Case Analysis and Methodology Notes

BBM Semester V
Case Analysis and Methodology
Module 1 Introduction to Case Analysis & Methodology
Content of the module Introduction, Case - meaning, Caselet, Case based learning methodology, Functional areas of case study, Educational applications of case study method, Usefulness of the case study method in management education, Inventory of skills developed by the case method, Types of cases, Dimensions of a case. Introduction Case studies have been increasingly used in education. Case Study plays a vital role in imparting managerial skills in the students. Case studies have been used in graduate and undergraduate business education for nearly one hundred years. By engaging students in business conflicts developed from real events, cases immerse students in the challenges they are expected to face. Cases are challenges that require thoughtful analyses with limited or even insufficient information. That requires effective responses within ambiguous circumstances or complex economic and political contexts. That, most of all, demands decisive action that must be articulated and even defended among other talented, ambitious individuals. Case: Meaning Cases are verbal representations of reality that put the reader in the role of participant in the situation. A business case imitates or simulates a real situation. The unit of analysis in cases varies enormously, from a single individual or organization to the entire nation or the world. Cases can range from one page to thirty pages or more. But they all have a common purpose: to represent reality, to convey a situation with all its cross currents and rough edges- including irrelevancies, sideshows, misconceptions, and little information or an overwhelming amount of it. One can therefore assume that every case deals with something important (e.g. a pricing dilemma, debtequity trade -offs a major problem in a plant). Definition 1: A business case has been defined as a carefully written description of an actual situation in business which provokes in the reader the need to decide what can and should be done. There is a useful place for - long and short, complicated and simple cases. - K.R Andrews (1951)
Note: This module is strictly for Private circulation of JU-CMS. This module is compiled by Ms. Sonia Singh, Ms. Naziya and Ms. R.Ratchana
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Definition 2: Professor Charles Gragg's classic statement defines the intended role of case studies as A case typically is a record of a business issue, which actually has been faced by business executives, together with surrounding facts, opinions, and prejudices upon which executive decisions have to depend. These real and particularized cases are presented to students for considered analyses, open discussion, and final discussion as to the type of action, which should be taken. Definition 3: A case is usually a "description of an actual situation, commonly involving a decision, a challenge, an opportunity, a problem or an issue faced by a person or persons in an organization." In learning with case studies, the student must deal with the situation described in the case, in the role of the manager or decision maker facing the situation. Definition 4: In the 1950s, Professor Paul Lawrence viewed a case history in a more operational mode: A good case is the vehicle by which a chunk of reality is brought into the classroom to be worked over by the class and the instructor. A good case keeps the class discussion grounded upon some of the stubborn facts that must be faced in real life situations. It is the anchor on academic flights of speculation. It is the record of complex situations that must be literally pulled apart and put together again, for the expression of attitudes or ways of thinking brought into the classroom. Another definition is a case has a narrative, a story, a set of events that unfolds over time in a particular place. J. Shulman (1992) A Case is a description of an organization at a certain period of time, containing its history, its external environments and internal operations. It exposes issues, problems and aspirations at a particular juncture. It could be in any functional area of management. The Cases written are always real. They are built around a theme and expanded to make them interesting. However, from a legal point of view, most of the times, the names of the organizations as well as the persons are changed. They provide quantitative as well as qualitative data. Cases are often actual descriptions of problem situations in the field in which the case is being used; sometimes, they are syntheses constructed to represent a particular principle or type of problem (McKeachie, 1999)
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Carl Christensen defined case as "... a partial, historical, clinical study of a situation which has confronted a practicing administrator or managerial group. Presented in a narrative form to encourage student involvement, it provides data - substantive and process - essential to an analysis of a specific situation, for the framing of alternative action programmes and for their implementation, recognizing the complexity and the ambiguity of the practical world." Thus, broadly speaking, a case is a description of a situation faced by an individual or organization. Case study: Meaning Case study is defined as collection of facts, opinion & judgment relating to actual places of business where there are problems that require solutions or result. In the other words case study refers to the collection and presentation of detailed information about a particular participant or small group, frequently including the accounts of subjects themselves. A form of qualitative descriptive research, the case study looks intensely at an individual or small participant pool, drawing conclusions only about that participant or group and only in that specific context. A case study is a written record of the events that occurred at a particular company or within a particular industry over a number of years. The details included in a case study may include, but are not limited to: Information about a company, industry, or project Objectives, strategies, and challenges established and encountered Responses, results, and recommendations
A case study is a description of an actual administrative situation involving a decision to be made or a problem to be solved. It is 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. Case studies are popular today in studying all aspect of management such as law, medical, engineering, psychology etc. Case studies involve logical thinking, critical analysis of management problems/decision. Case present business problems where facts, opinions, principles and judgment
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are in conflict. Therefore, responsible executive must take immediate action in a business environment to save the business from collapse by effectively resolving the conflict. Caselet: Meaning A caselet is a shorter version of a case study, generally two pages in length. Caselets are similar to case studies in that they may either describe a sequence of events or put forth an issue or problem that requires decision making. The use of caselets is gaining popularity as a pedagogical tool in management teaching and executive education. Short cases are especially intended for undergraduate students The basic objective of a caselet or short cases is to allow the learner to apply ideas and insights from theory to the real-life issues and problems contained in the caselet. This helps the learner obtain a deeper understanding of all the relevant factors in a particular problem situation as well as gain insights into the finer nuances of a topic in a particular field of management. A comprehensive case study encourages the learner to sift through the information provided and identify the relevant facts, and then use logic and opinion to arrive at a set of decisions. A caselet, being brief and focused on the core issue, usually provides only the relevant facts. Case Based learning Methodology The case method is a teaching approach that consists in presenting the students with a case, putting them in the role of a decision maker facing a problem. The case method is a teaching method that is largely used in business schools. The case method has been used for decades in many top business schools as a way for students to apply analytical and decision making skills in a situation that simulates a realistic situation. If used in a group setting it also gives students to develop teamwork and interpersonal skills in a learning environment. Students should place themselves in the role of the decision maker. The case method of learning was first introduced in 1871 by Christopher Langdell in the Harvard Law School. The case method of instruction in business began in 1908 at the Harvard Business School (HBS). In India, the Indian Institute of management, Ahmadabad adopted the case study method in the early 1960s in collaboration with Harvard Business School (HBS) At HBS of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, teaching is almost exclusively (95%) done through case teaching (also referred to as the Socratic Method), where the students prepare teaching
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cases and discuss them in class, with a professor as moderator and facilitator. The casebook method, also known as the case method, is the primary method of teaching. Traditionally, the casebook method is coupled with the Socratic Method in American law schools. The Socratic method (or Socratic Debate), named after the Classical Greek philosopher Socrates, is a form of inquiry and debate between individuals with opposing viewpoints based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas. The Socratic Method is a negative method of hypothesis elimination, in that better hypotheses are found by steadily identifying and eliminating those that lead to contradictions. The Socratic Method searches for general, commonly held truths that shape opinion, and scrutinizes them to determine their consistency with other beliefs. The case method brings reality into the classroom. When developed and presented effectively, with rich and interesting detail, cases keep conceptual discussions grounded in reality. Experience shows that simple fictional accounts of situations and collections of actual organizational data and articles from public sources are not as effective for learning as are fully developed cases. A comprehensive case presents you with a partial clinical study of a real-life situation that faced practicing managers. A case presented in narrative form provides motivation for involvement with and analysis of a specific situation. By framing alternative strategic actions and by confronting the complexity and ambiguity of the practical world, case analysis provides extraordinary power for your involvement with a personal learning experience.
1. Case analysis requires students to practice important managerial skills--diagnosing, making

decisions, observing, listening, and persuading--while preparing for a case discussion.
2. Cases require students to relate analysis and action, to develop realistic and concrete actions
despite the complexity and partial knowledge characterizing the situation being studied.
3. Students must confront the intractability of reality--complete with absence of needed

information, an imbalance between needs and available resources, and conflicts among competing objectives.
4. Students develop a general managerial point of view--where responsibility is sensitive to action

