Upload File

case study analysis

7
Introduction to Business Winter 2006 An Approach to Case Analysis Winter 2006 What is a Case Study? A case study is a description of an actual administrative situation involving a decision to be made or a problem to be solved. It can a real situation that actually happened just as described, or portions have been disguised for reasons of privacy. Most case studies are written in such a way that the reader takes the place of the manager whose responsibility is to make decisions to help solve the problem. In almost all case studies, a decision must be made, although that decision might be to leave the situation as it is and do nothing. The Case Method as a Learning Tool The case method of analysis is a learning tool in which students and Instructors participate in direct discussion of case studies, as opposed to the lecture method, where the Instructor speaks and students listen and take notes. In the case method, students teach themselves, with the Instructor being an active guide, rather than just a talking head delivering content. The focus is on students learning through their joint, cooperative effort. Assigned cases are first prepared by students, and this preparation forms the basis for class discussion under the direction of the Instructor. Students learn, often unconsciously, how to evaluate a problem, how to make decisions, and how to orally argue a point of view. Using this method, they also learn how to think in terms of the problems faced by an administrator. In courses that use the case method extensively, a significant part of the student's evaluation may rest with classroom participation in case discussions, with another substantial portion resting on written case analyses. For these reasons, using the case method tends to be very intensive for both students and Instructor. Case studies are used extensively thoughout most business programs at the university level, and The F.C. Manning School of Business Administration is no exception. As you will be using case studies in many of the courses over the next four years, it is important that you get off to a good start by learning the proper way to approach and complete them. How to do a Case Study While there is no one definitive "Case Method" or approach, there are common steps that most approaches recommend be followed in tackling a case study. It is inevitable that different Instructors will tell you to do things differently, this is part of life and will also be part of working for others. This variety is beneficial since it will show you different ways of approaching decision making. What follows is intended to be a rather general approach, portions of which have been taken from an excellent book entitled, Learning with Cases , by Erskine, Leenders, & MauffetteLeenders, published by the Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario, 1997. Beforehand (usually a week before), you will get: 1. the case study, 2. (often) some guiding questions that will need to be answered, and 3. (sometimes) some reading assignments that have some relevance to the case subject. Your work in completing the case can be divided up into three components:

Upload: crusty2k5

Post on 11-Sep-2015

10 views

Category:

Documents


3 download

Report

DESCRIPTION

case

TRANSCRIPT

  • 6/27/2015 CaseStudyAnalysis

    http://plato.acadiau.ca/courses/Busi/IntroBus/CASEMETHOD.html 1/7

    IntroductiontoBusinessWinter2006AnApproachtoCaseAnalysisWinter2006

    WhatisaCaseStudy?

    Acasestudyisadescriptionofanactualadministrativesituationinvolvingadecisiontobemadeoraproblemtobesolved.Itcanarealsituationthatactuallyhappenedjustasdescribed,orportionshavebeendisguisedforreasonsofprivacy.Mostcasestudiesarewritteninsuchawaythatthereadertakestheplaceofthemanagerwhoseresponsibilityistomakedecisionstohelpsolvetheproblem.Inalmostallcasestudies,adecisionmustbemade,althoughthatdecisionmightbetoleavethesituationasitisanddonothing.

    TheCaseMethodasaLearningTool

    ThecasemethodofanalysisisalearningtoolinwhichstudentsandInstructorsparticipateindirectdiscussionofcasestudies,asopposedtothelecturemethod,wheretheInstructorspeaksandstudentslistenandtakenotes.Inthecasemethod,studentsteachthemselves,withtheInstructorbeinganactiveguide,ratherthanjustatalkingheaddeliveringcontent.Thefocusisonstudentslearningthroughtheirjoint,cooperativeeffort.

