Case study report (International Business- subject)

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©International Business Strategy – 2025 -M.K.

NOTES ON PREPARING FOR INDIVIDUAL STRATEGY REPORTS

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS STRATEGY

(Spring) 2025

I) What is a Strategy Case?

A Strategy (or an international business strategy (IBS) ) Case describes

an organization’s external, (MBV) internal, (RBV) organizational, (OBV)

corporate (CORP) and international, (INT) conditions and raises issues

concerning the organization's mission, objectives, strategies and policies. Most of

the information in a case is established fact, but some information may be

opinions, judgments and beliefs.

A Strategy Case is simply a story about a company and the strategic issues its

strategic decisions makers face. In order to identify and address those issues, you

put yourself in the position of being one of those decision-makers (i.e.

Consultant, Managing Director, and Member of the Board or Chairman Etc).

You analyze the information that is provided about the company in the case.

Based on your analysis of this information, you should be able to identify the

major strategic issues facing the company and formulate strategic alternatives

you think would best address those issues.

Strategy Cases are more comprehensive than those you may have studied in

other courses. They generally include a description of related management,

marketing, finance, HRM, procurement, production/ operations, OB,

information systems and economics. A strategy case puts the reader on the scene

of the action by describing a company's situation at some point in time. Strategy

Cases are written to give you practices applying strategic management and

international business strategy theories, tools and concepts (TTC).

©International Business Strategy – 2025 -M.K.

Why Use Cases to Practice Strategy? A student of business with tact

Absorbed many answers he lacked.

But acquiring a job,

He said with a sob,

“How does one fit answer to fact?”

The foregoing limerick was used some years ago by a university professor to

characterize the plight of business students who had no exposure to cases. The

facts are that the mere act of listening to lectures and sound advice about

managing does little for anyone’s management skills and that the accumulated

managerial wisdom cannot effectively be passed on by lectures and assigned

readings alone. If anything had been learned about the practice of management,

it is that a storehouse of ready-made textbook answers does not exist. Each

managerial situation has unique aspects, requiring its own diagnosis, judgment,

and tailor-made actions. Cases provide would-be managers with a valuable way

to practice wrestling with the actual problems of actual managers in actual

companies.

The case approach to strategic analysis is, first and foremost, an exercise in

learning by doing. Because cases provide you with detailed information about

conditions and problems of different industries and companies, your task of

analyzing company and situation has the twin benefit of boosting your analytical

skills and exposing you to the ways companies and managers actually do things.

Cases help substitute for on-the-job experience by;

(1) Giving you broader exposure to a variety of industries, organizations, and

strategic problems;

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(2) Forcing you to assume a managerial role (as opposed to that of just an

onlooker);

(3) Providing a test of how to apply the theories, tools, techniques and concepts

of international business and strategic management; and

(4) Asking you to come up with pragmatic managerial action plans to deal with

strategic issues at hand.

Objectives of Case Analysis

Using cases to learn about the practice of strategic management and

international business strategy is a powerful way for you to accomplish five

things:

1. Increase your understanding of what managers should and

should not do in guiding a business to success.

2. Build your skills in sizing up company resource strengths and

weaknesses and in conducting strategic analysis in a variety

of industries and competitive situations.

3. Get valuable practice in identifying strategic issues that need

to be addressed, evaluating strategic alternatives, and

formulating workable plans of action.

4. Enhance your sense of business judgment, as opposed to “back-

of-the-book” answers.

5. Gaining in-depth exposure to different industries and

companies, thereby acquiring something close to actual

business experience.

Hence, the important thing for you to understand about analyzing cases is that

the managerial exercise of identifying, diagnosing, and recommending is aimed

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at building your skills of business judgment. Discovering what the company

actually did is no more than frosting on the cake—the actions that company

managers actually took may or may not be “right” or best (unless there is

accompanying evidence that the results of their actions were highly positive.)

The point is this: The purpose of giving you a case assignment is not to cause

you to run to the library or surf the Internet to discover what the company

actually did but, rather, to enhance your skills in sizing up situations and

developing your managerial judgment about what needs to be done and how to

do it.

The aim of case analysis is for you to become actively engaged in diagnosing the

strategic issues and managerial problems posed in the case, to propose workable

solutions, and to explain and defend your assessments— this is how cases provide

you with meaningful practice at being a manager

To prepare for a case study analysis, we suggest the following approach:

1. Skim the case rather quickly to get an overview of the situation

it presents. This quick overview should give you the general flavor of the

situation and indicate the kinds of issues and problems that you will need

to wrestle with.

2. Read the case thoroughly to digest the facts and

circumstances. On this reading, try to gain full command of the

situation presented in the case. Begin to develop some tentative answers to

the strategic issues by considering TTCs of ‘strategy ‘ we have covered

during lectures and lecture notes. Then start forming your own picture of

the overall situation being described.

3. Carefully review all the information presented in the exhibits.

Often, there is an important story in the numbers contained in the

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exhibits. Expect the information in the case exhibits to be crucial enough

to materially affect your diagnosis of the situation.

4. Decide what the overall concerns are. Until you have identified the

overall concerns and problems in the case, you don’t know what to

analyze, which tools and analytical techniques are called for to identify key

strategic issues , or otherwise how to proceed. You will have to dig them

out from all the information given by using TTCs covered in lectures and

lecture notes

5. Start your analysis of financial issues with some number

crunching. A big majority of strategy cases call for some kind of number

crunching—calculating assorted financial ratios to check out the

company’s financial condition and recent performance, calculating growth

rates of sales or profits or unit volume, checking out profit margins and

the makeup of the cost structure, and understanding whatever revenue

cost-profit relationships are present. See separate notes on key financial

ratios, how they are calculated, and what they show.

6. Apply the Theories, Tools and Concepts (TTCs) of strategic

analysis you have been studying. Strategic analysis is not just a

collection of opinions; rather, it entails applying the TTCs described in

lectures, e-notes and slides to cut beneath the surface and produce sharp

insight and understanding. Every case assigned is strategy related and

presents you with an opportunity to usefully apply what you have learned

toward the proper analytical tools needed to analyze the case situation.

7. Check out conflicting opinions and make some judgments about

the validity of all the data and information provided. Many times

cases report views and contradictory opinions (after all, people don’t always

agree on things, and different people see the same things in different ways).

Forcing you to evaluate the data and information presented in the case helps

you develop your powers of inference and judgment. Asking you to resolve

conflicting information “comes with the territory” because a great many

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managerial situations entail opposing points of view, conflicting trends, and

sketchy information.

8. Support your diagnosis and opinions with reasons and evidence.

The most important things to prepare for are your answers to the question

“Why?” For instance, if after studying the case you are of the opinion that the

company’s managers are doing a poor job, then it is your answer to “Why?”

that establishes just how good your analysis of the situation is.

9. Develop an appropriate action plan and set of recommendations.

Diagnosis divorced from corrective action is sterile. The test of a manager is

always to convert sound analysis into sound actions—actions that will produce

the desired results. Hence, the final and most telling step in preparing a case

is to develop an action agenda for management (a broad implementation

plan) that lays out a set of specific recommendations on what to do. Be

prepared to argue why your recommendations are more attractive than

other courses of action that are open. You’ll find the case preparation notes

helpful in performing this step, too.

As long as you are conscientious in preparing your analysis and

recommendations, and have ample reasons, evidence, and arguments to support

your views, you shouldn’t fret unduly about whether what you’ve prepared is “the

right answer” to the case. In case analysis there is rarely just one right approach

or set of recommendations. Managing companies and formulating and executing

strategies are not such exact sciences that there exists a single provably correct

analysis and action plan for each strategic situation. Of course, some analyses and

action plans are better than others; but, in truth, there’s nearly always more than

one good way to analyze a situation and more than one good plan of action. Don’t

lose confidence in the correctness of your work and judgment.

II) Guidelines for Preparing Case Analyses

The Need for Practicality:

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There is no such thing as a complete case, and no case ever gives you all

information you need to conduct analyses and make recommendations. Likewise,

in business world, strategists never have all information they need to make

decisions: information may be unavailable or too costly to obtain, or it may take

too much time to obtain. So in preparing strategic-management and business

strategy cases, do what strategists do every day - make reasonable

assumptions about unknowns, state assumptions clearly, perform

appropriate analyses and make decisions. Be Practical.

The Need for Justification

The most important part of analyzing cases is not what strategies you

recommend, but rather how you support your decisions and how you propose

that they be implemented. Justify your answers by relating them to the analyses

you conduct. There is no single best solution or one right answer to a

case, so give ample justification for your answers and

recommendations by using theories, concepts, and frameworks of

Strategic Management and Business Strategy .

