IBM case study guide

Case #2: Malaysia in the 90’s Study Guide Assignment

Please submit a completed Evaluation Scenario Study Guide by using the Case: Malaysia in the 90’s (Page 193 – 212).(in pdf located on Page 200.

Stated Criteria for this Case:

STRENGTHS:Social ConditionsEconomic ConditionsPoliticsEnvironmental ConcernsWEAKNESSES:Economic ConditionsPolitics

Once you have completed the Evaluation Scenario Study Guide to the best of your ability USING ONLY THE CASE, please go through the Evaluation Case Scenario Essay in Chapter 10 to assist you in completing, correcting, or enhancing your Evaluation Scenario Study Guide.

STUDY GUIDE FOR EVALUATION SCENARIO CASES
Page 1 of 5
I. Analyzing Evaluation Scenarios
This study aid is divided into two parts. The first part organizes your notes and thinking about the case. The second
organizes the points you want to make for an essay on the case.
(For a detailed explanation of how to analyze an evaluation scenario, see chapter 5.)
To begin your work, think about the following questions:
What is the subject of the evaluation?
(It can be a person, team, product or service, company, country, strategy, or policy.)
Example: An ongoing marketing plan.
What is the evaluation you need to perform?
(It can be determining the worth, value, performance, effectiveness, outcome, or consequences of the subject.)
Example: Is the marketing plan meeting the goals set for it?
Exploring the Evaluation
What questions will help you make the evaluation?
Example: Is the marketing plan performing as expected, exceeding its goals, or underperforming?
What concepts and frameworks might help answer your questions?
Example: The 5Cs and 4Ps of marketing can help evaluate the strategic value and tactical performance of the marketing plan.
STUDY GUIDE FOR EVALUATION SCENARIO CASES
Page 2 of 5
Use the following grid to organize your thinking about the evaluation. Use your questions to study the evidence and identify
criteria for making the evaluation. Write down the criteria, the case evidence relevant to them, and what overall evaluation the
evidence supports. Your goal is to determine which overall evaluation is most strongly supported by the evidence. You can defer
thinking about action steps if you’d rather focus on the evaluation first.
Example: Evaluation of a marketing plan
Possible Criterion: Economic performance of the country
Facts/evidence
What the evidence
indicates about the
evaluation
Customers have a slightly
The plan hasn’t significantly
more favorable impression of
changed customers’
the brand.
impression of the brand.
Possible Criterion 1:
Facts/evidence
Possible Criterion 2:
Facts/evidence
Possible Criterion 3:
Facts/evidence
Possible Criterion 4:
Facts/evidence
Short- term steps
Long- term steps
Explore whether the plan
needs more time to have an
impact or new ideas for
increasing positive
impressions of the brand are
required.
What the evidence
indicates about the
evaluation
Short- term steps
Long- term steps
What the evidence
indicates about the
evaluation
Short- term steps
Long- term steps
What the evidence
indicates about the
evaluation
Short- term steps
Long- term steps
What the evidence
indicates about the
evaluation
Short- term steps
Long- term steps
Copy and paste as many rows of criteria as you need. However, make sure you include only the most important criteria.
STUDY GUIDE FOR EVALUATION SCENARIO CASES
Page 3 of 5
Ready to Recommend an Overall Evaluation?
Based on your analysis above, what is your overall evaluation of the subject?
Example: The marketing plan has had several positive effects, but it has had little impact on customers’ impression of the brand.
What are the major reasons that support your overall evaluation?
Example of a reason: Survey results indicate little change in customers’ favorable impression of the brand.
STUDY GUIDE FOR EVALUATION SCENARIO CASES
Page 4 of 5
II. Writing about an Evaluation Scenario Case
This section helps you organize the content of an essay about the case you’ve analyzed. Arrange the criteria in order of
importance, from most important to least. The evidence should show how each criterion supports your overall evaluation. (For a
detailed explanation of how to write an evaluation scenario essay, see chapter 10.)
Overall evaluation
Summary of major reasons
for recommended evaluation
Evidence Proving Overall Evaluation
Criterion 1:
a.
b.
c.
Criterion 2:
a.
b.
c.
Criterion 3:
a.
b.
c.
Criterion 4:
a.
b.
c.
Copy and paste as many rows of criteria as you need. However, make sure you include only major criteria.
STUDY GUIDE FOR EVALUATION SCENARIO CASES
Page 5 of 5
Action Plan
Identify the high-level goals for your action plan. In other words… how do you want the action plan to change the situation in
the case?
(For a detailed explanation of how to write an action plan, see chapter 8.)
Organize your action plan steps.
Short term
Long term
Major risks: Identify the most important one or two risks associated with your action plan.
Mitigation of risks: How would you eliminate or reduce the risks?
STUDY GUIDE FOR EVALUATIONSCENARIO CASES
Page 1 of 5
I. Analyzing Evaluation Scenarios
This study aid is divided into two parts. The first part organizes your notes and thinking about the case. The second
organizes the points you want to make for an essay on the case.
(For a detailed explanation of how to analyze an evaluation scenario, see chapter 5.)
To begin your work, think about the following questions:
What is the subject of the evaluation?
(It can be a person, team, product or service,company, country, strategy, or policy.)
Example: An ongoing marketing plan.
1
Policies
What is the evaluation you need to perform?
(It can be determining the worth, value, performance, effectiveness, outcome, or consequences of the subject.)
Example: Is the marketing plan meeting the goals set for it?
PL
E
Did Malaysia develop and implement comprehensive policies that were needed to promote sustainable utilization of forest
resources by meeting the adequate needs of all relevant stakeholders in the 1990s?
Exploring the Evaluation
What questions will help you make the evaluation?
Example: Is the marketing plan performing as expected, exceeding its goals, or underperforming?
SA
M
1. Did Malaysia develop and implement policies that optimized the economic exploitation
of forest resources while balancing ecological needs?
2. Did the Malaysian government had sufficient political goodwill to develop and
implement policies geared towards protecting the forest resources as well as the
implementation of the recommendations issued by international bodies such as ITTO
in 1990s?
3. Did the country formulate and implement policies to ensure that the social needs of the
indigenous and other local communities who depend on the forest resources were met
in the short term and long term?
4. Did the Malaysian government develop policies to protect plants and species that
depended on the forest?
What concepts and frameworks might help answer your questions?
Example: The 5Cs and 4Ps of marketing can help evaluate the strategic value and tactical performance of the marketing plan.
PESTEL (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environment, and Legal)
STUDY GUIDE FOR EVALUATIONSCENARIO CASES
Page 2 of 5
Use the following grid to organize your thinking about the evaluation. Use your questions to study the evidence and identify
criteria for making the evaluation. Write down the criteria, the case evidence relevant to them, and what overall evaluation the
evidence supports. Your goal is to determine which overall evaluation is most strongly supported by the evidence. You can defer
thinking about action steps if you’d rather focus on the evaluation first.
Possible Criterion 1:
Facts/evidence
Political
Long- term steps
1
Short- term steps
Explore whether the plan
needs more time to have an
impact or new ideas for
increasing positive
impressions of the brand are
required.
PL
E
Example: Evaluation of a marketing plan
Possible Criterion: Economic performance of the country
Facts/evidence
What the evidenceindicates
about theevaluation
Customers have a slightly
The plan hasn’t significantly
more favorable impression of
changed customers’
the brand.
impression of the brand.
SA
M
The Malaysian government
did not have sufficient
political goodwill needed to
develop and implement
policies as well as
recommendations issued by
international bodies that
would ensure the protection
of forest resources and
ensure sustainable utilization.
What the evidence
indicates about the
evaluation
One and half years after the
ITTO recommended the need
to strengthen the forest
department by hiring
additional staff, the federal
and Sarawak continued
shifting the responsibilities on
which level of government
was responsible for
authorizing such action.
There needed to be a clear
allocation of responsibilities
and decision-making
capacities to different levels
of government to avoid
bottlenecks (p.210,
paragraph 3).
There was a conflict of
interest as the government
did not put policies in place to
ensure the issuance of
logging concessions was
made public to promote
transparency and
accountability. Besides,
senior government officials
such as the chief minister
also made such decisions
unilaterally and, in some
cases, issued logging
licenses and concessions to
family members (p.206,
paragraph 5).
Short- term steps
Long- term steps
The government needed to
authorize the hiring of
additional staff who would be
responsible for managing the
forest resources to ensure
efficient utilization and
management of forest
resources by preventing
illegal logging. Illegal logging
by the parties,
concessionaries, and
contractors was a major
problem, and preventing it
was a challenge due to the
shortage of staff (p.206,
paragraph 5).
Hiring additional forest
department staff or
downsizing workforce
depending on the labor needs
at different periods.
Developing and implementing
policies that ensured that
there was accountability and
transparency in issuance of
logging licenses or
concessions. This could be
achieved by ensuring that the
companies to be issued with
licenses were vetted publicly
by a body rather than an
individual and names of those
selected were made public.
Sarawak chief offered
concessions for his family for
3 million acres while his
predecessor issued 4 million
acres to his family (p.206,
paragraph 5).
