CASE STUDY EXPERTS

Citations must be referenced according to APA style. A Guide to Case Analysis I keep six honest serving men (They taught me all I knew) Their names are What and Why and When; And How and Where and Who. Rudyard Kipling Case analysis provides an insight and understanding of what managers do in building successful businesses. Case analysis allows you to size up big companies restore strengths and weaknesses as compared to its competition and give you insight into strategic issues that must be addressed before formulating strategic alternatives, and formulating workable plans of action. Case analysis helps you build a sense of business judgment as opposed to answers derived from the text or from a professor. Gaining in-depth exposure to a variety of industries helps you get close to understanding the actual business experience. The analysis of a case doesn't require you to rush off to the library or the Internet for information at the outset. Rather it is important that you size up the company, its situation, and define what needs to be done and how to do it. Since the cases have been written some time ago and markets are dynamic, it is appropriate to use outside resources to assist in the completion of your case analysis. I look for at least four references from outside the textbook as you complete your casework. Here are some possible steps to use as you prepare your case analysis. First you should review the case quickly to get an overview followed by a deeper reading to understand the facts and details behind the case. Review all of the information given in the exhibits and tables. It is important to understand what the numbers mean and how they affect the case, the strategic direction, and the possible recommendations. Do some number crunching to determine what the major issues are. The essential financial ratios are given in Table 4.1 on page 104 and 105. How have these ratios changed and how do they compare to the industry? Be sure to validate your remarks and support opinions sound reasons and evidence sound reasons and evidence. Prepare arguments as to why your selected alternative is better than others.   Here are some suggestions from Thompson The 10 Commandments of Case Analysis 1. Go through the case twice, once for a quick review and once to gain full command of the facts; then take care to explore the information in every one of the case exhibits. 2. Make a complete list of the problems and issues that the company's management needs to address 3. Be thorough in your analysis of the company situation (take a minimum of 1 to 2 pages of notes detailing your diagnosis) 4. Look for opportunities to apply the concepts and analytical tools in the text chapters-all of the cases in the book have very definite ties to the material in one or more of the text chapters 5. Do enough number crunching to discover the story told by the data presented in the case. (To help you comply with this commandment, consult the information in Table 4.1, pages 104 and 105 6. Support any and all off-the-cuff opinions with well reasoned arguments and numerical evidence; don't stop until you can purge "I think" and "I feel" from your assignment and instead are able to rely completely on "My analysis shows." 7. Prioritize your recommendations and make sure that they can be carried out in an acceptable time frame with the of available resources 8. Support each recommendation with a persuasive argument and reasons as to why it makes sense and should result in improved company performance 9. Review your recommended action plan to see if it addresses all of the problems and issues you identified. Any set of recommendations that does not address all of the issues and problems you identified is incomplete and insufficient 10. Avoid recommending any course of action that could have disastrous consequences if it doesn't work out as planned; therefore, be as alert to the downside risk of your recommendation as you are to their upside potential and appeal. Quoted from Thompson, BSG-simulation Appropriate references: This is a library research paper and you must use at least 3 different sources, not including textbooks. These sources should be company websites, industry sources, periodicals, such as the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and so on, and governmental sources such as the SEC. Wikipedia and other similar sources are not to be used in this course.