Case Analysis

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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

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CA2 STRATEGY: Core Concepts and Analytical Approaches

exposure to a variety of industries, organizations, and
strategic problems; (2) forcing you to assume a mana-
gerial role (as opposed to that of just an onlooker);
(3) providing a test of how to apply the tools and tech-
niques of strategic management; and (4) asking you to
come up with pragmatic managerial action plans to
deal with the issues at hand.

Objectives of Case Analysis
Using cases to learn about the practice of strategic
management is a powerful way for you to accomplish
five things: 2
1. Increase your understanding of what managers

should and should not do in guiding a business to
success.

2. Build your skills in sizing up company resource
strengths and weaknesses and in conducting stra-
tegic analysis in a variety of industries and com-
petitive situations.

3. Get valuable practice in identifying strategic issues
that need to be addressed, evaluating strategic alter-
natives, and formulating workable plans of action.

4. Enhance your sense of business judgment, as
opposed to uncritically accepting the authorita-
tive crutch of the professor or “back-of-the-book”
answers.

5. Gaining in-depth exposure to different industries
and companies, thereby acquiring something close
to actual business experience.

If you understand that these are the objectives of
case analysis, you are less likely to be consumed with
curiosity about “the answer to the case.” Students who
have grown comfortable with and accustomed to text-
book statements of fact and definitive lecture notes
are often frustrated when discussions about a case
do not produce concrete answers. Usually, case dis-
cussions produce good arguments for more than one
course of action. Differences of opinion nearly always
exist. Thus, should a class discussion conclude with-
out a strong, unambiguous consensus on what to do,
don’t grumble too much when you are not told what
the answer is or what the company actually did. Just
remember that in the business world answers don’t
come in conclusive black-and-white terms. There
are nearly always several feasible courses of action
and approaches, each of which may work out satis-
factorily. Moreover, in the business world, when one
elects a particular course of action, there is no peek-
ing at the back of a book to see if you have chosen the
best thing to do and no one to turn to for a provably

I n most courses in strategic management, students use cases about actual companies to practice stra-tegic analysis and to gain some experience in the
tasks of crafting and implementing strategy. A case
sets forth, in a factual manner, the events and orga-
nizational circumstances surrounding a particular
managerial situation. It puts readers at the scene of the
action and familiarizes them with all the relevant cir-
cumstances. A case on strategic management can con-
cern a whole industry, a single organization, or some
part of an organization; the organization involved can
be either profit seeking or not-for-profit. The essence
of the student’s role in case analysis is to diagnose and
size up the situation described in the case and then to
recommend appropriate action steps.

WHY USE CASES TO PRACTICE
STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT?

A student of business with tact
Absorbed many answers he lacked.
But acquiring a job,
He said with a sob,
“How does one fit answer to fact?”

The foregoing limerick was used some years ago by
Professor Charles Gragg to characterize the plight of
business students who had no exposure to cases. 1 The
facts are that the mere act of listening to lectures and
sound advice about managing does little for anyone’s
management skills and that the accumulated manage-
rial wisdom cannot effectively be passed on by lectures
and assigned readings alone. If anything had been
learned about the practice of management, it is that a
storehouse of ready-made textbook answers does not
exist. Each managerial situation has unique aspects,
requiring its own diagnosis, judgment, and tailor-
made actions. Cases provide would-be managers with
a valuable way to practice wrestling with the actual
problems of actual managers in actual companies.

The case approach to strategic analysis is, first and
foremost, an exercise in learning by doing. Because
cases provide you with detailed information about con-
ditions and problems of different industries and com-
panies, your task of analyzing company after company
and situation after situation has the twin benefit of
boosting your analytical skills and exposing you to the
ways companies and managers actually do things. Most
college students have limited managerial backgrounds
and only fragmented knowledge about companies
and real-life strategic situations. Cases help substitute
for on-the-job experience by (1) giving you broader

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A Guide to Case Analysis CA3

and indicate the kinds of issues and problems that
you will need to wrestle with. If your instructor
has provided you with study questions for the case,
now is the time to read them carefully.

2. Read the case thoroughly to digest the facts and
circumstances. On this reading, try to gain full
command of the situation presented in the case.
Begin to develop some tentative answers to the
study questions your instructor has provided. If
your instructor has elected not to give you assign-
ment questions, then start forming your own pic-
ture of the overall situation being described.

3. Carefully review all the information presented in
the exhibits. Often, there is an important story in
the numbers contained in the exhibits. Expect the
information in the case exhibits to be crucial enough
to materially affect your diagnosis of the situation.

