Business Anf Financial Management

MBA

Case Analysis Format

Suggestions for Preparation

I.) The more you practice analyzing cases, the better you will be prepared to take the course exams. The information that follows presents the information that you should cover when analyzing a case, as well as a format to assist you in covering all relevant information.

II.) Understand the tools that managers use for strategic planning and be able to apply them when analyzing cases.

Section I represent the information you should present in analyzing the current situation of the firm.

Section I:

Mission - what the company is selling, to whom, and the principles underlying its existence. Frequently the case will not specifically state “The Mission is.............”, however, from statements made by the CEO, or other top level managers and other information in the case, you should be able to identify a reasonable mission for the company.

Objectives – these are the results the organization seeks. They state what is to be accomplished and should be quantitative if possible and include a time frame for the results to be accomplished. In identifying current objectives you may not have all the information to determine well stated objectives, so state what you think the organization is trying to achieve.

Strategies – strategies are how a company plans to achieve the organization’s mission

general (also called grand strategies – Porter)

low cost, niche/focus, differentiation, OR quick response) - normally a company pursues ONE general strategy

marketing - what are the strategies they pursue for the 4 Ps (product, place/distribution, price, promotion)?

finance - how do they fund their expansion (debt, stock, retained earnings); what are the financial goals?

operations - how they make what they sell (for a service business, it would be how they provide their service)...