The Need for Realism

Avoid recommending strategies or course of actions beyond a company's means.

Be realistic. No company can possibly pursue all the strategies that could

potentially benefit the company. Make sure your recommendations are

suitable, feasible and acceptable by the key stakeholders. Estimate

how much capital will be required to implement what you

recommended. Do not prepare a case analysis that omits all arguments and

information not supportive of your recommendations. Try not to exaggerate,

stereotype, prejudge or over dramatize. Strive to demonstrate that your

interpretation of the evidence is reasonable and objective.

©International Business Strategy – 2025 -M.K.

The Need for Specificity

Do not make broad generalizations such as "The Company should pursue a

market penetration strategy"". Be specific by telling what, why, when,

how, where. Conducting comprehensive and appropriate external, internal,

organizational, international, corporate analyses would help to specify your

recommendations Failure to use specifics are the single major shortcoming of

most verbal and written case analyses. In real world businesspeople dislike

generalities and vagueness.

The Need for Originality

Do not necessarily recommend a course of action that the company plans to take

or actually undertook, even if those strategies resulted in improved revenues and

earnings. The aim of the case analysis is for you to consider all the facts and

information relevant to the company at the time (case date), to generate

appropriate alternative strategies to choose among those alternatives, and to

defend your recommendations. Put yourself back in time to the point when

strategic decisions were being made by the company's strategists. Based on the

information available then, what would you have done? Support your position

with charts, graphs, rational analyses and frameworks, and the like-

not a revelation from the library. You can become a good strategist by

thinking situations, making management assessments, and proposing

plans yourself. Be original. Compare and contrast what you recommend

versus what the company plans to do or did.

The Need to Contribute

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In real world, strategy analysis, strategy formulation and recommendation are

commonly made by a group of individuals rather than by a single person.

Members of your group may differ on their aversion to risk their concern for

short run-versus long-run benefits, their interpretation of internal, external

organizational, international factors affecting the company etc. There are no

perfect people, so there are no perfect strategies.

INDIVIDUAL STRATEGY (CASE STUDY WRITTEN) REPORTS-

Key Points

Guidelines for a Case Study Report- (Written Assignment)

Preparing a written case study report is generally more structured and more

detailed.

There is no ironclad procedure for doing a written case assignment. All we can

offer are some general guidelines and words of wisdom—this is because company

situations and management problems are so diverse that no one mechanical way

to approach a written case assignment always works. In your assignment, the

expectation is that you will

(1) Identify all the key strategic issues that management needs to address,

(2) Perform whatever analysis and evaluation is appropriate, and

(3) Propose strategies, set of recommendations and an action plan

addressing the key issues you have identified. In going through the

exercise of identify, evaluate, and recommend, keep the following

pointers in mind.

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• There is no “off the shelf” procedure for preparing a written case report

because cases differ in focus; type, size, and complexity of the

company/industry being analyzed also vary. In general around 3000-

words, excluding appendix and references, is the typical length of the

report. You can also use tables for some of your analysis or

appendix section as these do not count in the word count. An

individual written report will count 100 % of the total mark.

You will first want to read the case to familiarize yourself with the company and

the situation. Then, go back through the case and start noting certain statements

and whether they describe internal, external, corporate, international and

organizational factors. Keep in mind that not every piece of information

included in the written case is going to be relevant/ important for your analysis.

However, you will not be able to determine that unless you have studied the case

by reading through it more than once. To get the most educational benefits from

doing case analysis, you have to arm yourself with the information the

company's strategic decision-makers would have had and address the case

under those conditions. Most of the cases refer to recent situations.

Nevertheless, no matter how up to date they are at the time of the reading, by the

time book reaches the reader they will be history. This involves loss of both

immediacy and uncertainty.

You can also update the case information by finding extra

information from library or Internet or any other source if you

wish, however this is only optional.

Our recommendation however, is that stay within the same period as the case.

For instance, if your case ends in 2016, it is best not to use information on news,

and events that happened in 2018, because those events would not have

happened yet. In such situation, the only available information (usually not

complete) is the one that is in the case, at the case date, and what we testing is to

assess how as a strategist, can you use your intuition, judgment, strategic

©International Business Strategy – 2025 -M.K.

management principles and experience to dig out strategic issues and

recommend future strategic options to address those issues from limited

information. However extending case study information beyond case date is

optional, but you need to cite such information.

When writing your report, avoid using jargon, vague or redundant works and do

not duplicate case information. Watch your spelling. Use short sentences,

paragraphs and simple words and phrases. Use quite a few subheadings. Your

case study report could be presented in a combination of paragraphs and bulleted

item format. If you have used information from other source, you will need to cite

that information. Arrange strategic issues from the most important to the least

important. Arrange future recommendations from the least controversial to the

most controversial. You should also include a table of contents to your report.

You may include charts, figures, frameworks and other kind of exhibits that may

help to communicate important points and ideas. Appendix section of your report

is useful to include those exhibits.

Strategy (Case Study) Report Outline

The written case study (strategy) report requires you to apply the strategic

management & business strategy theories, analytical tools and frameworks as

well as concepts that we have covered in the lectures to the particular

organization/ industry that you are assigned to analyze.

The BODs of the company in question has asked you, as a consultant, to conduct

a strategic audit of the company, to identify issues and recommend solutions. The

following notes are for guidelines only. You are free to write the contents of

subheadings as you wish, based on your past experience and knowledge on report

writing. The following guidelines are aimed at contributing to more structured

report writing; however creativity is always essential part of report writing.

©International Business Strategy – 2025 -M.K.

REPORT STRUCTURE

Executive Summary

1. Strategic Analysis

• External Analysis and Market Based View

• Internal Analysis and Resource Based View

• Organizational Analysis and Organisation Based View

• Corporate Analysis ( if it is a Corporate Case )

• Internationalisation Analysis

2. Identification & Justification of Key Strategic Issues

3. Future Strategic Options

4. Strategy Evaluation and Selection- SAF Criteria

5. Justification of Recommendations and Action Plan

6. Appendix and References

1. STRATEGIC ANALYSIS

The purpose of strategic analysis is not to provide answers but help to

understand and to identify strategic issues. Many of the analytical tools ,

theories and concepts introduced in lectures under MBV, RBV , OBV,

Corporate and International perspectives are to identify , classify and

understand the principle strategic issues that affect the competitive position of

firms and that influence strategic decisions. Each of the analytical tools, theories

and concepts (TTCs) assist to answer key questions under MBV, RBV OBV,

corporate, international perspectives and to dig out strategic issues faced by

the firms in question.

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In your report you need to show how using each relevant TTC lead to the

strategic issue issues you have identified. (These are the strategic issues

hidden in the case and can only be detected by using the relevant TTCs.)

Refer to e-notes, their associated slides, mini case study slides, your

lecture notes and references to dig out strategic issues faced by the

company in question. For example in identifying the key strategic you need

answers for following questions by using the relevant TTCs. (The question list

is not exhaustive; these are for indicative purposes only).

In your report you need to show how using each relevant analytical tool, theory

or concept lead to the strategic issue(s) you identified. (These are the strategic

issues hidden in the case and can only be detected by using the relevant

analytical tool, theory or concept of management).

For Example:

1. EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS & (MBV)

For External Environment Analysis, answering the following questions (Only if

they are relevant for the case study) should lead to strategic issues

identification/ recommendations under External Environment &MBV

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A) MACROENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS -Questions include;

• What are the Political, Economical, Social/ Technological Ecological/ and

Legal ( PESTEL) trends in the business environment the firm is operating

• What PESTEL factors are currently affecting the organisation?

• Which of these are the most important at present time? And in the next

few years?

• Are these factors being considered threats or opportunities for the

organisation?

• What are the likely impact of these threats and opportunities on the

competitive positioning of the organisation?

• What is the company’s ( organisation ) current standing vis – a-vis

PESTEL forces ( It’s strengths / weaknesses )

• Recommendations :How should the company respond to these

PESTEL forces ( proactive- reactive )

B) INDUSTRY (MARKET) DYNAMICS-(Evolutionary Forces) -

Questions include;

• What are the key drivers of change (evolutionary forces)?

• Which of these are the most important at present time? And in the next

few years?

• Which of these are controllable/ uncontrollable by the organisation?

• Which of these currently are dynamic/ static?

• Are the changes on these EV forces are temporary (seasonal, cyclical) or

permanent?

• Are these factors being considered threats or opportunities for the

organisation?