in a diverse environmental context.
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Functional areas of case study
Business cases are historical descriptions of actual business situations. Typically, information is presented about a business firm's products, markets, competition, financial structure, sales volumes, management, employees and other factors affecting the firm's success. The length of a business case study may range from two or three pages to 30 pages, or more. The case study/ discussion method of teaching has been employed for many years and with considerable success in the humanities, business, education, legal, and medical fields. A business case study can deal with any of the following functional area: Marketing - brand management, consumer behaviour etc. Human resources- Leadership & Organisational culture - Interpersonal/ intercultural skills, negotiation etc. Finance - Analytics/ quantitative methods, managerial accounting, corporate finance etc. Operations Management Production management, supply chain management Information Technology / Management information systems etc. Managerial economics - Entrepreneurship/ new business ventures, strategy, general management etc. Business and government - Law, regulation, macroeconomics etc.
Educational Applications of case study method Case studies have also been used as a teaching method and as part of professional development, especially in business and legal education. The problem-based learning (PBL) movement is such an example. When used in (non-business) education and professional development, case studies are often referred to as critical incidents. When the Harvard Business School was started, the faculty quickly realized that there were no textbooks suitable to a graduate program in business. Their first solution to this problem was to interview leading practitioners of business and to write detailed accounts of what these managers were doing. Cases are generally written by business school faculty with particular learning objectives in mind and are refined in the classroom before publication. Additional relevant documentation (such as financial statements, time-lines, and short biographies, often referred to in the case as "exhibits"), multimedia supplements (such as video-recordings of interviews), and a carefully crafted teaching note often accompany cases.
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Unlike traditional lecture-based teaching where student participation in the classroom is minimal, the case method is an active learning method, which requires participation and involvement from the student in the classroom.
Figure 1: Instructor versus participant centered learning The above diagram offers a spectrum of instructor versus participant centered learning. The learning effectiveness of the lecture method has been questioned because of the lack of interaction; but it continues as a means of reaching a large group at one time with a condensed, organized body of information. Participant-centered learning, the foundation of the case method, is an important part of the educational process at many leading business schools. The case method is effective, since participant plays important role in driving the case discussion and analysis, and instructor coordinates and gives direction to the discussion and analysis. The basic purpose of instituting the case method as a teaching strategy was to transfer much of the responsibility for learning from the teacher on to the student, whose role, as a result, shifts away from passive absorption toward active construction. Through careful examination and discussion of various cases, students learn to identify actual problems, to recognize key players and their agendas, and to become aware of those aspects of the situation that contribute to the problem. In addition, students are encouraged to generate their own analysis of the problems under consideration, to develop their own solutions, and to practically apply their own knowledge of theory to these problems. Along the way, students also develop the power to analyze and to master a tangled circumstance by identifying and delineating important factors; the ability to utilize ideas, to test them against facts, and to throw them into fresh combinations. In addition to the practical application and testing of scholarly knowledge, case discussions can also help students prepare for real-world problems, situations and crises by providing an approximation of various professional environments (i.e. classroom, board room, courtroom, or hospital). Thus, through the examination of specific cases, students are given the opportunity to work out their own
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professional issues through the trials, tribulations, experiences, and research findings of others. An obvious advantage to this mode of instruction is that it allows students the exposure to settings and contexts that they might not otherwise experience. The case study method also incorporates the idea that students can learn from one another by engaging with each other and with each other's ideas, by asserting something and then having it questioned, challenged and thrown back at them so that they can reflect on what they hear, and then refine what they say. In summary, students can direct their own learning by formulating questions and taking responsibility for the study. Usefulness of the case study method of teaching in business/ management education Case Study method of teaching is helpful in management education primarily for the reason of giving managerial skills like analysis of business problem and synthesizing the action plan. This also helps in developing mature judgment and useful attitudes among the learners. The method also is used to apply the management techniques learnt and emphasizes both quantitative and qualitative analysis. The case method has been found to be extremely useful in acquiring knowledge,
developing skills, forming attitudes and influencing behaviour. 1. Acquiring knowledge In the managerial context, knowledge is, firstly, situation-specific concerning policies of those - both external and internal - who influence managers' actions, and, secondly, concepts, approaches and techniques expounded in the literature or by colleagues, or from other sources. A manager needs to acquire such knowledge, not merely as words but so as to be able to appropriately interpret it for improved decision making. In the case method, knowledge is acquired while grappling with a reallife situation and not in isolation of its context. 2. Developing skills Development of skills involves an element of actually doing. The case method helps, through discussion of real-life situations, to discriminate properly between the situations where particular skills could or could not be applied. The practice part could be accomplished by doing the exercise repeatedly or using different cases over a period of time. The case method builds the capacity for critical thinking. Discussions exercise skills of debate and challenge. Direct debate over practical problems stimulates student effort.
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3. Forming attitudes and values
Formation of attitudes and values for adults is a time consuming process, as attitudes and values are fixed early in life. It seems that the discussion mode of the case method, particularly with colearners, helps a great deal in re-examining the attitudes and values of managers. Such discussions in small groups should be characterized by a relaxed, tension free, non-evaluative atmosphere in which participants may discuss their own experiences. Exposure to different ways of looking at the same situation might provoke the process of re-examining one's own attitudes and values. Needless to say, the longer the duration of the programme, the higher the likelihood of more participants starting such personal re-examination and attaining a greater degree of change in attitudes and values. 4. Behavioral learning Behavioural learning is done mostly through on-the-job training and experience. However, the learning of attitudes and behaviour could be enhanced by supplementing the case method with the syndicate method and field project work. The syndicate method (discussions in small groups) is an integral part of the case method. Field projects are widely used in degree-type programmes to provide real life behavioural exposure. The case method models the process of inductive learning-from-experience that managers will employ during their careers. Thus, the method prepares the student for life-long learning, and for being a useful participant in a learning organization. A case permits me to demonstrate that the problem actually exists in the world; my style is to move, layer by layer, from the specific to the general, ending up with the principle or theory of interest. For me this is more valuable than constantly asserting that various theories are useful in practice in order to hold student attention. To summarize, we can say following are the objectives of the Case Method. Apply managerial concepts & theories into practice. Shifts away from passive absorption toward active construction. Gain exposure to a variety of organizational & managerial situations. Acquire particle knowledge to solve problems. Developing decision making skills. To get into the habit of diagnosing the problem, analysis & evaluation of alternatives & formulation of an action plan.
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Inventory of Skills Developed by the Case Method Michiel Leeenders, Louise Mauffette-Launders and James Erskine in 1999 point out a rich inventory of skills that can be developed by the case method. The following points lists out the transferable skills and competencies that can be developed by case study method in the students. Analytical skills. The case method enables you to develop qualitative and quantitative frameworks to analyze business situations, including problem identification skills; data handling skills; and critical thinking skills. You are forced to reason clearly and logically in sifting carefully through the data available. Decision making skills. The case method pushes you, on the basis of your analytical work, to assess what can be done and to make decisions. You will learn to generate different alternatives, to select decision criteria, to evaluate alternatives, to choose the best one, to formulate congruent action and implementation plans. Application skills. Cases provide an opportunity for you to practice using the tools, techniques, and theories you have learned. Oral communication skills. The case method provides ample opportunity not only to listen to your colleagues but also to express yourself, construct arguments and convince them of your views. Thus, a whole set of speaking; listening and debating skills are developed. In this exchange of ideas and arguments, you learn to think on your feet, consider others viewpoints as well as to take and defend your positions. Time management skills. Under the heavy pressure of case preparation and the juggling of your various other responsibilities, you are forced to schedule educational activities carefully and manage time effectively. Interpersonal or social skills. The case method, through small group and large group discussion, promotes learning how to deal with your peers. This learning includes conflict resolution skills and practicing the art of compromise. Because so much of your future work life will involve committees, task forces, boards or project teams, learning to work effectively in a group will differentiate you. Creative skills. Because no two business solutions are quite the same, the case method encourages looking for and finding solutions geared to the unique circumstances of each case. This method invites you also to use your imagination in problem solving, as there are normally multiple solutions to each case.
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Written communication skills. Through regular and effective note-taking, case reports and case exams, you learn the skills associated with effective writing. Emphasis on writing skills varies depending on the program you are enrolled in but often takes on a high priority in business programs, as it is a key factor of success in management.
Types of cases 1. Caselet: A case could be a one-page, or even smaller, description with very little quantitative or qualitative information, of a situation faced by a manager concerning just one of the aspects of management involving just another individual. This is usually termed a 'caselet' or mini case or short problem situations may be fabricated from a composite of situations provided care is used in writing so as not to have inconsistencies. 2. Comprehensive case: It could also be extensive and detailed, forming what is called a 'comprehensive case.' There is room for wide variation of cases. Cases need not be based only on real life situations nor be comprehensive. Consequently, all case studies are not structured similarly, and variations abound in terms of style, structure and approach. Case material ranges from small caselets (a few paragraphs to one-two pages) to short cases (four to six pages) and from 10 to 18 page case studies to the longer versions (25 pages and above). 3. True cases: That which relate to actual situations or events experienced by real persons or organizations. 4. Disguised cases: Those which are based on real events, but with names of organizations and individuals changed to protect proprietary interests, prevent legal problems, or avoid embarrassment. 5. Fictitious cases: Those which are created by the case author in order to present a specific situation for analysis for students. 6. Multi-media cases: These are in the form of audio-video clipping, rather than written document. 7. Informational type case studies: These, include a variety of items like working environment, inter-organizational context, coordination, activities, problem areas, history of events, inhibiting factors on, decision making, etc. This type increases awareness about the environment and helps in the decision making process. This also helps in the evaluation of consequences of a decision. 8. Appraisal cases: These involve problem solving and decision making process. 9. Historical cases: These involve research and educational interests.
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10. Live and experimental cases: Social welfare rehabilitation or introduction of ideas and analytical concepts form the basis for these cases: These types of cases help-to analyzing psycho/ social problems like drug addiction, alcoholism amongst workers, etc. Dimensions of a case Three possible dimensions encompass a large part of the case: What is described. A case could merely describe an individual, an incident, an organization, or a system. On the other hand, it could describe a decision making situation faced by a manager, involving part or whole of the organization, with a focus on one or more of the elements of the problem solving approach. Purpose. The purpose of a case may be either research or learning. If the purpose is learning, the emphasis could be on one or more of the forms of learning, namely acquiring knowledge, gaining skills, and developing attitudes and values. Mode of description. The nature of presentation could be written, audiovisual or oral.
Conclusion A case sets forth, in a factual manner, the events and organizational circumstances surrounding a particular managerial situation. A case is a partial, historical, clinical study of a situation, which has confronted a practicing administrator or managerial group. Presented in narrative form to encourage student involvement, it provides data-substantive and process-essential to an analysis of a specific situation, for the framing of alternative action programs, and for their implementation recognizing the complexity and ambiguity of the practical world. It puts readers at the scene of the action and familiarizes them with all the relevant circumstances. A case on management can concern 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 students role in case analysis is to diagnose and size up the situation described in the case and then to recommend appropriate action steps.
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Question Bank for Module 1
SECTION A (2 MARKS) 1. What is case? 2. Define case study 3. What is caselet? 4. Write two use of case study method of learning? 5. What are the two types of case study? SECTION B (5 MARKS) 1. Write a note on case based learning methodology. 2. What are the inventories of skills developed, in a student by the case method? 3. Write an elaborate note on educational applications of case study method. SECTION C (15 MARKS) 1. What is case study? Write your comment on the statement the case method as a learning tool. 2. What is case study method? What is the usefulness of the case study method of teaching in business/ management education? 3. Explain the case study method of learning? What are the types of case study? SECTION D (30 MARKS): Case study and article
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Module-2 Case Analysis Technique
Content of module Case analysis- meaning, objectives of case analysis, steps involved in case analysis- PACER model, role of participants and resource person / instructor in case method, preparing an effective case analysis. Introduction If the goal of business education is to enhance the effectiveness of practicing managers, then helping students weigh the practical implications of their analyses is important. The best way to do this is to demand that recommendations always accompany analyses. The case teaching, deals not with how a man may be trained to know, but how a man may be trained to act. Cases are narratives that contain information and invite analysis. Participants are put in the position of making decisions or evaluations based on the information available. As a teaching/learning tool, cases challenge participants to analyze critique, make judgments, speculate and express reasoned opinions. Above all, although information can be real or invented, a case must be realistic and believable. The information included must be rich enough to make the situation credible, but not so complete as to close off discussion or exploration. Cases can be short for brief classroom discussions, or long and elaborate for semester-long projects. Case Analysis Case Analysis refers to carefully sift through the information provided in the case study, in order to identify the opportunity, problem, or decision facing the organization; to carefully identify and evaluate alternative courses of action; and to propose a solution or decision based on analysis. Analysis is derived from a Greek word meaning, dissolving. In English, analysis has two closely related definitions: to break something up into its constituent parts; and to study the relationships of the parts to the whole. To analyze a case, one therefore need ways of identifying and understanding important aspects of situation and what they mean in relation to the overall situation. Each business disciple has its own theories, framework, processes and practices, and quantitative tools. All of them are adapted to help understand specific types of situations.
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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, co-operative effort. There is no one best way to analyze a case. Most people develop their own method after gaining some experience. Cases are narratives that contain information and invite analysis. Participants are put in the position of making decisions or evaluations based on the information available. Many students favour the case method because there are no "right" or "wrong" answers to the cases. Objectives of case analysis
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 business analysis in a variety of industries and competitive situations. 3. Get valuable practice in identifying problems and issues that need to be addressed in business, evaluating alternatives, and formulating workable plans of action. 4. Enhance your sense of business judgment, as opposed to uncritically accepting the authoritative crutch of the instructor / 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.
Case discussion The case method should more appropriately be called the 'case discussion method' as discussion in a group of co-learners is an integral part of the method. Emphasize the importance of "the four Ps:" preparation of each case before class, presence at every class, promptness in arriving, and participation in discussions. This involves the following steps: study of a case by an individual learner, analysis of the case, and development of a strategy and action plan from the point of view of the decision-maker in the case;
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discussion in a small group (6-10 individuals) of the individual learner's analysis and proposals, and consequent revisions, if needed; discussion in a plenary session / class discussion (up to 80 to 100 individuals) with the help of a discussion leader (resource person/faculty member); and post-plenary session / class discussion with co-learners and discussion leader to consolidate the learning, if necessary.