4. Decide what the strategic issues are. Until you
have identified the strategic issues and problems
in the case, you don’t know what to analyze, which
tools and analytical techniques are called for, or
otherwise how to proceed. At times the strategic
issues are clear—either being stated in the case or
else obvious from reading the case. At other times
you will have to dig them out from all the informa-
tion given; if so, the study questions will guide you.

5. Start your analysis of the issues with some num-
ber crunching. A big majority of strategy cases call
for some kind of number crunching—calculating
assorted financial ratios to check out the company’s
financial condition and recent performance, calcu-
lating growth rates of sales or profits or unit volume,
checking out profit margins and the makeup of
the cost structure, and understanding whatever
revenue-cost-profit relationships are present. See
Table 1 for a summary of key financial ratios, how
they are calculated, and what they show.

6. Apply the concepts and techniques of strategic
analysis you have been studying. Strategic analysis
is not just a collection of opinions; rather, it entails
applying the concepts and analytical tools described
in Chapters 1 through 13 to cut beneath the sur-
face and produce sharp insight and understanding.
Every case assigned is strategy related and presents
you with an opportunity to usefully apply what you
have learned. Your instructor is looking for you to
demonstrate that you know how and when to use
the material presented in the text chapters.

7. Check out conflicting opinions and make some
judgments about the validity of all the data and

correct answer. The best test of whether management
action is “right” or “wrong” is results. If the results of
an action turn out to be “good,” the decision to take it
may be presumed “right.” If not, then the action cho-
sen was “wrong” in the sense that it didn’t work out

Hence, the important thing for you to understand
about analyzing cases is that the managerial exercise
of identifying, diagnosing, and recommending is
aimed at building your skills of business judgment.
Discovering what the company actually did is no more
than frosting on the cake—the actions that company
managers actually took may or may not be “right” or
best (unless there is accompanying evidence that the
results of their actions were highly positive.

The point is this: The purpose of giving you a case
assignment is not to cause you to run to the library or surf
the Internet to discover what the company actually did
but, rather, to enhance your skills in sizing up situations
and developing your managerial judgment about what
needs to be done and how to do it. The aim of case analy-
sis is for you to become actively engaged in diagnosing
the business issues and managerial problems posed in
the case, to propose workable solutions, and to explain
and defend your assessments—this is how cases pro-
vide you with meaningful practice at being a manager.

Preparing a Case
for Class Discussion
If this is your first experience with the case method,
you may have to reorient your study habits. Unlike lec-
ture courses where you can get by without preparing
intensively for each class and where you have latitude
to work assigned readings and reviews of lecture notes
into your schedule, a case assignment requires consci-
entious preparation before class. You will not get much
out of hearing the class discuss a case you haven’t read,
and you certainly won’t be able to contribute anything
yourself to the discussion. What you have got to do to
get ready for class discussion of a case is to study the
case, reflect carefully on the situation presented, and
develop some reasoned thoughts. Your goal in prepar-
ing the case should be to end up with what you think
is a sound, well-supported analysis of the situation
and a sound, defensible set of recommendations about
which managerial actions need to be taken.

To prepare a case for class discussion, we suggest
the following approach:

1. Skim the case rather quickly to get an overview
of the situation it presents. This quick overview
should give you the general flavor of the situation

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CA4 STRATEGY: Core Concepts and Analytical Approaches

Ratio How Calculated What It Shows

Profi tability Ratios

1. Gross profi t margin Sales – Cost of goods sold

Sales

Shows the percentage of revenues available to cover
operating expenses and yield a profi t. Higher is better
and the trend should be upward.

2. Operating profi t
margin (or return on
sales)

Sales – Operating expenses
Sales

or
Operating income

Sales

Shows the profi tability of current operations without
regard to interest charges and income taxes. Higher is
better and the trend should be upward.

3. Net profi t margin (or
net return on sales)

Profi ts after taxes
Sales

Shows after-tax profi ts per dollar of sales. Higher is
better and the trend should be upward.

4. Total return on assets Profi ts after taxes + Interest
Total assets

A measure of the return on total monetary investment
in the enterprise. Interest is added to after-tax profi ts to
form the numerator since total assets are fi nanced by
creditors as well as by stockholders. Higher is better and
the trend should be upward.

5. Net return on total
assets (ROA)

Profi ts after taxes
Total assets

A measure of the return earned by stockholders on the
fi rm’s total assets. Higher is better, and the trend should
be upward.

6. Return on
stockholder’s equity
(ROE)

Profi ts after taxes
Total stockholders’ equity

Shows the return stockholders are earning on their
capital investment in the enterprise. A return in the
12–15% range is “average,” and the trend should be
upward.

