CHAPTER 13

Analyzing Strategic
Management Cases
Strategic Case Analysis: Requirements

Strategic management cases include:

.

• Detailed description of the challenging situation

faced by an organization.
• Can include financial statements, product lists,
Bus low end to high/new bus
interviews with employees.
P:h e become cheap
Strategic case analysis requires:
.

• Ability to evaluate business situations.

• Going beyond the textbook and rooting out
essential issues and causes of a company’s
problems.
Conducting a Case Analysis: Step 1
Conducting a Case Analysis: Step 2
Specify!!
Step 2: Identify problems.
.

•
Some cases have more than one problem to solve.
•
Avoid getting hung up on the case symptom.
•
Some problems will not Eg
beleave
apparent
mkt? until after you
do the case analysis.
Brandon’s Note

Step 2: Identify problems

(a) corporate-level strategies?

which businesses?
how to develop in new businesses?
(b) Business-level strategies?
how to compete?
(c) International strategies
whether should go international?
how to go international?
how to compete?
Conducting a Case Analysis: Step 3

Step 3: Conduct strategic analyses.

.

•
Determine which strategic issues are involved.
•
Use strategic tools to conduct the analysis.
•

•
Five Forces analysis
•
Value-chain analysis
•
Contingency frameworks, e.g. when to use related
rather than unrelated diversification
•
Financial analysis – using Financial Ratio Analysis.
 Conducting a Case Analysis: Step 4
Step 4: Propose alternative solutions.
.

•
Develop a list of options – what are the possible
solutions?
•
Evaluate the alternatives.
•

•
Can the company afford it?
•
How will competitors respond?
•
Will employees accept the change?
•
How will it affect other stakeholders?
•
How does it fit with the vision, mission and objectives?
•
Will the culture or values of the company change?
Brandon’s Note

Step 4: Propose alternative solutions

(a) costs?
(b) feasibilities?
(c) risks?
(d) stakeholders?
(e) ethics
Conducting a Case Analysis: Step 5
Step 5: Make recommendations.
.

•
Make a set of recommendations supported by your
analysis.
•
Describe exactly what needs to be done.
•
Explain why this course of action will solve the
problem.
•
Indicate how best to implement the proposed
solution.
•
Note: the solution you propose must solve the
problem you identified.