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Case Analysis*

I dont know if there have been many mistakes, but there have been lots of lessons Make sure you focus on your core business.
JIM SHAW, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF SHAW COMMUNICATIONS

Solve the problem or you dont have a business; solve it or you dont have a job.
BOB WOODS, PRESIDENT OF ZENECA AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS

Management is an action-oriented activity. It requires doing to achieve proficiency. Managers succeed or fail not so much because of what they know as because of what they do. A person cannot expect to succeed as a manager and become a professional simply by studying excellent books on managementno matter how thoroughly the text material is mastered, nor how many As are earned at exam time. Just as a skater needs to practice at being a better skater, a person who aspires to become a manager benefits from practicing at being a manager.

PRACTICING MANAGEMENT VIA CASE ANALYSIS

In academic programs of management education, students practice at being managers via case analysis. A case sets forth, in a factual manner, the events and organizational circumstances surrounding a particular managerial situation. It puts the readers at the scene of the action and familiarizes them with the situation as it prevailed. A case can concern a whole industry, a single organization, or even just a part of an organization; the organization involved can be either profit seeking or not-for-profit. Cases about business organizations usually include descriptions of the industry and its competitive conditions, the organizations history and development, its products and markets, the backgrounds and personalities of the key people involved, the production facilities, the work climate, the organizational structure, the marketing methods, and the external environment, together with whatever pertinent financial, production, accounting, sales, and market information was available to management.

* This chapter has been adapted by the authors or incorporates material from Arthur A. Thompson and A. J. Strickland, Strategic Management: Concepts and Causes (Plano, Tex.: Business Publications, 1984), pp. 272-289. Used with permission.

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The essence of the students role in the case method is to diagnose and size up the situation described in the case and to think through what, if any, actions need to be taken. The purpose is for the student, as analyst, to appraise the situation from a managerial perspective, asking: What factors have contributed to the situation? What problems are evident? How serious are they? What analysis is needed to probe for solutions? What actionable recommendations can be offered? What facts and figures support my position? It should be emphasized that most cases are not intended to be examples of right and wrong, or good and bad management. The organizations concerned are selected neither because they are the best or the worst in their industry, nor because they present an interesting and relevant analytical situation. The important thing about a case is that it represents an actual situation where managers were obligated to recognize and cope with the problems as they were.

WHY USE CASES TO PRACTICE MANAGEMENT?

Charles I. Graggs classic article, Because Wisdom Cant Be Told, illustrates that the mere act of listening to lectures and sound advice about management does little for a persons management skills. He contended it was unlikely that accumulated managerial experience and wisdom could effectively be passed on by lectures and readings alone. Gragg suggested that if anything has been learned about the practice of management, it is that a storehouse of ready-made answers does not exist. Each managerial situation has unique aspects, requiring its own diagnosis and understanding as a prelude to judgment and action. In Graggs view, and in the view of other case-method advocates, cases provide aspiring managers with an important and valid kind of daily practice in wrestling with management problems. The case method is, indeed, learning by doing. The pedagogy of the case method of instruction is predicated on the benefits of acquiring managerial experience by means of simulated management exercises (cases). The best justification for cases is that few, if any, students during the course of their university education have an opportunity to come into direct personal contact with different kinds of companies and reallife managerial situations. Cases offer a viable substitute by bringing a variety of industries, organizations, and management problems into the classroom and permitting students to assume the managers role. Management cases, therefore, provide students with a kind of experiential exercise in which to test their ability to apply their textbook knowledge about management.

OBJECTIVES OF THE CASE METHOD

As the foregoing discussion suggests, using cases as an instructional technique is intended to produce four student-related results: 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 strategic analysis in a variety of industries and competitive environments.

