Writing Case Analysis

STRATEGIC CASE ANALYSIS

For this assignment, you will complete a written analysis of a case provided to you. The objective of this assignment is to assess your ability to apply the course concepts to a real company. The project is worth 100 points – 80 points for content graded by your professor and 20 points for the writing labs graded and awarded by the lab instructors. As part of the assignment, you must meet with the business writing lab tutors twice to review your writing prior to submitting your final copy. See the attached checklist for details about what to prepare for each tutoring session and how to earn the full 20 points. Be advised that tutors will not be helping you significantly with the content of your analysis—the content and analysis are your responsibility.

You should use only the information in the case provided by your instructor as the basis of your analysis; don’t use any outside sources. Put any tables, charts, or figures you create from the information in the case in an appendix. For full credit, your analysis must meet the following requirements:

· Be a maximum of three pages, not counting the appendix, if you use one.

· Be double-spaced with proper headings, 1-inch margins, and 12-point Times New Roman font.

You will be penalized 5 points for each line that exceeds the three-page maximum-length limit, 20 points for not double-spacing, and 10 points for excessive use of quotes. These rigid limits are to help you learn brevity and clarity—a skill your bosses/clients will prize.

Submit a stapled copy of your analysis in class on the due date indicated in the syllabus. Use the Strategic Case Analysis Grade Rubric (rubric is included in the files tab in canvas) to understand how your analysis will be evaluated and as your coversheet.

In your write-up, please answer (at least) the following questions:

1. What is your assessment of the business-level & corporate-level strategies employed? On what basis do you reach this conclusion?

2. What is your quantitative assessment of the company’s performance compared to competitors? Does the company enjoy a competitive advantage, have competitive parity, or suffer a competitive disadvantage? Justify your answer.

3. Based on your analysis, what main external factors are affecting the industry and the company, and what opportunities or challenges are present because of the factors identified? (External analysis)

4. Based on your analysis, what resources does the company have that may provide a path to achieve or maintain a sustained competitive advantage? (Internal analysis)

5. Is the company’s strategy working? If your answer is no, what should the company do to fix the situation? If your answer is yes, what problems/issues will the company need to deal with sometime in the future? (Provide your recommendation[s] for future action.)

This is an individual writing assignment. Please resist the temptation to collaborate with or use someone else’s work and/or ideas.

Checklist for the Case Analysis Report

Bring, completed, to the first tutoring session.

Eight points will be awarded when you bring a completed draft and this checklist to your first tutoring appointment; 2 points will be deducted if you don’t bring this completed checklist.

Twelve points will be awarded when you bring a polished draft to your second appointment—a draft that shows substantial improvement from the first meeting with the tutor. The first draft and checklist must also be brought to the second tutoring session to verify that your polished draft shows substantial improvement. If you don’t bring your first draft to the second tutoring session, you will lose 2 of the 12 points.

Before you come to the first tutoring session, your report should meet all of the following requirements. Review your draft as needed and revise it so it meets each requirement, and then check the requirement off. All lines should be checked before you meet with a tutor.

______Times New Roman 12 font

______Three pages maximum length

______1-inch side margins

______Numbered pages

______Double spaced

______Indented paragraphs

______Short paragraphs—about a 3-12 line (not sentence) maximum for easy access to the content

______Bolded headings for access—paragraph headings use the least space; for example,

Business-Level Strategy—At a business level. . .

______Formal language—no first or second-person pronouns (I, me, you, your, etc.), only third person; and formal vocabulary; for example, children instead of kids; people instead of guys; things or equipment instead of stuff, etc.

______Reference to graphics in the text of the report if they are included in an appendix

______Effective titles and labels on graphics; center graphics between side margins

______Good access to the recommendations—use numbers, bullets, or verbal cues such as “First, . . .”

and “Second, . . .”

______References to company are by name; the singular pronoun it; or the words the company. Do not

use the plural pronoun they; for example, IBM, it, and the company.