Regular auditing of logging
license issuance and
instituting legal ramifications
to government officials who
were found culpable of
promoting self-interests.
STUDY GUIDE FOR EVALUATIONSCENARIO CASES
Page 3 of 5
This plan needed to be longterm to ensure more firms
and investors were
incentivized to establish wood
product processing factories
rather than exporting less
valuable logs. In the early
1990s, the export of logs in
Sabah and Sarawak was still
dominant, and thus why there
was a need to continue
providing incentives (p.207,
paragraph 1).
1
Provide incentives to
investors that have shown
immediate interests in
developing wood processing
factories.
SA
M
PL
E
The government put effort
into promoting the
manufacturing of forest
products in order to promote
local production of forest
products, thereby increasing
their values compared to
what would have been by
exporting unprocessed logs.
The government offered
incentives in terms of tax
breaks and subsidies (p.207,
paragraph 1). Processing
wood products created more
value via the generation of
more resources, thereby
easing pressure on forest
resources.
In 1985, the Malaysian
government issued a ban that
prohibited exporting of
unprocessed logs from
Peninsular Malaysia in order
to encourage vertical
integration (p. 208, paragraph
1).
Possible Criterion 2:
Facts/evidence
Economics
Even though the Malaysian
government focused on
increasing value of wood
products, it did not put much
emphasis or focus more
sustainable exploitation of
forest resources.
What the evidence
indicates about the
evaluation
The government offered
incentives in the form of
subsidies and tax breaks to
encourage the construction of
factories that processed
factory products (p.207,
paragraph 1). Processing
forest products created high
value, thereby optimizing
economic value. It also eased
pressure on the exploitation
Short- term steps
Long- term steps
Provide incentives to
investors that shown
immediate interests in
developing wood processing
factories.
This plan also needed to be
long-term in order to sustain
the creation of value for wood
products. Sarawak
government offered an 80
percent rebate if wood
products were processed in
state boundaries, while the
Malaysian government
provided a generous tax
break for firms interested in
STUDY GUIDE FOR EVALUATIONSCENARIO CASES
Page 4 of 5
of forest resources compared
to exporting unprocessed
logs that were of low value
(p.208, paragraph 2).
This plan needed to be shortterm in order to protect,
ensure forest resources were
utilized sustainably and
prevent reduction of forest
cover. ITTO recommended
the need of reducing the
exploitation of trees in
Sarawak from 18 million
cubic meters to 9.2 meters
every year (p.210. paragraph
2).
What the evidence
indicates about the
evaluation
The Malaysian government
aimed to ensure that the
wood products were
processed locally, and tax
rebates were offered. The
establishment of factories
created employment
opportunities for the local
people who acquired means
of earning livelihoods (p.208,
paragraph 2).
Sarawak government agreed
to quadruple the forest
resources, and the
indigenous groups will benefit
since the forest resources
they depend on will not be
depleted (p.210, paragraph
4).
Short- term steps
Long- term steps
Provide incentives to
investors that have shown
immediate interest of
establishing factories in local
areas.
The government ought to
have continued offering
incentives for creating wood
product factories ensured that
local would be able to live
decent lives by having stable
incomes (p.208, paragraph
2).
What the evidence
indicates about the
evaluation
Short- term steps
Long- term steps
Sarawak government
accepted increasing the
acreage under forest by four
folds (p.210, paragraph 4).
Increase in forest resources
ensured that would protect
plant and animal species that
survive on such ecological
conditions.
Implement the tree planting
program in phases depending
on availability of resources.
This plan needs to be longterm in order to ensure
continued conservation of
forest resources to avoid
depletion and avoid the risks
of some species becoming
extinct.
1
The government did not
prioritize the need to ensure
continued and sustainable
exploitation of forest
resources in order to
generate economic gains in
the long run. The trees were
being logged at a higher rate
than they grew and matured
in order to reach the logging
stage. In the 1980s, about 24% of the forest cover was
affected every year (p. 209,
paragraph 3).
PL
E
Possible Criterion 3:
Facts/evidence
Social
establishing wood processing
factories that covered
exemption from a 5-years tax
exemption from paying
income tax, giving investment
tax credit, and reduced tax
burden (p.208, paragraph 2).
Ensure increase forest cover
acreage in areas where they
had been depleted.
SA
M
Creation of employment
opportunities that provided
local communities with
opportunities of earning
decent livelihoods.
Possible Criterion 4:
Facts/evidence
Environmental
The government was
committed to increasing the
forest acreage in order to
protect the forest resources
and as well as biological
species that depended on the
forest for survival.
Copy and paste as many rows of criteria as you need. However, make sure you include onlythe most important criteria.
STUDY GUIDE FOR EVALUATIONSCENARIO CASES
Page 5 of 5
Ready to Recommend an Overall Evaluation?
Based on your analysis above, what is your overall evaluation of the subject?
Example: The marketing plan has had several positive effects, but it has had little impact on customers’ impression of the brand.
1
Based on the above analysis, the Malaysian government has put in place efforts to developing and implementing policies geared
towards sustainable exploitation of forest resources. However, there exists gaps that need to be bridged in order to ensure the
needs of all relevant stakeholders are met as the government only made commitments and put little effort in implementing them.
What are the major reasons that support your overall evaluation?
Example of a reason: Survey results indicate little change in customers’ favorable impression of the brand.
2.
SA
M
3.
The Malaysian government did not put sufficient political goodwill of promoting accountability and transparency in
management of logging processes despite put significant efforts in promoting local processing of forest products in
order to increase their value which in turn translate into increased revenue and creation of employment for locals.
Minimal effort was put to ensure the forest resources were not overexploited as the logging exceeded recommended
limits and the government did not hire adequate staff to manage forest resources (p.210, paragraph 3).
Sarawak government made efforts to increase the forest acreage by four folds (p.210, paragraph 4)
PL
E
1.
STUDY GUIDE FOR EVALUATIONSCENARIO CASES
Page 6 of 5
II. Writing about an Evaluation Scenario Case
This section helps you organize the content of an essay about the case you’ve analyzed. Arrangethe criteria in order of
importance, from most important to least. The evidence should showhow each criterion supports your overall evaluation. (For a
detailed explanation of how towrite an evaluation scenario essay, see chapter 10.)
Overallevaluation
Even though the Malaysian government put effort into ensuring that
The Malaysian government was committed to promoting the local processing of forest
products by giving incentives to encourage the establishment of local processing
factories. However, the government did not implement ITTO recommendations of hiring
additional forest department staff and promoting transparency in issuing logging licenses
and concessionaries (p.207, paragraph 1).
The Sarawak government expressed commitment to increase forest coverage by four
folds.
The government did not implement the ITTO recommendation of reducing the logging
capacity from 18 million cubic meters to 9.2 meters (p.210. paragraph 2).
PL
E
Summary of major reasons
for recommended evaluation
Evidence Proving Overall Evaluation
Criterion 1:
Economic
a. Forest resources were being exploited at a
higher rate (p.210, paragraph 2).
b.
Government offered incentives to encourage
local processing of food products (p.207,
paragraph 1).
c.
Criterion 2:
a.
b.
Political
Additional 400 forest department staff were
not hired as recommended by ITTO (p.210,
paragraph 3).
Conflict of Interest and lack of transparency
(p.206, paragraph 5)
Offering of Incentives (p.207, paragraph 1).
In this regard, the forest resources continued being overexploited beyond
their regeneration capacity, thereby resulting in depletion. The government
failed to comply with the ITTO recommendation of reducing the logging
capacity from 18 million cubic meters to 9.2 cubic meters per year.
Incentives reduced pressure on forest resources by ensuring that more
value was created, thereby generating high revenue and at the same time
creating employment for local communities.
This aspect implies that there were challenges in managing forest
resources by preventing illegal activities.
Senior government issued their families logging licenses and concessions
and such information was not made public. There was, therefore,
inequitable distribution of resources and abuse of power by power
government officials who allocated themselves millions of acres for logging
wood.
The government offered tax breaks and credit incentives to encourage the
construction of wood processing factories, thereby ensuring efficient
utilization of forest resources.
SA
M
c.
1
the forest resources were utilized sustainably by developing and
implementing some policies, much still needed to be done.
Criterion 3:
a.
Environmental
Increase of forest cover by Sarawak
government (p.210, paragraph 4)
This policy will ensure that animal and plant species are protected as well
as the interests of indigenous and local communities (p.210, paragraph 4).
b.
c.
Criterion 4:
a.
Social
Creation of employment opportunities
(p.208, paragraph 2)
Creation of employment opportunities for the local communities via
establishment of wood product processing factories.
b.
c.
Copy and paste as many rows of criteria as you need. However, make sure you include onlymajor criteria.
STUDY GUIDE FOR EVALUATIONSCENARIO CASES
Page 7 of 5
1
Action Plan
Identify the high-level goals for your action plan. In other words… how do you want the action plan to change the situation in
the case?
(For a detailed explanation of how to writean action plan, see chapter 8.)
Organize your action plan steps.
Short term
The Malaysian government should implement the policy requiring hiring additional staff in the forest department in line with ITTO
recommendations. This aspect will ensure the forest resources are adequately managed and conserved by stopping illegal
logging.
