2/18/05

Case Analysis Template

Case: ______Student: ______

Preliminary Step: Choose Your Role.

Determine which key character you want to be in the case. Choose a manager. You are learning to become a manager. Do not choose a customer.Conduct the entire analysis from the point of view of this character. Make sure that all of the alternative solutions you list (see below) are things from your role's perspective and things within the power of your character to do. If you don’t have a name, identify a job title. Do not list alternatives thatother people have; only list the options facing your chosen role. You are making your character's decisions and no one else's.

Identify your character:

Step 1 - Identify the Problem/Opportunity.

Identify the major problem or opportunity from your character's perspective in one or two sentences.

Step 2 - Identify the Causes of the Problem/Opportunity.

Internal and external environmental factors should be examined. Causes of problems or opportunities tend to be historical in nature. Consider: Why did the problem/opportunity occur? When did it begin? Where does it occur? Where doesn't it occur? What effective management practices should the organization be using? What has the organization failed to do?

Step 3 - List Alternative Solutions to the Problem (or ways to take advantage of the opportunity).

Proposed alternatives should be consistent with the problem(s)/opportunity(ies) and cause(s) identified. Develop at least three possible alternative solutions. You may list both short-term and long-term solutions.Though you might list information gathering (surveys, marketing research, a consultant, etc.) as an implementation step in Steps 5 and 6, please don't let information gathering be an alternative solution.List the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative. (Note: Your alternative solutions must be things that you can do in the future. You can't change the past. Therefore, do not list the things that should have been done in the past. That's water under the bridge. Also, use “could” instead of “should” during this step. Pass judgment in Step 4.)

  1. XXXX (describe and discuss pros and cons of each)
  2. XXXX
  3. XXXX
  4. XXXX

Step 4 - Select the Best Alternative Solution.

Justify why you chose a particular solution and why it will best resolve the problem(s)/opportunity(ies).

Step 5 - Implementation Steps.

Develop appropriate action plans to implement your solution to the problem/opportunity. Specify, as much as possible, what should be done, by whom, when, where, and in what sequence. Also, indicate follow-up procedures to monitor the implementation of your solution to ensure that the intended actions are taken and that the problem is corrected--or that the opportunity is made the most of.Information gathering fits very well in Step 5. It could be a way for you to monitor the implementation of your best solution in order to determine whether to continue with Plan A or to switch over to Plan B.

  1. XXXX
  2. XXXX
  3. XXXX
  4. XXXX
  5. XXXX

Step 6 - Plan B.

Develop a contingency plan including implementation steps just in case your best solution doesn't go well. You don't need to be as detailed as in Steps 4 and 5 above. Simply summarize what your contingency solution and action plans will be in the event that Plan A (Steps 4 and 5) doesn't work out.Plan B's solution is NOT information gathering (surveys, marketing research, consultants, etc.), though information gathering may be an implementation step in Plan B.Plan B must follow Plan A. It is not simply your second best alternative solution. Feedback from the follow-up procedures you include in your action plan in Step 5 will help you decide whether to continue with Plan A or to switch to Plan B.

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