Helpful Hints to Use for Study and Writing Projects PART ONE: How to Analyze a Case Study Knowing how to analyze a case will help you attack virtually any business problem. A case study helps students learn by immersing them in a real-world business scenario where they can act as problem-solvers and decision-makers. The case presents facts about a particular organization or decision. Students are asked to analyze the case by focusing on the most important facts and using this information to determine the opportunities and problems facing that organization, the people within the organization or decision. Students are then asked to identify alternative courses of action to deal with the problems or decision they identify. A case study analysis must not merely summarize the case. It should identify key issues and problems, outline and assess alternative courses of action, and draw appropriate conclusions. The case study analysis can be broken down into the following steps (FICER): 1. 2. 3. Facts- select the most important facts surrounding the case. Issues-identify the most important issues in the case Courses of action-Specify alternative courses of action. 4. Evaluate- each course of action. 5. Recommend- the best course of action. Let's look at what each step involves. 1. Identify the most important facts surrounding the case. Read the case several times to become familiar with the information it contains. Pay attention to the information in any accompanying exhibits, tables, or figures. Many case scenarios, as in real life, present a great deal of detailed information. Some of these facts are more relevant than others for problem identification. One can assume the facts and figures in the case are true, but statements, judgments, or decisions made by individuals should be questioned. Underline and then list the most important facts and figures that would help you define the central problem or issue. If key facts and numbers are not available, you can make assumptions, but these assumptions should be reasonable given the situation. The "correctness" of your conclusions may depend on the assumptions you make. 2. Identify the key issue or issues. Use the facts provided by the case to identify the key issue or issues (or decision) facing the person(s) or organization. Many cases present multiple issues or problems. Identify the most important and separate them from more trivial issues. State the major problem or challenge facing the company or person(s). You should be able to describe the problem or challenge in one or two sentences. You should be able to explain how this problem affects the strategy or performance of the organization or person(s). You will need to explain why the problem occurred. 3. Specify alternative courses of action. List the courses of action the company or person(s) can take to solve its problem or meet the challenge it faces. For instance, for information system-related problems, do these alternatives require a new information system or the modification of an existing system? Are new technologies, business processes, organizational structures, or management behavior required? What changes to organizational processes would be required by each alternative? What management policy would be required to implement each alternative? Remember, there is a difference between what an organization "should do" and what that organization actually "can do". Some solutions are too expensive or operationally difficult to implement, and you should avoid solutions that are beyond the organization's resources. Identify the constraints that will limit the solutions available. Is each alternative executable given these constraints? Be practical in your approach to selecting courses of action. Creating courses of action requires thinking outside the box. To do this think about all the people (company as well) involved in the action, what stake they may have in the action, and how best to meet their objectives. Sometimes \"walking around in everyone's shoes\" will give you a new insight to the situation or issue and thus lead to a new course of action. 4. Evaluate each course of action. Evaluate each alternative using the facts and issues you identified earlier, given the conditions and information available. Identify the costs and benefits of each alternative. Ask yourself "what would be the likely outcome of this course of action? State the risks as well as the rewards associated with each course of action. Is your recommendation feasible from a technical, operational, and financial standpoint? Be sure to state any assumptions on which you have based your decision. 5. Recommend the best course of action. State your choice for the best course of action and provide a detailed explanation of why you made this selection. You may also want to provide an explanation of why other alternatives were not selected. Your final recommendation should flow logically from the rest of your case analysis and should clearly specify what assumptions were used to shape your conclusion. There is often no single "right" answer, and each option is likely to have risks as well as rewards. Quick Summary How to Analyze a Case Study FICER 1. Facts- select the most important facts surrounding the case. 2. 3. 4. 5. Issues-identify the most important issues in the case Courses of action-Specify alternative courses of action. Evaluate- each course of action. Recommend- the best course of action. Adapted From: Pearson How to analyze a case study wps.prenhall.com/bp_laudon_essmis_6/21/5555/1422312.../index.html PART TWO: Writing in the third person is a must for all of your projects. In case you have a hard time understanding the difference here is a short article that will help explain the differences. The article contains good examples of the way to use each voice of speech. The Three Persons of Speech