Analyzing a Case Study

STEP #1: Understanding of Company Basic Information: History, Development, and Growth of Company
The events that were the most unusual or the most

essential for its development into the company it is today. Its founding, its initial products, how it made newproduct market decisions, and how it developed and chose functional competencies to pursue Its entry into new businesses and shifts in its main lines of business
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Organizations Mission Statement

Provides a framework or context within which strategies are formulated, including: Mission, Vision, Values, & Major Goals

The mission is a statement of a companys reason

for existence today.

What is it that the company does?

What is the companies business?
Who is being satisfied What is being satisfied

How customer needs are being satisfied

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Major Business Goals

A goal is a precise and measurable desired future state that a company must realize if it is to attain its vision or mission.
Key characteristics of well-constructed goals:
1. 2. 3. 4.

Address crucial issues Precise and measurable Challenging but realistic Specify a time period

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Analyzing a Case Study

STEP #2: External Business Environment Analysis
Identify external environmental opportunities and threats; Understand industry competition structure; Identify Within & Beyond industry environment factors; Competitor analysis Focus on the industry structure and competition
Porters five forces model Macro-economic environment factors Industry (Product) life cycle model Strategic Group Analysis

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Analyzing a Case Study

STEP #3: Internal Strengths and Weaknesses Assessment
Develop an account of the companys strengths and weaknesses as they have emerged historically Examine each of the value creation functions of the company and identify the functions in which the company is currently strong and currently weak (Value Chain Analysis) Four factors of developing competitive advantage

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Analyzing a Case Study

STEP #4: SWOT Analysis & SWOT Matrix
Is the company in an overall strong competitive position? Can it continue to pursue its current business- or corporate level strategy profitably? What can the company do to turn weaknesses into strengths and threats into opportunities? Can it develop new functional, business, or corporate strategies to accomplish this change?

SWOT analysis provides an important summary of the companys condition, a good SWOT analysis is the key to all the analyses that follow.
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SWOT Matrix
Internal External Factors Factors

Strengths (S) SO Strategies

Weaknesses (W) WO Strategies

Generate strategies Generate strategies Opportunities here that use strengths here that take advantage (O)
to take advantage of opportunities of opportunities by overcoming weakness

Threats (T)

Generate strategies here that use strengths to avoid threats

ST Strategies

Generate strategies here that minimize weakness and avoid threats

WT Strategies

To identify alternative ways that an organization can use its specific strengths to capitalize on opportunities or to avoid threats and to overcome its weakness
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Analyzing a Case Study

STEP #5: Functional-level Strategy Analysis
Identify the functional strategies that a company pursues to build competitive advantage through superior efficiency, quality, innovation, and customer responsiveness Value Chain Analysis

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Analyzing a Case Study

STEP #6: Business-Level Strategy Analysis
Identify the companys Generic Business-level strategy: differentiation, low cost, focus, or mixed Selection of Business-level strategy: Abells Business Criteria (What, Who, How) and Generic Competitive Strategies

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Analyzing a Case Study

STEP #7: Corporate-Level Strategy Analysis
Business expansion/growth, Finding new business areas, Focusing core business Integration, Diversification, M&A, Strategic Outsourcing, Joint Venture, Restructuring

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Analyzing a Case Study

STEP #8: Analysis of Companys Structure and Strategic Control Systems
Identify what structure and control systems the company is using to implement its strategy Evaluate whether that structure is the appropriate one for the company Assess the current strategic control system (Reward system, Budget, Financial control, Corporate culture, etc.)

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Analyzing a Case Study

STEP #9: Recommendations/Suggestions
Directed at solving whatever strategic problem the company is facing and at increasing its future profitability Should be in line with your analysis, that is, they should follow logically from the previous discussion Develop strategic solutions: Long- and short-term; Functional-, Business-, and Corporate-level solutions; Competitive advantage

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Writing a Case Study

Good Structure Provided by Previous Steps (1 9) Need thorough SWOT Analysis Make Your Discussion Flow Logically and Smoothly Specific Strategic Solutions and Recommendations

Minor Points in Writing a Case Study Do Not Repeat Large Pieces of Factual Information Avoid Grammatical and Spelling Errors Do a Library Search for Information

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