Individual preparation: Individual preparation is very important for effective case analysis. It is the basis for all subsequent work and hence the foundation on which the quality and quantity of case learning depend. Obviously, the better the individual preparation, the easier the following stages become. Read the case carefully and thoughtfully. Make notes in the margin or elsewhere to summarise ideas, raise questions, note particular concepts and record observations as they come to your mind. Recognise that cases contain both facts and opinions. While you have to take facts at face value, you can certainly question or challenge opinion. Discussion in small groups: Study and analysis of a case by an individual student would bring to bear only that individual's knowledge, skill, experiences and attitudes in resolving the problems faced by the manager in the case situation. Discussion in small groups or a class by several students, with their respective backgrounds, knowledge, skills and attitudes and values, has the potential to enlarge the perspective of each individual. Discussion is supposed to take place in a democratic spirit, where each participant is free to present their analysis and the rest of the class or group tries to assimilate and understand it. Co-learners try to see the similarities and differences in such presentations. On the basis of strong logic, and not brute force of lung power, the issues are analysed and final assessments made. Thus, through discussion in small groups and class, an individual would: acquire new knowledge, and learn about skills and attitudes possessed by others, reflect on the applicability of their own knowledge, skills and attitudes or values, and learn the art of listening to others, convincing others and social interaction in a group setting.
Classroom discussion: In classroom discussion, students analyze the information in the case and use it to solve the problem set up by the case. The discussion can take many forms, including closely directed questioning by faculty to help students draw out the information from the case and identify the central decisions or evaluations that need to be made, more open-ended questions and
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discussions as students evaluate options and weigh the evidence, and small group work by students focused on specific analytical tasks. Many faculty members use role-play as a technique to put students completely in the case environment. Ideally, case method discussions involve mostly conversation between and among students, rather than discussion centered on direct participation by the faculty member. Steps in involved in case analysis: Case Analysis Technique The case approach has been described variously as a technique, a method, a process and so on. 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. What follows is intended to be a rather general approach for case discussion and analysis. The procedure for case analysis or case analysis process or technique, or framework for case analysis all are same. It helps to have a system when sitting down to prepare a case study as the amount of information and issues to be resolved can initially seem quite overwhelming. The following is a good way to start. At this point, the task consists of two parts: Step A: A detailed reading of the case, and then Step B: Analyzing the case and finding solution. Step A: Detailed reading of the case
When doing the detailed reading of the case study, look for the following sections: 1. Opening paragraph: introduces the situation. 2. Background information: industry, organization, products, history, competition, financial information, and anything else of significance. 3. Specific (functional) area of interest: marketing, finance, operations, human resources, or integrated. 4. The specific problem or decision(s) to be made. 5. Alternatives open to the decision maker, which may or may not be stated in the case. 6. Conclusion: sets up the task, any constraints or limitations, and the urgency of the situation.
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Most, but not all case studies will follow this format. The purpose here is to thoroughly understand the situation and the decisions that will need to be made. Take your time, make notes, and keep focused on your objectives.
Step B: Analysis and Solution
Case analysis should take the following steps:
You can approach the analysis of business cases in many different ways. Each instructor has his or her own ideas on the number of the steps involved. Another important thing is that with case studies, there is no "right" answer. The faculty is interested in how the student approaches and comes up with solutions to problems. Different students may come up with different answers, all equally correct. The following step in the form of PACER model is a logical and practical way to begin.
P- Problem statement A- Alternative generation C - Criteria for evaluation E- Evaluation of alternatives R-Recommendation
P- Problem / Issue Statement
The problem statement should be a clear, concise statement of exactly what needs to be addressed. If it is decision oriented case, state the decision to be made. Briefly state the answer of the following questions, what decisions must you tackles? Which decisions must be made first? Now it is time to decide what the main issues to be addressed are going to be in much more detail. Asking you the following questions may help: 1. What appears to be the problem(s) here? 2. How do I know that this is a problem? Note that by asking this question, you will be helping to differentiate the symptoms of the problem from the problem itself. Example: while declining
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sales or unhappy employees are a problem to most companies, they are in fact, symptoms of underlying problems which need to be addressed. 3. What are the immediate issues that need to be addressed? This helps to differentiate between issues that can be resolved within the context of the case, and those that are bigger issues that needed to addressed at a another time (preferably by someone else!). 4. Differentiate between importance and urgency for the issues identified. Some issues may appear to be urgent, but upon closer examination are relatively unimportant, while others may be far more important (relative to solving our problem) than urgent. You want to deal with important issues in order of urgency to keep focused on your objective. Important issues are those that have a significant effect on: 1. Profitability, 2. Strategic direction of the company, 3. Source of competitive advantage, 4. Morale of the company's employees, and/or 5. Customer satisfaction. The problem statement may be framed as a question, eg: What should Joe do? or How can Mr. Smith improve market share? Usually the problem statement has to be re-written several times during the analysis of a case, as you peel back the layers of symptoms or causation. The following steps have been found to be useful in defining problems: Step 1 List all concerns (symptoms), particularly from the point of view of the decisionmaker in the situation (i.e., the answer to 'Who?' and 'What?' of the situational analysis). Step 2 Diagnose (from the answers to 'How?' and 'Why?') the concerns in order to establish real causes. Step 3 Step 4 Establish decision (problem) areas, and prioritize them in order of importance. Evaluate - if appropriate decisions are taken in these areas - whether the overall situation would improve particularly from the decision-maker's point of view.
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A - Alternatives generation
Alternative are different ways in which the problem can be resolved. Think creatively about ways to remove the cause(s) of the problem(s) identified in the case. In order to find out the alternative solutions for the given problem, you should first try to answer the following questions: 1. Why or how did these issues arise? You are trying to determine cause and effect for the problems identified. You cannot solve a problem that you cannot determine the cause of! It may be helpful to think of the organization in question as consisting of the following components: 1. resources, such as materials, equipment, or supplies, and 2. people who transform these resources using 3. Processes, which creates something of greater value. Now, where are the problems being caused within this framework, and why? 2. Who is affected most by this issues? You are trying to identify who are the relevant stakeholders to the situation, and who will be affected by the decisions to be made. 3. What are the constraints and opportunities implicit to this situation? It is very rare that resources are not a constraint, and allocations must be made on the assumption that not enough will be available to please everyone. 4. What do the numbers tell you? You need to take a look at the numbers given in the case study and make a judgment as to their relevance to the problem identified. Not all numbers will be immediately useful or relevant, but you need to be careful not to overlook anything. When deciding to analyze numbers, keep in mind why you are doing it, and what you intend to do with the result. Use common sense and comparisons to industry standards when making judgements as to the meaning of your answers to avoid jumping to conclusions. The following points to be kept in mind while generating alternative solution of the identified problem. 1. Be realistic! While you might be able to find a dozen alternatives, keep in mind that they should be realistic and fit within the constraints of the situation. 2. The alternatives should be mutually exclusive, that is, they cannot happen at the same time. 3. Not making a decision pending further investigation is not an acceptable decision for any case study that you will analyze. A manager can always delay making a decision to gather more
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information, which is not managing at all! The whole point to this exercise is to learn how to make good decisions, and having imperfect information is normal for most business decisions, not the exception. 4. Doing nothing as in not changing your strategy can be a viable alternative; provided it is being recommended for the correct reasons, as will be discussed below. 5. Keep in mind that any alternative chosen will need to be implemented at some point, and if serious obstacles exist to successfully doing this, then you are the one who will look bad for suggesting it. Once the alternatives have been identified, a method of evaluating them and selecting the most appropriate one needs to be used to arrive at a decision. C- Criteria for evaluation of alternatives A very important concept to understand, they answer the question of how you are going to decide which alternative is the best one to choose. Other than choosing randomly, we will always employ some criteria in making any decision. For a business situation, the these criterias are those things that are important to the organization making the decision, and they will be used to evaluate the suitability of each alternative recommended. Some of the examples of Criteria for evaluation of alternatives are as follow: Brief, preferably in point form, such as 1. Improve (or at least maintain) profitability, 2. Increase sales, market share, or return on investment, 3. Maintain customer satisfaction, corporate image, 4. Be consistent with the corporate mission or strategy, 5. Within our present (or future) resources and capabilities, 6. Within acceptable risk parameters, 7. Ease or speed of implementation, 8. Employee morale, safety, or turnover, 9. Retain flexibility, and/or 10. Minimize environmental impact. Measurable, at least to the point of comparison, such as alternative A will improve profitability more that alternative B. Be related to your problem statement, and alternatives. If you find that you are
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talking about something else, that is a sign of a missing alternative or key decision criteria, or a poorly formed problem statement. Examples of Qualitative Criteria: Competitive advantage, customer satisfaction, employee morale, corporate image, ease of implementation, ethics, flexibility, safety, visual appeal, obsolescence, cultural sensitivity, motivation, goodwill. Examples of Quantitative Criteria: Profit, cost, ROI (return on investment), market share, capacity, delivery time, risk, cash flow, inventory turn, productivity, staff turnover, quality, growth rate, quantity. Think about the last time that you make a purchase decision for an article of clothing. Why did you choose the article that you did? The criteria that you may have used could have been: 1. fit 2. price 3. fashion 4. colour 5. approval of friend/family 6. availability
Note that any one of these criteria could appropriately finish the sentence; the brand/style that I choose to purchase must.... These criteria are also how you will define or determine that a successful purchase decision has been made.
E - Evaluation of Alternatives
Compare & contrast the alternatives using the decision criteria you have developed. If you have done the above properly, this should be straightforward. You measure the alternatives against each criterion. Often you can set up a simple table with criteria for evaluation as columns and alternatives as rows, and write this section based on the table.
Criteria for evaluation Alternatives A Alternatives B Alternatives C
Criteria 1
Criteria 2
Criteria 3
Each alternative must be compared to criteria for evaluation and its suitability ranked in some way, such as met/not met, or in relation to the other alternatives, such as better than, or highest. In the
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other words to analyze and evaluate alternatives write score against each dimension (criteria) for every alternative. This will be important to selecting an alternative.
Another method that can be used is to list the advantages and disadvantages (pros/ cons) of each alternative against the criteria listed, and then discussing the short and long term implications of choosing each. Suggest additional pros/cons if appropriate. Some alternative may appear attractive, but implementing them would be impossible or counterproductive. For example, if a firm is faced with low profits, one alternative would be to cut pay by 20%. The outcome of this alternative would be to lower morale drastically and create high turnover, so a firm should not implement that alternative. High employee turnover is so expensive that it would override the cost savings.
Use tools like SWOT analysis, PEST analysis etc., for case analysis, wherever possible. For details refer to module-3, Tools for case analysis. R-Recommendation Select the preferred alternative. Give a justification for choosing particular alternative (s). Develop an implementation plan / action plan by specify the actions necessary to produce the advantages you have identified and avoid (or minimize) the disadvantages or costs. Business people are decision-makers; this is your opportunity to practice making decisions. Give a justification for your decision (use the criteria for evaluation). After you have carefully analyzed the data and the alternatives, you are in a position to make recommendations. Make sure you explain and justify the reasoning behind your recommendations - this is the equivalent of 'showing your workings' in the answer to a mathematical problem. You will gain credit for this and, of course, both you and your team will learn from this exposure of your reasoning. Specify the actions necessary to produce the advantages you have identified and avoid (or minimize) the disadvantages or costs. Your action plan must be specific and answer six basic questions: Who? What? When? Where? How? Why? Provide a schedule and milestones.
Role of participants and resource person / instructor in case method
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The case method is participative. The case method is based on a philosophy of learning by doing as opposed to learning by listening and absorbing information. Case analysis is an applied skill. As such, it is something you learn through application, as opposed to something someone teaches you. The more you practice, they more proficient you will become. The benefit you receive from case analysis is directly proportional to the effort you put into it. While both the instructor and the student start with the same information, their roles are clearly different in each of these stages, as shown in below table.
Student/ participant responsibilities As a case analyst, the following responsibilities are key to participants success:
Active Participation: The case method requires a great deal of individual participation in class discussion. Effective participation requires thorough preparation, which entails more than casually reading each case before class. Also, keep in mind that there is a difference between contributing to a class discussion and just talking. Please see How to Prepare Cases for specific details.
Interaction among students plays an important role in the case method of instruction. Effective learning results from individual preparation and thinking, combined with group discussion. Whether
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you are assigned to work independently or in groups/teams, most instructors encourage students to discuss cases with other students. This, of course, is common practice among managers facing important business decisions. Case discussions, in and out of class, are beneficial because they provide immediate feedback regarding individual perspectives and possible solutions. Other important benefits of case discussions are the synergism and new insights produced by group conversations and brainstorming.
Critical Evaluation: One of the most difficult student responsibilities is learning to critique their peers and to accept criticism from them. Typically, students are reluctant to question or challenge their classmates or to suggest alternatives to the perspectives proposed by others in the class. Students find this difficult because they are generally inexperienced at performing these functions and are also unaccustomed to being challenged by their peers in the classroom. However, the case method is most effective when all parties engage in an open exchange of ideas. Good cases do not have one clear-cut, superior solution. Don't be shy about expressing and defending your views. Moreover, the reasoning process you use and the questions you raise are often more important than the specific solution that you recommend.
Effective Communication: Each of the three responsibilities above requires effective communication. It is important that you organize your thoughts before speaking out. You will develop and refine your communication skills by making class presentations, participating in case discussions and writing case analyses. Furthermore, the focus of the case method is the development and sharpening of quantitative and qualitative analytical skills. Your analytical skills will improve as you organize information, diagnose problems, identify and evaluate alternatives, and develop solutions and action plans. Case analysis plays an important role in your overall education. What you learn in a course that utilizes the case method may be your best preparation for securing your first job or gaining that sought-after promotion up the career ladder. If you ask a sample of recruiters to assess the students who are completing undergraduate and graduate programs in business administration today, you will probably hear that these students are extremely well trained in concepts and quantitative skills, but that they lack verbal and written communication and decision-making skills. The case method offers students an excellent opportunity to enhance and refine those skills. Role of the resource person
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One of the critical components in the effective use of the case method is the degree of preparedness of the resource person. A poor case, poorly prepared by the participants, can still be a valuable learning experience if the resource person is fully prepared. The case method relies heavily on the leadership skills of the resource person. The role of the resource person in a case discussion is basically to guide and direct. The objective is to keep the discussion moving towards useful goals, with a minimum of intervention. The resource persons should keep themselves in the background until they feel that direction has been lost, that there is a need for more analysis, or that the key points are not receiving proper emphasis. To be effective, the resource person: Should be prepared and flexible. Accept the fact that this is necessary in using case materials. should ask questions when necessary, but ask as few as possible to support the open nature of the decision without leading into unproductive channels; should never become emotionally involved in the case discussion; they should never advocate or oppose a particular idea; and Should summarize at the end and leave time to pull together the key points of the case. Many participants will need assistance in drawing out concepts from the ongoing discussion. Participants in the case method approach often feel uncomfortable because, more often than not, there is no single solution to the situation described in the case. There are likely to be no irrefutable principles of management highlighted by the case which can be remembered for use in future situations. There is no hard and fast answer. To resolve this dilemma, the resource person must make clear to the participants that the case method is designed to develop their analytical and judgmental skills. It is the process by which they reach their decision that is important. The objective of the case method is to nurture this thought process; not to communicate facts to be memorized.
Preparing an Effective Case Analysis An assigned case requires significant and conscientious preparation before class. Without it, student will be unable to contribute meaningfully to in-class discussion. Therefore, careful reading and thinking about case facts, as well as reasoned analyses and the development of alternative solutions to case problems, are essential. Recommended alternatives should flow logically from core problems identified through study of the case. The table below shows a set of steps that can help you develop familiarity with a case, identify problems, and propose strategic actions that increase the probability that a firm will achieve strategic competitiveness and earn above-average returns. An Effective Case Analysis Process
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Step 1:

a. In general--determine who, what, how, where and when (the critical facts in a case). b. In detail--identify the places, persons, activities, and contexts of the situation. c. Recognize the degree of certainty/uncertainty of acquired information.
Gaining Familiarity
Step 2:
a. List all indicators (including stated "problems") that something is not as expected or as desired b. Ensure that symptoms are not assumed to be the problem (symptoms should lead to identification of the problem).
Recognizing Symptoms
Step 3
a. Identify critical statements by major parties (e.g., people, groups, the work unit, etc.). b. List all goals of the major parties that exist or can be reasonably inferred.
Identifying goals
Step 4 Conducting the Analysis
a. Decide which ideas, models, and theories seem useful. b. Apply these conceptual tools to the situation. c. As new information is revealed, cycle back to sub-steps a and b.
Step 5 Making the Diagnosis
a. Identify predicaments (goal inconsistencies). b. Identify problems (discrepancies between goals and performance). c. Prioritize predicaments/problems regarding timing, importance, etc.
Step 6
a. Specify and prioritize the criteria used to choose action alternatives.
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Doing the Action Planning

b. Discover or invent feasible action alternatives c. Examine the probable consequences of action alternatives. d. Select a course of action. e. Design an implementation plan/schedule. f. Create a plan for assessing the action to be implemented.
An Effective Case Analysis Process 1. Gaining Familiarity The first step of an effective case analysis process calls for you to become familiar with the facts featured in the case and the focal firm's situation. Initially, you should become familiar with the focal firm's general situation (e.g., who, what, how, where, and when). Thorough familiarization demands appreciation of the nuances as well as the major issues in the case. Gaining familiarity with a situation requires you to study several situational levels, including interactions between and among individuals within groups, business units, the corporate office, the local community, and the society at large. Recognizing relationships within and among levels facilitates a more thorough understanding of the specific case situation. It is also important that you evaluate information on a continuum of certainty. Information that is verifiable by several sources and judged along similar dimensions can be classified as a fact. Information representing someone's perceptual judgment of a particular situation is referred to as an inference. Information gleaned from a situation that is not verifiable is classified as speculation. Finally, information that is independent of verifiable sources and arises through individual or group discussion is an assumption. Obviously, case analysts and organizational decision makers prefer having access to facts over inferences, speculations, and assumptions. Personal feelings, judgments, and opinions evolve when you are analyzing a case. It is important to be aware of your own feelings about the case and to evaluate the accuracy of perceived "facts" to ensure that the objectivity of your work is maximized.
2. Recognizing Symptoms
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Recognition of symptoms is the second step of an effective case analysis process. A symptom is an indication that something is not as you or someone else thinks it should be. You may be tempted to correct the symptoms instead of searching for true problems. True problems are the conditions or situations requiring solution before an organization's, unit's, or individual's performance can improve. Identifying and listing symptoms early in the case analysis process tends to reduce the temptation to label symptoms as problems. The focus of your analysis should be on the actual causes of a problem, rather than on its symptoms. It is important therefore to remember that symptoms are indicators of problems; subsequent work facilitates discovery of critical causes of problems that your case recommendations must address. 3. Identifying Goals The third step of effective case analysis calls for you to identify the goals of the major organizations, units, and/or individuals in a case. As appropriate, you should also identify each firm's strategic intent and strategic mission. Typically, these direction-setting statements (goals, strategic intents, and strategic missions) are derived from comments of the central characters in the organization, business unit, or top management team described in the case and/or from public documents (e.g., an annual report). Completing this step successfully sometimes can be difficult. Nonetheless, the outcomes you attain from this step are essential to an effective case analysis because identifying goals, intent, and mission helps you to clarify the major problems featured in a case and to evaluate alternative solutions to those problems. Direction-setting statements are not always stated publicly or prepared in written format. When this occurs, you must infer goals from other available factual data and information. 4. Conducting the Analysis The fourth step of effective case analysis is concerned with acquiring a systematic understanding of a situation. Occasionally cases are analyzed in a less-than-thorough manner. Such analyses may be a product of a busy schedule or the difficulty and complexity of the issues described in a particular case. Sometimes you will face pressures on your limited amounts of time and may believe that you can understand the situation described in a case with-out systematic analysis of all the facts. However, experience shows that familiarity with a case's facts is a necessary, but insufficient, step to the development of effective solutions-solutions that can enhance a firm's strategic competitiveness. In fact, a less-than-thorough analysis typically results in an emphasis on symptoms, rather than
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problems and their causes. To analyze a case effectively, you should be sceptical of quick or easy approaches and answers. A systematic analysis helps you understand a situation and determine what can work and probably what will not work. Key linkages and underlying causal networks based on the history of the firm become apparent. In this way, you can separate causal networks from symptoms. Also, because the quality of a case analysis depends on applying appropriate tools, it is important that you use the ideas, models, and theories that seem to be useful for evaluating and solving individual and unique situations. As you consider facts and symptoms, a useful theory may become apparent. Of course, having familiarity with conceptual models may be important in the effective analysis of a situation. Successful students and successful organizational strategists add to their intellectual tool kits on a continual basis. 5. Making the Diagnosis The fifth step of effective case analysis-diagnosis-is the process of identifying and clarifying the roots of the problems by comparing goals to facts. In this step, it is useful to search for predicaments. Predicaments are situations in which goals do not fit with known facts. When you evaluate the actual performance of an organization, business unit, or individual, you may identify over- or under achievement (relative to established goals). Of course, single-problem situations are rare. Accordingly, you should recognize that the case situations you study probably will be complex in nature. Effective diagnosis requires you to determine the problems affecting longer-term performance and those requiring immediate handling. Understanding these issues will aid your efforts to prioritize problems and predicaments, given available resources and existing constraints. 6. Doing the Action Planning The final step of an effective case analysis process is called action planning. Action planning is the process of identifying appropriate alternative actions. Important in the action planning step is selection of the criteria you will use to evaluate the identified alternatives. You may derive these criteria from the analyses; typically, they are related to key strategic situations facing the focal organization. Furthermore, it is important that you prioritize these criteria to ensure a rational and effective evaluation of alternative courses of action.
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Typically, managers satisfy" when selecting courses of actions; that is, they find acceptable courses of action that meet most of the chosen evaluation criteria. A rule of thumb that has proved valuable to strategic decision makers is to select an alternative that leaves other plausible alternatives available if the one selected fails. Once you have selected the best alternative, you must specify an implementation plan. Developing an implementation plan serves as a reality check on the feasibility of your alternatives. Thus, it is important that you give thoughtful consideration to all issues associated with the implementation of the selected alternatives. Conclusion To prepare a case analysis, students typically read the case several times before a classroom discussion. They first read for a general idea about the problem, the players in the case, the level of the decision, and the type of company or industry presented. On second and subsequent readings, students look for deeper problems and issues and try to differentiate symptoms from real case problems.
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SECTION A (2 MARKS) 6. What is case analysis? 7. Write two objective of case analysis? 8. What do you mean by criteria for evaluation? 9. Write a note on case analysis? SECTION B (5 MARKS) 4. Write an elaborative note on 'case discussion? 5. How are the roles of student and instructor different in a case study method compared to a lecture? 6. What are the steps involved in case analysis? 7. What is good participation in a case discussion and how can it be evaluated or measured? 8. Explain the effective case analysis process. 9. What is the role of Student/ participant responsibilities in case method of learning? SECTION C (15 MARKS) 1. What do you mean by case analysis? Explain in detail the case analysis technique. 2. Explain the various objectives of case analysis? What the steps involved in an effective case analysis process? SECTION D (30 MARKS): Case study and article
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Module 3: Tools for Case Analysis
Content of module Tools used in case analysis - PEST analysis, SWOT analysis, BCG Matrix, Porters 5 force analysis, Ansoff Matrix, financial ratio analysis and brainstorming, case analysis report, format of the written case analysis report, preparing an oral case presentation. Tools for case analysis 1. PEST (political, economic, social, and technological) analysis PEST is an acronym for "Political, Economic, Social, and Technological analysis" and describes a framework used to explore the macro-environmental influences that might affect an organisation. The PEST Analysis is a perfect tool for managers and policy makers; helping them in analyzing the forces that are driving their companies or the entire industry and how these factors will influence their businesses and the whole industry in general. The content of PEST analysis are as follows: Political factors are how and to what degree a government intervenes in the economy, government policies relating to the industry, political stability, regulatory framework, legislations and laws, trade restrictions, tariffs, tax policies, labor law, environmental law etc. Furthermore, governments have great influence on the health, education, and infrastructure of a nation. Economic factors include economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates, inflation rate, business cycle, money supply, employment rate, disposable money etc. These factors have major impacts on how businesses operate and make decisions. For example, interest rates affect a firm's cost of capital and therefore to what extent a business grows and expands. Exchange rates affect the costs of exporting goods and the supply and price of imported goods in an economy. Socio-cultural factors include population demographics, income distribution, age distribution, population growth rate lifestyle changes, cultural aspects, changes in tastes and buying patterns
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etc. Trends in social factors affect the demand for a company's products and how that company operates. For example, an aging population may imply a smaller and less-willing workforce (thus increasing the cost of labor). Furthermore, companies may change various management strategies to adapt to these social trends (such as recruiting older workers). Technological factors include technological aspects such as R&D activity, automation, technology incentives, the rate of technological change, the speed of technology transfer, new product development, impact of emerging technology etc. Furthermore, technological shifts can affect costs, quality, and lead to innovation.
2. SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis
SWOT analysis is a used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats prevailing in the internal and external environment. The strengths are characteristics of the business or team that give it an advantage over others in the industry. The weaknesses are characteristics that place the firm at a disadvantage relative to others. The opportunities are external chances to make greater sales or profits in the environment. And threats are external elements in the environment that could cause trouble for the business. The strengths and weaknesses are attributes of the organization and internal in origin. The opportunities and threats are attributes of the environment and external in origin. SWOT analysis groups key pieces of information into two main categories: Internal analysis The strengths and weaknesses internal to the organization. The internal factors may be viewed as strengths or weaknesses depending upon their impact on the organization's objectives. What may represent strengths with respect to one objective may be weaknesses for another objective. The factors may include all of the 4Ps (product, price, place & promotion); as well as personnel, finance, manufacturing capabilities and so on. External analysis The opportunities and threats presented by the external environment to the organization. The external factors may include macroeconomic matters, technological change, legislation, and socio-cultural changes, as well as changes in the marketplace or competitive position.
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The detail description of component of SWOT analysis is as follow: Strengths - A firms strengths are its resources and capabilities that can be used as a basis for developing a competitive advantage. Examples of such strengths include: Patents Strong brand names Good reputation among customers Cost advantages from proprietary know-how Exclusive access to high grade natural resources Favourable access to distribution networks
Weaknesses - The absence of certain strengths may be viewed as a weakness. For example, each of the following may be considered weaknesses: Lack of patent protection A weak brand name Poor reputation among customers High cost structure Lack of access to the best natural resources Lack of access to key distribution channels
Opportunities - The external environmental analysis may reveal certain new opportunities for profit and growth. Some examples of such opportunities include: An unfulfilled customer need Arrival of new technologies Loosening of regulations Removal of international trade barriers
Threats - Changes in the external environmental also may present threats to the firm. Some examples of such threats include: Shifts in consumer tastes away from the firms products Emergence of substitute products New regulations Increased trade barriers
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3. BCG Matrix
BCG growth-share matrix is a portfolio planning model developed by Bruce Henderson of Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in 1968. The BCG model is based on classification of products (and implicitly company strategic business units, SBU) into four categories based on combinations of market growth and market share relative to the largest competitor. Market share is the percentage of the total market that is being serviced by a company, measured either in revenue terms or unit volume terms. Market growth is used as a measure of a market's attractiveness. Markets experiencing high growth are ones where the total market is expanding, which should provide the opportunity for businesses to make more money, even if their market share remains stable. Market growth serves as a proxy for industry attractiveness, and relative market share serves as proxy for competitive advantage. The BCG Growth Share matrix uses the dimensions of relative market share and the market growth rate to establish a 2*2 matrix containing 4 main quadrants Stars (high market growth, high market share), Cash Cows (low market growth, high market share), Question marks (high market growth, low market share) and Dogs (low market growth, low market share). The ideal strategy is to hold on to the Stars and the Cash Cows, divest the Dogs and take a call on the Question Marks (hold/divest).
The details BCG matrix is as follow: BCG STARS (high growth, high market share) - Stars are SBUs/product lines that have a large market share in a fast growing market. Because the market is growing rapidly, stars frequently
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require ongoing investment to maintain their market leadership. As marginal competitors withdraw and the market matures and slows down, successful stars become cash cows and generate significant cash. Stars are defined by having high market share in a growing market. Stars are the leaders in the business but still need a lot of support for promotion a placement. If market share is kept, Stars are likely to grow into cash cows.
BCG QUESTION MARKS (high growth, low market share) - Question Marks operate in high growth markets, but suffer from low market share. The strategic options involve investing resources to grow market share or withdrawing. Investing to grow market does not guarantee these SBUs or product lines will become stars and hence the term Question Mark. These products are in growing markets but have low market share. Question marks are essentially new products where buyers have yet to discover them. The marketing strategy is to get markets to adopt these products. Question marks have high demands and low returns due to low market share. These products need to increase their market share quickly or they become dogs. The best way to handle Question marks is to either invest heavily in them to gain market share or to sell them. BCG CASH COWS (low growth, high market share) - Cash Cows typically have large market shares in mature, slow growing markets. Cash cows require little investment and generate cash that can be used to invest in other SBUs/product lines. Cash cows are in a position of high market share in a mature market. If competitive advantage has been achieved, cash cows have high profit margins and generate a lot of cash flow. Because of the low growth, promotion and placement investments are low. Investments into supporting infrastructure can improve efficiency and increase cash flow more. Cash cows are the products that businesses strive for.
BCG DOGS (low growth, low market share) - A dog suffers from having low market share in a market that is mature and slow growing. Investment will usually have little benefit and therefore, liquidation and withdrawal is usually the best strategy for those SBUs/product lines classified as Dogs. Dogs are in low growth markets and have low market share.
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Dogs should be avoided and minimized. Expensive turn-around plans usually do not help.
4. Porters Five Force Analysis Porter's five forces is a framework for the industry analysis and business strategy development formed by Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School in 1979. Porter's five forces shapes the industry competition, it includes threat of substitute products, threat of established rivals, threat of new entrants; bargaining power of suppliers and the bargaining power of customers. Porter referred to these forces as the micro environment, to contrast it with the more general term macro environment. They consist of those forces close to a company that affect its ability to serve its customers and make a profit. A change in any of the forces normally, requires a business unit to reassess the marketplace given the overall change in industry information. The overall industry attractiveness does not imply that every firm in the industry will return the same profitability. Firms are able to apply their core competencies, business model or network to achieve a profit above the industry average. A clear example of this is the airline industry. As an industry, profitability is low and yet individual companies, by applying unique business models, have been able to make a return in excess of the industry average.
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The five forces analysis looks at five key areas namely the threat of entry, the power of buyers, the power of suppliers, the threat of substitutes, and competitive rivalry, explained below. The threat of entry Economies of scale e.g. the benefits associated with bulk purchasing. The high or low costs of entry e.g. how much will it cost for the latest technology? Ease of access to distribution channels e.g. Do our competitors have the distribution channels sewn up? Cost advantages not related to the size of the company e.g. personal contacts or knowledge that larger companies do not own or learning curve effects. Will competitors retaliate? Government action e.g. will new laws be introduced that will weaken our competitive position? How important is differentiation? E.g. The Champagne brand cannot be copied. This desensitizes the influence of the environment. The power of buyers This is high where there a few, large players in a market e.g. the large grocery chains. If there are a large number of undifferentiated, small suppliers e.g. small farming businesses supplying the large grocery chains. The cost of switching between suppliers is low e.g. from one fleet supplier of trucks to another.
The power of suppliers The power of suppliers tends to be a reversal of the power of buyers. Where the switching costs are high e.g. switching from one software supplier to another. Power is high where the brand is powerful e.g. Cadillac, Pizza Hut, Microsoft. There is a possibility of the supplier integrating forward e.g. Brewers buying bars. Customers are fragmented (not in clusters) so that they have little bargaining power e.g. Gas/Petrol stations in remote places. The threat of substitutes Where there is product-for-product substitution e.g. email for fax. Where there is substitution of need e.g. better toothpaste reduces the need for dentists. Where there is generic substitution (competing for the currency in your pocket) e.g. Video suppliers compete with travel companies. We could always do without e.g. cigarettes.
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Competitive Rivalry
This is most likely to be high where entry is likely; there is the threat of substitute products, and suppliers and buyers in the market attempt to control. This is why it is always seen in the center of the diagram.
5. Ansoff Matrix The product-market matrix proposed by Igor Ansoff offers four growth strategies based on existing and new markets and products in 1957. The Ansoff Growth matrix is a tool that helps businesses decides their product and market growth strategy. Ansoffs product/market growth matrix suggests that a business attempts to grow depend on whether it markets new or existing products in new or existing markets.
Ansoff matrix presents the four main product and market choices available to an organization, which are as follow: Market Penetration (existing markets, existing products): Here companies market the existing products to existing customers. This means there will be increase in revenue, for example, promoting the product, repositioning the brand, and so on. However, the product is not altered and companies do not seek any new customers. Market penetration seeks to achieve four main objectives:
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Maintain or increase the market share of current products - this can be achieved by a combination of competitive pricing strategies, advertising, sales promotion and perhaps more resources dedicated to personal selling
Secure dominance of growth markets Restructure a mature market by driving out competitors; this would require a much more aggressive promotional campaign, supported by a pricing strategy designed to make the market unattractive for competitors
Increase usage by existing customers. For example by introducing loyalty schemes.
A market penetration marketing strategy is very much about "business as usual". The business is focusing on markets and products it knows well. It is likely to have good information on competitors and on customer needs. It is unlikely, therefore, that this strategy will require much investment in new market research. Market Development (new markets, existing products): Companies market existing product range in a new market. This means that the product remains the same, but it is marketed to a new audience. Exporting the product, or marketing it in a new region, is examples of market development. Market development is the name given to a growth strategy where the business seeks to sell its existing products into new markets. There are many possible ways of approaching this strategy, including:

New geographical markets; for example exporting the product to a new country New product dimensions or packaging: for example
o o
New distribution channels Different pricing policies to attract different customers or create new market segments
Product Development (existing markets, new products): This is a new product to be marketed to existing customers. Here companies develop and innovate new product offerings to replace existing ones. Such products are then marketed to existing customers. This often happens with the auto markets where existing models are updated or replaced and then marketed to existing customers.
Business Diversification (new markets, new products): This is where companies market completely new products to new customers. There are two types of diversification, namely related and unrelated diversification. Related diversification means that we
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remain in a market or industry with which we are familiar. Diversification is an inherently higher risk strategy because the business is moving into markets in which it has little or no experience.
6. Financial Ratio Analysis A ratio is a simple arithmetical expression of the relationship of one number to another. Financial ratio analysis is the calculation and comparison of ratios which are derived from the information in a companys financial statements. The level and historical trends of these ratios can be used to make inferences about a companys financial condition, its operations and attractiveness as an investment. The ratio analysis is one of the most powerful tools of financial health of the company. Different parties like the creditors, suppliers, investors, financial institutions; shareholders and the management are interested in the ratio analysis for knowing the financial position of a firm for different purposes. With the use of ratio analysis one can measure the financial condition is strong, good, questionable or poor. The conclusions can also be drawn as to whether the performance of the firm is improving or deteriorating. Ratios are assists students in financial diagnosis of a case study. The summary of various financial ratios and how they are calculated are as follow:
Key financial ratios: How to calculate them and what they mean
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7. Brainstorming Brainstorming is a group creativity technique designed to generate a large number of ideas for the solution of a problem. In 1953 the method was popularized by Alex Faickney Osborn in a book called Applied Imagination. Osborn proposed that groups could double their creative output with brainstorming. Brainstorming works by focusing on a problem, and then deliberately coming up with as many solutions as possible and by pushing the ideas as far as possible. One of the reasons it is so effective is that the participants not only come up with new ideas in a session, but also spark off from associations with other people's ideas by developing and refining them. Basic rules in brainstorming There are four basic rules in brainstorming intended to reduce social inhibitions among team members, stimulate idea generation, and increase overall creativity: 1. Focus on quantity: This rule is a means of enhancing divergent production, aiming to facilitate problem solving through the maxim quantity breeds quality. The assumption is that the greater
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the number of ideas generated, the greater the chance of producing a radical and effective solution. 2. Withhold criticism: In brainstorming, criticism of ideas generated should be put 'on hold'. Instead, participants should focus on extending or adding to ideas, reserving criticism for a later 'critical stage' of the process. By suspending judgment, participants will feel free to generate unusual ideas. 3. Welcome unusual ideas: To get a good and long list of ideas, unusual ideas are welcomed. They can be generated by looking from new perspectives and suspending assumptions. These new ways of thinking may provide better solutions. 4. Combine and improve ideas: Good ideas may be combined to form a single better good idea. It is believed to stimulate the building of ideas by a process of association. Effective Brainstorming Define the goal or problem or issue to be solved. The issue is what you will brainstorm about. It should describe a need, a goal or a problem. Any brainstorming session starts with the issue for which you will seek ideas. The issue will normally be in the form of a goal. It may be the solution to a problem, for example: we need to cut operational costs by 10% to avoid bankruptcy; or it may be a general goal such as: ways to make the dining facilities more appealing to our hotel guests. The team. An ideal brainstorming team should comprise one moderator and eight to twelve participants. The moderator manages the session. Moderator introduces the issue, notes down ideas, answers questions and manages the evaluation. The participants generate ideas and participate in the evaluation of their ideas after the brainstorming session. Preparations for session. One need to prepare a space for the session as well as invite the participants. When booking the space and informing the participants, bear in mind that entire session should take about 15 minutes of introduction, 30-40 minutes for ideation, 30 minutes for evaluation and discussion and 15 minutes for conclusions. So, plan for a minimum of 90 minutes; two hours would be safer. The brainstorming session comprises: Introduction to the issue and session. Idea generation.
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Post brainstorming session: Evaluation of the ideas. Wrap up
First one needs to understand the purpose of a brainstorming session. The emphasis is on quantity over quality. The bad ideas are allowed to flow with the good ones during a brainstorming session. Evaluating the ideas during the brainstorming session reduces creativity and limits both the quantity and quality of the ideas. Brainstorming is a process for generating creative ideas and solutions through intensive and freewheeling group discussion. Every participant is encouraged to think aloud and suggest as many ideas as possible, no matter seemingly how outlandish or bizarre. Analysis, discussion, or criticism of the aired ideas is allowed only when the brainstorming session is over and evaluation session begins. Other tools used in case analysis There are large numbers of tools & techniques which are put to use while doing case analysis. These are Management Innovations which have been developed by management thinkers over last 160 years or so. A partial list of the main ones is given below under the headings of respective functional areas. Marketing - Sales analysis with respect to products, territories and end users, Market share analysis, marketing expense analysis, consumer behaviour theories, attitudinal tracking, product life cycle (PLC), Strategic marketing (segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies), marketing audit etc. Human resource/ organizational behavioral analysis - Maslows needs hierarchy of motivation, Herzbergs two factor theory of motivation, McGregors theory X & Y, Theory Z, Managerial grid, Situational leadership etc. Finance - Financial ratio analysis, Inter-firm comparison, break even analysis, cost volume profit analysis, financial statement analysis, funds flow statement analysis, cash flow statement analysis, risk analysis, investment appraisal techniques etc. Strategic Management SWOT analysis, BCG(Boston consulting group) Product Portfolio Matrix, Porters model on five forces, Porters generic strategies, Ansoff model on generic growth strategies, Root cause analysis, McKinsey 7-S framework (Strategy, Structure, Systems, Shared Values, Skills, Style & Staff), GE market attractiveness model etc.
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Case Analysis Report
A case analysis report presents an analysis of the problems and issues facing a particular company, with recommendations of a plan of action and justification of that plan. Preparing a written case analysis is much like preparing a case for class discussion, except that your analysis must be more complete and put in report form. There is no optimal length for a written case analysis report.
Preparing a Written Case Analysis
There is no standard 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 assignment always works. The 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 management needs to address, 2) Perform whatever analysis and evaluation is appropriate, and 3) Propose an action plan and set of recommendations addressing the issues you have identified. In going through the exercise of identify, evaluate, and recommend, keep the following pointers in mind. 1. Identification It is essential to identify all the pertinent issues that management needs to address to provide sharply focused diagnosis of the issues and key problems. Analyse the company's situation, its strategy, and the significant problems and issues that confront management. State problems/issues as clearly and precisely as you can. 2. Analysis and Evaluation Look at marketing, production, managerial competence, and other factors underlying the organization's successes and failures. Check out the firm's financial ratios, its profit margins and its capital structure, and decide how strong the firm is financially. Decide whether the firm has
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valuable resource strengths and competencies 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 to perform case analysis. In writing your analysis and evaluation, bear in mind four things: i. Give logical argument backed up with facts and figures. Look into evidence to back up your conclusions. Do not rely on unsupported opinions, over-generalizations. ii. If your analysis involves some important quantitative 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. iii. Demonstrate that you have command of the strategic concepts and analytical tools to which you have been exposed. Use them in your report. iv. Your interpretation of the evidence should be reasonable and objective. Be wary of preparing a one-sided argument that omits all aspects not favourable to your conclusions. Likewise, try not to exaggerate or overdramatize. Endeavour to inject balance into your analysis and to avoid emotional 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. 3. 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. State how your recommendations 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 recommendations are workable in terms of acceptance by the persons involved, the organization's competence to implement them, and prevailing market and environmental constraints. By all means state your recommendations in sufficient detail to be meaningful get down to some definite nitty-gritty specifics. Avoid such unhelpful statements as "the organization should do
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more planning" or "the company should be more aggressive in marketing its product." For instance, do not simply say "the firm should improve its market position" but state 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. Avoid recommending anything you would not yourself be willing to do if you were in management's shoes. The importance of learning to develop good judgment in a managerial situation 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. Format / Structure of the Written Case Analysis Report
Different Instructors will require different formats for case reports, but they should all have roughly the same general content. For this course, the report should have the following sections in this order: 1. Title page Should describe the title of the case and case analysts names, course and date. 2. Executive summary Executive summary is a short document that summarizes a longer report, proposal or group of related reports in such a way that readers can rapidly become acquainted with a large body of material without having to read it all. It will usually contain a brief statement of the problem or proposal covered in the major document(s), background information, concise analysis and main conclusions. The executive summary should
highlight the major points relating to the case study and no more than one A4 page in length. 3. Problem (or Issue) statement - A problem statement is a concise description of the issues that need to be addressed by the case analyst. 4. Generation of alternatives Describe the various alternative solution for the given business problem. In the others words the different ways in which the problem can be solved. 5. Criteria (s) for evaluation these are decision criteria which helps in identifying the parameters for screening the alternatives solution for the given business problem. 6. Alternatives analysis & evaluation - Once the alternatives have been identified, evaluating them by comparing and contrasting the alternatives using the decision criteria.
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7. Recommendations Selecting the most appropriate alternative (s). Recommendations should be consistent with situation, should be well supported and practicable. Justify the reasoning behind your recommendations. 8. Action / Implementation Plan - Specify the series of actions necessary to execute the recommended alternative for the given problem. Explain the necessary steps required to be taken by the decision maker to produce the advantages you have identified and avoid (or minimize) the disadvantages or costs. 9. Exhibits / Appendices - Include additional material relevant to the case and referred to in the report. All charts, financials, visuals, and other related items can be placed in appendices and referenced in the report. Preparing an Oral Case Presentation The preparation of an oral case presentation has much in common with that of a written case analysis. Both require identification of the business issues and problems confronting the company, analysis of industry conditions and the companys situation, and the development 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 written assignment, youll need to demonstrate command of the relevant management 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 presentations rely principally on verbalizing your diagnosis, analysis, and recommendations and visually enhancing and supporting your oral discussion with slides (usually created on Microsofts PowerPoint presentation or OHP slides). A good set of slides with good content and good visual appeal is essential to a first-rate presentation. Take some care to choose a nice slide design, font size and style, and colour scheme. Suggestions for effective presentations, including slides covering each of the following areas An opening slide covering the title of the presentation and names of the presenters. A slide showing an outline of the presentation One or more slides showing the key problems and issues that management needs to address. A series of slides covering case analysis.
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A series of slides containing recommendations and the supporting arguments and reasoning for each recommendationone slide for each recommendation and the associated reasoning has a lot of merit.
Distinguish between content (e.g. the logic of the argument, pertinence of the recommendations, soundness of assumptions etc) and process (e.g. structure of the presentation, effective use of visual aids, ability to 'connect' with the audience etc) observations.
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SECTION A (2 MARKS) 10. What is case analysis report? 11. Write note on oral case presentation. 12. Write two tools used in case analysis? 13. What is brainstorming? 14. Expand PEST and SWOT analysis. SECTION B (5 MARKS) 1. Explain any two tools for case analysis. 2. Explain the SWOT and PEST analysis. 3. Briefly explain BCG matrix. 4. Briefly explain Porters 5 force analysis. 5. Explain Ansoff matrix. 6. Write down the format / structure of the written case analysis report? 7. Write a note on preparing an oral case presentation. SECTION C (15 MARKS) 1. Explain elaborately the various tools used in case analysis? 2. What the various tools used in case analysis in different functional areas of management? 3. What is case analysis report? Give detail account of preparation of a written case analysis?
SECTION D (30 MARKS): Case study and articles
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Module 4: Case Ethics
Content of the module: The case method and relativistic thinking, individual ethical decision-making styles, ethical concerns, case study writing- meaning, case study writing- traditional versus feature story format. Introduction The main objective of case analysis is problem identification and analysis. This means to be able to extract and treat relevant information. It is also important that the solutions are logical and realistic: They should be consistent with the problems identified. In the case analysis, one should apply relevant theoretical reasoning and the ethical reasoning. The decision-making involves an action or series of actions chosen from a number of possible alternatives. In case analysis participants/ students are involved in decision making by identifying the problem, generation of alternative solution, selecting a particular alternative solution and recommending it as best solution represents The ethics have some important role to play in such decision making. Ethics: Meaning Ethics (also known as moral philosophy) is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality - that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice, etc. Traditionally, normative ethics (also known as moral theory) was the study of what makes actions right and wrong. These theories offered an overarching moral principle one could appeal to in resolving difficult moral decisions. Moral principles places value on equitable, fair, and just concern of others involved. Applied ethics is a discipline of philosophy that attempts to apply ethical theory to real-life situations. Business ethics (also known as corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and business organizations as a whole. Applied ethics is a field of ethics that deals with ethical questions in many fields such as medical, technical, legal and business ethics. The business ethics concerns questions
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such as the limits on managers in the pursuit of profit, or the duty of 'whistleblowers' to the public as opposed to their employers.
Discussion on ethics in business is necessary because business can become unethical, and there are plenty of evidences today on unethical corporate practices. Firms and corporations operate in the social and natural environment. By virtue of existing in such environments, business is duty bound to be accountable to the natural and social environment in which it survives. Irrespective of the demands and pressures upon it, business by virtue of its existence is bound to be ethical, for at least two reasons: one, because whatever the business does affects its stakeholders and two, because every juncture of action has trajectories of ethical as well as unethical paths, wherein the existence of the business is justified by ethical alternatives it responsibly chooses. The Case Method and Relativistic Thinking Management studies are a science to be learnt as well as an art to be practiced. Case study method is more relevant to management studies in the context of functioning as a platform for visualizing different situations and learning by practicing solving various problems. In management studies, while text books help acquiring more knowledge, case studies help in developing wisdom. Case studies give lot of scope for application of knowledge and mind which is the crux of wisdom. Case studies fix the minds of the students in a specific situation and facilitate them to develop the art of making smart decisions by practicing. Todays organizations want the fresh management students to be job ready from day one of their appointment. Therefore the management students are better trained on live organizational situations with the help of case studies. This underlines the relevance of case studies in management education even today. The case method is an active instructional strategy, which has been demonstrated to enhance learners' application, problem-solving, and decision-making skills The case method also is believed to foster reflective thinking and is used to help learners appreciate multiple perspectives, clarify beliefs, and analyze how beliefs influence decisions. The case method represents a viable instructional approach for helping students learn how to analyze complex situations, make informed decisions, predict outcomes, and think critically and reflectively. Cases are narratives, situations, select data samplings, or statements that present unresolved and provocative issues, situations, or questions. As a teaching/learning tool, cases challenge participants
