HARVARD CASE ANALYSIS

FORMAT

Slides: Dr. Ed Malagapo

Harvard Case Study Analysis Format 1

 THE PROBLEM
 The problem reflects a major concern
that slows down (or threatens) the
liquidity (in the short-term), and
stability (in the long-term) of a
company. This is recurring over the last
2-3 years and is expected to continue
if no strong intervention is done.
 A problem can also be lost
opportunities

Harvard Case Study Analysis Format 2

 VIEWPOINT
 The viewpoint refers to an
individual (or a pool of
individuals, e.g., consultancy
group), organizations, or even
nations that has the capability
(or resources) to create strategic
solutions to eliminate the
problem. Most likely, outsiders
are usually tapped, but the final
decision always lies on the CEO
(or president).

Harvard Case Study Analysis Format 3

 TIMEFRAME
 Timeframe refers to the period to
which the problem existed and to
address it, e.g., 2012

Harvard Case Study Analysis Format 4

 OBJECTIVES
 Objective refers to what the company
should do to solve the problem. It
addresses:
Must Objective, which must be done
currently to alleviate the effects of the
problem
Want Objective, which must be done
in the long-term (2 – 3 years) to
eliminate the problem
Harvard Case Study Analysis Format 5
AREAS OF CONSIDERATION
 Areas of consideration (AOC), refer to
the related events that contributed to
the occurrence of the problem. There
is a need to do self-examination
(SWOT Analysis) in terms of:
 Strengths
 Weaknesses
 Opportunities
 Threats

Harvard Case Study Analysis Format 6

 SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths Weaknesses

Opportunities
SO Strategies WO Strategies

Threats
ST Strategies WT Strategies

Harvard Case Study Analysis Format 7

ALTERNATIVE COURSES OF
ACTION
 Alternative Courses of Action (ACA)
are actions (or strategies) that are to
be taken to solve the problem. They
are expected to be mutually
exclusive, i.e., each one can stand
alone.
The decision-point depends
on the attractiveness of its
action (profitability, NPVR, IRR)

Harvard Case Study Analysis Format 8

 PLAN OF ACTION
 A plan of action refers to the details
that shows how the ACA adopted can
be implemented. It addresses 5 key
resource areas:
 1 Human resource
 2 Marketing
 3 Production/Service
 4 Finance/Accounting
 5 Computer Information System

Harvard Case Study Analysis Format 9

 PLAN OF ACTION
Key Resource Objective Action to Persons Time Expected
Area be Taken Involved Table Output
HR
Marketing
Production/
Service
Finance/
Accounting
Computer
Information
System

Harvard Case Study Analysis Format 10

 FALLBACK POSITION

This will be another option in which the

decision maker should be prepared of.

Harvard Case Study Analysis Format 11