• What are the likely impact of these factors on the industry structure (5

Forces), and the competitive positioning of the organisation?

• (Recommendations ) : How should our organisation manage or adapt

to these EV forces -

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C) INDUSTRY (MARKET) ANALYSIS (5 Forces);

QUESTIONS FOR IDENTIFYING THE THREAT OF (POTENTIAL)

SUBSTITUTES

• What are the substitutes or alternatives for our product/ service?

• How big an impact will substitutes have? ( that is how viable are they as

direct replacements for our product/ service)

• How quickly they penetrate?

• Which players in the industry will consider substitutes as an opportunity

for diversification

QUESTIONS FOR IDENTIFYING THE BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS

(CUSTOMERS)

• Who are the customers for this industry? How concentrated are they?

(Who are the major customers, and what percent of the business do they

represent?)

• How fast is demand growing overall and in different segments? What is

the potential for finding or creating new markets or niches?

• What are the switching costs? How high are they?

• How price sensitive is each customer segment for each of the industry’s

services

• How large is the threat of backward integration( I.e. buyers’ self- supplying

our products/ services)

• What is the customer’s relative bargaining power?

QUESTIONS FOR IDENTIFYING THE INTENSITY OF INDUSTRY

COMPETITION

• Who are the major competitors (today)? What are their basic

characteristics? (size; growth, product lines, customer base, geographical

coverage)

• What is their relative competitive position in the industry ( in terms of

targeted market, product, place , price, promotion)

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• What is the competitive advantage of each? (What switching costs have

they built?)

• How they compete? What weapons or strategies do each use?

• What form does the competition take place? Open warfare, polite, détente,

secrecy, open signaling?

• How is the product/ service differentiation achieved?

• How competitive is the industry? What is the fixed cost/ variable cost ratio

QUESTIONS FOR IDENTIFYING THE BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS

• Who are the suppliers, how large or concentrated are they?

• How concentrated is our industry (their buyers) relative to them? That is

how many of us buy what percent of the output?

• Can firms in the industry switch suppliers easily?

• What percent of their total is purchased by our industry? How large are

the quantities?

• How important is their product / or service to the quality of ours?

• How much of our cost does their product or service represent?

• What is the threat of forward integration by each supplier? (Conversely

what is the opportunity for backward integration by one or more of us?)

• What is their relative bargaining power over us?

QUESTIONS FOR IDENTIFYING THE THREAT OF POTENTIAL ENTRANTS

• What are the barriers to entry? Are we able to raise them? What factors are

tending to lower them?

• What are the potential or imminent new entrants? What are their

characteristics( size, number, growth, customer base,)

• What are the entrants’ competitive strategies likely to be? How aggressive

they will be? How might the new entrants and their strategies re-shape the

industry?

Based on the analysis above and overall, which of these 5 forces influence

industry attractiveness and profitability?

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D) 5 FORCES/ EV FORCES INTERACTION (INDUSTRY DYNAMICS-

APPLICATION)

• The following questions help focus on how to integrate industry dynamics

with “5 Forces “ framework:

– What are the evolutionary forces (EV) that are driving 5 Forces?

– Is it likely that 5 Forces will change? and if so how?

– Which of these 5 Forces are powerful ( affecting industry

profitability) - Based on answering questions relating to each force-

– How does our organisation stand in relation to these 5 Forces?

What is our organisation’s strengths and weaknesses in relation to

the (key) 5 Forces (based on your assessment )

• (Recommendations): What can our organisation do to “neutralize”

these forces? (“strategic choices”)

E) STRATEGIC GROUP ANALYSIS -Questions include:

• What are the strategic dimensions which distinguish competitors?

• Which are the major strategic groups? Who are their members?

• What are the mobility barriers protecting the organisation’s strategic

group?

• What are the risks of other firms entering the organisation’s strategic

group?

• What is the degree of competition within the organisation’s strategic

group?

• What is the cost of entry into organisation’s strategic group?

• What is the relative bargaining power of organisation’s strategic group

with customers and suppliers?

• What is the vulnerability of the organisation’s strategic group to substitute

products/ services?

• Is there a strategic space (strategic gap) where organisation’s strategic

group seem to be moving?

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• (Recommendations ) : What should be the organisation’s strategic

group strategy? In particular ;

– Should the organisation identify and move to a new strategic gap or

a group via FMA

– Should the organisation follow others to a new strategic gap or a

group?

– Should the organisation collaborate with other group members to

increase mobility barriers within the existing group?

F) INDIVIDUAL COMPETITOR ANALYSIS -Questions include:

• Who is the key immediate and direct competitor to the organisation?

• How the competitor is currently competing? ( competitive strategy) Is the

competitor likely to attempt to initiate strategic change?

• What are the competitor’s key core competences and capabilities, financial

strength and weaknesses? Its cost structure?

• What is the competitor’s capacity for growth in terms of people, skills and

capacity?

• Which companies are in the strongest / weakest competitive positions?

• Who is likely to make what competitive moves next?

• What is the competitor’s capacity to respond quickly to moves by others?

• What is the ability of the competitor to sustain a protracted battle?

• What is the competitor’s probable future moves ( strategic)

(Recommendations): What are the organization’s probable future strategic

moves to beat the key competitor?

©International Business Strategy – 2025 -M.K.

G) MARKET SEGMENTATION ANALYSIS -Questions include:

• What market segments are served by the organisation and other

competitors? Define as many distinct market segments as possible in

product/ geographic term

• What are the key characteristics of these market segments in terms of

KSFs and 5 Forces?

• Should the company consider “re-segmenting “ the market ? If so what

should be the new segmentation variables and how should the company

approach to segmentation process for SCA ?

• (Recommendations ) : Are there any similarities among market

segments served? Can the organisation achieve synergy across those

segments? If so how? See economies of scope advantages

• (Recommendations): Are there (or can the organisation create) any

new market segments to focus on?

• What are the likely chances to achieve sustainable competitive advantage

in those market segments?

• ( Recommendations ) : What likely segment strategies the

organisation should pursue (Broad/ Narrow) for the future? In particular ;

• Should the organisation follow others to a new market segment ?

• Or should the organisation find new market segment and

capitalize on FMA?

• What are the new market segmentation variables?

H) IDENTIFICATION OF MARKET KEY SUCCESS FACTORS

(KSFs) -Questions include:

• What are the key success factors in the market or industry the organisation

is operating?

• What is the organisation’s and key competitors’ competitive position in

relation to KSFs in the industry? ( Strengths and Weaknesses)

• (Recommendations): What should be the organisation’s strategic choices

for managing or adapting to KSFs? Should it find new KSFs and capitalize

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on first mover advantage (FMA) or should it improve its current position to

adapt KSFs more efficiently and effectively ?

I) INDUSTRY LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS:

• What stage is the industry (market) our organisation is operating?

(Embryonic, Growth, Mature, Decline, Fragmented, Consolidated etc.)

• What are the strategic issues in each stage ?

• What are the strategic choices available for the company in that industry

life cycle stage ?

• Is the company pursuing appropriate strategies?

• How likely is our current market change (i.e., from growth to maturity)

• (Recommendations ) : Based on the issues identified above, what other

business / corporate level strategies should be considered by the

organisation?

J) INDUSTRY ECONOMIC FEATURES ANALYSIS

• What are the industry’s dominant economic features?

• What is the organisation’s stance in relation to economic features of the

industry, what is its strength and weaknesses in relation to economic

features of the industry?

• What are the strategic issues?

• (Recommendations): What future strategies are there to address such

features?

K) MARKET TURBULENCE ANALYSIS

• Assess the industry and its EV+ PESTEL forces in terms of their

Changeability and Predictability

• Changeability :

o Complexity – Many and interrelated EV+PESTEL forces acting on

the industry and the firm

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o Novelty - The degree to new EV+PESTEL forces impacting on the

organisation and its industry

• Give a score for each determinants ( 1-5 )

• 1= Very low Change

• 5+ Very high Change

• Predictability

o Rapidity of change : This is the ratio of the speed with which

changes in EV +PESTEL forces evolve in the environment to the

speed of firm’s response

o Visibility of the future, in terms of the degree of the accurately

forecast the impact of EV+PESTEL forces on 5 Forces and the firm

o Give a score for each determinants ( 1-5 )

o 1= Very low Predictability

o 5+ Very high Predictability

• Add all the scores for changeability + predictability to get a turbulence

score

o 2= Very low Turbulence

o = Very high Turbulence

• Assess company posture to turbulence– Aggressive or reactive

• Formulate Strategies for different levels of environmental turbulence-

see below

• ( Strategy 1 ) Reacting to Change- Strategies include ;

o React and respond as needed

o Defend and protect company’s position

• (Strategy 2 ) Anticipating Change- Strategies include ;

o Plan ahead for future changes

o Add/adapt competitive capabilities

o Improve product line

o Strengthen distribution

• (Strategy 3 ) Leading Change

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o Seize the offensive

o Be the agent of industry change

o Influence rules of the game

o Force rivals to follow

2) INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS & RBV

For internal (RBV) analysis, answering the following questions (Only if they are

relevant for the case study) should lead to strategic issue identification/

recommendations under Internal Environment Analysis and RBV

A. RESOURCES ANALYSIS- Questions include;

• What are our organisation’s tangible (Financial/ Physical/) and intangible

(i.e.; .skills, reputation, technological know-how) resources?

