MENTARI INTERCULTURAL SCHOOL

Jl. H. Jian No.6, Cipete Utara,

Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan,
Indonesia 12150

How to Examine A Case Study

Good detailed instructions for all sections of analysis:

http://college.cengage.com/business/resources/casestudies/stu
dents/analyzing.htm

From Lady A Case Study

Definition: A case study is a detailed account of a company, industry, person, or project
over a given amount of time. The content within a case study may include information about
company objectives, strategies, challenges, results, recommendations, and more. A
business school case study may be brief or extensive, and may range from two pages to 30
pages or more.

Question: What Should Be Included in a Case Study Analysis?

Answer: Here are a few items that should be included or at least touched on in a case study
analysis:
 Basic information about the company, industry, or project featured in the case study.

 An analysis of the company's history and growth.

 A summary of the company's strengths and weaknesses.

 Responses and results of the company's current business strategy and recommendations
for future strategies.
Why Case Studies?
Business Schools use case studies to teach students how to assess business situations and
make decisions based upon those assessments.
What Is a Case Study Analysis?
While you are in business school, you will probably be asked to analyze multiple case
studies. Case study analysis is meant to give you the opportunity to analyze the steps other
business professionals have taken to address specific markets, problems and challenges.

Transferable Skills: We have found the case-based approach to be a useful method to

develop transferable skills.

Group work. The benefits of group working are well documented, and we have found that a
team case study approach can add to the learning experience. Group work has the added
benefit of allowing students to share their personal knowledge and experiences. Care is
needed with group working activities e.g. selecting group membership to ensure smooth

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 MENTARI INTERCULTURAL SCHOOL
Jl. H. Jian No.6, Cipete Utara,
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan,
Indonesia 12150

group operation/training of students in group working skills. This is particularly important for
longer case studies.

Individual study skills. Case studies are a good vehicle for encouraging students to carry
out independent research outside of the lecture/tutorial environment.

Information gathering and analysis. Many case studies require resource investigation and
encourage students to utilise a number of different sources, i.e. Internet, library, laboratory
results and contacting experts in industry.

Time management. Longer case studies require students to really consider how best to
carry out the work so that it is completed to the set deadline. Interim meetings with academic
staff ensure progress is made during the case study rather than all the work being left to the
last week.

Presentation skills. Case studies require students to present their work in a variety of
formats, these include oral presentations, articles, posters and reports.

PREPARING A CASE STUDY: 3 EXAMPLES

From http://businessmajors.about.com/od/casestudies/ht/HowToCaseStudy.htm

When writing a case study analysis, you must first have a good understanding of the case
study. Before you begin the steps below, read the case carefully, taking notes all the while. It
may be necessary to read the case several times to get all of the details and fully grasp the
issues facing the company or industry.

Once you are comfortable with the information, begin the step-by-step instructions offered
below to write a case study analysis.

Here's How:
1. Investigate and Analyze the Company’s History and Growth.
A company’s past can greatly affect the present and future state of the organization. To
begin your case study analysis, investigate the company’s founding, critical incidents,
structure, and growth.

2. Identify Strengths and Weaknesses Within the Company

Using the information you gathered in step one, continue your case study analysis by
examining and making a list of the value creation functions of the company. For example,
the company may be weak in product development, but strong in marketing.

3. Gather Information on the External Environment

The third step in a case study analysis involves identifying opportunities and threats within

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 MENTARI INTERCULTURAL SCHOOL
Jl. H. Jian No.6, Cipete Utara,
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan,
Indonesia 12150

the company’s external environment. Special items to note include competition within the
industry, bargaining powers, and the threat of substitute products.

4. Analyze Your Findings

Using the information in steps two and three, you will need to create an evaluation for this
portion of your case study analysis. Compare the strengths and weaknesses within the
company to the external threats and opportunities. Determine if the company is in a strong
competitive position and decide if it can continue at its current pace successfully.

5. Identify Corporate Level Strategy

To identify a company’s corporate level strategy for your case study analysis, you will need
to identify and evaluate the company’s mission, goals, and corporate strategy. Analyze the
company’s line of business and its subsidiaries and acquisitions. You will also want to
debate the pros and cons of the company strategy.

6. Identify Business Level Strategy

Thus far, your case study analysis has identified the company’s corporate level strategy. To
perform a complete analysis, you will need to identify the company’s business level strategy.
(Note: if it is a single business, the corporate strategy and the business level strategy will be
the same.) For this part of the case study analysis, you should identify and analyze each
company’s competitive strategy, marketing strategy, costs, and general focus.

7. Analyze Implementations
This portion of the case study analysis requires that you identify and analyze the structure
and control systems that the company is using to implement its business strategies.
Evaluate organizational change, levels of hierarchy, employee rewards, conflicts, and other
issues that are important to the company you are analyzing.

8. Make Recommendations
The final part of your case study analysis should include your recommendations for the
company. Every recommendation you make should be based on and supported by the
context of your case study analysis. Never share hunches or make a baseless
recommendation.

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 MENTARI INTERCULTURAL SCHOOL
Jl. H. Jian No.6, Cipete Utara,
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan,
Indonesia 12150

9. Review Your Case Study Analysis

Look over your analysis when you have finished writing. Critique your work to make sure
every step has been covered. Look for grammatical errors, poor sentence structure, or other
things that can be improved.

Tips:
1. Know the case backwards and forwards before you begin your case study analysis.