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3. Get valuable practice in identifying strategic issues that need to be addressed, evaluating strategic alternatives, and formulating workable plans of action. 4. Enhance your sense of business judgement, as opposed to uncritically accepting the authoritative crutch of the professor or back-of-the-book answers. 5. Gaining in-depth exposure to differentiate industries and companies, thereby acquiring something close to actual business experience. If you understand that those are the objectives of the case method of instruction, then you are less likely to be bothered by something that puzzles some students: What is the answer to the case? Being accustomed to textbook statements of fact and supposedly definitive lecture notes, students often find that discussions and analyses of managerial cases do not produce any hard answers. Instead, issues in the case are discussed pro and con. Various alternatives and approaches are evaluated. Usually, a good argument can be made for more than one course of action. If the class discussion concludes without a clear consensus on what to do and which way to go, some students may, at first, feel frustrated because they are not told what the answer is or what the company actually did. However, cases where answers are not clear-cut are quite realistic. Organizational problems whose analysis leads to a definite, single-pronged solution are likely to be so oversimplified and rare as to be trivial or devoid of practical value. In reality, several feasible courses of action may exist for dealing with the same set of circumstances. Moreover, in real-life management situations, when one makes a decision or selects a particular course of action, there is no peeking at the back of a book to see if you have chosen the best thing to do. No book of provably correct answers exists; in fact, the first test of management action is results The important thing for a student to understand in case analysis is that it is the managerial exercise of identifying, diagnosing, and recommending that counts rather than discovering the right answer or finding out what actually happened. To put it another way, the purpose of management cases is not to learn authoritative answers to specific managerial problems but to become skilled in the process of` designing workable action plans through evaluation of the prevailing circumstances. The aim of case analysis is not for you to try to guess what the instructor is thinking or what the organization did but, rather, to see whether you can support your views against the counter views of the group or, failing to do so, join in the sense of discovery of different approaches and perspectives. Therefore, in case analysis you are expected to hear the strains of thinking actively, of making managerial assessments, which may be vigorously challenged, of offering your analysis, and of proposing action plansthis is how you are provided with meaningful practice at being a manager. Analyzing the case yourself is what initiates you in the ways of thinking managerially and exercising responsible judgment. At the same time, you can use cases to test the rigour and effectiveness of your own approach to the practice of management and to begin to evolve your own management philosophy and management style. Use of the Socratic method of questioning-answering-questioning-answering, where there is no single correct answer but always another question, is at the heart of the case process. A good case can be used with student groups of varying qualifications. With the more highly experienced qualified groups, the other questions become tougher.

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PREPARING A CASE FOR CLASS DISCUSSION

Given that cases rest on the principle of learning by doing, their effectiveness hinges upon you making your analysis and reaching your own decisions and then in the classroom participating in a collective analysis and discussion of the issues. If this is your first experience with the case method, you may have to reorient your study habits. Since a case assignment emphasizes student participation, it is obvious that the effectiveness of the class discussion depends upon each student having studied the case beforehand. Consequently, unlike lecture courses where there is no imperative of specific preparation before each class and where assigned readings and reviews of lecture notes may be done at irregular intervals, a case assignment requires conscientious preparation before class. You cannot, after all, expect to get much out of hearing the class discuss a case with which you are totally unfamiliar. Unfortunately, though, there is no nice, neat, proven procedure for conducting a case analysis. There is no formula, no fail-safe, step-by-step technique that we can recommend beyond emphasizing the sequence: identify, evaluate, consider alternatives, and recommend. Each case is a new situation and has its own set of issues, analytical requirements, and action alternatives. A first step in understanding how the case method of teaching/learning works is to recognize that it represents a radical departure from the lecture/discussion/problem classroom technique. To begin with, members of the class do most of the talking. The instructors role is to solicit student participation and guide the discussion. Expect the instructor to begin the class with such questions as: What is the organizations strategy? What are the strategic issues and problems confronting the company? What is your assessment of the companys situation? Is the industry an attractive one to be in? Is management doing a good job? Are the organizations objectives and strategies compatible with its skills and resources? Typically, members of the class will evaluate and test their opinions as much in discussions with each other as with the instructor. But irrespective of whether the discussion emphasis is instructor-student or student-student, members of the class carry the burden for analyzing the situation and for being prepared to present and defend their analyses in the classroom. Thus, you should expect an absence of professorial heres how to do it, right answers, and hard knowledge for our notebook; instead, be prepared for a discussion involving your size-up of the situation, what actions you would take, and why you would take them. Begin preparing for class by reading the case once for familiarity. An initial reading should give you the general flavour of the situation and make possible preliminary identification of issues. On the second reading, you should attempt to gain full command of the facts. Make some notes about apparent organizational objectives, strategies, policies, symptoms of problems, root problems, unresolved issues, and roles of key individuals. Be alert for issues or problems that are lurking beneath the surface. For instance, at first glance it might appear that an issue in the case is whether a product has ample market potential at the current selling price; on closer examination, you may see that the root problem is that the method being used to compensate salespeople fails to generate adequate incentive for achieving greater unit volume. Strive for a sharp, clear-cut size-up of the issues posed in the case situation. To help diagnose the situation, put yourself in the position of some manager or managerial group portrayed in the case and get attuned to the overall environment facing management. Try to get a good feel for the condition of the company, the industry,