    Assignedcasesarefirstpreparedbystudents,andthispreparationformsthebasisforclassdiscussionunderthedirectionoftheInstructor.Studentslearn,oftenunconsciously,howtoevaluateaproblem,howtomakedecisions,andhowtoorallyargueapointofview.Usingthismethod,theyalsolearnhowtothinkintermsoftheproblemsfacedbyanadministrator.Incoursesthatusethecasemethodextensively,asignificantpartofthestudent'sevaluationmayrestwithclassroomparticipationincasediscussions,withanothersubstantialportionrestingonwrittencaseanalyses.Forthesereasons,usingthecasemethodtendstobeveryintensiveforbothstudentsandInstructor.

    Casestudiesareusedextensivelythoughoutmostbusinessprogramsattheuniversitylevel,andTheF.C.ManningSchoolofBusinessAdministrationisnoexception.Asyouwillbeusingcasestudiesinmanyofthecoursesoverthenextfouryears,itisimportantthatyougetofftoagoodstartbylearningtheproperwaytoapproachandcompletethem.

    HowtodoaCaseStudy

    Whilethereisnoonedefinitive"CaseMethod"orapproach,therearecommonstepsthatmostapproachesrecommendbefollowedintacklingacasestudy.ItisinevitablethatdifferentInstructorswilltellyoutodothingsdifferently,thisispartoflifeandwillalsobepartofworkingforothers.Thisvarietyisbeneficialsinceitwillshowyoudifferentwaysofapproachingdecisionmaking.Whatfollowsisintendedtobearathergeneralapproach,portionsofwhichhavebeentakenfromanexcellentbookentitled,LearningwithCases,byErskine,Leenders,&MauffetteLeenders,publishedbytheRichardIveySchoolofBusiness,TheUniversityofWesternOntario,1997.

    Beforehand(usuallyaweekbefore),youwillget:

    1. thecasestudy,2. (often)someguidingquestionsthatwillneedtobeanswered,and3. (sometimes)somereadingassignmentsthathavesomerelevancetothecasesubject.

    Yourworkincompletingthecasecanbedividedupintothreecomponents:

  • 6/27/2015 CaseStudyAnalysis

    http://plato.acadiau.ca/courses/Busi/IntroBus/CASEMETHOD.html 2/7

    1. whatyoudotopreparebeforetheclassdiscussion,2. whattakesplaceintheclassdiscussionofthecase,and3. anythingrequiredaftertheclassdiscussionhastakenplace.

    Formaximumeffectiveness,itisessentialthatyoudoallthreecomponents.Herearethesubcomponents,inorder.Wewilldiscusstheminmoredetailshortly.

    1. Beforetheclassdiscussion:1. Readthereadingassignments(ifany)2. UsetheShortCycleProcesstofamiliarizeyourselfwiththecase.3. UsetheLongCycleProcesstoanalyzethecase4. Usuallytherewillbegroupmeetingstodiscussyourideas.5. Writeupthecase(ifrequired)

    2. Intheclassdiscussion:1. Someonewillstartthediscussion,usuallyatthepromptingoftheInstructor.2. Listencarefullyandtakenotes.Paycloseattentiontoassumptions.Insistthattheyare

    clearlystated.3. Takepartinthediscussion.Yourcontributionisimportant,andislikelyapartofyour

    evaluationforthecourse.3. Aftertheclassdiscussion:

    1. ReviewASAPaftertheclass.Notewhatthekeyconceptwasandhowthecasefitsintothecourse.

    Topofpage

    PreparingACaseStudy

    Ithelpstohaveasystemwhensittingdowntoprepareacasestudyastheamountofinformationandissuestoberesolvedcaninitiallyseemquiteoverwhelming.Thefollowingisagoodwaytostart.

    Step1:TheShortCycleProcess

    1. Quicklyreadthecase.Ifitisalongcase,atthisstageyoumaywanttoreadonlythefirstfewandlastparagraphs.Youshouldthenbeableto

    2. Answerthefollowingquestions:1. Whoisthedecisionmakerinthiscase,andwhatistheirpositionandresponsibilities?2. Whatappearstobetheissue(ofconcern,problem,challenge,oropportunity)andits

    significancefortheorganization?3. Whyhastheissuearisenandwhyisthedecisionmakerinvolvednow?4. Whendoesthedecisionmakerhavetodecide,resolve,actordisposeoftheissue?What

    istheurgencytothesituation?3. TakealookattheExhibitstoseewhatnumbershavebeenprovided.4. Reviewthecasesubtitlestoseewhatareasarecoveredinmoredepth.5. Reviewthecasequestionsiftheyhavebeenprovided.Thismaygiveyousomecluesarewhat

    themainissuesaretoberesolved.

