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Exam (elaborations) MGT 2328 MGT 2328 Introduction to
Management Fundamentals Case Methodology Manual
MGT 2328
Introduction to Management
Fundamentals Case Methodology
Objective of Case Analysis
The objective of case analysis is to develop your analytical, problem-solving, and decision-
making abilities. As you proceed through your business studies and your career, you will
frequently be asked to analyse and solve business situations. Case methodology provides you
with a systematic and methodical approach to doing so.
What is a Case?
A business situation which has existed in a firm to which a solution is not given.
A collection of facts with which the analyst is required to work in order to achieve
the best possible solution.
A collection of facts which the real business person does not ordinarily have collected
in such a concise form.
Preparing to complete a Case Analysis
Step One: The Short Preparation
1. Read the case. You should then be able to answer the following questions:
a) Who is the decision maker in this case, and what is their position and responsibilities?
b) What appears to be the issue or concern, problem, challenge, or opportunity and its
significance for the organization?
c) Why has the issue arisen and why is the decision-maker involved now?
d) When does the decision-maker have to decide, resolve, act or dispose of the
issue? What is the urgency to the situation?
2. Review the exhibits and appendices to see what numbers have been provided.
3. Review the case headings to see what areas are covered in more depth.
4. Review the case questions if they have been provided. This may give you some clues are
what the main issues are to be resolved.
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,Exam (elaborations) MGT 2328 MGT 2328 Introduction to
Management Fundamentals Case Methodology Manual
You should now be familiar with what the case study is about, and are ready to begin the process
of analyzing it. You are not done yet! Many students mistakenly believe that this is all the
preparation needed for a team discussion of a case study. If this was the extent of your
preparation, your ability to contribute to the team discussion would likely be very limited. You
need to go further to prepare the case using the next step. One of the primary reasons for doing
the short preparation process is to give you an indication of how much work will need to be done
to prepare the case analysis properly.
Step Two: The Long Preparation
At this point, the task consists of two parts:
1. A detailed reading of the case, and then
2. Analyzing the case
When you are 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; and
6. Conclusion: sets up the task, any constraints or limitations, and the urgency of
the situation.
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. Analyzing the case should take the following steps:
1. Defining the issue(s)
2. Analyzing the case data
3. Generating alternatives
4. Selecting decision criteria
5. Analyzing and evaluating alternatives
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, Exam (elaborations) MGT 2328 MGT 2328 Introduction to
Management Fundamentals Case Methodology Manual
6. Selecting the preferred alternative
7. Developing an action/implementation plan
Defining the issue(s)/Problem Statement
The problem statement (Core Problem) should be a clear, concise statement of exactly what
needs to be addressed. This is not easy to write! The work that you did in the short preparation
answered the basic questions. Now it is time to decide what the main issues to be addressed are
going to be in much more detail. Asking yourself 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 sales or unhappy employees are a problem to most companies, they are in
fact, symptoms of underlying problems that 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 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 (Core Problem) may be framed as a question, for example:
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.
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