Case Analysis Instructions

Mark Fichman August 2, 2013

Case Analysis Instructions

This note provides you with guidelines for analyzing cases and writing cases for Organizational Behavior I, 70-311. In this course, you will be assigned several cases to analyze. You will be working in groups when you do this analysis. You will be assigned to groups. Groups will usually have 4-5 people. This document is intended to help you eectively analyze the case, write a high quality writeup and contribute to an interesting, useful class discussion. To do this, you need to eectively analyze the case and the issues in the case. Your written analysis must communicate your analysis and persuade the reader of the soundness of your reasoning and recommendation(s) (if a recommendation is called for in the case).

The Purpose of Cases - Practicing Problem Solving

Cases are designed to give you an opportunity to deal with managerial problems and decisions such as those you might encounter in your working life. Cases allow you to practice some managerial skills in problem solving. Problem solving is a form of decision making. You are presented with a current situation (My best analyst is dissatised with her last pay raise.). You have some goals or aspirations for that situation (I would like my analyst to be satised with her last pay raise.) The situation does not meet your requirements. This denes a problem. A problem exists when there is a discrepancy between the current state of aairs and your level of aspiration or goal. You need to identify some ways of solving this problem so you come closer to your goal (A satised employee.). These possible solutions are your decision alternatives (I could oer a higher raise, or I could show the analyst that the raise was above average, or I could promise a bigger raise next year, or I could do nothing, or I could ). You have transformed the problem solving process into a decision problem. You then need to choose the alternative which best meets both your requirements (I want to hold on to the analyst, I need a decision soon, and I want to treat all my analysts equitably.) and current resource constraints (I cant give more raises this year. I have spent my entire budget, and the raise was quite good already.). 1

As you can see, eective case analysis is really an instance of eective problem solving, decision analysis and decision making. You want the case analysis process to increase the chances of making an eective decision. This means dening a process for reaching a decision which gives you the time and resources to reach a good decision. Some of what we discuss in class can help you in this process. However, rather than wait until then, here are some guidelines for case analysis which may help you now.

Guidelines for Eective Problem Solving

Problem solving in case analysis can be broken down into steps. The steps are straightforward, but it requires some discipline to adhere to these steps. Read the case once or twice until you have a good handle on the events and issues in the case. Then, read the case again, and begin the analysis. Identify the core problem(s) in the case. You should be able to state the problem clearly and concisely. Try to state the problem in one sentence. To solve a problem, it must be clearly identied. Identify the causes of the problem. For example, a 25 % turnover rate in your sales force is a problem. It could be due to below market compensation, inadequate support services, poor supervision, or some other causal factor(s). Identify and prioritize the root causes. Dene your goals. There are two classes of goals here. One is your personal goals in doing the case. What are your personal objectives here? You need to balance the demands of this course against the demands of other courses and personal events in your life. What do you want to accomplish here? In the case itself, understand and clearly identify the goal(s) of the rm(s) or individual(s) being studied. You may be playing the role of a consultant to a key player in the case. What are the goals of this key player in the case? Some goals may be conicting. What are the constraints in the situation? Given such conicts and constraints, dene the appropriate goal(s). Identify the available alternatives to the player(s) in the case. You want to nd as many alternatives as possible. Frequently it is useful to brainstorm at this point. In brainstorming, the group tries to identify as many alternatives as possible, with no immediate evaluation and criticism of any of the alternatives oered. The idea is to maximize creativity. If suggestions are immediately greeted with criticisms, this sties creativity. Once all possible ideas are on the table, then you proceed to systematically evaluate them against the criteria you have developed. Evaluate each of the alternatives against the goals and constraints you have identied. Try to identify, for feasible alternatives, what the likelihoods are of certain outcomes 2

for each alternative, and the value to the player(s) in the case of these outcomes. Evaluate these alternatives by looking at possible outcomes and their consequences, in order to choose the alternative which best suits the goals you are pursuing. It is critical to consider implementation of a proposed solution in your evaluation. Choose the alternative which is most suitable in terms of both benets and costs to the rm and players in the case. Be sure in your analysis to consider whether you can sell your recommendation. Be sure to present both the costs and benets to the decision maker in your presentation. Few solutions are perfect, and some attention to dealing with costs and negative consequences is necessary. What is required for the eective implementation your recommendation(s). Considerations about implementation and feasibility should be included in your case analysis writeup.