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to analyze, critique, make judgments, speculate and express reasoned opinions. Above all, although information can be real or invented, a case must be realistic and believable. The information included must be rich enough to make the situation credible, but not so complete as to close off discussion or exploration. Cases can be short for brief classroom discussions, or long and elaborate for semester-long projects. Cases are important for bringing real world problems into a classroom or a workshopthey ensure active participation and may lead to innovative solutions to problems. Case are collection of facts, opinion and judgment related to a 'real world' business situation, accompanied by some tables, graphs, financial statements, and other selected evidence, which may or may not be relevant, and related to some area of business management under study, such as marketing, finance, production management, or corporate governance. The purpose of a particular case is usually either to determine the problem that is presented, or, if the problem is already stated, what the solution might be. Relativistic thinking - Relativism is the concept that points of view have no absolute truth or validity, having only relative, subjective value according to differences in perception and consideration. Relativism is sometimes (though not always) interpreted as saying that all points of view are equally valid, in contrast to an absolutism which argues there is but one true and correct view. The relativistic thinking involves the ability to realize that there are many sides to any issue, and that the right answer depends upon the circumstances. The Case Method is a tool to teach persuasion, rather than ethical decision-making. However, since students are told beforehand that there is no 'right answer', the case method is an exercise in relativistic thinking. Without basic concepts of right or wrong to guide decision-making, the Case Method creates amoral leaders. If students lack ethics in high school and college, then there should be little surprise that they lack ethics in their careers. Greed and over-reaching ambition often end in disastrous personal consequences. Like debaters that use rhetoric to win any side of an argument, BBM and MBAs are taught to be skilled in presenting 'facts' and 'crunching numbers', while spicing their arguments with buzzwords that induce others to support their objectives. BBMs and MBAs are indoctrinated with the idea that a determined attitude, backed by a persuasive analysis and the appearance of received wisdom is the key to success. As one teacher put it, 'Be prepared to support any and all opinions and recommendations with well-reasoned arguments and numerical evidence. Purge 'I think' and 'I feel'
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from your assessment. Instead, rely on statements such as 'the analysis shows ........ This is counsel for a rhetorician rather than for a principled business leader. There can be no room for an ethical argument about 'the right thing to do', because there is no right and wrong. In spite of all this case analysis, which involves generation of possible alternatives solutions for the case problem, required to be within the legal and regulatory framework as well as ethical boundaries of business? The case method promotes decision-making and self-reflection through use of case stories, which depict real-life dilemmas faced by the companies. Thus a case analyst should apply bbusiness ethics which is a form of applied ethics for decision making. Business Ethics means conducting all aspects of business and dealing with all stakeholders in an ethical manner. A simple but powerful question can be used throughout your decision-making process in solving ethical dilemmas. What is my motivation for choosing a course of action?
Individual Ethical Decision-Making Styles and How to Effectively Communicate With Each Ethical Decision-Making Style Stanley Krolick developed a survey that interprets individual ethical decision-making styles. He identifies four individual ethical decision-making styles that include: Individualist - Individualist and this decision maker is driven by natural reason, personal survival, and preservation. The self is the only criteria involved in decisions for this style while ignoring other stakeholders. When communicating with an Individualist one should emphasize the benefits to the other persons self-interest.
Altruists - Altruists who are primarily concerned for others. This approach is almost opposite to that of the Individualist. Altruists will disregard their own personal security for the benefit of others. The primary mission of Altruists is to generate the greatest amount of good for the largest number of people. When communicating with an Altruist one should emphasize the benefits to all stakeholders involved.
Pragmatists - Pragmatists who are concerned with current situations and not with the self or others. It is facts and the current situation that guide this decision makers decision. When communicating with a Pragmatist one should highlight the facts and possible effects of actions.
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Idealist - Idealist who is driven by principles and rules. It is values and rules of conduct that determine the behaviours exhibited by Idealists. Idealists display high moral standards and tend to be rigid in their approach to ethical situations. When communicating with an Idealist one should focus on the duties and principles involved.
Case study writing: meaning Case study writing refers to writing narration of certain real events presented so as to provide the reader with data sufficient to help evaluate alternative courses of action. The best cases are those that have been created using detailed research designs accompanied by meticulous fieldwork. The case writing demands planning, discipline and hard work. It is akin to story writing. The students as well as faculty who are desirous of writing cases in any functional area will have to cultivate the abilities of writing precise and interesting prose. Cases vary greatly in length and type. In each individual case, both the length and form are largely dictated by the problem in hand. Revising and rewriting done with great the rough draft of the case written should be care before writing the final draft. For this purpose the care writer should put to himself question like Are the sentences written in the case clear? Are they grammatically correct? Do they say what is meant? Do the various points incorporated in the case fit together logically?
Given below are few guidelines in case study writing Decide the functional area in which you want to write a case. It could be in marketing, human resource (HR), finance, productions and operations management, IT Systems and others. Identify the case site (an organization) and the case subject (a topic or theme). The major issues in the situation and those which need to be highlighted in the case. A background of the organization, its situation should be included in the case as it is relevant and useful in providing a perspective for the case analyst. Usually this description follows the opening paragraphs on the major issues in the case. Collecting the data - In the early phase of the case writing project the primary objective of the investigator is to get acquainted with the subject. The case writer should collect information from both primary and secondary sources. And while secondary sources -- newspaper and magazine articles, books, survey summaries etc. can be very useful in helping frame the issues. There is a wide range of primary data sources annual reports, internal memos, interviews etc. Its the case writer's objective to produce an original presentation of the facts. Over-reliance on
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secondary sources of information dramatically increases the probability of error by presenting as true, information which has been biased by the interpretation of unknown others. As many journalists say, a good rule of thumb is, "If you can't stand behind it, don't write it." When you visit an organization, interact with managers and CEOs of different companies; ask them about any peculiar situation they are facing. It could be about launch of a new product/ service, handling a difficult customer, how they won an order against tough competition, looking ahead in the future, handling issues like attrition of personnel, matters of intellectual property rights (IPR), overcoming problems of rejection & quality control and many others. Management Consultants are also good sources of data for case writing. As they are assisting different types of businesses in solving their problems, many of these assignments can be converted in case studies. Compile data both on external as well as internal environments. Essential aspects to be included in the text, versus explanatory and supportive information to be put in exhibits or appendixes. A sequencing of items to provide for easy reading and comprehension, unless the purpose of the case suggests otherwise. Discussion questions should be included along with the written case. Well-conceived discussion questions, developed early in the project, can act as a kind of riverboat pilot guiding and directing the writing and editing process as it moves through unknown waters. Teaching notes should be included along the case. Teaching notes helps in checking the adequacy of the case for the purposes it was written, in describing its use, in ensuring that proper analysis can be done, and in outlining strategy of its use. The content of teaching notes are described in the last section of the module.
Tips in case study writing There is no hard and fast rule on the length of a case. It will also depend on the quality and level of students. Those who are working executives and are pursuing part time courses may not find time to read a lengthy case. For them, 1-2 pages of a case on a theme will be more appropriate. For full time students in better known B-Schools, a case could be of anywhere up to 30 to 50 pages. That typically is the length of a case given at HBS (Harvard Business School). This will help in cultivating the habit of reading, being precise in problem identification. It is not necessary to give all the data in the case. As seen earlier, a Case Method is to bring home the importance of data collection, purposely; some data can be kept missing. Either the
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students will have to do secondary research to collect the missing data or will have to make certain assumptions. This is the general practice in case analysis. (For more information refer to module 5) A dramatized presentation will make a case more attractive and will catch the attention of the students. Put the data in an interesting manner, which will arouse the curiosity of students. The quantitative data should be relevant and such where the various tool & techniques taught to them in the classroom and discussed earlier can be put to use. Please remember that Case Method is not arithmetic where there will always be only one answer. A case analysis can give rise to different alternatives and all of them could be correct. The students should be encouraged to think differently and come out with unusual alternatives. The writing of teaching cases is an activity that is conducted by a number of business school faculty in parallel to the writing of academic papers. Teaching cases competitions are organized (in particular by European Case Clearing House) to determine the best teaching cases. Some of the institutions that are the most active at writing teaching cases (as determined by the quantity and quality validated by awards) are: Harvard Business School, the Darden School at the University of Virginia, INSEAD, Richard Ivey School of Business and Asian Case Research Centre at the University of Hong Kong.
Case Study Writing Format A case study writer can either use a traditional or a feature story format, choose one that seems appropriate. Both the below mentioned case study writing format works more appropriately with short case studies. Short cases are especially intended for undergraduate students, thats why our focus is more on short case writing. A caselet is a shorter version of a case study, generally two pages in length. The case writer may either describe a sequence of events or put forth an issue or problem that requires decision making. For both the types of case study writing format the additional relevant documentation (such as financial statements, time-lines, and short biographies, often referred to in the case as "exhibits"), multimedia supplements (such as video-recordings of interviews), and a carefully crafted teaching note often accompany cases.
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Traditional format
The traditional case study format follows a basic progression and generally uses a set pattern of subheads: 1. Company information 2. Background information, relevant facts (Internal and external environmental data) 3. Problems, challenges and issues 4. Solution (initiatives by taken by company to deal with problems) 5. Results There can be variations on the exact wording of the subheads and sometimes "challenge" comes first, but it is essentially a set formula. The main advantage of this format is that the reader knows exactly what to expect and where to find specific information. The company information, problems and challenge, etc are described one after other. Feature story format
In the feature story format the same elements appear in generally the same order. However, the case study reads more like an article in a business magazine. The lead (first sentence and paragraph) takes you right into the story. It is meant to capture your attention from the beginning and get you engaged as a feature story might do. The subheads are more descriptive and story oriented. They develop the narrative and pull the reader through. The story format is usually more engaging and more interesting to read. The reader can also glean much of the story by skimming through the subheads since they are part of the narrative. The disadvantage of the feature story format is that it takes more skill to write. Teaching notes Writing a teaching note is an extremely important activity in the case writing process. A teaching note should cover: Training or educational programs in which the case could be used; Position of the case in the program and module for which it is intended; Learning objectives, major or minor, which could be achieved by using the case; Major issues and their analysis, both qualitative and quantitative;
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Background information and reading which would facilitate learning from and use of the case; Preparation required by the resource person and the participants; Possible assignments for facilitating preparation and learning; Strategies to be used by the resource persons to get the best out of the case; Past experience in using the case; and What happened in real life (if the organization featured in the study allows the information to be shared)?
Ethical concerns Ethical questions are perhaps not central issues most of the times but very important. Ethical concerns in case method, especially for case study writing generally centre around three issues: integrity (truth), privacy and informed consent.
These concerns apply to two primary audiences: the subject of the case and its potential readers. In most student written cases, ethical concerns are relatively straightforward. This is because much of the information used in the case will be drawn from public documents and the topics addressed in the case will be generic enough to preclude sources of potential conflict. Important ethical principles generally included in ethics guidelines include doing no harm- and preferably doing good-, protecting respondents right to privacy and confidentiality informing them clearly of the benefits and risks involved, and ensuring that they are given opportunity to decide whether or not to participate that is informed consent. Nonetheless, there are certain ethical guidelines applicable to all case writing.
Integrity addresses issues of honesty, character, principle and morality. Of these, the most important to the case writer is honesty. The writer's first obligation is to tell the truth. Truth is not only subjective in some cases; the whole matter is a bit of a slippery slope. Except for certain religious tenets one chooses to hold as absolute, there are no hard and fast rules for deciding truth. In case writing, truth means fidelity to the actual events being described. Truth is determined in large part by the degree to which a case accurately reproduces the facts, circumstances and intangible qualities of the original event. Case writers have an ethical responsibility to their case subjects to report what actually occurred.
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With respect to privacy, the case writer is responsible for the protection of sensitive information. The topics of particular sensitivity include company competitive information and individual personal information, e.g., alcohol and drug problems.
"Informed consent" means that the case writer and the subject(s) of the study have reached an understanding regarding the purpose and use of the project and the risks involved. It implies that potential participants have been given sufficient information about what they are actually being asked to contribute and the uses to which it will be put, so they can judge whether unpleasant consequences might follow as a result of disclosure. Simply put, a manager may talk with you about a situation in his company only if you promise to give him anonymity; you may find he'll be more forthcoming (truth) in criticizing his workplace if he's not exposed to repercussions from his bosses. In summary, it is the case writer's ethical responsibility to fully inform participants about the purpose of the study, to explain why certain questions are being asked, and to answer any questions the respondent may have regarding how the collected information will be used.
