LABU2040 Martha Ng

lcmng@ust.hk
BUSINESS CASE ANALYSES
 OVERVIEW OF THE CASE
ANALYSIS PROCESS
There are many ways to analyze a case study but over the years, a particular 5-
stage process is proven to be efficient time and again
And they are…

Generate Recommend
Read and Research
Identify and and create
understand and analyse
problem(s) evaluate an action
the case data solutions plan
MINI-CASE 1
Step 1. Read the case and then discuss:
What is the case about?
Who are the stakeholders and what are their concerns or vested interests?
Step 2. What is the problem and its underlying cause(s)?
Step 3. What information do you need to help you understand the issue more
thoroughly and make better decisions? (You may not have time to do the research
now.)
Step 4. What are the possible options to deal with the issue? What are their pros and
cons?
Step 5. If you were Nicholas Wong, what actions would you take in the short
(immediately) and in the long term?
UNDERSTANDING THE CASE
• You should have read minicase 1, how much do you understand the case?
• Share what you know about minicase 1 in the chat box.
• Correct one another if they have the case misunderstood.
STEP 1:
READ AND UNDERSTAND THE CASE
What is the case about?
The case is a management case about a junior staff member (Sales Assistant) of a retail store in China
expressing her grievance to the President about her allegedly unfair dismissal (after receiving a
customer complaint) for failing to perform a duty she had not been trained for.
Who are the stakeholders and what are their concerns or vested interests?
The primary stakeholders are Zhang Shuo, the supervisor and Nicholas Wong.
The secondary stakeholders are the customer involved, the rest of the staff, all customers and
shareholders and any other acceptable answers.
Concerns/ vested interests:
Zhang Shuo – wanting her job to be reinstated.
Supervisor – pacifying the angry customer and managing the department’s reputation.
Nicholas Wong – managing the company’s reputation (external), handling Zhang Shuo’s grievance, handling the management
team, and identifying the underlying problem (internal).
STEP 2:
IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM(S)
• You will be assigned in a breakout room.
• Discuss the underlying causes of one of the “problems” stated in the case.
• Room 1: Zhang Shuo was left on her own to deal with a customer.
• Room 2: Zhang Shuo was dismissed by the Supervisor without prior warning.
• Room 3: Zhang Shuo had to go directly to the Company President to get her
grievance heard.
• Come up with a list of possible causes that create the problem.
• You don’t have to think of the solution yet.
Discussion time: 20 minutes
STEP 2:
IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM(S)
Symptom Underlying Cause

Zhang Shuo was left on her own to deal with a o Mismanagement of human resource.
customer. o Inaccurate sales forecast.

o Absence of proper procedures for staff

Zhang Shuo was dismissed by the Supervisor termination.
without prior warning. o Procedures of staff termination not being followed.

o Absence of proper procedures/ channels of staff

Zhang Shuo had to go directly to the Company complaints.
President to get her grievance heard. o Procedures/ channels of staff complaints not made
clear to staff.
STEP 3:
RESEARCH AND ANALYSE DATA
• Grievance procedures in big corporations
• Job descriptions of a sales assistant
• Customer relationship management (in the retail industry)
• Labour laws
• Any other acceptable answers?
STEP 4: GENERATE AND
EVALUATE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
• You will return to your breakout room.
• Discuss which problem(s) you want to address and why it is crucial to have the
problems solved.
• Generate as many solutions as possible to deal with the problem(s), sometimes you
may have impossible solution, but that’s fine at this moment.

Discussion time: 5 minutes

STEP 5: RECOMMEND AND
CREATE AN ACTION PLAN
If you were Nicholas Wong, what actions would you take in the short (immediately)
and in the long term?
WHAT HAPPENED
This mini-case is based on a true episode that took place during Cassian
Cheung’s spell as President and CEO of Wal-Mart, China from 2003 to 2006.
The key issue is that in management, one has to strike a balance between people and the system. Any associate on
probation can be dismissed without violating contract terms or labor laws, and a “lowly” sales assistant is not going
to be missed by the Department. It was quite convenient for the store management to blame the new staff member
for the poor service, and perhaps even pacify the irate customer that way. However, is that good people
management? Does it help enhance the prevalent company culture? Does it concur with the core values of the
company?
It did not take Cassian long to decide that the girl should be reinstated to her position. Her inability to carry out a
duty which was not hers did not warrant a summary dismissal. From a human resource perspective, the fact that she
was not prepared for the unexpected task reveals a weakness in the training and supervision procedures, for which
the department supervisor and the company are both responsible. If Wal-Mart were true to some of the mantras it
set for itself, such as “Open Door Policy”, “servant leadership” and “people come first”, Wal-Mart should
demonstrate the high value it places on every associate.
When Cassian left his job in late 2005, the Human Resource Director was interviewed about her impression of him as
a CEO, and she told this story to the reporter to illustrate the point that he was a boss who cares for individuals.
Teachers may conclude this task by asking students to recall the five steps, which they will use again to analyze mini-
case II and the assessed cases.