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America Online (AOL) announced a joint venture to develop a Latin American version of its popular online service. The future seemed bright: AOL had enjoyed phenomenal success in the United States, Latin America was one of the fastest growing markets for online services and the president of AOL Brazil was the former country manager for Brazil''s leading telecommunications provider. Despite these factors, the company endures many setbacks. The president leaves to join a competitor''s firm, hundreds of the company''s CD-ROM discs are discovered to be faulty and potential customers are subscribing with its competitors. AOL''s experiences provide a basis for discussing difficulties faced by many multinational companies, including the implications of infrastructure differences, strategic human resources management and the local competition.