International Acquisition Strategy of Fosun Group (pp. 111-128)
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how_to_analyze__a_case.pptxHow to analyze a business case?
Analysis of a problem case has five elements:
A problem definition
Diagnosis – a summary statement of the important causes
Cause-effect analysis
Concepts and framework – cause-effect analysis relies on causal framework appropriate to the problem
Actions – problem analysis yields actionable content
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How to analyze a business case?
Regardless of the dimensions of a decision, analysis of a decision case should focus on:
Decision options – a decision requires concrete options; need to seek the decision alternatives
Decision criteria – try to avoid too many and too few criteria; create the best fit between the available relevant evidence and the criteria
Analysis of options
Recommendation – a specific recommendation sharpens your focus
Actions – implement the decision as effectively as possible
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How to analyze a business case?
An evaluative case expresses a judgment about the value or effectiveness of an act or outcome:
Like the decision analysis, an overall evaluation expresses the best fit between the evidence and criteria
Evaluation includes both positive and negative sides; the analysis must conclude factors that support the overall evaluation and those do not
Numbers do not explain what they mean, and they do not make the decision for you
To be actionable, an evaluation needs a concisely expressed bottom-line conclusions
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How to discuss a business case?
The purpose of a case discussion is to construct meanings for a case based on evidence and to recognize the uncertainties inherent in all of the meanings
Take responsibility for your own view of a case, develop an argument for it, be prepared to explain the argument, and listen to others who disagree with you
Careful preparation (thorough yet flexible) – foundation for effective class participation
Listening is participation – listen to keep up with the discussion and find opportunities to contribute
Reflect on what you learn – greater clarity about the issues that link one case to another and lends coherence to a course
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How to write a case-based paper?
Writing about a case paper should build on the process of analyzing a case. There are characteristics that case-based papers have in common – answer three questions: What? Why? and How?
What? – Makes a position statement
Why? – Uses evidence (i.e., argument) to persuade the reader
How? – Provides an action plan
How should the recommended decision be implemented?
How can the problem be fixed?
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How to write a case-based paper?
Position statement (What?) expresses a conclusion
A sharply focused position statement organizes the entire case paper
Without one, the paper has no purpose or direction and complicates the reader’s task as far as the reader is concerned
The most common failing of a case-based paper is that the writers try to look at a situation from all angles, suggesting many meanings but committing to none
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How to write a case-based paper?
Argument (Why?): Using evidence well is probably the most crucial skill for a writer of case paper
Evidence can be qualitative, quantitative or both; they can be used to reinforce each other
Case papers can also use the results or outputs of specialized methods as evidence to prove conclusions
For example, without financial ratios or tools (e.g., significant calculations), the writer would have nothing meaningful to say about liquidity
The argument precedes the action plan because it creates both the necessity for action and the actionable content
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How to write a case-based paper?
Action plan (How?) complements and makes the argument of a case-based paper actionable by answering the question: How?
How do you solve a problem?
How do you implement a decision?
How do you improve a performance?
The general purpose of action plans is to improve or advance the situation as it is presented in the paper through a coherent series of actions
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How to write a case-based paper?
An effective action plan has five characteristics:
Sets goals based on the argument
Addresses the actionable content of the argument – every major actionable issue in the argument should be represented in the action plan
Consists of specific steps
Has realistic short- and long-term steps
Identifies and responds to the major risk to the plan: Ask the question: What is the worst thing that could go wrong with the plan? Then ask: How can the risk be contained or eliminated?
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How to write a case-based paper?
What Argument and Action Plans Do
| Case situation | Argument | Action plan |
| Problem | Prove cause-effect relationships that account for problem | Solve problem: fix weaknesses and reinforces or increase strengths |
| Decision | Recommend best decision | Implement decision: show the best pathway to achieve desired outcome |
| Evaluation | Provide detailed evaluation of act, performance or outcome | Improve performance or outcome; implement or change decision |
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Conclusion
The lecture presents some fundamental issues regarding case study and learning in MBA/EMBA education. In particular, I focus on three key questions which are critically important to our course objectives:
How to analyze a case?
How to discuss a case?
How to write a case-based paper?
The lecture also outlines the structure of a case-based paper appropriate to solve problems, make decisions, and conduct evaluations
Hopefully, these PPT slides furnish the purpose for your successfully accomplishing the course specifically by analyzing business cases and writing a persuasive case-based paper
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