Business Analysis

Strategic Case AnalysisStrategic Case Analysis

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Strategic Case Analysis

To remain competitive, established firms must continually refine their ability to solve business problems. This requires making good decisions.

Making a good decision requires choosing among various alternatives, and research is required in order to identify alternatives.

Good research requires asking and answering the right questions.

Strategic Case Analysis: Questions

• Case analysis helps us learn how to ask good questions and to make good decisions.

• Why do some firms succeed, and others fail? • Why are some companies higher performers than others? • What information is needed in the strategic planning process? • How do competing values and beliefs affect strategic decision

making? • What skills and capabilities are needed to implement a strategy

effectively?

Strategic Case Analysis: Requirements • Strategic case analysis requires:

• Ability to evaluate business situations.

• Going beyond the textbook and rooting out essential issues and causes of a company’s problems.

Strategic Case Analysis: Skills

• Strategic capabilities needed include the ability to differentiate.

• Strategic capabilities also include the ability to speculate.

• Strategic capabilities also include the ability to integrate.

Conducting a Case Analysis: Preparation

• Investigate the situation. • Analyze and research possible solutions. • Gather the advice of others. • Put yourself in the shoes of an actual participant.

• Are you a strategic decision maker? • Are you the business founder or owner? • Are you a member of the board of directors? • Are you an outside consultant?

Conducting a Case Analysis: Step 1 • Step 1: Become familiar with the

material. • Read quickly through the case one

time. • Assess possible links to strategic

concepts. • Read the case again, making notes. • Evaluate application of strategic

concepts. • Formulate an initial

recommendation. • Go through the case again to assess

the consequences of actions you propose.

Conducting a Case Analysis: Step 2 • Step 2: Identify problems.

• Some cases have more than one problem to solve.

• Avoid getting hung up on the case symptom.

• Try to articulate the case problems.

• Some problems will not be apparent until after you do the case analysis.

Conducting a Case Analysis: Step 3 • Step 3: Conduct strategic

analyses. • Determine which strategic

issues are involved. • Use strategic tools to

conduct the analysis. • Test your own assumptions

about the case.

Conducting a Case Analysis: Step 4 • Step 4: Propose alternative solutions.

• Develop a list of options – what are the possible solutions?

• Evaluate the alternatives. • Can the company afford it? • How will competitors respond? • Will employees accept the

change? • How will it affect other

stakeholders? • How does it fit with the vision,

mission and objectives? • Will the culture or values of the

company change?

Conducting a Case Analysis: Step 5 • Step 5: Make recommendations.

• Make a set of recommendations supported by your analysis.

• Describe exactly what needs to be done.

• Explain why this course of action will solve the problem.

• Indicate how best to implement the proposed solution.

• Note: the solution you propose must solve the problem you identified.

Getting the Most from Case Analysis

Keep an open mind.

Take a stand for what you believe.

Draw on your personal

experience.

Participate and persuade.

Be concise and to the point.

Think out-of-the- box.

Learn from the insights of others.

Apply insights from other case

analyses.

Critically analyze your own

performance.

Conduct outside research.

Case Analysis Decision- Making Techniques: Integrative Thinking

• Integrative thinking involves making choices by reconciling opposing thoughts.

• Asking heretical questions can help challenge long-term beliefs about how things work.

• Conflict inducing techniques can be very helpful in arriving at better solutions.

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