Case Analysis Guide
MAN4720
Spring 2015
Presentation Assignments
Day Class
E-LEMON-ATORS
FTW
Excelsior
Night Class
Senergy
DOBIS
Dream Team
Cases
Video Concepts, Netflix
Costco, Google
Panera, Apple
Case Analysis
• Presenting Team – Use separate slides for question and
answers.
• Stay in time frame of case
• No outside research
• Financial analysis using existing data in case.
– Don’t email me with statements like
• “The case doesn’t have financial information on….”
– Do the best you can with existing information
– Remember that a chart of data isn’t “analysis”
– Cover the essentials in your financial analysis
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Liquidity, Profitability, Growth
Dupont analysis
Other oddities from a financial assessment
Use the SPMR worksheet for each year, and attach it as an
appendix.
• You need to also give an overall asessment – the “so what”.
Case Analysis (con’t)
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For written team assignments - I take off for each mis-spelling and
grammatical error.
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Use the writing lab if you have to
Have a friend read it
Have an enemy read it
Each paragraph should have a subject sentence and 3-4 supporting sentences.
Run-on paragraphs will be counted as a grammatical mistake.
No optimal page length – it varies by team/individual
– More isn’t always better
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State the question, and then the answer.
– Use whole paragraphs
– I must be able to find each question
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I should not see the word “I” when you answer a question.
– Unless you’re a Borg, “I” doesn’t mean more than one.
– A Company is an “it”.
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You may bulletize ONLY the SWOT, but write complete sentences for each
bullet. Do NOT bulletize anything else in the case study.
No need to define terms/concepts from the book. You can assume I know
what they mean.
Case Analysis (con’t)
• The recommendations portion of every case is weighted more than
the other questions.
– Integrate/apply the 10 areas of strategy execution covered in chapters
10-12 where appropriate.
• Integrating the 10 areas does NOT mean you should write “The Company needs to
consider Building a Capable Organization” or “The Company needs to Marshall its
Resources”.
• Pretend that you are a consultant, providing recommendations to the
CEO.
– If one of your recommendations is “hire a consultant”, I’ll blow a head
gasket
• NO COVER PAGE, NO BINDER COVER
– Put your name/team on the top of the paper and staple the paper
together
– No binder clips or clips
– Forget the staple and you lose points!
– Double Space or you lose points!
– Late case submissions will not be graded as fairness to other students.
Plan ahead. “traffic was bad”, “the printer didn’t work” and “the computer
ate my file” are excuses for lack of planning.
MOAC
• Follow Syllabus assigned questions
• No page limit, no page length
recommendation
• No outside research
• Anything more than 3 words copied from
case should be quoted and referenced.
MOAC Questions from Syllabus
Case Analysis Questions:
1.Conduct a PESTEL assessment for the Industry.
2.Describe the Major Driving Forces of the Industry. Provide an overall assessment of their combined impact on the
industry.
3.Identify & assess the strengths of the Industry’s Competitive Forces and provide a summary of their impacts on current
or potential industry participants.
4.Identify and describe the Key Success Factors for the Industry. Rank the key success factors in terms of importance.
Assign and justify any weights to be used in a Competitive Strength Assessment
5.Using a Strategic Group Map(s) identify & discuss the major “players”, their strategies, and how the strategies differ.
6.Given your external situation analysis, is the Industry attractive? Why and/or why not?
7.Conduct an in-depth financial analysis with regards to profitability, liquidity, and growth, and then provide an assessment
of the overall health of the firm’s finances.
8.Using tools such as value chain and/or resource based view identify the competencies and skills the firm has that provide
the organization with a competitive advantage and summarize their impacts (Be Specific).
9.Conduct a SWOT analysis on the company and provide an overall assessment of the company’s financial health.
10.Assess the strength of the company relative to the other Industry participants using a Competitive Strength
Assessment. (CSA) matrix. What conclusions can be made concerning the ability of the company to compete based upon
your CSA matrix?
11.Identify the firm’s present mission and business model. Does the existing mission and business model fit with the
market forces? What changes to either should be made?
12.Identify the firm’s present generic strategy. Does the present strategy fit with market forces? What supporting
strategies does the firm use to compete? Has it been effective in establishing a sustainable competitive advantage? Why
or Why not?
13.What are the strategic issues the firm must address to be competitive?
14.
a)
b)
In your role as a consultant, what strategic changes would you recommend to the CEO to address the firm’s strategic issues?
Use appropriate elements of the ten-part implementation model from Chapters 10-12 to briefly describe the actions necessary to
implement the recommended strategy or strategies?
Turn it in
•MOAC due No Later Than 5:30 Wednesday 29 April
•I use to Turn-It-In to check for cheating/plagiarizing. Students must turn
in a hard copy of their paper AND upload a copy of their Microsoft Word
document to the drop box in eLearning.
Name the file as follows: LASTNAME_FIRST NAME_(time of your class).
•Example:
•Name is Albert Einstein and he’s in my 2:30 section
•Einstein_Albert_230.doc