7. Return on invested
capital (ROIC)—
sometimes referred
to as return on capital
employed (ROCE)

Profi ts after taxes
Long-term debt

1 Total stockholders’ equity

A measure of the return shareholders are earning
on the long-term monetary capital invested in the
enterprise. A higher return refl ects greater bottom-line
effectiveness in the use of long-term capital, and the
trend should be upward.

8. Earnings per share
(EPS)

Profi ts after taxes
Number of shares of common

stock outstanding

Shows the earnings for each share of common stock
outstanding. The trend should be upward, and the
bigger the annual percentage gains, the better.

Liquidity Ratios

1. Current ratio Current assets
Current liabilities

Shows a fi rm’s ability to pay current liabilities using
assets that can be converted to cash in the near term.
Ratio should defi nitely be higher than 1.0; ratios of 2 or
higher are better still.

2. Working capital Current assets 2 Current liabilities Bigger amounts are better because the company has
more internal funds available to (1) pay its current
liabilities on a timely basis and (2) fi nance inventory
expansion, additional accounts receivable, and a larger
base of operations without resorting to borrowing or
raising more equity capital.

Leverage Ratios

1. Total debt-to-assets
ratio

Total debt
Total assets

Measures the extent to which borrowed funds have
been used to fi nance the fi rm’s operations. Low
fractions or ratios are better—high fractions indicate
overuse of debt and greater risk of bankruptcy.

2. Long-term debt-to-
capital ratio

Long-term debt
Long-term debt

1 Total stockholders’ equity

An important measure of creditworthiness and balance
sheet strength. Indicates the percentage of capital
investment which has been fi nanced by creditors and
bondholders. Fractions or ratios below .25 or 25% are
usually quite satisfactory since monies invested

TABLE 1 Key Financial Ratios: How to Calculate Them and What They Mean

(Continued)

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A Guide to Case Analysis CA5

Leverage Ratios (Continued)

by stockholders account for 75% or more of the
company’s total capital. The lower the ratio, the greater
the capacity to borrow additional funds. Debt-to capital
ratios above 50% and certainly above 75% indicate a
heavy and perhaps excessive reliance on debt, lower
creditworthiness, and weak balance sheet strength.

3. Debt-to-equity ratio Total debt
Total stockholders’ equity

Should usually be less than 1.0. High ratios
(especially above 1.0) signal excessive debt, lower
creditworthiness, and weaker balance sheet strength.

4. Long-term debt-to-
equity ratio

Long-term debt
Total stockholders’ equity

Shows the balance between debt and equity in the
fi rm’s long-term capital structure. Low ratios indicate
greater capacity to borrow additional funds if needed.

4. Times-interest-earned
(or coverage) ratio

Operating income
Interest expenses

Measures the ability to pay annual interest charges.
Lenders usually insist on a minimum ratio of 2.0, but
ratios above 3.0 signal better creditworthiness.

Activity Ratios

1. Days of inventory Inventory
Cost of goods sold 4 365

Measures inventory management efficiency. Fewer days
of inventory are usually better.

2. Inventory turnover Cost of goods sold
Inventory

Measures the number of inventory turns per year.
Higher is better.

3. Average collection
period

Accounts receivable
Total sales revenues ÷ 365

or
Accounts receivable
Average daily sales

Indicates the average length of time the fi rm must wait
after making a sale to receive cash payment. A shorter
collection time is better.

Other Important Measures of Financial Performance

1. Dividend yield on
common stock

Annual dividends per share
Current market price per share

A measure of the return that shareholders receive in
the form of dividends. A “typical” dividend yield is 2–3%.
The dividend yield for fast-growth companies is often
below 1% (maybe even 0); the dividend yield for slow-
growth companies can run 4–5%.

2. Price-earnings ratio Current market price per share
Earnings per share

P-e ratios above 20 indicate strong investor confi dence
in a fi rm’s outlook and earnings growth; fi rms whose
future earnings are at risk or likely to grow slowly
typically have ratios below 12.

3. Dividend payout ratio Annual dividends per share
Earnings per share

Indicates the percentage of after-tax profi ts paid cut as
dividends.

4. Internal cash fl ow After tax profi ts 1 Depreciation A quick and rough estimate of the c business is
generating after payment of operating expenses,
interest, and taxes. Such amounts can be used for
dividend payments or funding capital expenditures.

