing around with placing the Hoshi logo and some text around the picture, Rafael leaned closer to the laptop and said: "There's, uhm, a ... spot. On your forehead just above your eye. Can you take that out?". This was easily done, and Ramona's skin looked perfect in the picture. She was somewhat embarrassed, and said: "This is starting to look like a picture of someone much more attractive than me; are we sure it's still going to be relatable?". "Don't sell yourself short," said Alexander. "The picture looks amazing, because you look amazing. Besides, the point of the ad is to draw eyeballs, not to make other students relate to you." Ramona answered: "If you say so. Anyway, the ad is ready to go. You guys can start distributing it on social media. I'll head home and work on the code for our app." The next day, Ramona's phone explodes as everyone is letting her know that the ad has gone viral within the university community. She logs into Instagram to find that the Hoshi ad has hundreds of comments mostly about how hot she is. Some users, however, talk about how the picture is fake and comment on Ramona's implausibly thin waistline and legs. Ramona takes another look and, indeed, it seems clear that the picture has been altered to make her look a lot slimmer than she is. Ramona takes a screenshot of the picture with one of the critical comments and sends it to Rafael and Alexander with the caption "What the heck is going on guys?". A few minutes later Rafael responds: "Don't worry supermodel, we got it all under control. Also, are you free to meet tomorrow? Alexander wants to introduce us to his friend Abe. Says he's a great coder and could fix the app for us." Ramona stares at her phone in disbelief. What is your advice to her? FACE OF THE BUSINESS Ramona, Alexander, and Rafael are three TRSM students who founded a tutoring service for university students called Hoshi. Ramona is an IT management major, Alexander a finance major, and Rafael a global management major. Recently, in a meeting discussing marketing Hoshi to potential customers, the following conversation took place. Alexander: Tutoring is a personal service, so Hoshi needs a face. We need a picture of, like, a student. Someone who is going to catch people's attention. Rafael: Ramona, you have done some modelling, right? Before we met in class, I just knew you as the hot girl from the poster on the 9th floor. Ramona: Not really. I used to work part-time in the dean's office two years ago, and they put a picture of me and some other staff on the poster. I was pretty embarrassed by that, and really wish they didn't leave it up that long. Anyway, long story short, I'm not a model, nor do I want to become one. Rafael: But, look, hiring a professional model will cost a bunch of money we could really use elsewhere. And you know as well as I do that you're very attractive. Alexander: Rafael is right, Ramona. Come on, be a team player. Also, you'll be the face of Hoshi! Ramona: Fine, I guess. Just don't you guys forget that I'm not just a pretty face. The meeting continued and Ramona agreed to meet with Raphael's brother, a serious amateur photographer to take a few "casual" glamour shots the next day. Later in the week, the team got the pictures, and all three of them were impressed. Ramona looked great in the shots, and the three of them quickly agreed on which one they wanted to use. Ramona used photoshop to adjust the background colour, and to edit out a stray bit of hair that was hanging down onto her forehead. As she was playing around with placing the Hoshi logo and some text around the picture, Rafael leaned closer to the laptop and said: "There's, uhm, a ... spot. On your forehead just above your eye. Can you take that out?". This was easily done, and Ramona's skin looked perfect in the picture. She was somewhat embarrassed, and said: "This is starting to look like a picture of someone much more attractive than me; are we sure it's still going to be relatable?". "Don't sell yourself short," said Alexander. "The picture looks amazing, because you look amazing. Besides, the point of the ad is to draw eyeballs, not to make other students relate to you." Ramona answered: "If you say so. Anyway, the ad is ready to go. You guys can start distributing it on social media. I'll head home and work on the code for our app." The next day, Ramona's phone explodes as everyone is letting her know that the ad has gone viral within the university community. She logs into Instagram to find that the Hoshi ad has hundreds of comments mostly about how hot she is. Some users, however, talk about how the picture is fake and comment on Ramona's implausibly thin waistline and legs. Ramona takes another look and, indeed, it seems clear that the picture has been altered to make her look a lot slimmer than she is. Ramona takes a screenshot of the picture with one of the critical comments and sends it to Rafael and Alexander with the caption "What the heck is going on guys?". A few minutes later Rafael responds: "Don't worry supermodel, we got it all under control. Also, are you free to meet tomorrow? Alexander wants to introduce us to his friend Abe. Says he's a great coder and could fix the app for us." Ramona stares at her phone in disbelief. What is your advice to her?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Ramona should address the situation immediately and assert her concerns to her partners Rafael and A... View the full answer