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and the economics of the business. Get a handle on how the market works and on the nature of competition. This is essential if you are to come up with solutions that are workable and acceptable in light of the prevailing external constraints and internal organizational realities. Do not be dismayed if you find it impractical to isolate the problems and issues into distinct categories that can be treated separately. Very few significant strategy management problems can be neatly sorted into mutually exclusive areas of concern. Further, expect the cases (especially those in this textbook) to contain several problems and issues, rather than just one. Guard against making a single, simple statement of the problem unless the issue is very clear-cut. Admittedly, there will be cases where issues are well defined and the main problem is figuring out what to do; but in most cases you can expect a set of problems and issues to be present, some of which are related and some of which are not. Next, you must move towards a solid evaluation of the case situation, based on the information given. Developing an ability to evaluate companies and size up their situations is the core of what strategic analysis is all about. The cases in this textbook, of course, are all strategy related, and they each require some form of strategic analysis, that is, analysis of how well the organizations strategy has been formulated and implemented. Uppermost in your efforts, strive for defensible arguments and positions Do not rely upon just your opinionsupport it with evidence! Analyze the available data and make whatever relevant accounting, financial, marketing, or operations calculations are necessary to support your assessment of the situation. Crunch the numbers! If your instructor has provided you with specific study questions for the case, by all means make some notes as to how you would answer them. Include in your notes all the reasons and evidence you can muster to support your diagnosis and evaluation Last, when information or data in the case are conflicting and/or various opinions are contradictory, decide which is more valid and why. Forcing you to make judgments about the validity of the data and information presented in the case is both deliberate and realistic. It is deliberate because one function of the case method is to help you develop your powers of judgment and inference. It is realistic because a great many managerial situations entail conflicting points of view. Once you have thoroughly diagnosed the companys situation and weighed the pros and cons of various alternative courses of action, the final step of case analysis is to decide what you think the company needs to do to improve its performance. Draw up your set of recommendations on what to do and be prepared to give your action agenda. This is really the most crucial part of the process; diagnosis divorced from corrective action is sterile. But bear in mind that proposing realistic, workable solutions and offering a hasty, ill-conceived possibility are not the same thing. Do not recommend anything you would not be prepared to do yourself if you were in the decision makers shoes. Be sure you can give reasons that your recommendations are preferable to other options that exist. On a few occasions, some desirable information may not be included in the case. In such instances, you may be inclined to complain about the lack of facts. A manager, however, uses more than facts upon which to base his or her decision. Moreover, it may be possible to make a number of inferences from the facts you do have. So be wary of rushing to include as part of your recommendations the need to get more information. From time to time, of course, a search for additional facts or information may be entirely appropriate, but you must also recognize that the organizations managers may not have had any more information available than that presented in the case. Before

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recommending that action be postponed until additional facts are uncovered, be sure that you think it is worthwhile to get them and that the organization can afford to wait. In general, though, try to recommend a course of action based upon the evidence you have at hand. Again, remember that rarely is there a right decision or just one optimal plan of action or an approved solution. Your goal should be to develop what you think is a pragmatic, defensible course old action based upon a serious analysis of the situation and appearing to you to be right in view of your assessment of the facts. Admittedly, someone else may evaluate the same facts in another way, and, thus, have a different right solution. However, since several good plans of action can normally be conceived, you should not be afraid to stick by your own analysis and judgment. One can make a strong argument for the view that the right answer for a manager is the one that he or she can propose, explain, defend, and make work when it is implemented. This is the middle ground we support between the no right answer and one right answer schools of thought. Clearly, some answers are bettor than others.