The second short-term goal is formulating and implementing a policy requiring transparency and addressing conflict of interest by
ensuring senior government officials do not allocate themselves and their families logging licenses for millions of acres. Besides,
the policy should ensure that such decisions are also made by a body that vets companies rather than being unilaterally by one
individual.
Implementing the ITTO recommendation that required the forest resources not to be overexploited by ensuring logging capacity
is within the recommendation of 9.2 million cubic meters per year
PL
E
Long term
The government should ensure that it continues offering incentives to encourage investors to establish wood product processing
factories. In this regard, more jobs will create and there will be optimal and efficient utilization of forest resources in the long run.
Increase in acreage under the forest cover in order to ensure the forest resources are increased, and there will be more
resources for utilization, thereby protecting the bio-diversity and creating more employment opportunities
Continue hiring additional forest department staff depending on current needs, and audit issuance of wood logging licenses.
Major risks: Identify the most important one or two risks associated with your action plan.
Opposition of government initiatives or programs by powerful individuals with conflict interests
Lack of enough resources to fund government efforts such as compensating the local communities who occupy the land needed
for increasing forest acreage or hiring additional forest department staff.
Overriding economic needs of promoting economic goals by ensuring optimal utilization of forest resources and the need to
conserve them.
SA
M
Mitigation of risks: How would you eliminate or reduce the risks?
Creation of rules that hold accountable individuals who abuse their powers to enrich themselves with public resources and
involving relevant stakeholders in decision-making.
Focusing on striking a balance between the need to optimize economic goals of resource utilization and conserving forest
resources.
For the exclusive use of Z. Wang, 2024.
This document is authorized for use only by Zachary Wang in Int’l Bus Strategy IBM 4801-E01 (50293) SMR SESS 1 2024 taught by ERIC HUTCHINS,
California State Polytechnic University – Pomona from May 2024 to Jun 2024.
For the exclusive use of Z. Wang, 2024.
REVISED
EDITION
THE
CASE
STUDY
HANDBOOK
A STUDENT’S GUIDE
This document is authorized for use only by Zachary Wang in Int’l Bus Strategy IBM 4801-E01 (50293) SMR SESS 1 2024 taught by ERIC HUTCHINS, California
State Polytechnic University – Pomona from May 2024 to Jun 2024.
For the exclusive use of Z. Wang, 2024.
This document is authorized for use only by Zachary Wang in Int’l Bus Strategy IBM 4801-E01 (50293) SMR SESS 1 2024 taught by ERIC HUTCHINS, California
State Polytechnic University – Pomona from May 2024 to Jun 2024.
For the exclusive use of Z. Wang, 2024.
REVISED
EDITION
THE
CASE
STUDY
HANDBOOK
A STUDENT’S GUIDE
William Ellet
Harvard Business Review Press
Boston, Massachusetts
This document is authorized for use only by Zachary Wang in Int’l Bus Strategy IBM 4801-E01 (50293) SMR SESS 1 2024 taught by ERIC HUTCHINS, California
State Polytechnic University – Pomona from May 2024 to Jun 2024.
For the exclusive use of Z. Wang, 2024.
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For details and discount information for both print and
ebook formats, contact booksales@harvardbusiness.org,
tel. 800-988-0886, or www.hbr.org/bulksales.
Copyright 2018 William Ellet
All rights reserved
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system,
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The web addresses referenced in this book were live and correct at the time of the book’s
publication but may be subject to change.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Ellet, William, author.
Title: The case study handbook : a student’s guide / by William Ellet.
Description: Revised edition. | [Boston, Massachusetts] : Harvard Business
Review Press, [2018] | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018000145 | ISBN 9781633696150 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Management—Case studies—Study and teaching.
Classification: LCC HD30.4 .E435 2018 | DDC 658—dc22 LC record
available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018000145
ISBN: 9781633696150
eISBN: 9781633696167
This document is authorized for use only by Zachary Wang in Int’l Bus Strategy IBM 4801-E01 (50293) SMR SESS 1 2024 taught by ERIC HUTCHINS, California
State Polytechnic University – Pomona from May 2024 to Jun 2024.
251597_00a_i-vi_r1.indd iv
25/06/18 10:43 AM
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C O NTE NT S
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1. What Is the Case Method? What’s in It for You? . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
PART I
ANALYZING CASES
2. What Is a Case? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3. The Skills You Need to Read and Analyze a Case . . . . . . . . . . 17
4. How to Analyze Decision Scenario Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
5. How to Analyze Evaluation Scenario Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
6. How to Analyze Problem-Diagnosis Scenario Cases . . . . . . . . 67
PART II
DISCUSSING CASES
7. How to Prepare and Discuss Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
PART III
WRITING ABOUT CASES
8. How to Write Case-Based Essays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
9. How to Write Decision Scenario Essays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
This document is authorized for use only by Zachary Wang in Int’l Bus Strategy IBM 4801-E01 (50293) SMR SESS 1 2024 taught by ERIC HUTCHINS, California
State Polytechnic University – Pomona from May 2024 to Jun 2024.
For the exclusive use of Z. Wang, 2024.
viCONTENTS
10. How to Write Evaluation Scenario Essays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
11. Writing about Problem-Diagnosis Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
PART IV
CASES FOR ANALYSIS AND WRITING
General Motors: Packard Electric Division . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Malaysia in the 1990s (A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Allentown Materials Corporation:
The Electronic Products Division (Abridged) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
PART V
STUDY GUIDES FOR CASE ANALYSIS
AND WRITING
Study Guide for Decision Scenario Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Study Guide for Evaluation Scenario Cases. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Study Guide for Problem-Diagnosis Scenario Cases . . . . . . . . . . 241
Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
About the Author. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
This document is authorized for use only by Zachary Wang in Int’l Bus Strategy IBM 4801-E01 (50293) SMR SESS 1 2024 taught by ERIC HUTCHINS, California
State Polytechnic University – Pomona from May 2024 to Jun 2024.
251597_00a_i-vi_r1.indd vi
25/06/18 10:43 AM
For the exclusive use of Z. Wang, 2024.
INTRODUCTION
A
re you a student who is new to the case method? Are you a student
who feels that you aren’t learning as much as you want from the
case method? If you belong in either of these categories, this book
was written for you.
The first edition of The Case Study Handbook emerged from my sixteen
years of work with business school students. This new version follows over
a decade more of working with students and refining the ideas in the first
edition. The initial motivation for the book was frustration. I had been
trying to help Harvard Business School MBAs write better case-based
examinations. I gave them what I considered to be good advice about
writing, such as using a logical essay structure and being concise. There
was nothing wrong with the advice—I’m still giving it to this day—but
it didn’t have the positive impact I expected on the quality of students’
exam essays.
Eventually, I realized that I didn’t fully understand what the students
were having trouble with. First, my advice started in the wrong place. I
assumed that students knew how to analyze cases to provide the content
needed for their exam essays. Actually, many weren’t sure how to do that.
Their uncertainty compromised the depth and quality of their thinking
about cases.
Second, case examinations usually ask students to take a position on
the central issue of a case. Although many students had no problem taking
a position, they weren’t certain what else they needed to do. A common
strategy was to fi ll the essay with case facts the students thought were relevant to their position and let the reader sort out the relationship between
the facts and the position. I assumed that they knew how to write an
argument to prove their position.
The two issues had nothing to do with how smart the students were.
They weren’t at fault for not knowing what they needed to do because no
one had ever told them. Students are usually expected to figure out how
to analyze cases on their own. Many do and many don’t. But the process
of making cases meaningful is too important to leave to chance. The rich
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2THE CASE STUDY HANDBOOK
learning that the case method offers can’t be completely realized unless
students—meaning you—understand what a case is and how to analyze
it. The same is true of understanding how to make evidence-backed
arguments.
One other aspect of the case method causes problems for a significant number of students: classroom discussion of cases. They’re unsure
of the purpose of discussion and their role in it. Much of this uncertainty
stems from students’ educational backgrounds. They’re used to the lecture
method and have honed the skills needed for that method of instruction:
listening and taking notes. They emphatically aren’t used to the professor
asking them questions or having a major share of the responsibility for
learning in the classroom.
It’s telling that three critical aspects of the student role in the case
method—analysis, discussion, and argument—are often ignored. The
case method has been defined largely from the point of view of professors,
not students. Professors concern themselves with analyzing cases in order
to teach them and are skilled in argumentation. However, what matters
most in the classroom is what students, not professors, know—or don’t.
I’m not blaming professors. They’re focused on their subject-matter
expertise, and the academic reward system tends to be biased toward what
the professor knows, not how well she or he can teach that knowledge.
Showing students how to analyze cases and make arguments about them
falls outside the lines of business disciplines and the organization of business departments or schools. You’ll look in vain for a Department of Case
Analysis.
This book fi lls the gap I’ve just described in traditional business curricula. (It also is relevant to programs other than business that use cases,
including medicine, nursing, and engineering.) It provides:
• Analytical tools that help you sort, organize, and reflect on the
content of a case and use the concepts and frameworks taught in
business courses more effectively.