5. Free cash fl ow After tax profi ts 1 Depreciation 2 
Capital expenditures 2 Dividends

A quick and rough estimate of the cash a company’s
business is generating after payment of operating
expenses, interest, taxes, dividends, and desirable
reinvestments in the business. The larger a company’s
free cash fl ow, the greater is its ability to internally
fund new strategic initiatives, repay debt, make new
acquisitions, repurchase shares of stock, or increase
dividend payments.

TABLE 1 (Continued)

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CA6 STRATEGY: Core Concepts and Analytical Approaches

than one good way to analyze a situation and more
than one good plan of action.

Participating in Class Discussion
of a Case
Classroom discussions of cases are sharply different
from attending a lecture class. In a case class, students
do most of the talking. The instructor’s role is to solicit
student participation, keep the discussion on track, ask
“Why?” often, offer alternative views, play the devil’s
advocate (if no students jump in to offer opposing
views), and otherwise lead the discussion. The students
in the class carry the burden for analyzing the situa-
tion and for being prepared to present and defend their
diagnoses and recommendations. Expect a classroom
environment, therefore, that calls for your size-up of
the situation, your analysis, what actions you would
take, and why you would take them. Do not be dis-
mayed if, as the class discussion unfolds, some insight-
ful things are said by your fellow classmates that you
did not think of. It is normal for views and analyses to
differ and for the comments of others in the class to
expand your own thinking about the case. As the old
adage goes, “Two heads are better than one.” So it is to
be expected that the class as a whole will do a more pen-
etrating and searching job of case analysis than will any
one person working alone. This is the power of group
effort, and its virtues are that it will help you see more
analytical applications, let you test your analyses and
judgments against those of your peers, and force you
to wrestle with differences of opinion and approaches.

To orient you to the classroom environment on
the days a case discussion is scheduled, we compiled
the following list of things to expect

1. Expect the instructor to assume the role of exten-
sive questioner and listener.

2. Expect students to do most of the talking. The case
method enlists a maximum of individual participa-
tion in class discussion. It is not enough to be pres-
ent as a silent observer; if every student took this
approach, there would be no discussion. (Thus,
expect a portion of your grade to be based on your
participation in case discussions.)

3. Be prepared for the instructor to probe for reasons
and supporting analysis.

4. Expect and tolerate challenges to the views
expressed. All students have to be willing to sub-
mit their conclusions for scrutiny and rebuttal.
Each student needs to learn to state his or her views

information provided. Many times cases report
views and contradictory opinions (after all, people
don’t always agree on things, and different people
see the same things in different ways). Forcing you
to evaluate the data and information presented in
the case helps you develop your powers of infer-
ence and judgment. Asking you to resolve conflict-
ing information “comes with the territory” because
a great many managerial situations entail oppos-
ing points of view, conflicting trends, and sketchy
information.

8. Support your diagnosis and opinions with reasons
and evidence. The most important things to pre-
pare for are your answers to the question “Why?”
For instance, if after studying the case you are of
the opinion that the company’s managers are doing
a poor job, then it is your answer to “Why?” that
establishes just how good your analysis of the situ-
ation is. If your instructor has provided you with
specific study questions for the case, by all means
prepare answers that include all the reasons and
number-crunching evidence you can muster to
support your diagnosis. If you are using study
questions provided by the instructor, generate at
least two pages of notes!

9. Develop an appropriate action plan and set of
recommendations. Diagnosis divorced from correc-
tive action is sterile. The test of a manager is always
to convert sound analysis into sound actions—
actions that will produce the desired results. Hence,
the final and most telling step in preparing a case is
to develop an action agenda for management that
lays out a set of specific recommendations on what
to do. Bear in mind that proposing realistic, work-
able solutions is far preferable to casually tossing out
off-the-top-of-your-head suggestions. Be prepared
to argue why your recommendations are more
attractive than other courses of action that are open.

As long as you are conscientious in preparing
your analysis and recommendations, and have ample
reasons, evidence, and arguments to support your
views, you shouldn’t fret unduly about whether what
you’ve prepared is “the right answer” to the case. In
case analysis, there is rarely just one right approach
or set of recommendations. Managing companies and
crafting and executing strategies are not such exact
sciences that there exists a single provably correct
analysis and action plan for each strategic situation.
Of course, some analyses and action plans are better
than others; but, in truth, there’s nearly always more

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A Guide to Case Analysis CA7

extensively when you speak. There’s no way you can
remember everything off the top of your head—
especially the results of your number crunching.
To reel off the numbers or to present all five rea-
sons why, instead of one, you will need good notes.
When you have prepared thoughtful answers to the
study questions and use them as the basis for your
comments, everybody in the room will know you
are well prepared, and your contribution to the case
discussion will stand out.