• What are our threshold resources and strategic resources

• How effectively and efficiently are our resources being deployed? What are

your conclusions?

• What can we conclude from financial ratio analysis regarding to our

strengths and weaknesses?

B. IDENTIFICATION OF CORE COMPETENCES (Distinctive

capabilities) -Questions include:

• What are the organisation’s distinctive capabilities? (RIAS) Consider

• Reputation

• Innovation

• Architecture

• Strategic Assets

• How do distinctive capabilities contribute to competitive advantage ?In

particular ;

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• Do the brand, company or any other reputational factors matter?

• Do such reputations exist?

• Is innovation important? Can it be protected?

• Does the organisation have internal or external architecture and

what specific benefits – information flows, flexibility of response,

organisational knowledge – does it gain from them?

• Are there strategic assets- in terms of locational advantages, FMA,

market power, positive cash flow, patents, and trademarks etc. -

what is their origin? Are they sustainable?

• How effectively RIAS analyzed above are translated to sustainable

competitive advantage (SCA)

• What other core competences (functional) the organisation possesses. In

particular which of its capabilities are ;

• Rare

• Hard to copy by the competitors

• Competitively valuable

• Difficult to substitute

• Durable and difficult to transfer

• Based on the analysis above, what are the strategic implications?

• Does the organisation have resources and capabilities potent enough to

produce a sustainable competitive advantage?

• Use VRIO framework – see below- or similar, assess resources and

capabilities strengths and weaknesses.

• If there are any setbacks in utilizing RIAS or other core competences

effectively, what strategies are appropriate to develop, protect , stretch and

utilize them more effectively

C. ANALYSIS OF ORGANISATION’S VALUE CHAIN

ACTIVITIES

• What are the key value adding activities the organisation is performing

(Draw Value Chain )

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• What are their cost and value drivers?

• When compared to competitors’ value chain or compared historically,

what strengths and weaknesses do you detect in the organization’s value

chain?

• Which (supporting) strategies the organisation should pursue in order

to manage cost and value drivers that can also lead to sustainable

competitive advantage (SCA) –

D. ANALYSIS OF ORGANISATION’S PAST AND CURRENTLY

PURSUED STRATEGIES - (Are the current strategies

working?) -Questions include:

• What are the various strategies currently pursued by the organisation?

• Are there any setbacks with the current strategies pursued? Does the

organisation take remedial actions to overcome such setbacks?

• Conduct a historical analysis of your organisation? What conclusions can

be drawn from its past strategies? Can you detect any pattern of

development? What were the strengths and weaknesses of its past strategies?

Did the organisation learn from its past mistakes? (if any) –

E. VRIO ANALYSIS AND RESOURCE AUDIT / LEVERAGE &

STRETCH ANALYSIS

For identifying strategic issues & recommendations related to VRIO

Analysis and Resource Audit answer the following questions

• Conduct a strategic resource audit for tangible and intangible resources-

What conclusions can be drawn in terms of company’s strengths and

weaknesses in relation to its tangible/ intangible resources? ( Strategic

issues )

• Conduct a strategic resource audit of threshold and unique resources.

What conclusions can be drawn in terms of company strengths and

weaknesses in relation to its threshold/ unique resources? ( Strategic

issues )

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• Leverage Analysis Stretch Analysis :

o Are the existing R&Cs leveraged effectively and efficiently in terms

of ;

▪ Concentration

▪ Conservation

▪ Complementarity

▪ Accumulation

▪ Recovery

o What are the major strength and weaknesses in terms of CCCAR? What

actions do you recommend to improve leveraging of existing R&Cs?

• Are the existing R&Cs stretched effectively to different products/

markets/vertical & horizontal relationships? What actions/ strategies do you

recommend to improve stretching of existing R&Cs

3) ORGANISATIONAL ANALYSIS & OBV

For OBV analysis, answering the following questions (if relevant for the case)

should lead to strategic issue identification/ recommendations under OBV-

A) MISSION AND OBJECTIVES ANALYSIS-Questions include:

• What is the organization’s mission statement? Is the mission relatively

stable or undergoing change?

• Is current mission statement (case date)

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• Specific enough?

• Reflects company distinctive capabilities?

• Be flexible enough?

• Have a customer/ market perspective?

• Reflects company values and beliefs (Culture)?

• Reflects any key internal and external dynamics that are taking

place?

• Recommendations:

• Based on the mission statement analysis above , should company

re-write / change its current mission statement – state your reasons

• What should be the new mission statement

• What is the organization trying to accomplish? Are the corporate/

business / financial level objectives consistent with the corporate mission

and with each other?

• What should be the organisation’s strategic and financial objectives?

Should it change its mission statement? What should be the new mission

statement?

B) CORPORATE GOVERNANCE - Questions include:

• To whom Board of Directors (BODs) and MD are solely responsible?

• What is (should be) the role, composition and modus operandi of the

BODs.

• Are there any layers of top management structures that facilitate effective

corporate governance?

• How is (how should) the reporting, accountable relationship between top

management and key stakeholders (should) be organized? -

C) STAKEHOLDERS ANALYSIS-Questions include:

• Who are the organization's key stakeholders (groups/ individuals)?

• What are their interests and claims on the organization?

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• What is the degree of power each stakeholder group holds?

• Is there a strong coalition among stakeholders?

• Draw PI analysis matrix

• What is the relative importance of stakeholders?

• What political strategies should be considered to manage each stakeholder

group in PI matrix?

D) ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE ANALYSIS-Questions include

• What type of culture is most prominent in the organisation?

• What is the cultural web of the organisation?

• Is the organization’s cultural style fit with the proposed or current strategy

• Should the organisation abandon proposed strategy or change the culture

to fit proposed strategy?

• How should the company change its culture? What elements of cultural

web need to be changed? How? How should the organisation manage

change?

E) ETHICS & CSR ANALYSIS-Questions include

• Identify all ethical and CSR issues

• Decide on Organisation’s ethical stance

• Evaluate issues in terms of Extent/ Scope and Recipient

• Estimate the financial cost of resolving an ethical/ CSR issue

• Estimate strategic cost/ benefit in terms of MBV,RBV,OBV

• Resolve issue or misconduct if benefit outweighs cost

F) STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT ANALYSIS

• What political processes involved in strategy making? Is there a hint of a

“strategic drift”?

• (Recommendations): What should be done to reverse strategic drift? How

should the organisation develop its future strategies?

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4) CORPORATE ANALYSIS For Corporate Analysis, answering the following questions (Only if they are

relevant for the case study) should lead to strategic issue identification/

recommendations under Corporate Analysis

EVALUATE CURRENT CORPORATE STRATEGY-Questions

include;

• I) What is the role of the Corporate Parent? Is it

• Portfolio manager

• Restructurer

• Synergy manager

• Parental developer ( transferring R&Cs )

• Does the corporate parent (CP) help to improve efficiency through

promoting sharing resources, support services among SBUs?

• Does CP provide expertise and competences and services not available

within SBUs?

• Does CP provide investment in terms of resources, infrastructure to its

SBUs?

• Does CP foster innovation among its SBUs through coaching staff where

org. learning occurs?

• Does CP mitigate risk and ease problems for its SBUs created by the

market forces?

• Does CP provide strong external image and external links for its SBUs?

• Does CP encourage collaboration and coordination among SBUs which

results in better products services which single SBU cannot deliver?

• Does CP set standards, assess performance of SBUs and intervene to

improve performance?

• Does CP provide an overall vision and a sense of destiny for its SBUs?

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• Does the added value generated by the CP to its SBUs exceed the cost of

bureaucracy, market inflexibility cost of coordination and ineffectiveness

of being associated with the corporate parent ?

• Check for cross-business strategic fit. What are your conclusions?

Ii) What is the nature and the extent of diversification?