• Advice on how you can participate in and contribute to classroom
discussion of cases.
• Guidance on how to develop arguments about cases and express
them in writing that is logical, clear, and succinct.
It’s a fair question to ask whether the advice in this book works. Is it
worth your time to read? Here’s what I can tell you. For over a decade
since the publication of the initial edition, a group of writing coaches,
including me, has used the first edition of the book as a foundation for our
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INTRODUCTION3
work with hundreds of Harvard MBAs. Almost all of our students significantly improved their ability to analyze cases and to write about them.
Our metric was the grades that students received. I’ve had similar results
in my teaching at Brandeis University, George Washington University,
and the University of Miami.
One of the best examples from my own coaching is a first-generation
college graduate from a family that had emigrated to the United States
when he was a child. He received poor grades on his first-year exams
at HBS and was understandably demoralized. He used the concepts in
this book to enhance his understanding of how to analyze a case and
write a persuasive argument about it. In his second year, he received high
grades in all of his courses—a complete turnaround from his first year.
There were several reasons for his academic improvement, the primary
one being his hard work. But he said he also benefited in class discussion
and on exams from the concepts drawn from this book.
This book uses Harvard Business School cases as examples and includes
analyses of them. Don’t assume, however, that the analyses give the “right
answers” to the cases. The evidence in them can sustain other conclusions. The book also includes essays about the cases; they are based on the
writing of MBA students. Because the original essays were examinations
written under time pressure, they inevitably had errors, unclear sentences,
and lapses in logic. I debated whether to present the essays as is or correct
and revise them. I chose the latter. No essay is perfect, and I don’t want to
set a standard of unobtainable perfection. But I want you to have the best
examples of the points made in the book without confusion over what is
correct and what isn’t.
This book is intended for you—case method students current and prospective. My wish is that it will enhance your learning from cases and
provide benefits for others associated with your learning—your peers,
professors, employers, colleagues, and communities.
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For the exclusive use of Z. Wang, 2024.
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CHAP TER 1
WHAT IS THE CASE
METHOD? WHAT’S
IN IT FOR YOU?
E
ach year, entering business school students— and students in many
other disciplines— encounter an approach to learning that is new to
them: the case method. You may be one of them. For novices, the
first encounter can be frustrating and unnerving. A case appears to be a
straightforward narrative, but when you finish reading it, you may ask
yourself questions such as:
• What point is the case trying to make?
• Is it trying to make a point at all?
• What am I supposed to do now?
Let’s say you have read a case study of a restaurant chain that ends with
the CEO turning over in his mind basic questions about the business.
He has some possible answers, but the case doesn’t tell you which one
he thinks is best. In another case study, a young MBA has accidentally
learned of office behavior that could have serious consequences for the
individuals involved, including her. At the conclusion of the case, she has
a literal and figurative headache, and the choice of what she should do is
left up in the air.
In the classroom, case instructors facilitate discussion, asking lots of
questions, writing comments on the board, and making occasional
remarks. Students respond to questions, build on each other’s comments,
disagree with one another, ask questions, and try out different points of
view about the case situation. A case classroom is dynamic and unpredictable; discussion can lurch into a blind alley, reverse course, and then
head in a more productive direction. Sometimes the discussion may seem
to end in a frustrating muddle. Students have expressed confl icting views
about the main issue in the case, and the professor, the expert in the room,
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6THE CASE STUDY HANDBOOK
doesn’t step in and resolve the confl ict by announcing the “right” answer.
Why doesn’t she do her job?
Actually, she is doing her job. In a case classroom, you’re entitled to your
own opinion; you don’t have to defer to the professor or other students as
long as you back your opinion with case facts (including numbers when
they’re available) and fact-based inferences and calculations. The professor
doesn’t lay out the correct response to the case for one very good reason. As
students, you have to learn how to think. The professor can’t do it for you.
You have to practice thinking, which means you’ll gain insights and understanding that are gratifying and fun and make mistakes that are frustrating.
Written examinations that use cases pose another challenge for you. In
class, everyone, including the instructor, works collaboratively on a case.
On exams, you are on your own. You not only have to analyze the case
in response to one or more questions but also write an essay that satisfies
and persuades an expert reader, all in a limited time.
WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?
Until now, your education has probably consisted primarily of lectures.
They are widely used all over the world. There are good reasons for their
popularity. They are an efficient way for an expert to deliver content to
many individuals at once. One memorable description of the method is
the “sage on the stage.” In combination with textbooks, which are lectures in print, this learning model can deliver a large amount of content
to many students in a short time. In addition, student learning can usually
be tested efficiently with multiple choice or short-answer questions or
problem sets.
The lecture model is good for transferring information. In that sense, it
is efficient (although there are serious questions about how long and how
well students retain the information). However, like any learning model, it
has limitations when used exclusively. Most important, lectures can teach
you what to think but not how to think. Lecture content (live or delivered
through media such as the web and in textbooks and other similar readings) provides theory, frameworks, concepts, facts, formulas, and expert
opinion about a subject. It is the “what” of thinking.
However, for knowledge you will use in the real world—in business, for
example, or in engineering or medicine—the “what” isn’t sufficient. You
must know how to apply the knowledge in the real world. For that, you
need to practice in situations that are similar to those you will actually
encounter.
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WHAT IS THE CASE METHOD? WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?7
Here’s a simple example of the difference between what and how. You
received a degree from Soccer University. You took courses on rules,
skills, and strategy and read textbooks, listened to lectures, and watched
videos and demonstrations by professional soccer players. However, you
never practiced what you learned on a soccer field. Do you know how to
play soccer? No, you don’t.
Similarly, let’s say you’re an MBA who took multiple accounting classes
taught by the lecture method and read the assigned textbook. None of
your classes used cases or any other type of active learning. In your first
job, you’re asked to evaluate the organization’s accounting system. In
school you had lectures on different types of accounting systems, but you
were never asked to analyze, on your own, a real-world accounting system
and its fit with an organization. You aren’t sure what criteria you should
use. You could tell your boss that you need her help but are afraid she
might question the decision to hire you.
One area of education has always recognized the importance of both
the “what” and the “how.” Medical schools teach their students knowledge from a wide range of fields (the what). But it would be unthinkable
to teach students the theory of medicine and turn them loose on patients
with no training in how to treat them. Medical schools require clinical
training: the application of what students have learned to real patients
under the supervision of experienced doctors (the how). This practice
continues beyond graduation from medical school in internships and
residencies.
Strangely, academic disciplines that teach knowledge meant to be
applied in the real world often put limited or no emphasis on the translation of knowledge into action. This knowledge requires practice opportunities. The lecture method generally doesn’t give students the chance to
practice. In the case method, you use the knowledge you have learned to
come up with your own answers (with the guidance of an expert). The
method allows for answers that are objectively wrong or dubious because
they are part of learning. The case method allows you to make mistakes
and learn from them.
This fundamental shift in the learning model causes many students to
be confused, uncertain, and anxious. But professors using cases are doing it
for your sake. They want to give you the opportunity to practice using what
they’ve taught you.
Think of it this way: when you are in a job, your professor isn’t going
to be there to tell you the right answer. Your boss likely isn’t going to tell
you either. After all, she hired you to come up with answers.
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8THE CASE STUDY HANDBOOK
SKILLS FOR THE CASE METHOD
MBA students have told me they feel there is a secret to the case method
that some people get and some don’t. If you get it, you do well; if you
don’t, you scrape by as best you can.
The case method requires a lot from you. At the same time, it isn’t a
secret society in which a few fortunate individuals get it and outperform
their peers. As a case method student, you need three distinct sets of skills:
1. You need to be able to read a case and give it meaning in relation
to the key issues or questions that you have been asked about it.
2. You have to be able to communicate your thinking effectively in a
class discussion.
3. You must be able to write a persuasive response to a question about
a case.
Reading, discussing, and writing about cases all involve the application
of knowledge to the situation described in a case. What does “knowledge”
mean? It includes your work experience and also the knowledge you learn
in courses such as the principles of accounting, the 5Cs of marketing, and
the Five Forces of Michael Porter.
This book addresses the three aspects of the case method. The case
method begins with reading a case, interrogating it with questions, seeking information relevant to the questions, making inferences and calculations, and forming an opinion or conclusion about the main issue. These
skills are the focus of part I of this book. In the classroom, the case method
is about sharing your thinking with classmates and the instructor and
learning from this collaboration. The skills related to case discussion are
the subject of part II. You may have to write about cases for class assignments or the final examination. Skills for writing about cases are covered
in part III. In part IV, you’ll find three cases used as examples for analyzing
and writing about a case. Finally, part V includes Study Guides for taking
notes to prepare for case discussion and to outline a case-based essay.
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PAR T I
ANALYZING
CASES
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CHAP TER 2
WHAT IS A CASE?
H
ave you ever read a case? If you haven’t, this chapter will be much
more useful to you after you have read a case. There are three at the
end of this book to choose from. Read the first section of the case
slowly and skim the rest to get a sense of the story it tells.
Much of what you read daily is packaged to make it easy to understand.