THE CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE

In experiencing class discussion of management cases, you will, in all probability, notice very quickly that you will not have thought of everything in the case that your fellow students think of. While you will see things others did not, they will see things you did not. Do not be dismayed or alarmed by this. It is normal. As the old adage goes, Two heads are better than one. So it is to be expected that the class as a whole will do a more penetrating and searching job of case analysis than will any one person working alone. This is the power of group effort, and one of its virtues is that it will give you more insight into the variety of approaches and how to cope with differences of opinion. Second, you will see better why sometimes it is not managerially wise to assume a rigid position on an issue until a full range of views and information has been assembled. And, undoubtedly, somewhere along the way, you will begin to recognize that neither the instructor nor other students in the class have all the answers, and even if they think they do, you are still free to present and hold to your own views. The truth in the saying, theres more than one way to skin a cat will be seen to apply nicely to most management situations. For class discussion of cases to be useful and stimulating, you need to keep the following points in mind: 1. The case method enlists a maximum of individual participation in class discussion. It is not enough to be present as a silent observer; if every student took this approach, then there would be no discussion. (Thus, do not be surprised if a portion of your grade is based on your participation in case discussions.) 2. Although you should do your own independent work and independent thinking, dont hesitate to discuss the case with other students. Managers often discuss their problems with other key people. 3. During case discussions, expect and tolerate challenges to the views expressed. Be willing to submit your conclusions for scrutiny and rebuttal. State your views without fear of disapproval and overcome the hesitation of speaking out. 4. In orally presenting and defending your ideas, strive to be convincing and persuasive. Always give supporting evidence and reasons.

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5. Expect the instructor to assume the role of extensive questioner and listener. Expect to be cross-examined for evidence and reasons by your instructor or by others in the class. Expect students to dominate the discussion and do most of the talking. 6. Although discussion of a case is a group process, this does not imply conformity to group opinion. Learning respect for the views and approaches of others is an integral part of case analysis exercises. But be willing to swim against the tide of majority opinion. In the practice of management, there is always room for originality, unorthodox, and unique personality. 7. In participating in the discussion, make a conscious effort to contribute rather than just talk. There is a big difference between saying something that builds the discussion and offering a long-winded, off-the-cuff remark that leaves the class wondering what the point was. 8. Effective case discussion can occur only if participants have the facts of the case well in hand; rehashing information in the case should be held to a minimum except as it provides documentation, comparisons, or support for your position. In making your point, assume that everyone has read the case and knows what the case says. 9. During the discussion, new insights provided by the groups efforts are likely to emerge. Dont be alarmed or surprised if you and others in the class change your mind about some things as the discussion unfolds. Be alert for how these changes affect your analysis and recommendations (in case you are called on to speak). 10. Although there will always be situations in which more technical information is imperative to the making of an intelligent derision, try not to shirk from making decisions in the face of incomplete information. Wrestling with imperfect information is a normal condition managers face and is something you should get used to.

PREPARING A WRITTEN CASE ANALYSIS

From time to time, your instructor may ask you to prepare a written analysis of the case assignment. Preparing a written case analysis is mush like preparing a case for class discussion, except that your analysis, when completed, must be reduced to writing. Just as there was no set formula for preparing a case for oral discussion, there is no iron-clad procedure for doing a written case analysis. With a bit of experience, you will arrive at your own preferred method of attack in writing up a case, and you will learn to adjust your approach to the unique aspects that each case presents. Your instructor may assign you a specific topic around which to prepare your written report. Common assignments include: (1) Identify and evaluate company Xs corporate strategy. (2) In view of the opportunities and risks you see in the industry, what is your assessment of the companys position and strategy? (3) How would you size up the strategic situation of company Y? (4) What recommendation would you make to company Zs top management? (5) What specific functions and activities does the company have to perform especially well in order for its strategy to succeed?

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Alternatively, you may be asked to do a comprehensive written case analysis. It is typical for a comprehensive written case analysis to emphasize four things: 1. 2. 3. 4. Identification Analysis and evaluation Discussion of alternatives Presentation of recommendations

You may wish to consider the following pointers in preparing a comprehensive written case analysis.