Releases Organizations that write cases for commercial purposes routinely receive a formal release from the participating organization. There are two reasons for this policy: 1. It protects the subject company from publication of information that may at the worst be incorrect or at a minimum misleading. 2. If and when the case is commercially published, a company release will protect the writer and sponsoring institution by providing written verification that permission has been granted to use the material in question. Good sense requires that both student case writers and subject companies be aware of these precautions. But while they're important, simply obtaining a release can put a chilling effect on potential research. The fact is, the vast majority of student cases will not touch on topics requiring strict adherence to the formal release requirements for three reasons: 1. Most students will draw the greater portion of their information from published sources so what they report in the case will have already been part of the public domain. 2. It is unlikely that a student project will be published. Most only have two readers: the person(s) who prepared the case and the instructor.
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3. The subjects addressed in student reports typically do not address issues critical to competitive advantage or personal privacy. Student cases tend to focus on the "management fundamentals"; i.e., topics unlikely to serve as the basis for a potential dispute. Nonetheless, student writers and their instructors must be aware of these issues and evaluate each project with reference to these guidelines.
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SECTION A (2 MARKS) 1. Write a note on case method. 2. What is relativistic thinking? 3. What are the individual ethical decision-making styles? 4. Write a note on altruists. 5. Write a note on pragmatists. 6. Write note on case study writing. 7. What are the two case study writing formats? 8. Explain the feature story format of case study writing. 9. Explain the traditional format of case study writing. SECTION B (5 MARKS) 1. Write a note on case method and relativistic thinking. 2. Discuss the role of ethics in case analysis. 3. Write a note on ethical concerns in case method. 4. Explain elaborately the two types of case study writing formats. 5. Differentiate between traditional format and feature story format of case study writing. SECTION C (15 MARKS) 1. What is case study writing? State few guidelines and tips to be taken care while case study writing. Explain elaborately the two types of case study writing formats. SECTION D (30 MARKS): Case study and articles
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Module 5: Problems with case analysis
Content of the module Analysis of problems in management case studies, how to deal with missing information from the cases study, advantages of case study method, problems / limitations of case study method.
Analysis of Problems in Management Case Studies The case can be analyzed from different points of view. Usually there are four parties involved in the case, viz., the proprietor or top management, the middle management departmental heads, the employees or workers and finally the society in general (it includes consumers, distributors, investors, potential employees and those who are directly or indirectly affected by the organization), which is mostly disguised. While analyzing and suggesting solutions, the student should try to look at the case from these different points of view and try to pin point violation of rules, regulations, code of conduct or precedents in vogue. The solution to be suggested must be in the larger interests of safeguarding the provisions of laws, code of conduct, rules and regulations to restore the normal positron. The solution should be in the interests of the organization, the weaker sections of the organization and society in general. While analyzing the case, the social, economic and political environment should also be taken into consideration, e.g. the background of poverty of workers, illiteracy in the country, outside political interference in trade union activities, lack of job opportunities in the country for labour mobility, liberalization of the economy, impact of democratic principles on workers etc. Many times, the problem in the organization is created due to such outside factors. If the student is aware of these factors/situations, he will be able to analyze the case in its proper perspective and suggest a practicable solution. The student should quote or give definitions of the authorities in Management Science or Economists in support of the suggested solution. The related provisions of various labour legislations should also be given correctly. The references to various theories and their inferences e.g. Maslows Theory of Hierarchy of needs etc. will certainly improve the quality of the analysis and the suggested solution.
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Case study method for personnel problems presents some typical difficulties. It is always difficult to get the facts people in the same situation interpret and present them in different ways depending on their attitude and background. Skill is required to inquire into what has happened or what people really want. The issue is frequently not clear for want of defined policies or procedures. It may also be difficult to establish objectives. People within the organization, including the top management, very often do not know what they want. Their needs are obscure and need to be defined. The case contains too much information, which is to be analyzed. There is every possibility that the analysis may be useless. Judgment is necessary to study the evidence and to decide relevant points. Where human beings are concerned, symptoms cannot be easily separated from causes. It is always necessary to take into consideration the past decisions, because there may be precedents. But there is much danger in being too concerned about past decisions. With the change of time, the circumstances also change. Decision should be made in the light of an objective analysis of the facts, not simply by reference to what has gone before. It is always difficult to ignore the precedents but at the same time the wrong decisions in the past need not be continued. Precedents are important when dealing with personnel and industrial relations problems and care should be taken not to create a bad precedent for the future. Personnel problems cannot be solved in a clear-cut manner. Situations involving people can rarely be seen in black-and-white terms. While solving personnel problems adopt an analytical approach to decision making but, in the end, you will have to rely upon your judgment in deciding on a course of action, which seems to be the best alternative available. The case study serves two purposes: Firstly, the students or trainee executives have to face similar cases in future life as executives. The case will tell them how incidents lake place, how there may be deep causes underlying the apparent expressions of happiness, distress or unconcerned altitudes and what can be done, as well as when and how to rectify the situation. Secondly, the case study provides lest material where the student can apply the principles he has studied so far, and test their validity. It gives confidence to the student, which will be of vital importance to him as an executive.
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How to deal with missing information from the cases study Case study method deals with ambiguity. It takes complex situations and weights up conflict. Just as in business, sometimes information is missing from the cases. The instructor should constantly encourage students to drive toward specific actions in spite of incomplete information, ambiguity, uncertain circumstances, and unclear problems in a case study. Case studies reflect the reality of managerial decision-making in the real world, in that students must make decisions based on insufficient information. Cases reflect the ambiguity and complexity that accompany most management issues. However, when it is impossible or impractical to gather all of the helpful information (usually), students have to make appropriate assumptions relating to missing and insufficient information, upon which to rely when making decision. In business, you have to make all sorts of assumptions about the environment, personnel turnover, channel relationships, etc. In cases, you can make assumptions based on something read in the text, or trends that you see in exhibits. You should assume that everything is pretty normal/ typical in the organization unless specifically stated otherwise in the case. If you believe you do not have all of the information, you have to decide: what information you need, why you need it, where it can be found, how much time and money it will take to acquire or produce it, and if it will make a significant enough difference to affect your decision.
Another option to deal with missing information from the cases study is collecting the insufficient and missing information from the primary and secondary sources. The timely availability information are the basic input to any decision making process in a business. The primary data are those which are collected afresh and for the first time, and thus happen to be original in character. It is collected through an interviewing, administrating the questionnaire, which contained relevant queries on missing information in a case study as well as pertinent; industry related questions. The secondary data refers to the data which have already been collected and analyzed by someone else. Secondary data is the information which already exists. Secondary data is collected from newspaper,
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magazines, internet, journals, books, brochures etc. Sometimes the information is readily available from a government source such as the Department of Commerce, or even from your competitors via promotional material. Advantages of case study method The great advantage of the case method is that it brings real life into the classroom in concentrated form (a sort of virtual apprenticeship) and gives students the opportunity to participate actively in their own learning. The teachers questions not only generate dialogue, they encourage students to build on each others comments, probe each others assumptions and hypotheses, communicate with one another, and reach consensus on recommendations for action. The advantages of case study method of learning are as follow: Develops analytic and problem solving skills in students. Analytical skills such as problem identification skills; data handling skills; and critical thinking skills cab be developed through case method.
Cases allow students to learn by doing. They allow students to step into the shoes of decisionmakers in real organizations, and deal with the issues managers face, with no risk to themselves or the organization involved. Thus case method allows student to apply his knowledge and skills such as decision making.
Cases improve the students ability to ask the right questions, in a given problem situation. Their ability to identify and understand the underlying problems rather than the symptoms of the problems is also enhanced.
Case studies expose students to a wide range of industries, organizations, functions and responsibility levels. This provides students the flexibility and confidence to deal with a variety of tasks and responsibilities in their careers. It also helps students to make more informed decisions about their career choices.
Cases studies strengthen the student's grasp of management theory, by providing real-life examples of the underlying theoretical concepts. By providing rich, interesting information about real business situations, they breathe life into conceptual discussions.
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Cases provide students with an exposure to the actual working of business and other organizations in the real world. Case studies enable the students to visualize real life situations in the organization and facilitate the students in making trial and error attempts to sole the issues.
Case studies improve creativity and innovations in decision making. Case studies simulate organizational situations, requiring strategic as well as tactical decisions. Case studies fix the minds of the students in a specific situation and facilitate them to develop the art of making smart decisions by practicing. The case studies enable the management students to evaluate comparatively various options and decide upon how the resources can be deployed effectively to solve the immediate problem.
Case studies require the students to position themselves amidst the given situation and demand their wisdom to come out. Knowledge is awareness on various aspects of a particular object while wisdom is all about application of that knowledge. Knowledge can be acquired by extensive learning while extensive practicing can develop wisdom. In management studies, while text books help acquiring more knowledge, case studies help in developing wisdom. The case studies give lot of scope for application of knowledge and mind which the crux of wisdom is.
When working on a case study in a group, students must also be able to understand and deal with the different viewpoints and perspectives of the other members in their team. This serves to improve their oral and written communication skill and interpersonal skills.
Case studies provide an integrated view of management. The managerial decision-making involves integration of theories and concepts learnt in different functional areas such as marketing and finance. The case method exposes students to this reality of management.
It provides students with authentic situations in which to explore and apply a range of behaviors and information that can strengthen the transfer of learning.
When students participate in analysis and discussion of alternative solutions they better understand difficult or complicated issues and analyze them more effectively. Case method allows the students to explore of solutions for complex issues.
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Case study as a lab experiment Science subjects require laboratories for the students to experiment and learn. Arts subjects require models as the basis for students to practice. The management studies being both science and arts, can be learnt better by analyzing different situations and understanding why and how important decisions were taken. Case study method is more relevant to management studies in the context of functioning as a platform for visualizing different situations and learning by practicing solving various problems.
Consequences of Student Involvement with the Case Method 1. Case analysis requires students to practice important managerial skills--diagnosing, making decisions, observing, listening, and persuading--while preparing for a case discussion. 2. Cases require students to relate analysis and action, to develop realistic and concrete actions despite the complexity and partial knowledge characterizing the situation being studied. 3. Students must confront the intractability of reality--complete with absence of needed information, an imbalance between needs and available resources, and conflicts among competing objectives. 4. Students develop a general managerial point of view--where responsibility is sensitive to action in a diverse environmental context. (Source: C.C. Lundberg and C. Enz, 1993, A framework for student case preparation, Case Research Journal 13 (summer): 134.) The case method can help you develop your analytical and judgment skills. Case analysis also helps you learn how to ask the right questions-that is, the questions that focus on the core strategic issues included within a case. Students aspiring to be managers can improve their ability to identify underlying problems, rather than focusing on superficial symptoms, through development of the skills required to ask probing, yet appropriate, questions. The particular set of cases your instructor chooses to assign the class can expose you to a wide variety of organizations and managerial situations. This approach vicariously broadens your experience base and provides insights into many types of managerial situations, tasks, and responsibilities. Such indirect experience can help you make a more informed career decision about the industry and managerial situation you believe will prove to be challenging and satisfying. Finally, experience in analyzing cases definitely enhances your problem-solving skills.
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Problems / Limitations of Case study Method
Undoubtedly, the Case method is a good tool in learning. However, it suffers from the following Problems / limitations:
The cases can become outdated. Cases are not "real" - they are accounts, not the real thing; can grow dated; and ignore actual "real world" experience. For example, a case written in early 70s on Typewriters will have no relevance today as the product has become obsolete with the advent of computers. Also, the Balance Sheet given say for the year ended 2008 may not be of much use because two more years of Balance Sheets will now be available. It may not be possible to keep on updating the cases regularly.
Case study method requires serious involvement both from the teacher as well as the students; unless everyone takes it seriously, the outcome cannot be productive. At times, it may turn counter-productive.
A number of frustrations commonly faced by decision maker or case analyst or student, while analyzing the case study are 1) A shortage of information on which to base decisions. 2) A shortage of time in which to make those decisions 3) Students may not see relevance to own situation 4) Insufficient information can lead to inappropriate results 5) Not appropriate for elementary level
To conduct the case analysis, students require to have certain amount of knowledge of management concepts, theories and methods in different functional areas of management. Without the basic knowledge of management concepts, theories and methods, case analysis will not so effective.
Case analysis requires some domain knowledge of the industry it covers. So students are required to be equipped with some general knowledge about the industry.
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Optimal solutions are always dependant on resources available at that point of time. Decisions may need to be modified at a later date because there is bound to be some change in the resources which are dynamic.
It is always easier said than done. It is very easy to stand off and suggest on matters which do not affect us immediately; but it is very difficult to make even simple decisions when we are under tense situations, pressuring our minds which may not work at times of real crisis.
Every case is unique and more so the solutions. It is dangerous to generalize and apply them universally.
Serious problems in real life situations need serious attention and enormous thinking; solutions may not be that much simple, which can be arrived at by theoretical analysis.
The secondary data on the industry covered may not be available easily. In that case, the students tend to base their arguments only on the data given in the case. This could be inadequate.
In spite of these limitations, the Case Method is one of the best ways of learning in B-Schools. Managers make decisions in real and not hypothetical situations. But under case study approach, students involved in case analysis and take decision and design implementation plan under hypothetical situations. Participant or student may not be aware of real new and complex situations, business houses faces because of the ever changing environment and people around them. Moreover, the situations do not present themselves in neat clean shapes, but unfold slowly. Decision-makers, therefore, needs to improve their knowledge and skills in understanding new and complex situations, even though information may be inadequate and future outcome uncertain.
Evaluating Student Performance in a case-driven course
The evaluation of a student's performance in a case-driven course can be based on some or all of the following factors: Participation in classroom case discussions (quality and extent of participation).