The writing in newspapers, magazines, television, internet resources such
as Facebook, and academic articles tells you what it means. If it doesn’t, it
has failed in its purpose to inform. A newspaper article, for example, states
its subject clearly, often in the first paragraph, and carefully declares its
main points, which are usually explained and amplified through specific
examples.
Here are the first two paragraphs from a column written by Steven
Pearlstein of the Washington Post:
In the recent history of management ideas, few have had a more profound—
or pernicious—effect than the one that says corporations should be run in a
manner that “maximizes shareholder value.”
Indeed, you could argue that much of what Americans perceive to be
wrong with the economy these days—the slow growth and rising inequality;
the recurring scandals; the wild swings from boom to bust; the inadequate
investment in R&D, worker training and public goods—has its roots in this
ideology.1
After you read these two paragraphs, you know what the subject of the
article is. You also have an expectation about the content of the rest of the
article: it will explore the specific ways in which maximizing shareholder
value has led to serious economic problems.
You have probably read parts or all of hundreds of textbooks. Along
with lectures, they are the backbone of university education. Both are
invaluable for learning about ideas that have proven useful to understanding the real world. For example, in strategy courses all over the
world, students learn about Michael Porter’s Five Forces. His framework
helps organize thinking about the economic factors that determine how
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12ANALYZING CASES
competitive industries are. They help you see the elements underlying
strategy and how organizations orchestrate them—or don’t. Theories and
frameworks help you make sense of specific types of situations in the real
world. Without them, you would be far less able to explain or anticipate
events such as the astonishing success of an organization (e.g., Uber) or a
shocking reversal of fortune (Uber). The knowledge codified in concepts
and theories taught in academic disciplines is indispensable for understanding the world.
At the same time, educational texts represent reality as logical and
coherent. They can make a complex situation that surprised everyone,
including experts, and affected millions of people around the world
appear to be the logical outcome of well-defined causes. The financial
crisis of 2007–2008 that started in the United States and spread around
the world is an example. Few people saw it coming, and experts, industry
participants, government regulators, politicians, journalists, and victims
were shocked when it happened. But afterward, experts found a pattern
of actions that they believe led inexorably to the disaster.
We can learn much from the study of past events. In real time, however, real-world situations have islands of useful data, observations, and
reference points but, to participants, are often fluid and chaotic, have a
large degree of uncertainty, and are difficult to understand. Real-world
situations don’t come with carefully selected and sorted information that
tells participants what is going on and what they should do about it.
To practice using knowledge in actual situations, you need some way of
immersing yourself in both the available facts and the fluidity and uncertainty that characterize the real world. That’s what cases are for.
WHAT A CASE IS, WHAT IT DOES,
WHAT IT DOESN’T DO
A business case imitates or simulates a real situation. By case, I mean
the substantial studies from universities or corporations, not the slender
vignettes sometimes included in textbooks. Cases can also be collections
of articles, multimedia content, or a variety of other types of content.
They are verbal representations of reality—sometimes with visual and
auditory complements—that put you in the role of a participant in a situation. The subject of cases varies enormously, from a single individual or
organization to an entire nation. Printed cases can range from one page to
fi fty or more and can have a small or large amount of content. But all of
these different forms of cases have a common purpose: to represent reality,
to convey a situation with all its crosscurrents and rough edges.
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WHAT IS A CASE?13
Cases are an analogue of reality—an avatar, if you like—for the direct
experience of business or other types of activities. They immerse you in
certainties and vagaries. To perform this function, a case must have four
characteristics:
• A significant business issue or issues
• Sufficient information on which to base conclusions about the
issues
• No objective conclusion—in other words, no explicit or implied
right answer
• A nonlinear organization
Let’s explore each of these characteristics.
Significant Issue
A case without a significant issue has no educational value. You can therefore assume that every case deals with something important in the real
world, for example, a pricing dilemma, debt-equity trade-offs, or a major
problem in a factory.
Sufficient Information
A case must have enough facts pertinent to the main issue to allow you to
draw evidence-backed conclusions about it. Too little information leads to
guesses, which aren’t educationally useful because there is no way to judge
their value. A case is very likely to include confl icting information, which
is consistent with real-world situations.
Cases can also include information that serves as noise to distract you
and makes it harder to distinguish useful information. If you’re new to the
case method, this can be hard to cope with. Textbooks and articles include
only information that is relevant to the main topic. Cases are different
because noise is a characteristic of real situations. Today, we are awash in
information, and cases can provide invaluable practice in fi ltering information according to its relevance and value to an issue.
No Objective Conclusions
Cases describe situations about which people have differing opinions.
They don’t consist of information that is all neatly aligned with a specific
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14ANALYZING CASES
conclusion. Characters in the case may express strong opinions, but you
need to consider their views alongside those of other characters and other
information in the case. You, the reader, have to decide on a conclusion,
as you do in real-life situations.
Nonlinear Organization
Cases seem to have a logical structure. They have an opening section, a
sequence of headings and subheadings, and a concluding section. They
often have exhibits that look like those in textbooks or articles. Headings
and subheadings seem to divide the case into sections just as textbooks or
articles do. Nevertheless, business cases are typically nonlinear, meaning
the content is not presented in the most logical way. Information on a
single topic is scattered among different sections in a case. Case exhibits
are often designed in a way that it makes it difficult to extract high-value
information. They can also have significant gaps in information.
TEXTBOOK VS. CASE
Because you’ve spent years reading textbooks, let’s compare them to see
how they differ. (See exhibit 2-A.) The comparison shows why you’re
going to have to adjust the way you’ve learned to read.
As you can see, textbooks and cases present radically different reading
tasks. The purpose of textbooks is the transfer of knowledge, including
the principles and conclusions that experts in a domain of knowledge
accept. The organization of a textbook is logical, starting from basic concepts and progressing to more advanced concepts. The main skill needed
for textbooks is memorization.
EXHIBIT 2-A
Difference between textbooks and cases
Textbooks
Cases
Present principles and conclusions
Present information only, no principles or
conclusions
Explain the meaning and significance of
concepts
Require readers to construct the meaning of
a case
Organize content in a logical sequence
Employ “organized disorganization”
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WHAT IS A CASE?15
Cases provide information and express no conclusions about that information. They are literally meaningless until a reader gives them meaning. As just noted, cases appear to be logically organized, but they aren’t.
Information about the same topic is often scattered throughout the case.
These case features mean that you can’t be a passive reader, gliding your
highlighter over chunks of text, even though you don’t know whether
they’re important. When you read a case for the first time, pulling a highlighter across the page may feel like you’re doing something, but it’s an
illusion.
With cases, you need to change how you read and, ultimately, how
you think. Cases are a jigsaw puzzle with the pieces arranged in a confusing pattern. You need to take the pieces and fit them into a pattern that
helps you understand the main issue and think about the optimal ways to
address it. You need to be comfortable with less than perfect information
and an irreducible level of uncertainty. You need to be able to fi lter the
noise of irrelevant or relatively unimportant information. You need to
focus on key tasks that allow you to put pieces together in a meaningful
pattern, which in turn will give you a better understanding of the main
issue and put you in a position to make impactful recommendations.
Based on twenty-five years of teaching students at Harvard Business
School and other institutions how to navigate and excel at case-based
learning, I’ve identified techniques for making meaning from cases:
• Recognizing the main issue in a case that needs solving and the
most efficient way to go about investigating it.
• Reading the case actively and efficiently to provide a basis for your
analysis of the case.
• Following a path of analysis to arrive at an evidence-backed conclusion about the main issue.
NOTE
1. Steven Pearlstein, “Businesses’ Focus on Maximizing Shareholder Value Has
Numerous Costs,” Washington Post, September 6, 2013.
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For the exclusive use of Z. Wang, 2024.
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For the exclusive use of Z. Wang, 2024.
CHAP TER 3
THE SKILLS YOU
NEED TO READ AND
ANALYZE A CASE
A
s mentioned in the last chapter, cases usually have a superficial
organization that doesn’t provide much direction for readers.
Related information is scattered across sections, and the section
headings don’t necessarily help you discern the relative importance of the
information they contain. The information dispersed throughout the case
and the data you will extrapolate from calculations and exhibits are the
puzzle pieces that need to be assembled into a pattern that has meaning.
There are thousands of published cases, and each is, in a sense, unique.
No case presents the same set of facts as any other case. But cases also have
similarities that can facilitate your study of them. Most cases illustrate one
of three core scenarios:
• The need to make a critical decision and potentially persuade other
characters in the case to accept it
• The need to perform an in-depth evaluation that lays out the pros
and cons or strengths and weaknesses of the subject of the case
• The need to perform a comprehensive problem diagnosis that identifies the root causes of a problem described in the case
It isn’t surprising that these core scenarios come up again and again
because cases are about what happens in the real world. In business, certain scenarios do occur repeatedly. To understand information, we have
to have a way of organizing it. Developing the skills to identify which of
three scenarios is at the core of a case solves one of the biggest problems of
studying a case: how to meaningfully organize the information in it. This
is the first skill for understanding cases and the foundation upon which
you will build the other skills.