Preparing a Written Case Analysis
Preparing a written case analysis is much like pre-
paring a case for class discussion, except that your
analysis must be more complete and put in report
form. Unfortunately, though, there is no ironclad
procedure for doing a written case analysis. All we
can offer are some general guidelines and words of
wisdom—this is because company situations and
management problems are so diverse that no one
mechanical way to approach a written case assign-
ment always works.

Your instructor may assign you a specific topic
around which to prepare your written report. Or,
alternatively, you may be asked to do a comprehensive
written case analysis, where the expectation is that you
will (1) identify all the pertinent issues that manage-
ment needs to address, (2) perform whatever analy-
sis and evaluation is appropriate, and (3) propose an
action plan and set of recommendations addressing the
issues you have identified. In going through the exer-
cise of identify, evaluate, and recommend, keep the
following pointers in mind. 3

Identification It is essential early on in your
paper that you provide a sharply focused diagnosis of
strategic issues and key problems and that you dem-
onstrate a good grasp of the company’s present situ-
ation. Make sure you can identify the firm’s strategy
(use the concepts and tools in Chapters 1–8 as diag-
nostic aids) and that you can pinpoint whatever strat-
egy implementation issues may exist (again, consult
the material in Chapters 9–11 for diagnostic help).
Consult the key points we have provided at the end
of each chapter for further diagnostic suggestions.
Consider beginning your paper with an overview of
the company’s situation, its strategy, and the signifi-
cant problems and issues that confront management.
State problems/issues as clearly and precisely as you
can. Unless it is necessary to do so for emphasis,
avoid recounting facts and history about the company

without fear of disapproval and to overcome the
hesitation of speaking out. Learning respect for the
views and approaches of others is an integral part
of case analysis exercises. But there are times when
it is OK to swim against the tide of majority opin-
ion. In the practice of management, there is always
room for originality and unorthodox approaches.
So while discussion of a case is a group process,
there is no compulsion for you or anyone else to
cave in and conform to group opinions and group
consensus.

5. Don’t be surprised if you change your mind about
some things as the discussion unfolds. Be alert to
how these changes affect your analysis and recom-
mendations (in the event you get called on).

6. Expect to learn a lot in class as the discussion of a
case progresses; furthermore, you will find that the
cases build on one another—what you learn in one
case helps prepare you for the next case discussion.

There are several things you can do on your own
to be good and look good as a participant in class
discussions:

Although you should do your own indepen-
dent work and independent thinking, don’t hesitate
before (and after) class to discuss the case with other
students. In real life, managers often discuss the com-
pany’s problems and situation with other people to
refine their own thinking.

■ In participating in the discussion, make a conscious
effort to contribute, rather than just talk. There
is a big difference between saying something that
builds the discussion and offering a long-winded,
off-the-cuff remark that leaves the class wondering
what the point was.

■ Avoid the use of “I think,” “I believe,” and “I feel”;
instead, say, “My analysis shows —” and “The com-
pany should do _____ because _____ .” Always give
supporting reasons and evidence for your views;
then your instructor won’t have to ask you “Why?”
every time you make a comment.

■ In making your points, assume that everyone has
read the case and knows what it says. Avoid reciting
and rehashing information in the case—instead,
use the data and information to explain your
assessment of the situation and to support your
position.

■ Bring the printouts of the work you’ve done on
Case-T utor or the notes you’ve prepared (usually
two or three pages’ worth) to class and rely on them

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CA8 STRATEGY: Core Concepts and Analytical Approaches

rhetoric. Strike phrases such as “I think,” “I feel,” and
“I believe” when you edit your first draft and write
in “My analysis shows,” instead.

Recommendations The final section of the
written case analysis should consist of a set of definite
recommendations and a plan of action. Your set of
recommendations should address all of the problems/
issues you identified and analyzed. If the recommenda-
tions come as a surprise or do not follow logically from
the analysis, the effect is to weaken greatly your sug-
gestions of what to do. Obviously, your recommenda-
tions for actions should offer a reasonable prospect of
success. High-risk, bet-the-company recommendations
should be made with caution. State how your recom-
mendations will solve the problems you identified. Be
sure the company is financially able to carry out what
you recommend; also check to see if your recommen-
dations are workable in terms of acceptance by the
persons involved, the organization’s competence to
implement them, and prevailing market and environ-
mental constraints. Try not to hedge or weasel on the
actions you believe should be taken.