    Youshouldnowbefamiliarwithwhatthecasestudyisabout,andarereadytobegintheprocessofanalyzingit.Youarenotdoneyet!Manystudentsmistakenlybelievethatthisisallthepreparationneededforaclassdiscussionofacasestudy.Ifthiswastheextentofyourpreparation,yourabilitytocontributetothediscussionwouldlikelybelimitedtothefirstonequarteroftheclasstimeallotted.Youneedtogofurthertopreparethecase,usingthenextstep.Oneoftheprimaryreasonsfordoingtheshortcycleprocessistogiveyouanindicationofhowmuchworkwillneedtobedonetopreparethecasestudyproperly.

  • 6/27/2015 CaseStudyAnalysis

    http://plato.acadiau.ca/courses/Busi/IntroBus/CASEMETHOD.html 3/7

    Step2:TheLongCycleProcess

    Atthispoint,thetaskconsistsoftwoparts:

    1. Adetailedreadingofthecase,andthen2. Analyzingthecase.

    Whenyouaredoingthedetailedreadingofthecasestudy,lookforthefollowingsections:

    1. Openingparagraph:introducesthesituation.2. Backgroundinformation:industry,organization,products,history,competition,financial

    information,andanythingelseofsignificance.3. Specific(functional)areaofinterest:marketing,finance,operations,humanresources,or

    integrated.4. Thespecificproblemordecision(s)tobemade.5. Alternativesopentothedecisionmaker,whichmayormaynotbestatedinthecase.6. Conclusion:setsupthetask,anyconstraintsorlimitations,andtheurgencyofthesituation.

    Most,butnotallcasestudieswillfollowthisformat.Thepurposehereistothoroughlyunderstandthesituationandthedecisionsthatwillneedtobemade.Takeyourtime,makenotes,andkeepfocussedonyourobjectives.

    Analyzingthecaseshouldtakethefollowingsteps:

    1. Definingtheissue(s)2. Analyzingthecasedata3. Generatingalternatives4. Selectingdecisioncriteria5. Analyzingandevaluatingalternatives6. Selectingthepreferredalternative7. Developinganaction/implementationplan

    Definingtheissue(s)/ProblemStatement

    Theproblemstatementshouldbeaclear,concisestatementofexactlywhatneedstobeaddressed.Thisisnoteasytowrite!Theworkthatyoudidintheshortcycleprocessansweredthebasicquestions.Nowitistimetodecidewhatthemainissuestobeaddressedaregoingtobeinmuchmoredetail.Askingyourselfthefollowingquestionsmayhelp:

    1. Whatappearstobetheproblem(s)here?2. HowdoIknowthatthisisaproblem?Notethatbyaskingthisquestion,youwillbehelping

    todifferentiatethesymptomsoftheproblemfromtheproblemitself.Example:whiledecliningsalesorunhappyemployeesareaproblemtomostcompanies,theyareinfact,symptomsofunderlyingproblemswhichneedtoaddressed.

    3. Whataretheimmediateissuesthatneedtobeaddressed?Thishelpstodifferentiatebetweenissuesthatcanberesolvedwithinthecontextofthecase,andthosethatarebiggerissuesthatneededtoaddressedataanothertime(preferablybysomeoneelse!).

    4. Differentiatebetweenimportanceandurgencyfortheissuesidentified.Someissuesmayappeartobeurgent,butuponcloserexaminationarerelativelyunimportant,whileothersmaybefarmoreimportant(relativetosolvingourproblem)thanurgent.Youwanttodealwithimportantissuesinorderofurgencytokeepfocussedonyourobjective.Importantissuesarethosethathaveasignificanteffecton:

    1. profitability,2. strategicdirectionofthecompany,

  • 6/27/2015 CaseStudyAnalysis

    http://plato.acadiau.ca/courses/Busi/IntroBus/CASEMETHOD.html 4/7

    3. sourceofcompetitiveadvantage,4. moraleofthecompany'semployees,and/or5. customersatisfaction.