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18ANALYZING CASES
The sections that follow illustrate the three core scenarios and explain
how to recognize them in the cases you read.
DECISIONS
Please read the first two paragraphs of “General Motors: Packard Electric
Division” on page 173 and then return to this page.
Did you notice the sentence in the second paragraph?
The Product, Process, and Reliability (PPR) committee, which had the
final responsibility for the new product development process, had asked
[David] Schramm for his analysis and recommendation as to whether
Packard Electric should commit to the RIM grommet for a 1992 model
year car.
Schramm, the main character of the case, must recommend a decision
about producing a newly designed part used in the assembly of automobiles. Business cases organized around an explicitly stated decision
are probably the most common type, which isn’t surprising considering
that a central function of organizations of all kinds is making decisions.
Organizations have to make decisions; otherwise, they would cease to
exist.
How to Recognize a Decision Scenario
Decision scenarios are generally easy to recognize because the decision is
stated, often in the first section. Don’t be surprised if the word “decision”
isn’t used. Note that it’s absent in the sentence from the “General Motors”
case. But if you know what you’re looking for, the phrase “whether Packard Electric should commit to the RIM grommet for a 1992 model year
car” tells you that the main character has to make a decision about the
RIM grommet (a newly designed part for automobiles) and present it to
the members of a committee.
One of the best ways to identify the core scenario of a case is to ask
yourself what the main character has to do—what his or her most important task is. In “General Motors,” Schramm has to figure out what the best
decision is. Another test is to ask what the major uncertainty in the case is.
For Schramm, it’s what to do about the RIM grommet.
Knowing that a case is about a decision means you can use a
simple framework for analyzing it, which will be presented in detail in
chapter 4.
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THE SKILLS YOU NEED TO READ AND ANALYZE A CASE19
EVALUATIONS
A case with an evaluation core scenario portrays a situation in which a
deeper understanding of a person, division, company, country, strategy,
or policy is necessary before any critical decisions or actions can be taken.
Here is the second paragraph of a case:
[S]timulated by their success in introducing a new distribution channel for
flowers, Owades and her two key associates, Fran Wilson and Ann Lee,
were reassessing the firm’s long-term growth strategy. Was Calyx & Corolla
more a mail-order operation or should it compete directly against more
traditional outlets, such as retail florists, and wire services, such as Florists
Telegraph Delivery (FTD)? How fast did it have to grow to protect its
initial success? What would be the financial implications of various growth
strategies? How should its personal objectives and those of its investors and
employees influence the character and pace of growth? 1
The first sentence of the paragraph says that the three leaders of a flower
company are “reassessing” their existing long-term strategy—in other
words, they are evaluating it. How do you evaluate something? You start
with criteria, the standards appropriate for the subject and the situation.
The questions in the second half of the paragraph suggest criteria for the
evaluation. You will fi nd that evaluation cases often state criteria as questions somewhere in the case.
How to Recognize an Evaluation Scenario
Cases that require an evaluation can be harder to identify than decision cases. At the beginning of a case, be alert for the words “evaluation,” “reevaluation,” “evaluate,” or “reevaluate” and similar ones such as
“assess,” “reassess,” or “appraise.” An evaluation scenario always identifies
a specific subject—for example, the performance of a person or a strategy.
Let’s use the two tests mentioned in the previous section about decision
scenarios. The first is, What does the main character have to do? When
the main character has to make a judgment about the worth, value, performance, effectiveness, outcome, or consequences of something, the core
scenario is an evaluation. The leaders of Calyx & Corolla want to assess
the effectiveness and consequences of their long-term business strategy.
The second test is, What is the major uncertainty of the case? For
the leaders of Calyx & Corolla, it seems to be whether the long-term
strategy is the right fit for the business and its stakeholders and will have
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20ANALYZING CASES
the desired consequences such as sustaining the business and yielding the
desired financial results. To determine the answers to these questions, the
leaders must evaluate the current strategy.
The following paragraph is from the first section of another case:
The president called the repudiation “a turning point” in the history of
Argentina and declared, “We will not pay our debt with the hunger and
thirst of the Argentine people.” International authorities on sovereign debt,
among them the rock star Bono, supported the actions of the president. (See
Exhibit 1.) The Institute of International Finance, a global association of
financial institutions, however, wrote that “lack of progress implementing
structural reforms and Argentina’s aggressive conduct in the process of the
debt exchange are certain to put the long-term economic prospects of the
country at great risk.”2
The president of Argentina has decided to refuse to repay a large share
(65 percent) of its foreign debt. The decision is controversial, with the
president, Bono (!), and unnamed experts in favor, while an international
organization of financial companies, a trade group of banks and financial institutions, foresees economic disaster for the country. The unstated
question is: Which side is right? Your task is to evaluate the debt decision
to see whether the president was right to make it.
You can also ask, What is the major uncertainty of the case? The answer
is the impact on Argentina. The president’s refusal to pay the country’s
debts has to be evaluated to fi nd out whether it will help or hinder the
country— or both. The last possibility—that both could be true—is a
characteristic of evaluations. They almost always yield both positive and
negative findings. In the real world, the subject of an assessment is rarely
perfectly good or perfectly bad.
Like decisions, you can use a framework to guide the evaluation that
the case calls for. See chapter 5 for more details on evaluation analysis.
PROBLEM DIAGNOSES
We have all been the subject of a problem diagnosis. When you’re sick
and go to the doctor, your symptoms are a “problem” the doctor solves
by making a diagnosis of what is causing them and prescribing treatment
consistent with the diagnosis. Problem diagnosis is used in many disciplines, from business to engineering. Problem diagnosis simply means that
a significant problem needs a causal explanation. A problem can be an
outcome, reaction, result, or event. An example of an outcome or result
would be a company’s failed attempt to seed social responsibility initiatives
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THE SKILLS YOU NEED TO READ AND ANALYZE A CASE21
in all of its divisions. The failure is a problem because the initiative is a
high priority for the company and no one knows why it didn’t work. The
purpose of the diagnosis is to find out why it didn’t work.
A problem can be positive or negative. An unexpected surge in sales is
a positive, but a business that doesn’t understand the reasons for the surge
may not be able to sustain it. Problems are also negative, for example, the
company’s failed social responsibility initiative.
Here is the first paragraph of a case about an innovative steel company:
Nucor Corporation had recorded sales of $755 million and a net income
of $46 million in 1986. It derived 99% of its sales and operating income
from steel making and fabrication at 10 sites around the United States. Its
steel-making capacity of 2.1 million tons made it the second largest domestic
mini mill. Its sales and profits had grown very rapidly in the 1970s but had
experienced some pressure in the 1980s, and had actually declined in 1986.
In order to get a better handle on these performance pressures, F. Kenneth
Iverson, Nucor’s chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), reviewed
the state of competition in the U.S. steel industry in general and Nucor’s
position within it in particular.3
The CEO of Nucor wants to understand the causes for the decline in
sales. If he knows what they are, he and his company may be able to make
changes that restore growth.
A good example of the efficacy of problem diagnosis is a US government agency charged with a very important mission: saving lives. Every
commercial aviation crash involving US carriers is investigated by the
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Their goal is to understand the causes of the crash and then recommend changes that can prevent another one like it. These causal investigations and actions based on
them have contributed to a decrease in commercial airline accidents and
fatalities every decade since 1950. In 2017 there were no commercial passenger jet fatalities, the safest year on record.
How to Recognize a Problem-Diagnosis Scenario
Identifying problem-diagnosis cases can be difficult. They usually don’t
use the words “problem” or “diagnosis.” As you gain experience with
cases, you’ll recognize those in which the main character doesn’t know
why something has happened and needs to understand the why. As in the
Nucor example, a problem-diagnosis case will often open with an overview of the problem and introduce the main character who has to figure
out what the causes are.
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22ANALYZING CASES
Again, let’s use the same two tests that have been applied to decision
and evaluation scenario cases: What does the main character have to do?
What is the major uncertainty of the case?
Here are two paragraphs from the opening of a case:
Tom Claflin, a member of NDL’s board and a venture capital backer of the
firm, offered his perspective:
All the venture capitalists believe in the company, and in Jock and Rob.
Yet this is their fourth time back to the well for capital, when the
money raised in each of the previous rounds was supposed to have
been suffi cient. Before the venture group puts in another $1 million or
$1.5 million, we must address the key issue: is it just taking longer to
prime the pump than we expected or is there something fundamentally
wrong with the concept? 4
What does the main character have to do? Tom Clafl in has been asked
to provide more funding to a startup. He along with other investors
believes in the company and its founders, but one round of funding was
supposed to suffice. The problem is the startup’s slow progress, and as a
prudent investor, Clafl in seeks to diagnose the cause or causes. Only then
can he make an informed decision about providing more funding.
What is the major uncertainty of the case? Clafl in doesn’t know why
the startup is taking longer than expected to succeed. He must understand
what the causes are and specifically whether they are normal growing
pains or fundamental flaws.
Chapter 6 has a detailed discussion of analyzing cases with problemdiagnosis scenarios.
READING A CASE BY ASKING QUESTIONS
Now you know the three core scenarios you’ll encounter in cases and
how to identify them. Your next step is to integrate this knowledge with
a reading process tailored to cases.
