Marketing case

Harvard Business Review

Business Case Brief Guidelines

There are typically no right or wrong answers for a case, and unanimous decisions in a class are

atypical, which provides for interesting and active sharing of concepts and ideas. However, the

approach taken to address the issue(s) outlined in each case and the strength of the analysis

you provide is very important. The more thoroughly you read and analyze a case the more

prepared you will be for discussion and the more you will learn.

A case analysis should comprise the following components:

● Problem specification for the organization after examination of the important opportunities and/or threats facing the firm

● Outlining of the available alternatives to resolve the organization’s problem, along with the pros and cons of each.

● Provide your recommendation of the preferred alternative solution based on your careful analysis, along with your reasons why you are making the recommendation. Cases will differ in complications and challenges as well as in available data, however, some factors to consider will be competitive analysis, customer buying habits, target audience characteristics, customer satisfaction, price position, supply chain performance, product performance, sales force capabilities, etc.

The case write-up should contain the identification of the main decision problem, alternatives

with pros and cons, the chosen course of action and justification for the same. It usually helps

to include supporting quantitative analysis where applicable. It is also helpful to use subheads

and prioritize the more important considerations. Please limit the case brief to no more than

2-4 pages, 12 point font, 1.5 line spaced, 1 inch margins. If you choose to include appendices,

they should only include supplementary data and analysis, not case data provided in the case

itself.