Identification: It is essential that your paper reflects a sharply focused diagnosis of

strategic issues and key problems and, further, that you demonstrate good business judgment in sizing up the companys present situation. Make sure you understand and can identify the firms strategy (see Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4). You would probably be well advised to begin your paper by sizing up the companys situation, its strategy, and the significant problems and issues that confront management. State problems/issues as clearly and precisely as you can. Unless it is necessary to do so for emphasis, avoid recounting facts and history about the company (assume your professor has read the case and is familiar with the organization!).

Analysis and Evaluation: Very likely, you will find this section the hardest part of the report. Analysis is hard work! Study the tables, exhibits, and financial statements in the case carefully. Check out the firms financial ratios, its profit margins and rates of return, and its capital structure and decide how strong the firm is financially. (Exhibit 1 contains a summary of various financial ratios and how they are calculated.) Similarly, look at marketing, production, managerial competence, and so on, and evaluate the factors underlying the organizations successes and failures. Decide whether it has a distinctive competence and, if so, whether it is capitalizing upon it. Check out the quality of the firms business portfolio.
Check to see if the firms strategy at all levels is working and determine the reasons why or why not. An initial analytical tool to use is SWOT analysis, which involves appraising the firms internal strengths and weaknesses and assessing external environmental opportunities and threats; see exhibit 2 for suggestions of what to look for. It must be stressed that SWOT analysis is just a preliminary analytical tool. It must be supplemented with more rigorous competitive, resource, financial, organizational, etc. analysis. An analysis should also possibly incorporate a competitive analysis of the competitive forces impinging on the firm (you may want to draw up a strategic cluster map as in exhibit 2-9 and/or do an industry competitive analysis as in exhibit 2-4, in Chapter 2). Decide whether and why the firms competitive position is getting stronger or weaker. Subsequent chapters develop more detailed and specialized analytical tools to assess many of the relationships. Review those chapters to see if you have overlooked some aspect of strategy evaluation. Decide whether the main problems revolve around a need to revise strategy, a need to improve strategy implementation, or both.

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exhibit 1 A Summary of Key Financial Ratios, How They Are Calculated, and What They Show
Ratio Profitability Ratios 1. Gross profit margin Sales Cost of goods sold Sales Profit before taxes and before interest Sales How Calculated What It Shows

An indication of the total margin available to cover operating expenses and yield a profit An indication of the firms profitability from current operations without regard to the interest charges accuring from the capital structure (helps to assess impact of different capital structures) After-tax profits per dollar of sales Subparprofit margins indicate that the firms sales prices are relatively low or that its costs are relatively high or both A measure of the return on total investment in the enterprise It is sometimes desirable to add interest to after-tax profits to form the numerator of the ratio since total assets are financed financed by creditors as well as by stockholders; hence, it is accurate to measure the productivity of assets by the returns provided to both classes of investors A measure of the rate of return on stockholders investment in the enterprise A measure of the rate of return on the investment that the owners of common stock have made in the enterprise The earnings available to the owners of common stock

2. Operating profit margin

3. Net profit margin (or return on sales)

Profits after taxes Sales

4. Return on total assets

Profits after taxes Total assets or Profits after taxes + interest Total assets

5. Return on stockholders equity (or return on net worth) 6. Return on common equity

Profits after taxes Total stockholders equity Profits after taxes Preferred stock dividends Total stockholders equity Par value of preferred stock Profits after taxes Preferred stock dividends Number of shares of common stock outstanding

7. Earnings per share

Liquidity Ratios 1. Current ratio Current assets Current liabilities

The extent to which the claims of shortterm creditors are covered by assets expected to be converted to cash in a period roughly corresponding to the maturity of the liabilities A measure of the firms ability to pay off short-term obligations without relying upon the sale of its inventories A measure of the extent to which the firms working capital is tied up in inventory
continued

2. Quick ratio (or acid-test ratio)

Current assets inventory Current Liabilities Inventory Current assets Current liabilities

3. Inventory to net working capital

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Ratio Leverage Ratios 1. Debt-to-assets ratio

How Calculated

What It Shows

Total debt Total assets Total debt Total stockholders equity Long-term debt Total stockholders equity Profits before interest and taxes Total interest charges

