The 1,000-year-old Latin saying mens sana in corpore sano stands for a healthy mind in a healthy body in English language represents the core idea of The Wellness Foundation, launched by Nerio Alessandri, the founder of Italian wellness company Technogym. As a manufacturer of fitness equipment, Technogym employs more than 2,000 employees and users of its machines include football players of famous football teams such as the AC Milan as well as celebrities such as Madonna and Silvester Stallone.
The projects under the Wellness Foundation receive financial support from Technogym, which is the official supplier of gym equipment for the Olympic Games and for major luxury hotel chains in the world such as the Mandarin Oriental and Four Seasons. The goal of the Foundation is as simple yet enlightening: promoting a novel style of living in a society, grounded in creating a perfect balance between physical, mental, and social components of life. In Europe, almost half of the population do not engage in any kind of aerobic physical activity according to a study by the European Commission. The sedentary lifestyle is responsible for causing an increase in the number of chronic diseases, a huge deficit in governments’ health budgets, and work absenteeism.
The Wellness Foundation intends to address these problems by promoting scientific research, education, and tangible projects, and by encouraging people of all generations to engage in regular physical activity. For example, “Play Wellness” is one of the most important projects promoted by the foundation. It is geared toward 10,000 children between the ages of 3 and 9 in the city of Cesena, Italy. It consists of 2,700 hours of physical activity at school with professional instructors, training for teachers on the benefits of physical activity for children’s growth, and the realization of products detailing the benefits of physical activity for children. The benefits of this initiative has gained international recognition through its involvement with the “Let’s Move!” campaign. Let’s Move is a children wellness initiative launched by Michelle Obama in early 2010 which aims to solve the challenge of childhood obesity by focusing on a healthy and physically active life at a young age.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
6-1. Do you think that Technogym’s success stories in social responsibility would also help the company in becoming more profitable?
6-2. Explain whether Alessandri’s approach is a social obligation, social responsiveness, or social responsibility.
6-3. It’s time to think like a manager. Corporate social responsibility is wonderful, though often criticized as purely rhetorical and laden with subtle profit goals.
How can a manager emphasize genuineness of corporate social responsibilities and activities in society?
6-4. Do you think that the collaboration between the managers of the Let’s Move campaign and Play Wellness is beneficial for both companies? Explain.