Case Analysis for Starbucks

Case Analysis Format

1. Title of Case

a. Author of the written case

b. Your name

c. Date

2. Executive Summary (5-6 sentences. Summarize situation. What is the name of the

company, what do they do? What is the problem definition? What are your

recommendations?

3. Introduction (Describe the company)

4. Background (Give the historical event review. Only use relevant events. Explain why

these are relevant to the case analysis.)

5. Problem Definition (2-3 sentences)

6. Top Management Team (Give degrees, universities, majors, prior work experience,

awards, titles, basically describe the credentials of these people.)

7. Competitors (List the competitors and define how they compete with the company being

analyzed. What products, services, ranking in industry…are competing?)

8. Discussion

a. Analysis (Use only those parts of these tools that are relevant to the case.).

Provide your own interpretation to the results of analysis from each tool.

i. SWOT

ii. PESTEL

iii. Porters 5 Forces

iv. Porters Diamond

v. VRIO

vi. Financials / Ratios (Always compare something to something relevant,

such as competitors or years. Explain why you choose to compare against

which companies over which years. Add your interpretation of the

compared numbers. This tool can be the most revealing and should be

used in most every case.)

vii. Others

9. Action Taken by Firm

10. Results of Overall Analysis and Interpretation of Results

11. Recommendations

a. How much will your recommendations impact the firm?

b. Are they feasible?

c. Which recommendations did firm follow?

12. Conclusion

Comments:

Critical Thinking is a very important skill in business. Critical thinking involves understanding

what key factors are important in a situation, using these factors in an appropriate analysis,

using the results of the analysis to build an argument, then presenting your conclusions and

recommendations based on the analysis results and your argument development. Everything

should flow logically, one stage to the next. Do not put information in the report that does not

relate to the Conclusion.

Managers today have little time for in-depth reading. To get your point across, use formatting to

help you organize your thoughts and allow managers to be selective in what parts of your report

that they read. Start with an Executive Summary that includes a synopsis of the situation,

analysis results, and your recs. Don’t force your reader to read your whole report in order to

understand your ideas. Follow with a concise Introduction, Background, Problem Definition,

Analysis, Results, Discussion, Recommendations, and Conclusion. The key here is to effectively

and efficiently communicate your analysis of the situation. Left justify unless you are an artsy

type and you want a stylish presentation.