09-01-2014, 03:04 PM
A SUMMARY OF THE CASE ANALYSIS PROCESS
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INTRODUCTION
Case analysis is an essential part of a strategic management
course and is also perhaps the most entertaining part of
such a course. The ‘full story’ that follows this summary
gives you considerable detail about how to go about a
case analysis, but for now here is a brief account.
Before we start, a word about attitude – make
it a real exercise. You have a set of historical facts; use
a rigorous system to work out what strategies should be
followed. All the cases are about real companies, and
one of the entertaining bits of the analysis process is to
compare what you have said they should do with what they
really have done. So, it is best not to check the Internet
to see current strategies until you have completed your
analysis.
What follows is one analytical system, a fairly tight
one that you may want to adapt according to how much
time you have and the style of the case.
USING THE COCHLEARTM
CASE AS A TRAINING CASE
This case analysis process is easy to use once you have
learned it, and the best way to learn is to try it out. The
CochlearTM case in this book is designed as a training
case to help you do this. Don’t be concerned if you get
a slightly different analysis to other people – one of the
glories of case analysis is that they are never ‘right’; some,
however, are more plausible than others.
C O N D U C T I N G T H E A N A LY S I S
The fourth step of effective case analysis is concerned
with acquiring a systematic understanding of a situation.
Occasionally, cases are analysed in a less-than-thorough
manner. Such analyses may be a product of a busy schedule
or of the difficulty and complexity of the issues described
in a particular case. Sometimes you will face pressures on
your limited amounts of time and may believe that you
can understand the situation described in a case without
systematic analysis of all the facts. However, experience
shows that familiarity with a case’s facts is a necessary,
but insufficient, step in the development of effective
solutions – solutions that can enhance a firm’s strategic
competitiveness. In fact, a less-than-thorough analysis
typically results in an emphasis on symptoms, rather than
on problems and their causes. To analyse a case effectively,
you should be sceptical of quick or easy approaches and
answers.
DOING THE ACTION
PLANNING
The final step of an effective case analysis process is
called action planning. Action planning is the process of
identifying appropriate alternative actions. In the action
planning step, you select the criteria you will use to
evaluate the identified alternatives. You may derive these
criteria from the analyses; typically, they are related to
key strategic situations facing the focal organisation.
Furthermore, it is important that you prioritise these
criteria to ensure a rational and effective evaluation of
alternative courses of action.
Typically, managers ‘satisfice’ when selecting
courses of action; that is, they find acceptable courses of
action that meet most of the chosen evaluation criteria.
A rule of thumb that has proved valuable to strategic
decision makers is to select an alternative that leaves
other plausible alternatives available if the one selected
fails.