    Theproblemstatementmaybeframedasaquestion,eg:WhatshouldJoedo?orHowcanMrSmithimprovemarketshare?Usuallytheproblemstatementhastoberewrittenseveraltimesduringtheanalysisofacase,asyoupeelbackthelayersofsymptomsorcausation.

    AnalyzingCaseData

    Inanalyzingthecasedata,youaretryingtoanswerthefollowing:

    1. Whyorhowdidtheseissuesarise?Youaretryingtodeterminecauseandeffectfortheproblemsidentified.Youcannotsolveaproblemthatyoucannotdeterminethecauseof!Itmaybehelpfultothinkoftheorganizationinquestionasconsistingofthefollowingcomponents:

    1. resources,suchasmaterials,equipment,orsupplies,and2. peoplewhotransformtheseresourcesusing3. processes,whichcreatessomethingofgreatervalue.

    Now,wherearetheproblemsbeingcausedwithinthisframework,andwhy?2. Whoisaffectedmostbythisissues?Youaretryingtoidentifywhoaretherelevant

    stakeholderstothesituation,andwhowillbeaffectedbythedecisionstobemade.3. Whataretheconstraintsandopportunitiesimplicittothissituation?Itisveryrarethat

    resourcesarenotaconstraint,andallocationsmustbemadeontheassumptionthatnotenoughwillbeavailabletopleaseeveryone.

    4. Whatdothenumberstellyou?Youneedtotakealookatthenumbersgiveninthecasestudyandmakeajudgementastotheirrelevancetotheproblemidentified.Notallnumberswillbeimmediatelyusefulorrelevant,butyouneedtobecarefulnottooverlookanything.Whendecidingtoanalyzenumbers,keepinmindwhyyouaredoingit,andwhatyouintendtodowiththeresult.Usecommonsenseandcomparisonstoindustrystandardswhenmakingjudgementsastothemeaningofyouranswerstoavoidjumpingtoconclusions.

    GeneratingAlternatives

    Thissectiondealswithdifferentwaysinwhichtheproblemcanberesolved.Typically,therearemany(thejokeisatleastthree),andbeingcreativeatthisstagehelps.Thingstorememberatthisstageare:

    1. Berealistic!Whileyoumightbeabletofindadozenalternatives,keepinmindthattheyshouldberealisticandfitwithintheconstraintsofthesituation.

    2. Thealternativesshouldbemutuallyexclusive,thatis,theycannothappenatthesametime.3. Notmakingadecisionpendingfurtherinvestigationisnotanacceptabledecisionforanycase

    studythatyouwillanalyze.Amanagercanalwaysdelaymakingadecisiontogathermoreinformation,whichisnotmanagingatall!Thewholepointtothisexerciseistolearnhowtomakegooddecisions,andhavingimperfectinformationisnormalformostbusinessdecisions,nottheexception.

    4. Doingnothingasinnotchangingyourstrategycanbeaviablealternative,provideditisbeingrecommendedforthecorrectreasons,aswillbediscussedbelow.

    5. Avoidthemeatsandwichmethodofprovidingonlytwootherclearlyundesirablealternativestomakeonereasonablealternativelookbetterbycomparison.Thiswillbepainfullyobvioustothereader,andjustshowslazinessonyourpartinnotbeingabletocomeupwithmorethanonedecentalternative.

    6. Keepinmindthatanyalternativechosenwillneedtobeimplementedatsomepoint,andifseriousobstaclesexisttosuccessfullydoingthis,thenyouaretheonewhowilllookbadfor

  • 6/27/2015 CaseStudyAnalysis

    http://plato.acadiau.ca/courses/Busi/IntroBus/CASEMETHOD.html 5/7

    suggestingit.

    Oncethealternativeshavebeenidentified,amethodofevaluatingthemandselectingthemostappropriateoneneedstobeusedtoarriveatadecision.