• Are the diversifications related/ unrelated

• How many SBUs are in corporation's portfolio?

• Is it costly or complex to manage various SBUs

• Alternately , is the corporation running a portfolio of investments

• Does the added value generated by the CP to its SBUs exceed the

cost of bureaucracy, market inflexibility, and cost of coordination

and ineffectiveness of being associated with the CP?

• Evaluate the long-term attractiveness of the industries into which

the firm has diversified. (Use Porter’s 3 Tests). What are your

conclusions?

iii) The Logic of the Portfolio

• How many SBUs the CP controls?

• Use BCG, directional policy matrix or other relevant portfolio tools

to evaluate the balance of the portfolio.

• Which SBUs are being counted as cash cows, stars, problem

children or dogs

• How attractive the markets each SBU operating? What are the KSFs

and key characteristics the markets possess?

• What is the degree of “fit” that the SBUs have with each other?

• What is the extent the CP will be good at looking after them?

• Rank the performance prospects of the businesses from best to

worst, and determine what the corporate parent’s priority should be

in allocating resources to its various businesses. What are your

conclusions?

IV) Corporate Control Style

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• What is the nature of current control style (strategic planning/

strategic control/ financial control)?

• Is the current control style appropriate?

• (Recommendations) :Taking into account the nature of

diversification, and the resources of CP, what should be the ideal

control style

• (Recommendations )- Is there a consistency among i, ii, iii, iv,

above. If not what should be done to have a consistent and well

developed corporate strategy See also Virgin Case Study and

Corporate Strategy e-notes and slides

The next set of questions is for a company that is considering

diversification as an option for the first time

• Should the company diversify?

• Should it be related or unrelated diversification?

• Which industries / markets need to be considered for

diversification

• What should be the method of diversification? Should it be

• Internal development?

• Joint ventures/ strategic alliances?

• Mergers & Acquisitions?

The following diversification options are strategic moves to improve (already)

diversified company’s over-all performance.

(Recommendations) What new strategic moves the corporation

should make to improve overall corporate performance:

In particular should the corporation;

• stick with the existing business lineup,(show how to improve

existing business )

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• broaden its business base by diversifying into additional

businesses or geographic markets- ( how and on what criteria and

which markets)

• retrench to a narrower diversification base by divesting some of

its present businesses,( how and which SBUs/ products/ markets

and on what basis )

• restructure the company’s SBU lineup with a combination of

divestitures (how and which SBUs and on what basis) and new

acquisitions ( which industries and on what basis ) to put a whole

new face on the corporation’s SBUs

5) INTERNATIONAL ANALYSIS

For Internationalisation Analysis, answering the following questions (Only if

they are relevant for the case study) should lead to strategic issue

identification/ recommendations under International Analysis

I. Host Market ( Country ) Analysis – Questions include;

• Which host markets (countries) the organisation is currently active?

Evaluate these host markets and organisation’s competitive position in

these markets from MBV, RBV OBV and Corporate perspectives. What

conclusions can be drawn in terms of

o Host Market threat and opportunities (MBV)

o Organisations R&C base and its effectiveness in host market(s) and

its strength and weaknesses (RBV)

o Its ability to manage organisation based issues (OBV)

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o Sharing / transferring R&Cs/ activities among other host country

SBUs and Corporate HQ ( Corporate )

• (Recommendations): Which host markets should the organisation enter

in the future? What criteria or factors should be considered for host market

choice

II. How far the organisation modify its products/ services in these

host markets ( standard – multi-domestic/ adaptive- global

product/ services ) – Questions include ;

• What are the drivers that push for globalisation?

• What are the drivers that push for localisation (multi-domestic)?

• What are the trends in these drivers? Which value chain activities may

become global and/ or multi-domestic in the future?

• Which of the value chain activities currently are performed globally or

multi-domestically? Are they in line with the current/ future trends in

globalisation and localisation (multi-domestic) drivers?

• (Recommendations ) - What strategic options to consider for the

future as far as modifying organisation’s global products/ services? Should

the organisation follow global or multi-domestic or transnational

strategies in the future and on which value chain activities?

III. Evaluation of Host Market Entry Choices (Entry Mode ) -

Questions include;

• Evaluate organisation’s current and past international entry mode choices

(e.g., exporting, international JVs and strategic alliances , greenfield

investments , international licensing / franchising , wholly owned

subsidiary , international acquisitions ) in terms of their

o Advantages

o Limitations

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• What conclusions can be drawn from the analysis above? What is the

extent of organisation’s success in overcoming the limitations of its host

market entry choices?

• (Recommendations ) What should be the future entry mode choices?

What factors need to be taken into account in making future entry mode

choices?

IV .International Value Chain Location Analysis – Questions

include;

o Which value chain activities are performed at overseas locations? Evaluate

the appropriateness of location decisions by using Porter’s Diamond

model or similar. What conclusions can be drawn from such analysis?

o Check whether these activities are concentrated in few select countries or

dispersed to many nations? Use scope economies/ coordination cost

argument and Porter’s Diamond model to evaluate the appropriateness of

such decisions and moves? What conclusions can be drawn?

o Evaluate organisation’s overseas R&Cs utilisation by using Transfer -

Adapt – Create Model (TAC): Identify R&Cs that were transferred

internationally to host markets without any change (Transfer) ,

capabilities that were transferred with some adaptation to local conditions

( Adapt ) and ones which had to be created from scratch when entering

new countries ( Create ) – What conclusions can be drawn in terms of

overseas R&C utilisation ?

o (Recommendations ) Based on international location analysis above,

should the organisation consider modifying its international location

decisions? If so, what should be its future strategic choices and decisions

regarding to

o Where ( which host nation ) to locate international value chain

activities

o Concentrate or disperse value chain activities worldwide

o Which R&Cs to transfer, adapt or create globally

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V International Business Strategy and Global Positioning Analysis –

Questions include;

o What is the organisation’s current international business strategy and

positioning in terms of ;

▪ Choice of global value attributes ( cost/ differentiation)

▪ Choice of customer segments ( niche/ broad)

▪ Choice of world standardisation of the product/ service

offering ( standard/ adaptive )

o Is the organisation’s current international business strategy in line with

overall global market conditions, organisation’s overall R&C base and

with its overall global objectives and ambition? If not, what should be its

new international business strategy

VI- “Host market” specific supporting and functional strategies (for

competing successfully in an existing host markets)

• From MBV, RBV and OBV perspectives, evaluate organisation’s

competitive position in each host market it participates – Use questions

and TTCs from MBV, RBV & OBV sections above – What are the threats,

opportunities, strengths and weaknesses.

• ( Recommendations ) : What market based, resource based and

organisation based strategies do you recommend in order to compete

successfully against global and domestic competitors in a given host

market –

In writing your analysis, bear in mind four things:

1. You need to offer analysis and evidence to back up your

identified strategic issues and conclusions. Do not rely on

unsupported opinions, over-generalizations, and platitudes as a

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substitute for tight, logical argument backed up with facts and

figures.

2. If your analysis involves some important quantitative

calculations, use tables and charts to present the calculations

clearly and efficiently. Don’t just tack the exhibits on at the end

of your report and let the reader figure out what they mean and

why they were included. Instead, in the body of your report cite

some of the key numbers, highlight the conclusions to be drawn

from the exhibits, and refer the reader to your charts and

exhibits for more details.

3. Demonstrate that you have command of the strategic concepts

and analytical tools to which you have been exposed. Use them

in your report.

4. Your interpretation of the evidence should be reasonable and

objective. Be wary of preparing a one-sided argument that omits

all aspects not favourable to your conclusions. Likewise, try not

to exaggerate or overdramatize. Endeavour to inject balance

into your analysis and to avoid emotional rhetoric. Strike

phrases such as “I think,” “I feel,” and “I believe” when you edit

your first draft and write in “My analysis shows,” instead.

2. IDENTIFICATION OF KEY STRATEGIC ISSUES

The goal of this section is to enhance your knowledge and skills to identify

strategic issues so to formulate goals and strategies to address them.

Strategic issues should reflect the results of all of the previous strategic analysis

of the case from relevant MBV, RBV, OBV, Corporate and International

perspectives

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Characteristics of Strategic Issues “Strategic issues are those critical challenges that must be addressed in

order for an organization to achieve its vision and improve its competitive

position”

• Some issues will appear obvious. Others may emerge after comprehensive

analysis from all five perspectives. Guard against the tendency to focus on

threats and weaknesses as opposed to opportunities, strengths and

weaknesses that are obvious or stated in the case.

• Strategic issues represent a fundamental strategic choice to be made at the

highest levels (CEO or BOD) of the organisation.