By all means state your recommendations in suf-
ficient detail to be meaningful—get down to some
definite nitty-gritty specifics. Avoid such unhelpful
statements as “the organization should do more plan-
ning” or “the company should be more aggressive in
marketing its product.” For instance, if you determine
that “the firm should improve its market position,”
then you need to set forth exactly how you think this
should be done. Offer a definite agenda for action,
stipulating a timetable and sequence for initiating
actions, indicating priorities, and suggesting who
should be responsible for doing what.

In proposing an action plan, remember there is
a great deal of difference between, on the one hand,
being responsible for a decision that may be costly if it
proves in error and, on the other hand, casually sug-
gesting courses of action that might be taken when
you do not have to bear the responsibility for any of
the consequences.

A good rule to follow in making your recommen-
dations is: Avoid recommending anything you would
not yourself be willing to do if you were in manage-
ment’s shoes. The importance of learning to develop
good managerial judgment is indicated by the fact
that, even though the same information and operating
data may be available to every manager or executive
in an organization, the quality of the judgments about
what the information means and which actions need
to be taken does vary from person to person. 4

(assume your professor has read the case and is famil-
iar with the organization).

Analysis and Evaluation This is usually the
hardest part of the report. Analysis is hard work! Check
out the firm’s financial ratios, its profit margins and
rates of return, and its capital structure, and decide
how strong the firm is financially. Table  1 contains a
summary of various financial ratios and how they are
calculated. Use it to assist in your financial diagnosis.
Similarly, look at marketing, production, managerial
competence, and other factors underlying the organi-
zation’s strategic successes and failures. Decide whether
the firm has valuable resource strengths and compe-
tencies and, if so, whether it is capitalizing on them.

Check to see if the firm’s strategy is producing
satisfactory results and determine the reasons why
or why not. Probe the nature and strength of the
competitive forces confronting the company. Decide
whether and why the firm’s competitive position is
getting stronger or weaker. Use the tools and concepts
you have learned about to perform whatever analysis
and evaluation is appropriate. Work through the case
preparation exercise on Case-T utor if one is available
for the case you’ve been assigned.

In writing your analysis and evaluation, bear in
mind four things:

1. You are obliged to offer analysis and evidence to
back up your conclusions. Do not rely on unsup-
ported opinions, over-generalizations, and plati-
tudes as a substitute for tight, logical argument
backed up with facts and figures.

2. If your analysis involves some important quantita-
tive calculations, use tables and charts to present
the calculations clearly and efficiently. Don’t just
tack the exhibits on at the end of your report and
let the reader figure out what they mean and why
they were included. Instead, in the body of your
report cite some of the key numbers, highlight the
conclusions to be drawn from the exhibits, and
refer the reader to your charts and exhibits for
more details.

3. Demonstrate that you have command of the strate-
gic concepts and analytical tools to which you have
been exposed. Use them in your report.

4. Your interpretation of the evidence should be
reasonable and objective. Be wary of preparing
a one-sided argument that omits all aspects not
favorable to your conclusions. Likewise, try not to
exaggerate or overdramatize. Endeavor to inject
balance into your analysis and to avoid emotional

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A Guide to Case Analysis CA9

you the latitude to structure your presentation how-
ever you and your group members see fit.

Regardless of the style preferred by your instructor,
you should take great care in preparing for the pre-
sentation. A good set of slides with good content and
good visual appeal is essential to a first-rate presenta-
tion. Take some care to choose a nice slide design, font
size and style, and color scheme. We suggest including
slides covering each of the following areas:

■ An opening slide covering the “title” of the presen-
tation and names of the presenters.

■ A slide showing an outline of the presentation
(perhaps with presenters’ names by each topic).

■ One or more slides showing the key problems and
strategic issues that management needs to address.

■ A series of slides covering your analysis of the com-
pany’s situation.

■ A series of slides containing your recommenda-
tions and the supporting arguments and reason-
ing for each recommendation—one slide for each
recommendation and the associated reasoning will
give it a lot of merit.

You and your team members should carefully plan
and rehearse your slide show to maximize impact and
minimize distractions. The slide show should include
all of the pizzazz necessary to garner the attention of
the audience, but not so much that it distracts from
the content of what group members are saying to the
class. You should remember that the role of slides is
to help you communicate your points to the audience.
Too many graphics, images, colors, and transitions
may divert the audience’s attention from what is being
said or disrupt the flow of the presentation. Keep in
mind that visually dazzling slides rarely hide a shallow
or superficial or otherwise flawed case analysis from a
perceptive audience. Most instructors will tell you that
first-rate slides will definitely enhance a well-delivered
presentation, but that impressive visual aids, if accom-
panied by weak analysis and poor oral delivery, still
add up to a substandard presentation.