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Written case analyses (logical flow and structuring of the content, language and presentation, quality of analysis and recommendations, etc.). Case presentations (communication skills, logical flow and structuring of the content, quality of analysis and recommendations, etc.). Case study writing assignments or similar projects. Case-based examinations.
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SECTION A (2 MARKS) 1. State two advantages of case study method. 2. State two disadvantages of case study method. SECTION B (5 MARKS) 1. Write five pit falls in usage of case studies? 2. Explain how missing information from the case study are dealt with. 3. Write brief note on analysis of problems in management case studies. 4. What are the parameters to evaluate student performance in a case-driven course? SECTION C (15 MARKS) 1. What are the advantages of case study method? Explain the various problems with case analysis. 2. What is case study method? What are the advantages and problems/ limitations of case study method? SECTION D (30 MARKS): Case study and article
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Module 6: Decision-making
Content of the module Concept of decision-making, decision making in case analysis, problem analysis versus decisionmaking, decision-making process. Introduction Making decisions is certainly the most important task of a manager and it is often a very difficult one. It presents the decision-analysis process for decision-making, using different decision criteria, different types of information, and information of varying quality. It describes the elements in the analysis of decision alternatives and choices, as well as the goals and objectives that guide decisionmaking. The key issues related to decision-makers preferences regarding alternatives, criteria for choice, and choice modes, together with the risk assessment tools are presented. The case method of instruction has been a trademark of graduate professional education at Harvard University since it first developed at the Harvard Law School in the 19th century. It is predicated on the belief that discussion focused on real-world situations and guided by skilled instructors will better prepare students for professional life than would lecture and theory alone. Cases, in other words, put students in the shoes of real-life decision-makers in order to prepare for them for their own lives of decision-making. "A wise man makes his own decisions; an ignorant man follows public opinion." Chinese Proverb Concept of decision making The simplest way to view decision-making is to see a decision as an act of choice by which an individual or organization selects one position or action from the several alternatives. Thus, a decision-making represents an action or series of actions chosen from a number of possible alternatives. Decision-making is a conscious and human process. The verb decide is derived from the Latin prefix de meaning off and the word caedo meaning cut. The Latin root of the word decision means, "to cut off from all alternatives". This is what you should do when you decide. Decision-making is a process of first diverging to explore the possibilities and then converging on a solution(s). In this sense, some cognitive process cuts off as preferred, or selects, a particular course of action from among a set of possible alternatives. In the other words, Decision-making is the cognitive
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process of selecting a course of action from among multiple alternatives. Decision-making can be regarded as the mental processes (cognitive process) resulting in the selection of a course of action among several alternatives. Every decision-making process produces a final choice. The output can be an action or an opinion of choice.
Decision making in case analysis A case presents a situation involving a managerial problem or issue that requires a decision. Typically, cases describe a variety of conditions and circumstances facing an organization at a particular time. This description often includes information regarding the organization's goals and objectives, its financial condition, the attitudes and beliefs of managers and employees, market conditions, competitors' activities, and various environmental forces that may affect the organization's present or proposed marketing strategy. Cases can involve situations in which decisions must be made or problems solved, or they can involve evaluation or reconsideration of existing policies, practices or proposals. Effective cases are usually based on real events, but can be drawn from both the present and the past, even the distant past. Cases require students to make choices about what theory or concepts to apply in conducting the analysis, which is distinct from the one to one correspondence between theory and application that they see in their textbooks or hear in lectures. A major part of decision-making involves the analysis of a finite set of alternatives described in terms of some evaluative criteria. These criteria may be benefit or cost in nature. Then the problem might be to rank these alternatives in terms of how attractive they are to the decision maker(s) when all the criteria are considered simultaneously. Another goal might be to just find the best alternative or to determine the relative total priority of each alternative (for instance, if alternatives represent projects competing for funds) when all the criteria are considered simultaneously. Solving such problems is the focus of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) also known as multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM). Through a case study, one learns a broad range of skills and has many alternatives. Case studies encourage the practice and attainment of analytical and communicative skills. Case studies allow a different kind of learning. It is close to the learn by doing approach. Cases are intended to
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stimulate the reality of the managers job. The material in the case provides data for analysis and decision-making. Cases require the student to make decisions about the situations presented and to defend those decisions. In real decision-making, the student will have to persuade superiors that his analysis and solutions are the best and hence the communication and interpersonal skills are vital to success in management. Cases provide the opportunity to improve these skills. Case analyst should try to seek answers to following questions to arrive at effective decision: 1. What is actual problem involved in the case? 2. What are the relevant facts? 3. What are the crucial unknown aspects of the scene? 4. What are the major critical questions related to each specific event? 5. In what ways can logic and reasoning be used to determine crucial inferences, connections and relationships? 6. In what manner can contradictory facts and arguments be weighed in making decisions? 7. What should be the proper timing of decisions? 8. In what ways can those decisions be best executed? Problem Analysis versus Decision Making It is important to differentiate between problem analysis and decision-making. The concepts are completely separate from one another. Problem analysis must be done first, and then the information gathered in that process may be used towards decision making.
Problem Analysis Analyze performance, what should the results be against what they actually are Problems are merely deviations from performance standards Problem must be precisely identified and described Problems are caused by some change from a distinctive feature Something can always be used to distinguish between what has and hasn't been effected by a cause Causes to problems can be deducted from relevant changes found in analyzing the problem Most likely cause to a problem is the one that exactly explains all the facts
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Decision Making Objectives must first be established
Objectives must be classified and placed in order of importance Alternative actions must be developed The alternative must be evaluated against all the objectives The alternative that is able to achieve all the objectives is the tentative decision The tentative decision is evaluated for more possible consequences The decisive actions are taken, and additional actions are taken to prevent any adverse consequences from becoming problems and starting both systems (problem analysis and decision making) all over again
The Decision-Making Process Effective strategic business decisions bring together the right resources for the right markets at the right time. A good decision can help a business gain a competitive edge. Decisions must reflect a firms aims and relate to objectives. The typical process to decision-making and problem solving involves the following steps. 1. Identifying and defining the problem 2. Generating alternatives solutions 3. Evaluation of alternatives 4. Choice of alternative solution 5. Implementing the Solution 6. Evaluating the results 1. Identify and Defining the Problem This is a stage of information gathering, information processing, and deliberation. It often begins with the appearance of problem symptoms, which signal the presence of a performance deficiency or opportunity. The way a problem is originally defined can have a major impact on how it is eventually resolved. Three common mistakes may occur at this step. Mistake Number 1 is defining the problem too broadly or too narrowly. Mistake Number 2 is Focusing on symptoms instead of causes.
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Mistake Number 3 is choosing the wrong problem to deal with. Managers should set priorities and deal with the most important ones first. 2. Generating alternatives solutions Having identified the problem, the decision-maker needs to generate appropriate alternatives solutions for resolving the problem. An understanding of organizational and external constraints as well as organizational resources helps in identifying the range of feasible action alternatives open to the decision-maker. Data are the basic input to any decision making process in a business. The skills, which could help in discovering alternatives solutions would be holistic and logical thinking to comprehend the situation, as well as creative skills in generating the options, which fit the situation. Knowledge of both the internal and external environments of the organization and the subject matter pertinent to the problem (human relations, how scientists can be motivated, etc.) would also help in arriving at better alternatives. At this stage more information is gathered, data are analysed, and the pros and cons of possible alternatives solutions are identified. The involvement of other persons is important in order to maximize information and build commitment. Common errors in this stage include selecting a particular solution too quickly, and choosing an alternative solution that has damaging side effects. 3. Evaluation of alternatives After the various alternatives are identified, the next step is to evaluate them and select the one that will meet the choice criteria. Typical criteria for evaluating alternatives include: o Benefits o Costs o Timeliness o Acceptability o Ethical soundness The ultimate purpose of developing and specifying criteria is to evaluate alternatives and select the best one for resolving the problem. Criteria could be economic, social or personal. Alternatives need to be evaluated against the specified criteria in order to resolve the problem. In addition, the outcome of choosing any alternative is not known with certainty. Usually, any one alternative would
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not be uniformly superior by all criteria. As such, prioritization of criteria could help in identifying the best alternative. The decision-maker might explicitly consider trade-offs between alternatives in order to select the best. Assessments of alternatives among the criteria need to be made, given partial and limited information about the possible outcomes of the alternatives. 4. Choice of alternative solution This involves choosing the most appropriate option. At this point, a "decision" is made to select a particular course of action. Just how this is done and by whom must be resolved in each problem situation. In some situations, the best alternative may be selected using a cost-benefit criterion; in others, additional criteria may come into play. Once the alternatives are developed, an action plan has to be developed. This is essentially the implementation phase. In this phase, the decision-maker needs to decide who would do what, where, when, how, etc. The process of arriving at these decisions is just like the steps involved in the problem solving approach, except that the chosen alternative becomes an input to this step. This phase would require coordination skills to properly organize a variety of resources (human, material and fiscal) and develop a time-phased programme for implementation. 5. Implement the Solution After selecting the preferred solution, appropriate action plans must be established and implemented. Nothing new can or will happen according to plan unless action is taken. Managers need the ability and willingness to implement the decision. Difficulties at this stage often can trace to the lack-ofparticipation error, or the failure to involve those whose support is necessary. 6. Evaluate Results The decision making process is not complete until results are evaluated. If the desired results are not achieved, the process must be renewed to allow for corrective action. This evaluation is a form of managerial control. In any evaluation, both the positive and negative consequences of the chosen course of action should be examined. Problem solving becomes a dynamic and ongoing activity within the management process. The additional skills required in this step would be those of devising control and feedback mechanisms.
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Feedback and contingency planning
For a variety of reasons, the original decision (chosen alternative) may not work well and the decision-maker may have to be ready with a contingency plan. This implies devising feedback mechanisms allowing monitoring of the status of the situation, including results of the action plan. It also implies anticipating the most likely points of failure and devising appropriate contingency plans to handle the possible failures. Levels of decision-making Decisions are made at different levels in a business hierarchy. Decisions can be: Strategic these are long-term and higher risk in their impact. They shape the direction of the whole business and are usually made by senior managers Tactical these help to implement the strategy. They are often made by middle managers Operational these relate to the day-to-day running of the business. They are mainly routine and can be taken by anyone. Decisions at all levels need information. A business creates a trail of data. This includes for example, records on sales, staff costs or payment. Financial accountants use recorded data to prepare the accounting statements for a business. Management accountants use internal data (such as a balance sheet) and external data (such as market information) to identify trends. This data is used to assess effects on the business and its strategies in order to make better choices. Elements of an Effective Decision Making Process According to Peter Drucker these are the 5 elements of an effective decision making process. Heres a quick explanation of the five elements of effective decision-making:
Element 1 - Problem rationalization The clear rationalization that the problem was generic and could only is solved through a decision that establishes a rule or a principle. For this gain, familiarity with the situation given in case study. Know the problem you are solving.
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Element 2 - Boundary conditions The definition of the specifications that the answer to the problem has to satisfy, that is, of the boundary conditions. Know your range of options that will still count as success.
Element 3 - The Right Thing to Do Before you decide what is feasible, first figure out what the right thing to do is.
Element 4 - Action. Turn decisions into action.
Element 5 - Feedback Get feedback on what is working and what is not.
Conclusion Decision-making is purposeful selection from among a set of alternatives in light of a given objective. Decision-making is not a separate function of management. Complexity in the modern world, along with information quantity, uncertainty, and risk, make it necessary to provide a rational decision making framework. A decision needs a decision maker who is responsible for making decisions. This decision maker has a number of alternatives and must choose one of them. The objective of the decision-maker is to choose the best alternative. When this decision has been made, events that the decision-maker has no control over may have occurred. Each combination of alternatives, followed by an event happening, leads to an outcome with some measurable value. Managers make decisions in complex situations. Business decision making is almost always accompanied by conditions of uncertainty. Clearly, the more information the decision maker has, the better the decision will be.
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SECTION A (2 MARKS) 1. What is decision-making? 2. What are the three levels of decision-making? SECTION B (5 MARKS) 1. Write short note on problem analysis versus decision-making. 2. Explain decision making in context to case analysis. 3. Explain the concept of decision-making. 4. What are the elements of an effective decision making process? SECTION C (15 MARKS) 1. Explain the concept of decision-making. What are the steps involved in decision-making process? 2. What is decision-making? Elaborately explain decision making in context to case analysis and steps involved in decision-making process. SECTION D (30 MARKS): Case study and articles
Reference Book: Neeta Baporikar, Case Method: Cases in Management, 2nd edition, 2008, Himalaya Publishing House, Delhi. Note: Modules are the guidelines for learning the syllabus. For further detail reference, refer the recommended reference books.
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BBM Semester V

Case Analysis and Methodology

Module 1 Introduction to Case Analysis & Methodology

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1. Case analysis requires students to practice important managerial skills--diagnosing, making

3. Students must confront the intractability of reality--complete with absence of needed

4. Students develop a general managerial point of view--where responsibility is sensitive to action

Case Analysis and Methodology

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Step B: Analysis and Solution

Case analysis should take the following steps:

P- Problem / Issue Statement

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Criteria for evaluation Alternatives A Alternatives B Alternatives C

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Role of participants and resource person / instructor in case method

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Step 4 Conducting the Analysis

Step 5 Making the Diagnosis

a. Specify and prioritize the criteria used to choose action alternatives.

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2. SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis

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Increase usage by existing customers. For example by introducing loyalty schemes.

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Preparing a Written Case Analysis

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