case study for mathguy

Case studies are interdisciplinary in scope; they cross many disciplines within organizations and expose the manager to many varied situations of day-to-day activities. Case studies are a picture-in-time, much like an accounting profit and loss report for a past business quarter. They are, after all, real life situations.

Cases develop a manager’s analytical skills, because the results are quantitative and qualitative in nature and support their recommendations and decisions. They are also beneficial in helping the learning process of asking the right question(s).

Case studies place you (the student) in hypothetical consultant position, requiring you to weigh the facts and options to recommend those critical decisions. As the consultant, you are to remain objective and refrain from making subjective claims. Opinions should be supported using concepts and terms from your text. If you use outside research, be sure to cite your sources in the body of the paper, as well as listing the source as a reference at the end of the paper.

A case study will have three common traits. They deal with real companies and situations, seldom have a solution, and contain loads of data. Your task as a consultant will be to review the respective data, locate the relevant information, arrange it in a practical and sequential order, and arrive at a solution or recommendation. You must remain objective throughout this process.

Since this is a formal analysis, you are to write in a style that reflects formal, collegiate level work. This will include an objective perspective, third person voice, and lack of contractions, slang, and expressions. Any references should contain appropriate citing. Failure to do so will affect your grade.

There are many ways to look at a single case study. First, look for questions that need to be answered. Look for issues, constraints, potential problems, and what needs to be changed that would perhaps strengthen the company, create growth, or increase profits.

There are numerous ways to organize and write a case study. For this course, a case study analysis should include a Statement of the problem, a Summary of the Facts, Analysis, and Recommendation(s).

Statement of the Problem(s)

State in a few sentences the problem (or you may want to think about issues if the word problem causes you confusion) that exists within the case study. There may be multiple problems. Always keep your audience (a Board of Directors who may have hired you) in mind while formulating the problem statement; they may have opposing views on the situation.

Note that some cases do not have a recognizable problem. In these cases, you may be asked to state what decisions you would make for the future of the company.

Summary of the Facts

Briefly, sum up the facts in the case that are relevant to the stated issue(s)/problem(s). It may include pertinent history or background information, industry trends, or other relevant data.

Analysis

Analysis is often the most difficult portion of the case to write and should be completed before any attempt to develop physically the writing of the case. This is the area where assigned case questions can be addressed and responded to.

The tools associated with analysis are comparison, contrast, and synthesis. Comparison is looking for and then finding similarities among other elements being analyzed. Contrast is looking for and finding differences between elements. Synthesis is integrating the information and formulating a consistent interpretation of the case.

Other tools include performing an environmental scan, a SWOT analysis, or simply listing pros and cons to several key alternatives. Not all of these tools are relevant and selection is on an as-needed basis.

Recommendations

This section provides direction. Based on the information and analysis, state your recommendations. This is your argument. Using the information of the case and the analysis, you argue that certain steps should or should not be taken. Your audience must be able to understand the reasons for your recommendations. These recommendations should not be summative in nature, but specific. It is not appropriate from a consultant position to simply suggest more research unless you define who, what, where, how, and why. Nor should you recommend hiring a consultant. Essentially, you ARE the hired consultant. Tell the audience how to fix the problem(s) and why your solution will work.

Conclusion

This section is for any concluding remarks that may be necessary. Not all case studies need this section because concluding remarks may have been made in the recommendation section.

Reference Page

At the conclusion of the Case Study, a reference page in APA format is required. Place any sources you used in your assignment and ensure each has been cited within the write-up where appropriate. Review the resources within the Student Hub for APA formatting guidelines.