Researching Companies and
Industries via the Internet and
Online Data Services
Very likely, there will be occasions when you need to
get additional information about some of the assignee
cases, perhaps because your instructor has asked you
to do further research on the industry or company

It goes without saying that your report should be
well organized and well written. Great ideas amount to
little unless others can be convinced of their merit—
this takes tight logic, the presentation of convincing
evidence, and persuasively written arguments.

Preparing an Oral Presentation
During the course of your business career it is very
likely that you will be called upon to prepare and give a
number of oral presentations. For this reason, it is com-
mon in courses of this nature to assign cases for oral
presentation to the whole class. Such assignments give
you an opportunity to hone your presentation skills.

The preparation of an oral presentation has much
in common with that of a written case analysis. Both
require identification of the strategic issues and prob-
lems confronting the company, analysis of industry
conditions and the company’s situation, and the devel-
opment of a thorough, well-thought out action plan.
The substance of your analysis and quality of your
recommendations in an oral presentation should be
no different than in a written report. As with a writ-
ten assignment, you’ll need to demonstrate command
of the relevant strategic concepts and tools of analysis
and your recommendations should contain sufficient
detail to provide clear direction for management. The
main difference between an oral presentation and a
written case is in the delivery format. Oral presenta-
tions rely principally on verbalizing your diagnosis,
analysis, and recommendations and visually enhanc-
ing and supporting your oral discussion with colorful,
snappy slides (usually created on Microsoft’s Power-
Point software).

Typically, oral presentations involve group assign-
ments. Your instructor will provide the details of the
assignment—how work should be delegated among
the group members and how the presentation should
be conducted. Some instructors prefer that presen-
tations begin with issue identification, followed by
analysis of the industry and company situation anal-
ysis, and conclude with a recommended action plan
to improve company performance. Other instructors
prefer that the presenters assume that the class has
a good understanding of the external industry envi-
ronment and the company’s competitive position and
expect the presentation to be strongly focused on the
group’s recommended action plan and supporting
analysis and arguments. The latter approach requires
cutting straight to the heart of the case and support-
ing each recommendation with detailed analysis and
persuasive reasoning. Still other instructors may give

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CA10 STRATEGY: Core Concepts and Analytical Approaches

Public and Subscription Websites with
Good Information Plainly, you can use a search
engine such as Google or Yahoo! or MSN to find the
latest news on a company or articles written by report-
ers that have appeared in the business media. These can
be very valuable in running down information about
recent company developments. However, keep in mind
that the information retrieved by a search engine is
“unfiltered” and may include sources that are not reli-
able or that contain inaccurate or misleading informa-
tion. Be wary of information provided by authors who
are unaffiliated with reputable organizations or publica-
tions and articles that were published in off-beat sources
or on websites with an agenda. Be especially careful in
relying on the accuracy of information you find posted
on various bulletin boards. Articles covering a com-
pany or issue should be copyrighted or published by a
reputable source. If you are turning in a paper contain-
ing information gathered from the Internet, you should
cite your sources (providing the Internet address and
date visited); it is also wise to print web pages for your
research file (some web pages are updated frequently).

The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Businessweek,
Forbes, Barron’s, and Fortune are all good sources of
articles on companies. The online edition of The Wall
Street Journal contains the same information that is
available daily in its print version of the paper, but the
WSJ website also maintains a searchable database of all
The Wall Street Journal articles published during the
past few years. Fortune and Bloomberg Businessweek
also make the content of the most current issue avail-
able online to subscribers as well as provide archives
sections that allow you to search for articles published
during the past few years that may be related to a par-
ticular keyword.

The following publications and websites are
particularly good sources of company and industry
information:

or because you are simply curious about what has
happened to the company since the case was writ-
ten. These days, it is relatively easy to run down recent
industry developments and to find out whether a com-
pany’s strategic and financial situation has improved,
deteriorated, or changed little since the conclusion of the
case. The amount of information about companies and
industries available on the Internet and through online
data services is formidable and expanding rapidly.