A measure of the extent to which borrowed funds have been used to finance the firms operations Another measure of the funds provided by creditors versus the funds provided by owners. A widely used measure of the balance between debt and equity in the firms long-term capital structure A measure of the extent to which earnings can decline without the firm becoming unable to meet its annual interest costs A more inclusive indication of the firms ability to meet all of its fixed-charge charge obligations

2. Debt to-equity ratio

3. Long-term debt-to-equity ratio 4. Times-interest-earned (or coverage) ratios

5. Fixed-charge coverage

Profits before taxes and interest Lease obligations Total interest charges Lease obligations

Activity Ratios 1. Inventory turnover Sales Inventory of finished goods

When compared to industry averages, it provides an indication of whether a company has excessive or inadequate finished goods inventory A measure of the sales productivity and utilization of plant and equipment A measure of the utilization of all the firms assets. A ratio below the industry average indicates that the company is not generating a sufficient volume of business given the size of its asset investment A measure of the average length of time it takes the firm to collect the sales made on credit The average length of time the firm must wait after making a sale before it receives payment

2. Fixed-assets turnover

Sales Fixed assets Sales Total assets

3. Total-assets turnover

4. Accounts-receivable turnover 5. Average collection period

Annual Credit Sales Accounts Receivable Accounts receivable Total sales 365 or Accounts receivable Average daily sales

continued

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Ratio Other Ratios 1. Dividend yield on common stock 2. Price-earnings ratio

How Calculated

What It Shows

Annual dividends per share Current market price per share Current market price per share After-tax earnings per share Annual dividends per share After-tax earning per share After-tax profits + Depreciation Number of common shares outstanding Fixed costs Contribution margin/unit (Selling price/unit Variable cost/unit)

A measure of the return to owners received in the form of dividends Faster growing or less risky firms tend to have higher price-earnings ratios than slower growing or more risky tires The percentages of profits paid out as dividends A measure of the discretionary funds over and above expenses available for use by the firm. A measure of how many units must be sold to begin to make a profit; to demonstrate the relationship of revenue, expenses, and net income

3. Dividend-payout ratio

4. Cash flow per share

5. Break-even analysis

Note: Industry-average ratios against which a particular companys ratios may be judged are available in the following: 1. Statistics Canada, Corporation Financial Statistics (15 ratios for 182 industries). 2. Key Business Ratios, published by Dun and Bradstreet Canada (11 ratios for 166 lines of business). 3. Market Research Handbook, published by Statistics Canada (7 ratios for 23 industries). 4. The Financial Post, Industry Reports (35 ratios for 19 industries and latest quarterly results for top public firms in industry). 5. Almanac of Business and Industry Financial Ratios (14 ratios, 13 trend indicators, and 23 average balance sheet and income statement values, for over 180 industries)

exhibit 2 The SWOT Analysis With Suggestions of What to Look For

Internal Company Analysis Strengths Weaknesses

Adequate financial resources? Well thought of by buyers? An acknowledged market leader? Well-conceived functional area strategies? Access to economies of scale? Insulated (at least somewhat) from strong competitive pressure? Proprietary technology? Cost advantages? Product innovation abilities? Proven management? Other?

No clear strategic direction? Obsolete facilities? Lack of managerial depth and talent? Missing any key skills or competencies? Poor track record in implementing strategy? Plagued with internal operating problems? Falling behind in R&D? Too narrow a product line? Weak market image? Below-average marketing skills? Unable to finance needed changes in strategy? Other?
continued

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External Environmental Analysis Opportunities Threats

Serve additional customer groups? Enter new markets or segments? Expand product line to meet broader range or customer needs? Diversify into related products? Add complementary products? Vertical integration? Ability to move to better strategic group? Complacency among rival firms? Faster market growth? Other?

Likely entry of new competitors? Rising sales of substitute products? Slower market growth? Adverse government policies? Growing competitive pressures? Vulnerability to recession and business cycle? Growing bargaining power of customers or suppliers? Changing buyer needs and tastes? Adverse demographic changes? Other?