2. Give yourself enough time to write the case study analysis. You don't want to rush through it.

3. Be honest in your evaluations. Don't let personal issues and opinions cloud your judgement.

4. Be analytical, not descriptive.

5. Proofread your work!

What You Need:
 A case study

 Instructions from your professor

 Writing tools

 Quiet time

From WIKIHow http://www.wikihow.com/Analyse-a-Case-Study

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Examine and describe the business environment relevant to the case study.
 Describe the nature of the organization under consideration and its competitors. Provide
general information about the market and customer base. Indicate any significant changes in
the business environment or any new endeavors upon which the business is embarking.
2
Describe the structure and size of the main business under consideration.
 Analyze its management structure, employee base, and financial history. Describe annual
revenues and profit. Provide figures on employment. Include details about private ownership,
public ownership, and investment holdings. Provide a brief overview of the business's
leaders and command chain.
3
Identify the key issue or problem in the case study.

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 MENTARI INTERCULTURAL SCHOOL
Jl. H. Jian No.6, Cipete Utara,
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan,
Indonesia 12150

 In all likelihood, there will be several different factors at play. Decide which is the main
concern of the case study by examining what most of the data talks about, the main
problems facing the business, and the conclusions at the end of the study. Examples might
include expansion into a new market, response to a competitor's marketing campaign, or a
changing customer base.

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Describe how the business responds to these issues or problems.
 Draw on the information you gathered and trace a chronological progression of steps taken
(or not taken). Cite data included in the case study, such as increased marketing spending,
purchasing of new property, changed revenue streams, etc.
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Identify the successful aspects of this response as well as its failures.
 Indicate whether or not each aspect of the response met its goal and whether the response
overall was well-crafted. Use numerical benchmarks, like a desired customer share, to show
whether goals were met; analyze broader issues, like employee management policies, to
talk about the response as a whole.
6
Point to successes, failures, unforeseen results, and inadequate measures.
 Suggest alternative or improved measures that could have been taken by the business,
using specific examples and backing up your suggestions with data and calculations.
7
Describe what changes you would make in the business to arrive at the measures you
proposed, including changes to organization, strategy, and management.
8
Conclude your analysis by reviewing your findings and emphasizing what you would
do differently in the case. Showcase both your understanding of the case study and your
business strategy

From http://www2.wmin.ac.uk/haberba/caseanal.htm

Analysing a Strategy Case Study - Some Tips

Copyright: Adrian Haberberg and the University of Westminster, 1998

Give yourself time to assimilate a case The longer that a case study is given to “sink in” to
your subconscious, the deeper the understanding you will get and the better your answers

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 MENTARI INTERCULTURAL SCHOOL
Jl. H. Jian No.6, Cipete Utara,
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan,
Indonesia 12150

will be. Read the case material for the first time as soon as you have been allocated it as an
assignment or seminar example. Get a general impression:

 Which organisations and industries does it relate to?

 Is the organisation doing well or badly now, and how has it performed in the past? Is
it a company that has an unbroken record of success? Or a successful company that
has fallen on hard times?
 What are the main issues and choices confronting the company? Is it in an
expanding industry, or a maturing one? Are customer needs changing? Does the firm
confront a variety of opportunities? Or is there a particular business decision which
the case is oriented towards?
 What information is there in the case, as tables and annexes?

Analyse thoroughly, and use what you have been learning Put the case aside for a few
days before reading it a second time. Then, start to analyse it seriously:

 Look at the development of the organisation over time. What strategies has it
pursued? Which have succeeded and which have failed? Which are the types of
environment where it has been able to succeed, and in which types has it had
problems?
 Use the tools and techniques of strategic management theory, to see what insights
they give you. What is the nature of the competitive environment? What kind of
strategic resources does the organisation have – and which does it lack? How
successful has the organisation been – and how do you know?
 Look carefully at all the tables, annexes and appendices. Why are they there? What
information is the case writer trying to get you to get out of them?
 If there are numerical data in the case – analyse them. What trends over time do they
show? What ratios can you use to analyse performance in areas that are important to
the organisation?

Then, if you have time, put the case aside again for a day or two, and let all this sink in. You
may at this stage like to use SWOT analysis as a framework for a preliminary analysis of
your thinking. But beware – SWOT analysis is not sufficiently precise to feature in a good
final report.

Relate your analysis to the question: Now start to relate the analysis to the task or
question you have been set.

 What elements of the strategic analysis do you require to carry out the task, and how
do they relate to it?
 Is there further information or analysis that you need?

Be logical and critical: Think hard about your conclusions and recommendations.

 Have you really demonstrated them, backing up your reasoning with hard evidence
(events and results) from the case study?
 Have you allowed yourself to be swayed by the opinions of the organisation’s own
managers? They have a vested interest in showing their actions in the best possible
light. You do not have to agree. Do the facts support their claims of success, or their
excuses for failure?

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 MENTARI INTERCULTURAL SCHOOL
Jl. H. Jian No.6, Cipete Utara,
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan,
Indonesia 12150

 Beware of being taken in by the rhetoric of the case writer. Sometimes they may
genuinely believe that this is a wonderful company, sometimes they may just be
trying to mislead you.

We can read what they think – we want to know what you think! Dare to be
different – if you can marshal the evidence to support what you say.

Make sure it is clear what you are recommending...

If you are asked for a particular decision or recommendation, make sure that it
is clearly stated (i.e. not just implied) in the report. You may have come up with fifteen good
reasons why the company should enter the market in Utopia, but unless you clearly state
that that is what you recommend, you will lose marks.
and why Make sure that, in developing recommendations:

 You have considered the alternatives. There is hardly ever just one, single “obvious”
response to a strategic problem. And bear in mind that, if there is, all the company’s
competitors will have thought of it, too!
 You have made it clear why the recommendation you have chosen is the best of the
available alternatives. That means showing what is wrong with the others!
 You have looked at the downside of your proposals. Try to avoid proposals that
would bankrupt the company if they failed, or which can be easily copied by the
competition.