In contrast to a textbook, a case requires an active reader. You can’t sit
back and expect the case to tell you what you need to know. You have to
examine and rearrange its puzzle pieces, looking for a meaningful pattern.
The process is similar to a research project. You wouldn’t gather and read
all of the possible sources. You would look for sources on specific aspects
of the issue you’re researching, sort them into categories, read them to
determine their relevance, and if they are relevant, capture the information. It can be useful to think of a case as a type of research project.
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THE SKILLS YOU NEED TO READ AND ANALYZE A CASE23
Remember that cases don’t tell you what they mean; they don’t provide
clear-cut answers. You have to be an active reader in order to find answers
that make sense to you; “active reader” means that you ask questions and
look for answers in the case.
Here is a series of eight questions for investigating a case that integrate
the core scenarios discussed earlier in this chapter. Eight may seem to be
an impractical number, but the first five can be accomplished quickly,
especially after you have used them a few times. You should consider how
much time an undirected reading and analysis of a case takes. Reading,
highlighting text without being sure whether the text is important, taking
notes without knowing whether they’re important, rereading, highlighting more text, and taking more notes—the random approach can take
hours and still be unproductive and therefore frustrating.
Many professors provide study questions for cases they assign for discussion, and sometimes students are confused about how to use them. Your
first option is to ask your professor whether you should prepare answers to
them. Typically, professors provide the questions as guides to important
issues in the case, but don’t expect you to prepare formal answers.
Case Reading Process
1. Read the first and last sections of the case. What do they tell you about
the core scenario of the case?
These sections typically give you the clues needed to identify the core
scenario.
2. Take a quick look at the other sections and the exhibits to determine
what information the case contains.
The purpose is to learn what information is in the case and where. Avoid
reading sections slowly and trying to memorize the content.
3. Stop! Now is the time to think rather than read. What is the core scenario
of the case? What does the main character have to do? What is the major
uncertainty?
Identify the core scenario by asking the two questions. Once you are
reasonably certain of the core scenario— decision, evaluation, or problem
diagnosis—you can use the relevant framework to ask the questions in the
next step. Those questions will give you a specific agenda for productively
exploring the case.
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24ANALYZING CASES
4. What do you need to know to accomplish what the main character has
to do or to resolve the major uncertainty? List the things you need to know
about the situation. Don’t worry about being wrong.
This is probably the most important step of the entire process. If you don’t
know what you’re looking for in the case, you won’t find it. The right
core scenario framework will prompt you to list things that you need to
explore. For example, for a decision scenario case, you should think about
the best criteria the main character can use to make the decision. To
determine criteria, think about quantitative and qualitative tools you’ve
learned that can help you.
5. Go through the case, skim sections, and mark places or takes notes
about where you find information that corresponds to the list of things you
need to know.
6. You’re ready for a deep dive into the case. Carefully read and analyze
the information you’ve identified that is relevant to the things you need to
know. As you proceed in your analysis, ask, How does what I’m learning
help me understand the main issue?
The most efficient and least confusing way to read and analyze is to peel the
onion—to study one issue at a time. For instance, let’s say that a decision has
financial and marketing criteria. Analyzing the financial issues separately
from marketing is far less confusing than trying to switch back and forth.
As your analysis moves from issue to issue, you may discover gaps in your
knowledge and have to add items to your list of what you need to know.
7. Your ultimate goal is to arrive at a position or conclusion about the case’s
main issue, backed by evidence from the case. Remember, there are usually
no objectively right answers to a case. The best answer is the one with the
strongest evidence backing it.
As you learn more, ask, How does what I know help me understand the
main issue? When you are preparing a case for class discussion, consider
alternative positions. Finally, take some time to think about actions that
support your position.
8. What actions does your position support or require?
In the real world, analysis is often followed by action. A decision obviously
has to be implemented. Usually the entire point of a problem diagnosis is
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THE SKILLS YOU NEED TO READ AND ANALYZE A CASE25
to target action that will solve the problem. And even evaluation has an
important action component: sustaining the strengths and shoring up the
weaknesses that it has revealed.
ANALYZING A CASE EFFECTIVELY
When you analyze a case, what do you actually do? “Analysis” is a word
with multiple meanings. In case study, analysis is the close examination
of the pieces of information in the case that you think may illuminate the
main issue. The case reading process and the identification of a case’s core
scenario provide the initial purpose for your analysis.
The purpose will shift as you go deeper into a case. Here’s an example:
Purpose: Determine the core scenario: it’s a decision.
Purpose: Find the decision options.
Purpose: List criteria that might be useful in making the
decision.
Purpose: Find evidence having to do with your criteria.
Purpose: Analyze the evidence related to the criteria.
Purpose: Determine the decision option that is most
strongly supported by the evidence.
Think of a research project again. As you proceed, your focus becomes
narrower, but— and this is important—you don’t lose sight of the project’s
goal. The goal of case analysis is to investigate the pieces of the puzzle
and arrange them into a picture of the main issue that makes sense to you.
The outcome of analysis is information, inferences, and calculations
sufficient to allow you to take a position on the main issue. Analysis should
be methodical and focused. Hit-or-miss analysis will be too scattered to
advance your understanding.
Following a Path of Analysis
All the fine generalizations in the previous paragraph need an example to
make them real. We’ll follow a case analysis for a few steps.
During a downturn, a furniture manufacturer sells its products to
retailers on credit, and they repay the loans monthly. The opening of
the case tells us that a credit manager for the manufacturer must decide
whether to continue to extend credit to two retailers, both longtime customers. The retailers are well behind in their loan repayments.
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26ANALYZING CASES
First, think about what the credit manager needs to know to make the
decision. The retailers’ financial health certainly seems relevant. So is the
size of the local market and the firms’ operational performance (sales, cost
of goods sold, and related information). All three of these things could
become criteria for the manager’s decision.
You’re ready to conduct your analysis because you have criteria for making the decision. You inventory the case for information related to the
three possible criteria and find no information about the size of the local
market but some about sales over the last three years. Retailer A has had
declining sales until the most recent year and increasing cost of goods sold.
The economy of the country in which the retailer operates has been in
recession but has returned to growth in the last year. In the latest year for
which figures are available, retailer A has had a slight increase in sales. You
can infer that the recent trend toward a higher cost of goods sold is the
result of retailer A selling furniture at a discount, which is an understandable response to lagging sales and a way to clear old inventory. For retailer
A, you can say that the sales trend is slightly positive and supports a decision
to extend more credit, although possibly with conditions or limitations.
The findings based on one criterion aren’t reliable enough to make
a decision. You need to understand the financial health of the retailers.
Included in the case are three years of balance sheets and income statements. At this point, you have more analytical choices to make. There are
many metrics that will help you assess the financial health of a company.
Numbers expressing liquidity and capital structure can be computed from
the balance sheets and income statements, and both are important indicators of financial health. How do you measure them? The quick ratio and
the debt-to-equity ratio do that.
Here is a summary of the path of the analysis:
Decision: extend more credit to retailers A and B?
Criterion: Financial health
Metrics for assessing financial health?
Liquidity, Retailer A
Quick ratio calculated from exhibit: .076
Capital structure, Retailer A
Debt-to-assets ratio calculated from exhibit: 46%
Following this path, you learn something about retailer A. Its quick
ratio is below 1, meaning it may not have enough assets to pay off its
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THE SKILLS YOU NEED TO READ AND ANALYZE A CASE27
liabilities in the short term. On the other hand, its debt-to-assets ratio is
a healthy 46 percent, meaning it has plenty of capacity to take on debt to
cover expenses if necessary. Although you need to know more to make a
decision about extending more credit to retailer A, you have started to fit
the puzzle pieces together that will eventually allow you to take a position
on the credit decision.
About Evidence
Evidence is a term that’s used often in this book. When you analyze a case,
evidence is information that supports a position on the main issue. The
main issue is defined by the case’s core scenario: a decision, an evaluation,
or a problem diagnosis. When you express a position about a decision,
evidence is the information you offer to justify the decision. The same is
true of evaluations and problem diagnoses.
Case evidence consists of facts, including numbers; calculations based
on factual numbers and reasonable assumptions; inferences from facts; and
statements by characters in the case. Evidence has a characteristic that’s
crucial to the credibility of a position or conclusion you advocate: it can
be independently verified. In case studies, that means your peers and professor can check your evidence against the content of the case.
Some evidence is more inherently reliable than other forms. Appropriate and correct calculations from well-vetted numbers are the gold standard of evidence. Statements by individuals in a case have to be regarded
as expressions of opinion, not truth. Personal opinion, even from an
expert, gains power to the degree that other evidence correlates with
it. A CEO could emphatically state positive views about her company’s
strategy, but her views gain authority when evidence from other sources
supports them.
About Numbers
Numbers, either stated as facts in the case or calculated from numbers
provided in the case, are one of the most powerful types of information
and evidence in cases. They are also among the most treacherous because
they can absorb an enormous share of your attention without providing
much clarity. When a case has a lot of quantitative information, the temptation is to begin with it, trying to understand what the numbers mean or
performing calculations. That is usually a mistake.5 Remember the point
made in the reading process section: if you don’t know what you’re looking for, you won’t find it.