Various criterions can be applied when considering a potential strategic issue.

Strategic issues:

• Pose a future threat

• Present a future opportunity

• Are current barriers

• Require significant change

• Require action by top management

• Are frequently a convergence of narrow, single-focus issues

• Involve conflict or tension between current and future capacities, actual

and desired conditions, past performances and expectations, old and new

roles

• Tend to be complex and will have more than one solution

• May occasionally involve more than one organization

• Generally project well into the future.

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Strategic issues have significant consequences for the organization’s future

(competitive) position or to achieve its future vision.

Failure to address these strategic issues eventually results in the realization of an

external threat, a lost opportunity, the lingering or worsening of an identified

problem, a failure to achieve the future vision and a potential corporate death.

Consider each strategic issue and ask, “What the consequences of not addressing

this?

Each strategic issue will generally fall into one of the following three categories:

1. No action is currently required, but the issue should be monitored for

future action

2. Action can be determined through the strategy formulation process (most

will fall into this category)

3. This issue appears urgent and requires immediate response

Consolidate Overlapping or Related Issues At this point, a large number of strategic issues (up to 30) may have been

identified. To provide a more manageable focus for developing strategies,

strategic issues should be consolidated to a limited number of discrete, non-

overlapping issues which we define as “key strategic issues”. Ideally, an

organisation should have no more than 30 (10-20 is the norm) strategic issues

and no more than 6 key strategic issues at any one point in time. The fewer,

the better. Ideally 2-4 most important / urgent key strategic issues

(short and longer term) should be chosen to address at one point in

time.

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To do this, examine all the issues identified from the strategic analysis under 5

perspectives together and answer these questions:

• How are they related?

• Do they share causes or influences that make them strategic?

• What are the consequences of not addressing them?

• Can strategic issues be combined without losing a key perspective?

Arrange Issues into Ordered List Ordering strategic issues can help to combine and reduce them to a manageable

level (for example from 30 strategic issues down to 6 key issues). Ordered list of

strategic issues also reveal how they relate to each other and may be useful for

developing strategic options and solutions. They can be ordered in four ways:

1. Logical order – present issues in the sequence in which they should be

addressed. This is useful where the resolution of one issue is contingent

on resolution of another.

2. Impact order – How important are its consequences? How complex is

an issue? Resolving easier issues first can build momentum, teamwork,

and consensus that can lead to solutions and energy for more complex,

controversial issues.

3. Temporal order – resolve issues according to a timeline, using

information such as coordination with upcoming events or a logical

order for dealing with the issues

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4. Lastly, clarify the meaning of the term “priority” to prevent resistance

from participants whose issues aren’t at the top of the list. Priority may

mean importance, or the order in which it should be addressed.

You can present the list of key strategic issues in a table form (optional)

Ideally 2-4 most important / urgent key strategic issues (short and

longer term) should be chosen to address at one point in time.

For the “justification” of key strategic issues also consider;

• Why are they so important and why are they requiring urgent attention?

• Why should they have the priority over other issues • Are there more risks than rewards in tackling them? Why so? • Also check that they are the “causes” not the “symptoms”

©International Business Strategy – 2025 -M.K.

YOU NEED TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS ABOVE IN A “DISCUSSION”

FORMAT (IDEALLY IN 2-3 PARAGRAPHS) TO JUSTIFY YOUR CHOICE OF

KEY STRATEGIC ISSUES: THIS IS AN IMPORTANT SECTION OF YOUR

STRATEGY REPORT

3. GENERATING FUTURE STRATEGIC

OPTIONS AND SOLUTIONS

Once the analyses from relevant 5 perspectives and TTCs have identified the

most critical key strategic issues, generate strategic alternatives or solutions

that might be used to address those issues. This can be done by focusing on each

key strategic issue identified.

What can we do to help us build upon or enhance __________ strength?

What can we do to improve or overcome __________ weakness?

What can we do to take advantage of __________ opportunity?

What can we do to minimize or eliminate __________ threat?

During this step, several strategies or solutions should be identified for each key

strategic issue. The task in this step is not to pick the best course of action, but to

generate several strategies that reflect the range of choices the company may

select from. It is important to resist pressures to settle for an obvious or

comfortable strategy or solution. Only when alternatives are generated will new

and innovative approaches be considered. The options should also address key

strategic issues specified in the previous section.

Develop a logical series of mutually exclusive future strategic options

(alternatives) and solutions that evolve from your previous analyses to resolve the

key strategic issues presented above. Ideally you should generate at least

2 strategic options/ solutions for each key strategic issue identified.

Just like in key strategic issue identification process, arrange strategic choices

and solutions into “Ordered List “by combining and presenting them in more

generic forms shown below

• Broad Level : Business, Corporate, ( if it is a corporate case ),

International

• Strategic Direction (Which ) : Growth level I ; Growth level II ,

Disinvestment level

• Strategic Methods (How )

• Supporting Functional Strategies ( market-based; resource-

based; organisation –based strategic choices )

PLEASE REFER TO STRATEGIC OPTIONS SLIDE FOR FULL

CLASSIFICATION

Please also refer sessions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10 e- notes for brief

description and characteristics of strategic options. The options should also

address key strategic issues specified in the previous section. In generating

future strategic options, the advantages, disadvantages, trade-offs , costs,

benefits and appropriateness of the options must be considered.

Please place any relevant information (i.e. In terms of graphs, tables and

analyses you conducted for assignment) that justifies your proposed future

options in the appendix section

4. STRATEGY EVALUATION AND

SELECTION

Evaluate each of the future strategic options in the light of MBV, RBV, OBV,

International, Corporate (if applicable) analyses you conducted previously.

Discuss pros and cons of each option .The following guidelines may be useful:

1. You can use various criteria (suitability, acceptability, feasibility etc.) to

assess the viability of future strategic options. See session 9 e- notes

2. Conflicting conclusions can arise from the application of criteria; however

you have to rely on your judgment on the best strategy (ies) to

recommend.

3. If you choose strategic options from various levels, please bear in mind

that there needs to be consistency between different levels (Broad level;

Strategic Direction and Strategic Methods, Supporting/ Functional

Strategies) of strategy, and whether all the component parts work as a

whole package.

4. You can present your evaluation in a table form (optional) by stating why/

why not a particular strategy is suitable/ acceptable/ feasible etc. A well-

designed table or matrix is an excellent way of summarizing data.

Sometimes; the very process of putting facts side by side in a table will

expose important similarities or differences that you had previously

overlooked. It may also alert you to gaps in your data or analysis.

5. In the table, justify clearly which strategic options you would

recommend for future implementation. Such justification should be

derived from your relevant MBV, RBV, OBV, International, Corporate

level (if applicable) analyses.

5. JUSTIFICATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND ACTION PLAN

The final section of the written case assignment should consist of a set of definite

recommendations and a plan of action. Your set of recommendations should

address all of the key strategic issues you identified and analyzed. If the

recommendations come as a surprise or do not follow logically from the analysis,

the effect is to weaken greatly your suggestions of what to do. Obviously, your

recommendations for actions should offer a reasonable prospect of success. High-

risk, bet-the-company recommendations should be made with caution. State how

your recommendations will solve the problems you identified.

For justification and action plan of your recommendations state how your

recommendations will solve the problems you identified. Be sure the company is

financially able to carry out what you recommend; also check to see if your

recommendations are workable in terms of acceptance by the persons involved,

the organization’s competence to implement them, and prevailing market and

financial environmental constraints. Try not to hedge or weasel on the actions

you believe should be taken.

MORE SPECIFICALLY;

• How well is the proposed recommendation ( strategy or solution )

address the key strategic issues company face

• How to overcome limitations of the proposed strategy

• How well are the stakeholders accept your recommendations

• Is the level of risk acceptable

• How much finance will be required to implement the recommendation

and what would be the optimum sources of finance

• Do the people and their skills exist or can they be obtained

• Can the required resources and capabilities be obtained to implement the

strategy or the solution

• What specific actions need to take place?

• What is a reasonable timeline?

• Which organizations and individuals should be involved?

• How should the organisation manage change

This is useful because

• It makes each strategy and recommended solution action-oriented and

reinforces that the ultimate purpose of planning is to facilitate action

• Understanding the details of implementation prevents the process from

getting bogged down in a debate over alternatives that may not be feasible.

Please also consider the following points:

• Recommendations are directed at solving (most) of strategic issues the

company is facing and improving its future performance

• Your recommendations should be in line with your previous

MBV,RBV,OBV, International , Corporate Analyses so that the

recommendations fit together and move logically from one section to the

• Make sure that your recommendations are clearly stated (i.e. not just

implied) in the report.

