Legal = Law expert

CASE PREPARATION

Case Prep

� Case Preparation should be split into two parts: Short Cycle and Long Cycle

◦ In the Short cycle the reader should first skim the case and write down their general ideas of what the case is about

◦ In the Long Cycle you must think about and analyze the case

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Case Preparation Sheet – Short Cycle � All that needs to be added to this section

is a general overview of the problem.

� Determine the players

� Determine the overall issue

� Determine whether the issue is time sensitive

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Case Preperation Sheet – Long Cycle � All that needs to be added to this section is a

general overview of the problem. Of course this can be changed after further analysis

� Your first step is define the issues in the case. You can do this by identifying the basic vs. immediate issues. ◦ Basic issues are long-term issues that the company will

have to be grappling with for a long time. Basic issues also tend to be common e.g. deal with eroding market share

◦ Immediate issues are issues that must be solved within a specific time frame. They are also usually very specific to the firm, e.g. deciding how to escort Frank out of the office after he has just been fired.

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Case Preparation Sheet – Long Cycle � The second step is to analyse the case data itself. ◦ Identify the Cause and effect mentioned or implied in the

case. Specifically those connected to issues identified in the first step.

◦ Identify the constraints and opportunities that exist in the case. Again you are not just repeating what is in the case but providing insight.

� The third step is to use the analysis to generate alternatives to address the issues you identified. ◦ Try to come up with creative ideas

◦ Focus on the constraints and opportunities identified in the 2nd step. They may provide a good suggestions for solutions

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Case Preparation Sheet – Long Cycle � The fourth step is to create decision criteria

for your alternatives. ◦ The criteria should be connected to strategy and

issues identified in the first step

� The fifth step is to assess the alternatives using the decision criteria. ◦ Use assumptions that are grounded in the case

data ◦ Remember to think about the short term and

long term effects. ◦ When predicting outcomes think of providing a

best and worst case scenario

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Case Preparation Sheet – Long Cycle � The sixth step is to choose an alternative. ◦ This should be the easiest part of the analysis ◦ All of the other steps were taken to create a “path”

to this answer ◦ Make sure your answer is consistent with the rest of

the analysis

� The seventh step is to develop an implementation plan. ◦ It should provide the details (the who what when

where why and how) of the alternative ◦ The specifics should be appropriate for the actions, ie.

Telling me the projected 5-year sales increase by two decimal points but not informing me of the first three steps of your immediate plan is a problem

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Case Preparation - Assumptions

� You will have to make assumptions throughout the case analysis

� Context assumptions do not need to be stated. For example it can be assumed that a small company will not have a lot of capital.

� You can assume that things are working as normal as long as the case does not state it. However normal does not mean fine. If the case states that a general policy is upsetting the marketing staff then it should not be assumed that everyone else is fine with it.

� Always explain your reasoning behind “if-then” assumptions. It is fine to assume a cause and effect but explain why the assumption is reasonable

� Don’t fall into the “perfect person” assumption. This is where the analyst assumes that they can acquire the perfect employees (or sometimes tool) that will fix all problems.

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