Writing Your Case Analysis

You are in the business of learning to be a better manager. You want build skills that will help you be more eective. In this course, we will practice doing the kind of analysis and writing that managers do. To this point, we have discussed analysis. No analysis is worthwhile unless it is written and presented eectively. I would like you to write cases as you would write in a business setting. Traditional student papers and reports are not the best practice for writing as a manager. Thus your written report should reect both skilled analysis (which was discussed above) and a sensitivity to writing for business audiences. For example, you need to be aware of the reactions (to both the substance and style of presentation) of those who would read your report or hear your presentation. For these case analyses, take the role of a key actor advising another key actor, or an outside consultant advising a key decision maker in the case. You will not be writing case reports in your managerial careers; you will be writing business reports and analyses, which have a dierent set of requirements. You might as well practice your profession now. For each case, decide as a group which key actor you will advise. Usually, it is easiest to take the role of an outside consultant in developing your analysis and report. For example, in many cases, you might act as an outside consultant to the principal actor in the case who has to make a decision(s). Here are some ideas for you to consider in writing these reports. 1. Consider the political realities in the case. You may think the president of the company is incompetent, but if you are writing a report which may be circulated within the company, you would not use such language or tone. 2. Show that you have done a thorough analysis of the problem. Convince people of the quality of your analysis. Your assumptions and the basis for them should be explicit and clear.

3. Your writing should be clear and to the point. Your writing, formatting and document design should all help you eectively communicate your analysis and recommendations. 4. There is no need to restate details in the analysis. Only the information necessary to eectively make your argument should be provided. 5. Think about how you would package your analysis. How would you write the cover memo? How would you write the executive summary? Here is a set of guidelines for business analytic writing. Analyze your purpose and audience. Who will read your report? What are your objectives? Generate ideas. You need to develop an analysis. The key elements were covered earlier in this paper in the section on case analysis. Have you made eective use of your group and course materials in the analysis? Organize your information. Organize your information and categorize it so you can control your information and data eectively. Use the tools word processing or desk top publishing software provides to eectively highlight critical points and issues. Develop an eective and persuasive sequence of your ideas. Write a rst draft. Circulate it in your group. Edit and rewrite for simplicity, clarity and brevity. Thoreau once wrote Sorry I wrote such a long letter, I didnt have time to write a short one. Your report should clearly present four elements to the reader. 1. A clear succinct statement of the problem(s). The problem statement should reect the core issues in the case you are going to address. It reects the analysis you have done, rather than the surface issues often presented in any business problem. 2. An analysis which identies the root cause(s) of the problems identied. This is the most dicult and critical section. Your goal for this element is to clearly show why the identied problem exists. If you have done a good job here, the rest of your work will be far easier. 3. Given the problem and the root causes of the problem, you can identify what your goals are in the situation. Such goals or objectives should be clearly stated. You should indicate how you would know that the goal was achieved; e.g., how would you measure goal attainment. When the goals are attained, then we can know if the problems identied have been solved. 4. The management actions required to move towards achieving a problem solution. These have to be specic. For example, saying that two people should cooperate is inadequate. What is required is clearly stating the actions and conditions which 4

will increase the chances two people will cooperate. What will you do? What will you say? Be sure your recommendations are consistent with your analysis, and meet the requirements for solving the problem. Evaluate your recommendations for both their costs and their risks. Be sure to consider the implementation of your recommendations. Are your recommendations feasible given what you know from the course and the particular case.

Grading
Cases will be graded by the instructor and graders under the instructors supervision. Grades will be assigned using letter grades with pluses and minuses. Each individual in the group receives the group grade. If you think the grade assigned is not correct, please submit a written request for a regrade to the instructor. The case will be regraded by the instructor. Your regrade may be higher, lower, or stay the same. Here are criteria for case grading. This is to help you see what the criteria are in case grading. Each grader is given guidelines on the specics of each case in addition to these general criteria. Case reports should be viewed as business documents. They are evaluated both in terms of their intellectual and professional quality. A to A+. This is given for an excellent, insightful analysis. The analysis is extremely well written, persuasive, and shows creative, unusual insight. No negative comments would be required on such a report. The only comments required might be those which extend interesting ideas oered in the report. B+ to A-. Such a report meets the requirements set out for a case analysis. The major issues in the case are handled well, and there are no major oversights or omissions. More specically, the problem is clearly and concisely stated. The analysis explains the causes of the problem, what are the eects of the problem, and distinguishes causes from symptoms. Facts in the case are used appropriately and concisely. The goals set out are important, clear, specic and measurable. The justication for the goals chosen is clear. Recommended actions are clearly stated and appropriate. They address the underlying problem(s). The recommendations are concrete and appropriate consideration is given for implementation. Risks are explicitly noted and weighed. B- to B Such an analysis has some weak sections which do not fully meet the requirements for a case analysis. There should be clear evidence that the case has been evaluated adequately. However, one section or major component of the analysis is inadequate, or several sections and components have serious but not fatal aws.

 C to C+. The analysis is has several major problems and serious deciencies, and does not meet the requirements for a B- or higher. C- to D. The analysis is grossly inadequate, meeting none of the requirements set out above.