    Topofpage

    KeyDecisionCriteria

    Averyimportantconcepttounderstand,theyanswerthequestionofhowyouaregoingtodecidewhichalternativeisthebestonetochoose.Otherthanchoosingrandomly,wewillalwaysemploysomecriteriainmakinganydecision.Thinkaboutthelasttimethatyoumakeapurchasedecisionforanarticleofclothing.Whydidyouchoosethearticlethatyoudid?Thecriteriathatyoumayhaveusedcouldhavebeen:

    1. fit2. price3. fashion4. colour5. approvaloffriend/family6. availability

    Notethatanyoneofthesecriteriacouldappropriatelyfinishthesentence,thebrand/stylethatIchoosetopurchasemust....Thesecriteriaarealsohowyouwilldefineordeterminethatasuccessfulpurchasedecisionhasbeenmade.Forabusinesssituation,thekeydecisioncriteriaarethosethingsthatareimportanttotheorganizationmakingthedecision,andtheywillbeusedtoevaluatethesuitabilityofeachalternativerecommended.

    Keydecisioncriteriashouldbe:

    1. Brief,preferablyinpointform,suchas1. improve(oratleastmaintain)profitability,2. increasesales,marketshare,orreturnoninvestment,3. maintaincustomersatisfaction,corporateimage,4. beconsistentwiththecorporatemissionorstrategy,5. withinourpresent(orfuture)resourcesandcapabilities,6. withinacceptableriskparameters,7. easeorspeedofimplementation,8. employeemorale,safety,orturnover,9. retainflexibility,and/or

    10. minimizeenvironmentalimpact.2. Measurable,atleasttothepointofcomparison,suchasalternativeAwillimproveprofitability

    morethatalternativeB.3. Berelatedtoyourproblemstatement,andalternatives.Ifyoufindthatyouaretalkingabout

    somethingelse,thatisasignofamissingalternativeorkeydecisioncriteria,orapoorlyformedproblemstatement.

    Studentstendtofindtheconceptofkeydecisioncriteriaveryconfusing,soyouwillprobablyfindthatyourewritethemseveraltimesasyouanalyzethecase.Theyaresimilartoconstraintsorlimitations,butareusedtoevaluatealternatives.

    EvaluationofAlternatives

    Ifyouhavedonetheaboveproperly,thisshouldbestraightforward.Youmeasurethealternativesagainsteachkeydecisioncriteria.Oftenyoucansetupasimpletablewithkeydecisioncriteriaas

  • 6/27/2015 CaseStudyAnalysis

    http://plato.acadiau.ca/courses/Busi/IntroBus/CASEMETHOD.html 6/7

    columnsandalternativesasrows,andwritethissectionbasedonthetable.Eachalternativemustbecomparedtoeachcriteriaanditssuitabilityrankedinsomeway,suchasmet/notmet,orinrelationtotheotheralternatives,suchasbetterthan,orhighest.Thiswillbeimportanttoselectinganalternative.Anothermethodthatcanbeusedistolisttheadvantagesanddisadvantages(pros/cons)ofeachalternative,andthendiscussingtheshortandlongtermimplicationsofchoosingeach.Notethatthisimpliesthatyouhavealreadypredictedthemostlikelyoutcomeofeachofthealternatives.Somestudentsfindithelpfultoconsiderthreedifferentlevelsofoutcome,suchasbest,worst,andmostlikely,asanotherwayofevaluatingalternatives.

    Recommendation

    Youmusthaveone!Businesspeoplearedecisionmakersthisisyouropportunitytopracticemakingdecisions.Giveajustificationforyourdecision(usetheKDC's).Checktomakesurethatitisone(andonlyone)ofyourAlternativesandthatitdoesresolvewhatyoudefinedastheProblem.

