REGINA E. HERZLINGER |
NACY R. McPHERSON PROFESSOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

July 24, 2007

Dr. Alberto Meza
Meza Dental Care
San Jose, Costa Rica

Dear Dr. Meza:

I write to request that Meza Dental Care participate as the subject of a Harvard Business School case study. A case study is a written explanation of a company's position at a moment in time when a critical decision must be made. The Harvard Business School uses the case study method to give students the chance to grapple with exactly the kind of decisions and dilemmas managers must confront every day. Together in class, students analyze and synthesize conflicting data and points of view, define and prioritize goals, persuade and inspire others who think differently, make tough decisions with uncertain information, and examine opportunity in face of doubt.

Sara Green, a former student, has told me of meza Dental Care's work with foreign patients. With Meza Dental Care's location, price points, and base of American customers---unique among providers around the world---a case study of your business would be a beneficial tool to the students at Harvard Business School, particularly in my Innovating in Health Care class.

In order to create a usable case study, we need from you a depth of information. As with all case studies from Toyota to The New York Times, some of the information that we gather will be sensitive. Both Sara and I must, by Harvard's guidelines, maintain strict confidentiality with this content. Furthermore, while financial statements are necessary to case study content, these numbers will be disguised, where necessary, to protect your competitive interests. The more information you can provide us with, the more usable the case study. Please know, however, that you will have final approval of its content before publication.

I hope that we can work together on this Meza Dental Clinic case study for HBS.

Kind regards,

Regina Herzlinger