USING THE INTERNET TO RESEARCH COMPANIES AND INDUSTRIES

The Internet is a very good tool for getting specific information on companies and industries. Many large companies have Internet sites, and there are many business news and information services that provide supplementary information for your case analysis. The best way to find a company site is to use a search engine. Some of the more popular Web catalogues and search engines are:
Site Description Site Address Alta VistaDigital Equipments search engine Canadian site address US site address YahooA catalogue of valuable Web sites Canadian site address US site address LycosAnother Web site catalog ExciteA full text search engine InfoseekA natural language search engine

http://www.altavistacanada.com/ http://www.altavista.digital.com/ http://www.yahoo.ca/ http://www.yahoo.com/ http://www.lycos.com/ http://www.excite.com/ http://www.infoseek.com/

In addition, there are a variety of Web sites that should be of interest to the studentsome include company financial reports, some include business news, and some include articles on business issues and techniques. A few of the important sites are:

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Canadian Information Canoe News Globe and Mail News Les Affairs Canadian Industry Information Canadian Business Magazine Canadian Financial Network Canadian Deposit Insurance Corp Toronto Stock Exchange http://www.canoe.com/ http://www.globeandmail.ca/ http://www.lesaffaires.com/ http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/engdoc/main.html http://www.canbus.com/ http://www.canadianfinance.com/ http://www.cdic.ca/ http://www.TSE.com/

US Information SEC EDGAR database NASDAQ The Financial News Network Hoovers Online American Demographics/Marketing Tools Industry Net Wall Street Journal Business Week Fortune International Business Resources http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/srch-edgar/ http://www.nasdaq.com/ http://cnnfn.com/ http://hoovers.com/ http://www.marketingtools.com/ http://www.industry.net/ http://update.wsj.com/ http://businessweek.com/ http://www.fortune.com http://ciber.bus.msu.edu/busref.html/

In writing your analysis and evaluation, bear in mind: 1. You are obliged to offer supporting evidence for your views and judgments. Do not rely upon unsupported opinions, over generalizations, and platitudes as a substitute for tight, logical argument backed up with facts and figures. 2. If your analysis involves some important quantitative calculations, then you should use tables and charts to present the data clearly and efficiently. Do not 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 and summarize the conclusions to be drawn from the exhibits and refer the reader to your charts and exhibits for more details. 3. You should indicate you have command of the economics of the business and the key factors that are crucial to the organizations success or failure. Check to see that your analysis states what the company needs to concentrate on in order to be a higher performer. 4. 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 conclusion. Likewise, try not to exaggerate or over dramatize. Endeavour to inject balance into your analysis and to avoid emotional rhetoric. Strive to display good business judgment.

Discussion of Alternatives: There are typically many more alternatives available than a cursory study of the case reveals. A thorough case analysis should include a discussion of all major alternatives. It is important that meaningful differences exist

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between each alternative. In addition, the discussion of alternatives must go beyond the following:

Do nothing Something obviously inappropriate The alternative to be recommended

Each alternative discussed should be analyzed in terms of the associated pros and cons.

Recommendations: The final section of the written case analysis should consist
of a set of definite recommendations and a plan of action. Your set of recommendations should address all of the problems/issues you identified and analyzed. If the recommendations come as a surprise, or do not follow logically from the analysis, the effect is to weaken greatly your suggestions of what to do. Obviously, your recommendations for action should offer a reasonable prospect of success. State what you think the consequences of your recommendations will be and indicate how your recommendations will solve the problems you identified. Be sure that 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 organizations competence to implement them, and prevailing market and environmental constraints. Unless you feel justifiably compelled to do so, do not qualify, hedge, or weasel on the actions you believe should be taken. Further, state your recommendations in sufficient detail to be meaningfulget down to some operational-level details. Avoid such unhelpful statements as the organization should do more planning or the company should be more aggressive in marketing its product. State specifically what should be done and ensure your recommendations are operational and provide the manager with specific considerations that he or she can implement. For instance, do not stop with saying, The firm should improve its market position Continue on with exactly how you think this should be done. And, finally, you should say something about how your plan should be implemented. Here you may wish to 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. For example, Manager X should take the following steps: (1)__, (2)__, (3)__, and (4)__. One way to organize your recommendations is in a one-page summary according to the chart in exhibit 3.