    StructureoftheWrittenReport

    DifferentInstructorswillrequiredifferentformatsforcasereports,buttheyshouldallhaveroughlythesamegeneralcontent.Forthiscourse,thereportshouldhavethefollowingsectionsinthisorder:

    1. Titlepage2. Tableofcontents3. Executivesummary4. Problem(Issue)statement5. Dataanalysis6. KeyDecisionCriteria7. Alternativesanalysis8. Recommendations9. ActionandImplementationPlan

    10. Exhibits

    NotesonWrittenReports:

    Alwaysrememberthatyouwillbejudgedbythequalityofyourwork,whichincludesyourwrittenworksuchascasestudyreports.Sloppy,disorganized,poorqualityworkwillsaymoreaboutyouthanyouprobablywantsaid!Toensurethequalityofyourwrittenwork,keepthefollowinginmindwhenwritingyourreport:

    1. Proofreadyourwork!Notjustonthescreenwhileyouwriteit,butthehardcopyafteritisprinted.Fixtheerrorsbeforesubmitting.

    2. Usespellcheckertoeliminatespellingerrors3. Usegrammarcheckingtoavoidcommongrammaticalerrorssuchasrunonsentences.4. Notethatrestatingofcasefactsisnotincludedintheformatofthecasereport,norisit

    consideredpartofanalysis.Anyonereadingyourreportwillbefamiliarwiththecase,andyouneedonlytomentionfactsthatarerelevantto(andsupport)youranalysisorrecommendationasyouneedthem.

    5. Ifyouaregoingtoincludeexhibits(particularlynumbers)inyourreport,youwillneedtorefertothemwithinthebodyofyourreport,notjusttackthemonattheend!Thisreferenceshouldbeintheformofsupportingconclusionsthatyouaremakinginyouranalysis.Thereadershouldnothavetoguesswhyparticularexhibitshavebeenincluded,norwhattheymean.Ifyoudonotplantorefertothem,thenleavethemout.

    6. Writeinaformalmannersuitableforscholarlywork,ratherthanalettertoafriend.

  • 6/27/2015 CaseStudyAnalysis

    http://plato.acadiau.ca/courses/Busi/IntroBus/CASEMETHOD.html 7/7

    7. Commonsenseandlogicalthinkingcandowondersforyourevaluation!8. Youshouldexpectthatthecomputerlab'sprinterwillnotbefunctioninginthetwelvehours

    priortoyourdeadlineforsubmission.Planforit!9. Proofreadyourwork!Havesomeoneelsereadittoo!(particularlyifenglishisnotyourfirst

    language)Thissecondpairofeyeswillgiveyouanobjectiveopinionofhowwellyourreportholdstogether.

    Topofpage


(Case study)analysis of_financial_statements_at_a_furniture_manufacturer

BMW - Case Study Analysis

Case study fundametal analysis

Urine analysis case study

Sinopec case study analysis

A Case Study Analysis

3Com Case Study Analysis

Case Study ... Theoretical Analysis

Metabical Case Study Analysis

Astrazeneca Case Study Analysis

Natureview case study analysis

Blackberry Case Study Analysis

Caterpillar.Inc case study analysis

UPS case study analysis

Case Study Critical Analysis

Case study research & analysis

harpic case study analysis

Email: info ...studentsassignmenthelp.com/.../04/Case-Study-McDonalds-Corporati… · Tags: case analysis, case study analysis, company analysis, McDonalds case study, food industry

Merdeka PNB118 Case Study: Analysis of Different Bore Pile ...global.ctbuh.org/resources/presentations/kl118-case-study-analysis... · Merdeka PNB118 Case Study: Analysis of Different

easyjet case study analysis

Yum! China Case Study Analysis Yum! China Case Study Analysis

Harvard Case Studies...MBA Case Study Harvard Case Solution Analysis Executive MBA Case Study TheCaseSolutions.com MBA Case study Harvard Case solution Et Analysis Executive MBA Case

pepsi case study analysis

Harvard Case Study Solution & Analysis - HBR Case Study

Case Study Analysis

Vibration Analysis – Case Study

Tesco Case Study analysis

Case Study Analysis Lululemon

HRM Case Study Analysis

Evidence Analysis Case Study

Nike case study analysis

Harvard Case Study Analysis

IKEA CASE STUDY & ANALYSIS

Case Study 1 Analysis

Case Control Study : Analysis