• Make sure that, in developing recommendations:

o You have considered all the strategic alternatives. (see Strategy

Evaluation and Selection ) There is hardly ever just one, single

"obvious" response to a strategic problem. And bear in mind that, if

there is, all the company’s competitors will have thought of it, too!

▪ You have made it clear why the recommendation you have chosen is

the best of the available alternatives. (see Strategy Evaluation

Criteria ) That means showing what is wrong with the others!

▪ You have looked at the downside of your proposed

recommendations. Try to avoid proposals that would bankrupt the

company if they failed, or which can be easily copied by the

competition

▪ And finally, be detailed, specific, and comprehensive in your

recommendations. For example if you choose market development

as your recommended strategy, explain why do you choose that

strategic option, how and when it should be implemented, what

are the expected outcomes, who could disagree with that particular

strategy etc. If you have conducted comprehensive analyses and

have evaluated strategic alternatives, then being specific on your

recommendations would not be difficult.

▪ Please also make sure that the pages are numbered; you are also

advised to number the sections in the report. This helps you make

cross-references from one part of the report to another, which can

help save you words by avoiding repeating in one place what you

say again in the next.

5. APPENDIX AND REFERENCES

Appendices are there to supplement the points you make in the main body of

your report. They contain information that is evidential, reinforcing your points

in your report. Please use them generously, but watch out for following points:

• The reader should not have to look at appendices in order to understand

your conclusions and the reasons that you have reached them in each

subsection– the main body of the report should contain all the key points

and essential supporting evidence. The appendices are there only to

reinforce your conclusions in each subsection.

• If you do put something into an appendix, it is vital to include, at an

appropriate point, a reference to it (e.g. " see Appendix 1" or "Appendix 2.

If you don’t ask people to look at something, don’t be surprised if they

don't bother!

• If you use a figure, graph or a framework make sure that its message is

clear - or add some narrative to bring out the point

• Do not include any material in the appendix section for the sake of it!

Please only include material that is relevant and that is clearly

contributing to the points you are making in your report. Irrelevant

appendix material results in deduction of marks.

• Same arguments above apply for references

Researching Companies and Industries via the Internet and Online Data Services Very likely, there will be occasions when you need to get additional information

or upgrade case study information because you are simply curious about what

has happened to the company since the case was written. These days it is

relatively easy to run down recent industry developments and to find out whether

a company’s strategic and financial situation has improved, deteriorated, or

changed little since the conclusion of the case. The amount of information about

companies and industries available on the Internet and through online data

services is formidable and expanding rapidly

It is a fairly simple matter to go to company Web sites, click on the investor

information offerings and press release files, and get quickly to useful

information. Most company Web sites allow you to view or print the company’s

quarterly and annual reports, its 10K and 10Q filings with the Securities and

Exchange Commission, and various company press releases of interest.

Frequently, a company’s Web site will also provide information about its mission

and vision statements, values statements, codes of ethics, and strategy

information, as well as charts of the company’s stock price. The company’s recent

press releases typically contain reliable information about what of interest has

been going on—new product introductions, recent alliances and partnership

agreements, recent acquisitions, summaries of the latest financial results, tidbits

about the company’s strategy, guidance about future revenues and earnings, and

other late-breaking company developments. Some company Web pages also

include links to the home pages of industry trade associations where you can find

information about industry size, growth, recent industry news, statistical trends,

and future outlook. Thus, an early step in researching a company on the Internet

is always to go to its Web site and see what’s available.

Plainly, you can use a search engine such as Google or Yahoo! or MSN to find the

latest news on a company or articles written by reporters that have appeared in

the business media. These can be very valuable in running down information

about recent company developments. However, keep in mind that the

information retrieved by a search engine is “unfiltered” and may include sources

that are not reliable or that contain inaccurate or misleading information. Be

wary of information provided by authors who are unaffiliated with reputable

organizations or publications and articles that were published in off-beat sources

or on Web sites with an agenda. Be especially careful in relying on the accuracy of

information you find posted on various bulletin boards. Articles covering a

company or issue should be copyrighted or published by a reputable source. If

you are turning in a paper containing information gathered from the Internet,

you should cite your sources (providing the Internet address and date visited); it

is also wise to print Web pages for your research file (some Web pages are

updated frequently).

STRATEGY INDIVIDUAL REPORT ASSIGNMENT:

MARKING CRITERIA

CONTENTS STRUCTURE

Quality and clarity of analysis Overall structure and organisation of

the report

Appropriateness of strategic issues

derived from analysis

Cohesiveness among subsections

Clear arguments on justification of

KEY strategic issues

Appropriateness of references and

referencing system

Quality and clarity of

“recommendations”

Clarity of tables, diagrams and other

illustrations in “Appendix” section

Clear arguments on justification of

recommendations

Appendix material – Its contents and

relevance

General guidance on the assessment

criteria for assignments -

Individual feedback on your case study reports is provided on the feedback forms

attached to your work. These forms consist of four sections. Firstly, there is a

section where you will receive your provisional mark. This is the mark that you

receive after your script has been through the School’s internal marking process

(i.e. it has been first marked and internally moderated), but before the external

examiners have checked the marking across the module and indicated that they

are happy with it, and before the final mark has been confirmed by the Board of

Examiners. Secondly, there is a section where your tutor will provide general

comments on your work. Thirdly, there is a section where your tutor will identify

some key areas for improvement. Finally, there is a tick-box section. This section

will be completed using the criteria listed below, and includes things like whether

or not you actually answered the case study question, whether your answer

possessed a clear and logical argument (which was backed up by supporting

evidence), how well the essay communicated your ideas and whether or not it

followed the accepted academic conventions on style and referencing. The

purpose of the tick box section is to provide you with a quick at-a-glance overview

of the strengths and weaknesses of the case study report. It is important to note

that it isn't used to calculate the mark. The relative weighting that your tutors

give to a particular indicator will depend on what they are trying to test with the

assignment.

This case study report addressed the question that was set

The first and most basic requirement of an assignment is that it answers the

question that has been set; not the question that you would have liked to have

been asked or indeed have prepared an answer to. A great essay is not a great

answer unless it actually addresses the question, no matter how well it is written.

If a question asks you to describe x, you need to describe x, not y or z; if it asks

you to critically evaluate y, then you need to critically evaluate y, not just describe

y. Furthermore, this needs to be the chief focus of what you write. If, for example,

your tutor asks you to compare and contrast two approaches to understanding

organisational behaviour, this may require you to describe the two approaches

first. However, most of the marks will come from undertaking the comparison.

Don’t expect top marks for writing a lot of description but only supplying a little

bit of the value-added for which you have been asked. The other thing to keep in

mind is that at degree level there may not be a right or wrong answer. Different

people looking at the same problem, under the same set of circumstances, can

quite legitimately arrive at completely different conclusions. A key part of being a

student involves reviewing what other people have to say about a subject and

forming your own judgment. In short you are being tested not so much on what

you think but rather on the quality of your reasoning and your ability to marshal

evidence to back up your position.

This case study report possessed a clear argument

It logically follows from the above, that your argument plays a key role in

determining the quality of your answer. To an academic, an argument consists of

a set of propositions (or premises), which, when taken together, give rise to a

logical conclusion. For example, in response to the question, ‘why is it so difficult

for organizations to plan effectively?’ one argument might be: organizations often

find it so difficult to plan effectively because effective planning requires

individuals to be operating in an environment which is to some extent

predictable, however in the era of globalization business markets are just not like

that’. Whether or not this is a good argument rests on a number of things. One

thing to consider is whether or not the premises and conclusion logically flow on

from each other i.e. whether the argument is deductively sound. If your

argument is full of inconsistencies then it is not a good argument. If, in one

breath, you are attempting to argue that organizations find it difficult to plan

because of a lack of predictability in the environment in which they operate, while

in the next you suggest that most business environments exhibit a high degree of

stability then there is a basic flaw in what you are trying to say. You also need to

consider the evidence. What evidence is there for the idea that effective planning

requires a stable environment or that business environments in a globalized

world are actually unstable? Another thing to keep in mind in relation to your

argument is what place it has in your answer. Ideally, your argument should take

centre stage, driving the structure and content of your essay. What it should not

be is an afterthought. It is not enough to describe the various approaches to a

problem before waiting to the conclusion to say, ‘ … oh and by the way, on

balance I think x’. At the same time, when composing your answer it is also

important to remember to give alternative explanations and approaches the

consideration that they deserve. Part of writing an effective paper can involve

explaining why it is that approach x is a more plausible explanation of a

phenomenon than approach y.

