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HOW TO PREPARE AND PRESENT A CASE ANALYSIS 349

The Need for Specificity
Do not make broad generalizations such as “The company should pursue a market penetra-
tion strategy.” Be specific by telling what, why, when, how, where, and who. Failure to use
specifics is the single major shortcoming of most oral and written case analyses. For exam-
ple, in an internal audit say, “The firm’s current ratio fell from 2.2 in 2009 to 1.3 in 2010,
and this is considered to be a major weakness,” instead of “The firm’s financial condition
is bad.” Rather than concluding from a Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix that a firm should be defensive, be more specific, saying, “The firm should consider
closing three plants, laying off 280 employees, and divesting itself of its chemical division,
for a net savings of $20.2 million in 2010.” Use ratios, percentages, numbers, and dollar
estimates. Businesspeople dislike generalities and vagueness.

The Need for Originality
Do not necessarily recommend the course of action that the firm plans to take or actually
undertook, even if those actions resulted in improved revenues and earnings. The aim of
case analysis is for you to consider all the facts and information relevant to the organiza-
tion at the time, to generate feasible alternative strategies, to choose among those alterna-
tives, and to defend your recommendations. Put yourself back in time to the point when
strategic decisions were being made by the firm’s strategists. Based on the information
available then, what would you have done? Support your position with charts, graphs,
ratios, analyses, and the like—not a revelation from the library. You can become a good
strategist by thinking through situations, making management assessments, and proposing
plans yourself. Be original. Compare and contrast what you recommend versus what the
company plans to do or did.

The Need to Contribute
Strategy formulation, implementation, and evaluation decisions are commonly made by a
group of individuals rather than by a single person. Therefore, your professor may divide
the class into three- or four-person teams and ask you to prepare written or oral case analy-
ses. Members of a strategic-management team, in class or in the business world, differ on
their aversion to risk, their concern for short-run versus long-run benefits, their attitudes
toward social responsibility, and their views concerning globalization. There are no perfect
people, so there are no perfect strategies. Be open-minded to others’ views. Be a good
listener and a good contributor.

Preparing a Case for Class Discussion

Your professor may ask you to prepare a case for class discussion. Preparing a case for
class discussion means that you need to read the case before class, make notes regarding
the organization’s external opportunities/threats and internal strengths/weaknesses, per-
form appropriate analyses, and come to class prepared to offer and defend some specific
recommendations.

The Case Method versus Lecture Approach
The case method of teaching is radically different from the traditional lecture approach, in
which little or no preparation is needed by students before class. The case method involves
a classroom situation in which students do most of the talking; your professor facilitates
discussion by asking questions and encouraging student interaction regarding ideas, analy-
ses, and recommendations. Be prepared for a discussion along the lines of “What would
you do, why would you do it, when would you do it, and how would you do it?” Prepare
answers to the following types of questions:
• What are the firm’s most important external opportunities and threats?
• What are the organization’s major strengths and weaknesses?
• How would you describe the organization’s financial condition?