It is a fairly simple matter to go to company
websites, click on the investor information offer-
ings and press release files, and get quickly to use-
ful information. Most company websites allow you
to view or print the company’s quarterly and annual
reports, its 10K and 10Q filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, and various company
press releases of interest. Frequently, a company’s
website will also provide information about its mis-
sion and vision statements, values statements, codes
of ethics, and strategy information, as well as charts
of the company’s stock price. The company’s recent
press releases typically contain reliable information
about what of interest has been going on—new prod-
uct introductions, recent alliances and partnership
agreements, recent acquisitions, summaries of the
latest financial results, tidbits about the company’s
strategy, guidance about future revenues and earn-
ings, and other late-breaking company develop-
ments. Some company web pages also include links
to the home pages of industry trade associations
where you can find information about industry size,
growth, recent industry news, statistical trends, and
future outlook. Thus, an early step in researching a
company on the Internet is always to go to its website
and see what’s available.

Online Data Services Lexis-Nexis, Bloom-
berg Financial News Services, and other online
subscription services available in many university
libraries provide access to a wide array of business
reference material. For example, the web-based Lexis-
Nexis Academic Universe contains business news
articles from general news sources, business publi-
cations, and industry trade publications. Broadcast
transcripts from financial news programs are also
available through Lexis-Nexis, as are full-text 10-Ks,
10-Qs, annual reports, and company profiles for more
than 11,000 U.S. and international companies. Your
business librarian should be able to direct you to the
resources available through your library that will aid
you in your research.

Securities and Exchange Commission EDGAR
database (contains company 10-Ks, 10-Qs, etc.)
http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/

companysearch
Google Finance
http://finance.google.com
CNN Money
http://money.cnn.com
Hoover’s Online
http://hoovers.com
The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition
www.wsj.com
Bloomberg Businessweek
www.businessweek.com and www.bloomberg.com

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A Guide to Case Analysis CA11

use a search engine, you will know where to go to look
for the particular information that you want. Search
engines nearly always turn up too many information
sources that match your request rather than too few.
The trick is to learn to zero in on those most relevant to
what you are looking for. Like most things, once you get
a little experience under your belt on how to do com-
pany and industry research on the Internet, you will
find that you can readily find the information you need.

The Ten Commandments
of Case Analysis
As a way of summarizing our suggestions about how
to approach the task of case analysis, we have we like to
call “The Ten Commandments of Case Analysis.” They
are shown in Table 2 . If you observe all or even most of
these commandments faithfully as you prepare a case
either for class discussion or for a written report, your
chances of doing a good job on the assigned cases will
be much improved. Hang in there, give it your best
shot, and have some fun exploring what the real world
of strategic management is all about.

Some of these Internet sources require subscrip-
tions in order to access their entire databases.

You should/always explore the investor relations
section of every public company’s website. In today’s
world, these websites typically have a wealth of infor-
mation concerning a company’s mission, core values,
performance targets, strategy, recent financial perfor-
mance, and latest developments (as described in com-
pany press releases).

Learning Comes Quickly With a modest
investment of time, you will learn how to use Internet
sources and search engines to run down information
on companies and industries quickly and efficiently.
And it is a skill that will serve you well into the future.
Once you become familiar with the data available at the
different websites mentioned above and learn how to

To be observed in written reports and oral presentations, and while participating in class discussions.

1. Go through the case twice, once for a quick overview 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’s situation (make a minimum of one to two 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 defi nite 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 Table 1 in this section to guide your probing of a company’s fi nancial condition
and fi nancial performance.)

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 assessment and, instead, are able to rely completely on “My analysis
shows.”

7. Prioritize your recommendations and make sure they can be carried out in an acceptable time frame with the
available resources.

8. Support each recommendation with 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 identifi ed. Any
set of recommendations that does not address all of the issues and problems you identifi ed 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 risks of your recommendations as you are to their upside
potential and appeal.

TABLE 2 The Ten Commandments of Case Analysis

Fortune
www.fortune.com
MSN Money Central
http://moneycentral.msn.com
Yahoo! Finance
http://finance.yahoo.com/

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CA12 STRATEGY: Core Concepts and Analytical Approaches

ENDNOTES
1 Charles I. Gragg, “Because Wisdom Can’t

Be Told,” in The Case Method at the Harvard
Business School, ed. M. P. McNair (New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1954), p. 11.
2 Ibid., pp. 12–14; and D. R. Schoen and Philip

A. Sprague, “What Is the Case Method?” in

The Case Method at the Harvard Business
School, ed. M. P. McNair, pp. 78–79.
3 For some additional ideas and viewpoints,

you may wish to consult Thomas J. Raymond,

“Written Analysis of Cases,” in The Case
Method at the Harvard Business School, ed.

M. P. McNair, pp. 139–63. Raymond’s article

includes an actual case, a sample analysis of

the case, and a sample of a student’s written

report on the case.
4 Gragg, “Because Wisdom Can’t Be Told,”

p. 10.

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