This case study report covered the key issues

While there may be no right or wrong answer to a particular question, there is a

general expectation that in arriving at your conclusions, you consider all of the

pertinent issues. Your tutor will have covered certain key themes in the module.

He or she may have drawn your attention to certain key authors. While you are

strongly encouraged to explore the literature and make use of alternative sources

to the ones that you have studied, some attempt should be made to include the

material covered on the module. The other thing to keep in mind is emphasis. A

frequent weakness in students’ work is that they attempt to cover everything, and

in a level of detail that is unnecessary. In developing your answer you are

expected to edit. The question that you need to be asking yourself is, given the

question that has been set, where do I need to place my emphasis? What you

want to avoid is dedicating a lot of space to an issue that is peripheral to the

problem (or your argument) simply because you happen to have done some

reading on it or because you happen to find it interesting. Similarly, you

shouldn’t skirt over issues and themes that are clearly pivotal just because you

don’t happen to have done much reading on them, or because you find them

difficult or uninteresting.

This case study report was factually accurate

Being accurate is important when putting together an academic piece of work.

Accuracy includes attention to detail for basic facts like names, places and dates.

It also includes things like evidence. If you claim that a study by a particular

author establishes x, when it clearly does no such thing, you are not accurately

reporting what the author has attempted to establish. The same goes for

describing an author’s opinions or what they have to say about the work of

others. Reports that are full of errors suggest that you have not been particularly

diligent in carrying out your research or given much thought to the final product.

This case study report made good use of the evidence

Warranting your claims is an important part of making your argument. It’s

important to have an opinion, after all that’s what developing an argument is all

about. At the same time it is essential that this opinion is backed up by some

evidence. I might believe that all bankers make a lot of money, but is there

evidence for this assumption? Does the amount of money that someone makes in

banking vary with their role, seniority, which organisation they work for, or the

prevailing economic conditions? The form of the evidence that you need to use

will vary according to what you are trying to establish. It may take the form of

hard data i.e. x% of all new small businesses go bankrupt within three years of

setting up. Alternatively, it may take the form of reporting studies undertaken by

researchers. For example, it is perfectly reasonable to write sentences like, ‘in

attempting to establish the impact of national culture on organisational

behaviour, Hofstede found that ….’ Again, the issue of emphasis is important.

Evidence should be used to back up the key points you are trying to make. There

is no point devoting a lot of space to establishing a point that is of little or no

relevance to the argument that you are trying to make/test. Instead, try to put the

effort into those points which are most central to your case.

This case study report made good use of diagrams/illustrations

Diagrams (and illustrations) can play a useful role in helping you to get your

message across, particularly when the argument that you are trying to make, or

the model that you are trying to explain, is very detailed or complex. However,

when using diagrams there are a couple of things that you need to keep in mind.

Firstly, diagrams are not a substitute for narrative. Occasionally when reviewing

a student’s script, a marker comes across a case study report that consists of little

more than a set of diagrams that have been put together with little or no

explanation as to why they have been selected, what purpose they serve or how

they are supposed to link together. As a general rule it makes sense to keep the

use of diagrams to a minimum, although sometimes (as with many Economics

topics) diagrams are central to the analysis and essential to a good report. Use

them only when they are essential to making a point. The second thing to

remember is that when you do use a diagram you need to explain what it means

or shows, as well as how it fits into the narrative.

This case study report was well structured

Properly structuring your case study report is an essential part of communicating

your ideas. The key thing to remember is simplicity. Work out what it is you are

trying to say and organize your report in a way that gets your argument across

clearly. In general terms, it often makes sense to think in terms of a beginning

(the introduction), a middle (the body of the report) and an end (the conclusion).

The importance of the introduction is often overlooked by students. However, it

is the part of the report which lets the reader know what they can expect. Use it to

introduce the subject, summarize what the literature has to say on it, précis your

position and indicate how you intend to progress your argument. At this point

you might also provide some guidance on your design choices. If you intend to

give the material a statistical treatment, why so? Similarly, if you wish to back

your argument with case material, why use case material? Not only does a well-

structured introduction help the reader make sense of what follows, but as an

author it should help keep you on track when you are composing your work. In

the main body of the report it is important to link the material in a coherent

narrative. Each section should lead logically from the previous and link logically

onto the next. Where appropriate, provide clear signposts to your reader by using

headings and sub-headings. Even at the level of the individual paragraph ask

yourself,’ how does this next paragraph help to propel the argument forward?

how does it fit within the over-arching narrative? A useful tip is to work out what

it is that you are trying to say before you put ‘finger to keyboard’. It is usually

pretty obvious from reading an essay which students knew what they were trying

to say and which did not.

The case study report was well written

It is important that you are able to write well. Therefore, when marking your

work, your tutors will check it for things like grammar, syntax and spelling. Your

tutor should at least be able to make sense of what it is that you are trying to say

even if they do not agree with you. Therefore, before submitting your work first

proof-read it and satisfy yourself that your English is of an appropriate standard.

Failing to use full stops or commas, or inserting random capital letters (or else

missing them out altogether) is really not acceptable. Sentences that are nine

lines in length, with no punctuation, also have no place in an essay. Your

computer has spell check and grammar check facilities – use them! (Although

make sure that their suggestions are sensible, don’t just blindly accept the first

recommended replacement for a misspelt word). Another thing to keep in mind

is your narrative style. Your tutors will expect to see a particular type of narrative

style in an academic piece of work. The uses of slang or colloquial expressions are

frowned upon, as is a tendency towards exaggeration and hyperbole. At the same

time try to keep technical jargon to a minimum. Use technical terms where

appropriate. You will be expected to be familiar with (and make use of) the

standard terms in the discipline. However, there are no marks for using long

words unnecessarily or, worse still, inappropriately. If you are unsure about what

is expected of you, try reading some journal articles as a guide to the kind of

language that is required.

This case study report made appropriate use of the literature

Making appropriate use of the literature encompasses a number of things. Firstly,

it involves the type of things that you read. As a first year undergraduate, writing

your first assignment, you will probably turn to introductory texts as your initial

port of call. As you gain in confidence, however, you will start to make a more

extensive use of research monographs, working papers and academic journal

articles. While the internet can also be a useful source of information, it needs to

be treated with caution. Much of what can be obtained online is of highly variable

quality and will have gone through few, if any, quality checks. One very popular

online source is Wikipedia. Many students love it. Your tutors, however, are less

keen. Don’t be surprised if they mark you down heavily if you try to make

extensive use of it. The other thing that you need to think about is how widely you

need to read. Your module reading list will provide you with a starting point.

Many tutors divide their reading lists into core texts and additional sources. The

core texts or e-notes are what they expect you to read if you wish to acquire even

a basic understanding of the subject. The additional sources will help to flesh out

some of the issues that might only be touched upon by the core texts. However,

the University possesses a large library and an extensive range of on-line journal

databases like EBSCO, Proquest and Jstor. In preparing your essays you are

strongly advised to make full use of the resources that the University has

available. When reviewing your work, your tutors will be actively looking for

evidence that you have read widely and independently.

This case study report was correctly referenced

The University recommends that when referencing you use the Harvard

Referencing System. This involves you making a short note of your source at the

appropriate point in the text e.g. (Porter, 1980 pp.45-9), before providing the full

details at the end of the assignment e.g. Porter, M. (1980) Competitive Strategy,

New York, The Free Press. Correct referencing requires you to acknowledge your

source wherever you make use of someone else’s ideas or data. Failing to

acknowledge your intellectual debts is considered to be poor academic practice

and is likely to result in your work being marked down. When writing your

report, it is not enough to do the reading. You also need to be quite specific about

how you have made use of your sources. It is important to note that poor or

inadequate referencing may constitute plagiarism. Plagiarism involves the

unattributed (or improperly attributed) use of someone else’s ideas or word-for-

word reproduction of someone else’s work. Where you make direct use of

someone else’s words you are expected to put the copied text in quotation marks.

It is not enough simply to reference the work. This gives the impression that you

are acknowledging an intellectual debt, not that you have directly lifted someone

else’s words. If your tutor suspects that you have plagiarized all or part of your

work, they will not deduct marks. Instead they will pass the work onto the School

for investigation. Where, after investigating a case, it is determined that an

offence has been committed, the School is likely to impose a penalty. This can

range from having a few marks deducted to having your work marked at zero in

more serious cases. In the most serious cases offending students may even have

their cases referred up to the College for a Misconduct Hearing.