How to Use This Framework: After dividing the major issues from the minor issues, each issue is plotted according to timing. The closed hollow bar indicates over which period this issue will he resolved. Inside each hollow bar should be noted the title of the issue and the cost (financial, managerial, and so forth) of implementation. This framework enables us to assess on one page the reasonableness of whatever organizational recommendations are being made. A key element in the recommendation summary is to assess the financial implications of each recommendation. Any proposed strategy must be feasible, which means, among other things, that the organization must be able to afford it. In addition, when there are major uncertainties, particularly in the medium to long-term, contingency plans should be specified, that is, If such and such transpires, then do X. In preparing your plan of action, remember there is a great deal of difference between being responsible, on the one hand, for a decision that may be costly if it proves

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exhibit 3 Organizing Recommendations

Today 6 mos. 9 mos. 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year

Implement Issue #1 Major Issue Do nothing (wait and see) Implement Issue # 2

Implement Issue # 3 Minor Issue

Implement Issue # 4

in error and, on the other hand, expressing a casual opinion as to some of the courses of action that might be taken when you do not have to bear the responsibility for any of the consequences. A good rule to follow in making your recommendations is to avoid recommending anything you would not yourself be willing to do if you were in managements shoes. The importance of learning to develop good judgment in a managerial situation is indicated by the fact that, while 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 what actions need to be taken do vary from person to person. Developing good judgment is thus essential. It should go without saying that your report should be organized and written in a manner that communicates well and is persuasive. Great ideas amount to little unless others can be convinced of their meritthis takes effective communication.

Keeping Tabs on Your Performance

Every instructor has his or her own procedure for evaluating student performance, so, with one exception, it is not possible to generalize about grades and the grading of case analyses. The one exception is that grades on case analyses (written or oral) almost never depend entirely on how you propose to solve the organizations difficulties. The important elements in evaluating student performance on case analysis consist of (a) the care with which facts and background knowledge are used, (b) demonstration of the ability to state problems and issues clearly, (c) use of appropriate analytical techniques, (d) evidence of sound logic and argument, (e) consistency between analysis and recommendations, and (f) ability to formulate reasonable and feasible recommendations for action. Remember, a hard-hitting, incisive, logical approach will almost always triumph over a seat-of-the-pants opinion, emotional rhetoric, and platitudes.

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One final point is that you may find it hard to keep a finger on the pulse of how much you are learning from cases. This contrasts with lecture/problem/discussion courses where experience has given you an intuitive feeling for how well you are acquiring substantive knowledge of theoretical concepts, problem-solving techniques, and institutional practices. But in a case course, where analytical ability and the skill of making sound judgments are less apparent, you may lack a sense of solid accomplishment, at least at first. Admittedly, additions to ones managerial skills and powers of diagnosis are not as noticeable or as tangible as a loose-leaf binder full of lecture notes. But this does not mean they are any less real or that you are making any less progress in learning how to be a manager. To begin with, in the process of hunting around for solutions, very likely you will find that considerable knowledge about types of organizations, the nature of various businesses, the range of management practices, and so on has rubbed off. Moreover, you will be gaining a better grasp of how to evaluate risks and cope with the uncertainties of enterprise. Likewise, you will develop a sharper appreciation of both the common and the unique aspects of managerial encounters. You will become more comfortable with the processes whereby objectives are set, strategies are initiated, organizations are designed, methods of control are implemented and evaluated, performance is reappraised, and improvements are sought. Such processes are the essence of strategic management, and learning more about them through the case method is no less an achievement just because there is a dearth of finely calibrated measuring devices and authoritative crutches on which to lean.

Additional Notes and Recommended Readings

Charles I. Gragg, Because Wisdom Cant Be Told, in The Cause Method at the Harvard Business School, ed. M. P. McNair (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1954), pp. 11. D. R. Schoen and Philip A. Sprague, What Is the Case Method? in McNair, The Case Method at the Harvard Business School, pp. 78-79. For some additional ideas and viewpoints, you may wish to consult Thomas J. Raymond, Written Analysis of Cases, in McNair, The Case Method at the Harvard Business School, pp. 139-163. In Raymonds article is an actual case, a sample analysis of the case, and a sample of a students written report on the case. Reid, Beverly, Essentials of Business Writing and Speaking: A Canadian Guide, Copp Clark Pitman, Mississauga, Ont., 1989. Treece, Malra and Larry Hartman, Effective Reports for Managerial Communication, 3rd Edition, Allyn & Bacon, Boston, MA., 1991.