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28ANALYZING CASES
The critical question of the reading process is, What do I need to know
to accomplish what the main character has to do or to resolve the major
uncertainty? We just traced part of the path of analysis through the case
that dealt with the credit manager’s dilemma. Did you notice when the
calculations were made? They came at the end of the path:
Situation: decision ➞ possible criteria: fi nancial health ➞
metrics? ➞ liquidity and capital structure ➞ calculations
In business, numbers have meaning only in a specific context. Without
the context, they’re simply numbers. In the example, the liquidity and
capital structure ratios become meaningful only after we consider appropriate criteria for the specific decision and how to measure them.
And one number by itself generally doesn’t mean much. For the decision, the quick ratio and the debt-to-assets ratio need to be considered
together, along with the operational results. And even then, more calculations would make the picture of retailer A’s fi nancial health more precise.
For example, have there been any adverse changes in accounts receivable
versus accounts payable?
You’re now equipped with knowledge about the three core scenarios of
cases, a reading process, and analysis. In the next three chapters, you will
put this knowledge to work reading and analyzing complete cases.
NOTES
1. Walter J. Salmon and David Wylie, “Calyx & Corolla,” Case 9-592-035 (Boston:
Harvard Business School, 1991), p. 1.
2. The quoted paragraph is from a draft version of a case once used as an examination in a Harvard Business School course. The fi nal version is Noel Maurer and Aldo
Musacchio, “Barber of Buenos Aires: Argentina’s Debt Renegotiation,” Case 9-706-034
(Boston: Harvard Business School, 2006).
3. Pankaj Ghemawat and Henricus J. Stander III, “Nucor Corporation,” Case 9-793039, exam version (Boston: Harvard Business School, 1992).
4. Michael J. Roberts, “National Demographics & Lifestyles (Condensed),” Case
9-388-043, exam version (Boston: Harvard Business School, 1987).
5. See David H. Maister, “How to Avoid Getting Lost in the Numbers,” Case 9-682010 (Boston: Harvard Business School, 1981), for a helpful discussion of analyzing quantitative data in a case.
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CHAP TER 4
HOW TO ANALYZE
DECISION SCENARIO
CASES
T
he most common type of core scenario you’ll encounter in cases
is a decision. The first part of this chapter will define the unique
characteristics of a decision analysis and the second will walk you
through an analysis of a complete case, using the elements and the questions described in chapter 3.
The analysis of a decision scenario has six distinct elements:
• Identification of the required decision
• Review or identification of options
• Criteria selection
• Criteria-based analysis
• Recommended decision
• Proposed actions
Your professors probably will not discuss a decision scenario case by
asking questions about the six elements. They will have their own way of
facilitating the discussion. Nevertheless, the approach to analysis described
in this chapter will guide your exploration of a case and prepare you for
class discussion.
1. Identification of the Required Decision
Somewhere in the case, usually in the fi rst section, you’ll find a statement
of the decision that is needed. That tells you the case is built around a
decision scenario.
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30ANALYZING CASES
2. Review or Identification of Options
Decisions usually have options. As soon as you know the case is about
a decision, look for the options. They might be binary—yes or no— or
there might be several competing possibilities and you need to know— or
define—what they are before you can analyze the case.
Here’s a suggestion for working on a case that has more than two
options. You can’t juggle three (or more) options in your mind. If you try,
you’ll become confused. Instead, first work on the two options that seem
most different from each other. Then work on the remaining options.
You should have an understanding of all the available options before you
make your final decision.
You may encounter decision scenarios in which the options aren’t
clearly defined. In these situations, you’ll need to define the most logical
options before beginning your analysis. Once you define them, you can
analyze which one is best.
3. Criteria Selection
The meaning of “criteria” may seem nebulous and abstract. Actually,
though, you use criteria all the time, even if you don’t call them by that
name. When you decide to buy a new cellphone, you have to have a way
to choose one. You might have a number of objective criteria: price, size
of the phone, screen resolution, quality of the camera, and size of internal
memory. Or you might care most about the appearance or social value of
the phone.
When studying cases, criteria are the answer to the following question:
What should I think about when making the decision? The criteria you
use are the most important part of analyzing a decision scenario. When
you don’t have any criteria in mind, you will roam around the case looking for something solid to hold onto. Irrelevant criteria will lead to wasted
time and leave you vulnerable to recommending a decision with little to
no supporting evidence.
Decision criteria should be:
• Relevant to the decision. They should reflect concepts that can help
you understand a specific decision. A case about a leader calls for
criteria relevant to leadership, not accounting or marketing.
• Relevant to the case evidence. There are many possible criteria for a
given decision, but you need to look for those that reflect the evidence in the case. Early in your study of a case, you’ll need to make
some educated guesses about the criteria. (See the analysis of the
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HOW TO ANALYZE DECISION SCENARIO CASES31
case in the second part of this chapter for more explanation of this.)
Technical concepts and metrics appropriate to the decision can assist
you in picking criteria. For example, take a case that revolves around
an accounting decision. You would want to consider which of the
accounting concepts you’ve learned could serve as possible criteria.
• Limited to the minimum necessary for making a sound decision. A decision recommendation is difficult when many criteria are used. You
are forced to work with and reconcile the findings generated by
many factors. Your task will be to identify the top criteria—that is,
those that are most helpful in revealing what you need to know for
making the decision.
4. Criteria-Based Analysis
The analysis of a decision directed by criteria examines the case evidence
related to each criterion and what it says about the available options. Your
goal is to learn which option offers the best fit between the criteria and
the evidence in the case.
5. Recommended Decision
Once you have findings on all of your criteria, take a step back and see
what decision recommendation they seem to support most strongly. Findings on different criteria often confl ict with each other, requiring you to
make a judgment of which criteria and what evidence are most important
for making the decision.
6. Proposed Actions
A decision is only as good as its implementation. A smart decision can be
undermined by poor implementation. For that reason, take action planning seriously. It’s a skill every bit as important as decision making. The
purpose of a decision action plan is to implement the decision as effectively as possible.
DEMONSTRATION: READING AND
ANALYZING A DECISION SCENARIO CASE
“General Motors: Packard Electric Division” concerns a wholly owned
supplier of the automotive giant, General Motors, and an innovative new
component with an odd name, the “RIM grommet.” You’ll get maximum
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32ANALYZING CASES
benefit by reading the complete case (pages 173–192) before you go on.
The demonstration utilizes and illustrates the reading questions described
in chapter 3.
As you will see, the analysis of the case goes into great detail. The purpose is to show you how deeply you can delve into a case scenario with
the tools and questions this chapter offers. To be a good participant in a
discussion, you don’t need to know everything about a case. Make sure,
though, that your analysis provides enough depth of understanding so
that, in class discussion, you have something to contribute to shed light
on the case’s main issues.
1. Read the first and last sections of the case. What do they tell you about
the core scenario of the case?
The opening paragraph is a minefield for the inexperienced case method
student. The very first sentence has a reference to a glossary in the appendix. As a diligent reader, you might study the terms in the glossary as
preparation for reading the rest of the case. That would be a mistake. To
make technical terms meaningful, you need a grasp of the big picture.
The next paragraph has a reference to exhibit 1, a GANTT chart. The
exhibit is just as much of a time sink as the glossary. It’s meaningless until
you know more. The opening of this case is one of the best illustrations
of why focusing on the big picture before you immerse yourself in the
details makes case reading and analysis cleaner and faster. (As it turns out,
the glossary and chart have little value.)
But the first sentence of the second paragraph reveals that the core scenario is a decision:
The Product, Process, and Reliability (PPR) committee, which had the final
responsibility for the new product development process, had asked Schramm
for his analysis and recommendation as to whether Packard Electric should
commit to the RIM grommet for a 1992 model year car. (page 173)
2. Take a quick look at the other sections and the exhibits to determine
what information the case contains.
There are five major sections in “General Motors”: background of Packard Electric, its products, new product development, the innovative part
at the center of the decision (the RIM grommet), and various opinions
about the RIM. The exhibits have information about such topics as engineering design activity, data on product defects (leaks), and production
costs.
This document is authorized for use only by Zachary Wang in Int’l Bus Strategy IBM 4801-E01 (50293) SMR SESS 1 2024 taught by ERIC HUTCHINS, California
State Polytechnic University – Pomona from May 2024 to Jun 2024.
For the exclusive use of Z. Wang, 2024.
HOW TO ANALYZE DECISION SCENARIO CASES33
3. Stop! Now is the time to think rather than read. What is the core scenario
of the case? What does the main character have to do? What is the major
uncertainty?
You already know that the case is a decision scenario. Schramm knows
the decision he has to make, but not the process he should follow to make
it. That’s the major uncertainty of the case. In the last section of the case
(page 190), “Schramm’s Options,” you’re told he has three options:
• Go exclusively with the RIM grommet for the customer’s 1992
model.
• Produce both the old part (IHG) and the new part (RIM
grommet).
• Go ex…