Case Study Analysis

GEB 4890

Business Strategy

Fall 2000

Why use Case Study Analysis?

• Provides you with experience not ordinarily available

• Cases illustrate the theory and content of strategic management

• Provides you with the opportunity to participate in class and present your ideas to others

Detailed Case Analysis• Eight Areas:

– History, development, & growth of company– Identification of internal strengths and weaknesses– Analysis of the external environment– SWOT analysis– Type of corporate-level strategy pursued by the

company– Nature of the company’s business level strategy– Company’s structure and control systems and how

they match its strategy – Recommendations

Writing a Good Case Study-Additional Points

• Do not repeat large pieces of factual information

• Make your discussion flow logically and soundly

• Avoid grammatical and spelling errors

• Do a library and/or Internet search for information

• Can use questions handed out by instructor

Position Papers

• Use Case Study Guidelines and Rubric from Syllabus

• Collect information on the company

Financial Analysis in Case Analysis

• Profit Ratios– Gross Profit Margin– Net Profit Margin– Return on Total Assets– Return on Stockholder’s Equity

• Liquidity Ratios– Current Ratio– Quick Ratio

Financial Analysis in Case Analysis

• Activity Ratios– Inventory turnover– Days Sales Outstanding

• Leverage Ratios– Debt-to-assets Ratio– Debt-to-Equity Ratio– Times Covered Ratio

Financial Analysis in Case Analysis

• Shareholder Return Ratios– Total Shareholder Returns– Price-Earnings Ratio– Market to Book Value– Dividend Yield

• Cash Flow

Ten Commandments of Case Analysis

To be observed in written reports and oral presentations, and while participating in class discussions

From Thompson, A.A., Jr. & Strickland, A.J., III. (1995). Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases, Eighth Edition. Chicago: Irwin

Number One

• Read the case twice, once for an overview and once to gain full command of the facts; then take care to explore every one of the exhibits

Number Two

• Make a list of problems and issues that have to be confronted.

Number Three

• Do enough number crunching to discover the story told by the data presented in the case.

Number Four

• Look for opportunities to use the concepts and analytical tools you have learned earlier.

Number Five

• Be thorough in your diagnosis of the situation and make an outline of your assessment.

Number Six

• Support any and all opinions with well-reasoned arguments and numerical evidence. Don’t stop until you can purge “I think” and “I feel” from your assessment and, instead, can rely completely on “My analysis shows”.

Number Seven

• Develop charts, tables, and graphs to expose more clearly the main points of your analysis.

Number Eight

• Prioritize your recommendations and make sure they can be carried out in an acceptable time frame with the available skills and financial resources.

1.2.3.

Number Nine

• Review your recommended action plan to see if it addresses all of the problems and issues you identified.

Number Ten

• Avoid recommending any course of action that could have disastrous consequences if it doesn’t work out as planned; therefore, be as alert to the downside risks of your recommendations as you are to their upside potential and appeal.