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BA 610 and MGT 699 Assignment Guidelines
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This page was last updated on 13 JAN 2004. Please refer problems and errors to walter.ferrier@uky.edu
Case Analysis and Recommendation
Summaries (CARS)
- Each
individual is required to submit a two-page, professionalized,
executive-style memorandum for each case study assigned in the
course schedule. Only three of these CARS will be graded, but which
three will not be known in advance. Each graded CAR will be
worth 10 points and comprise 10% of your course grade. Submit one
copy to the instructor; keep one copy for class discussion.
- CARS
should persuasively argue and reason 3-4 major points (not an exhaustive
list of issues). Your "audience" is intimately familiar
with the issues/challenges highlighted in the case. So, drawing
explicitly from the concepts/frameworks used in the course (as well as
other MBA courses), your audience requires your critical insights,
analysis, and recommendations:
- WHAT:
What are the most important issues/challenges that confront the
company?
- SO WHAT: What
is your analysis of these issues?
- NOW WHAT:
What, exactly, should the company (case protagonists) do?
Recommend an explicit, feasible plan of action that will improve the
company's competitive position and/or outcomes.
- As
in all case studies, there are no "right" answers. Indeed,
even if the instructors disagree with your recommendations, you will
receive high scores for supporting your analysis and recommendations with
case facts, hard logic/analysis, and persuasiveness of your recommendations.
However, there are oftentimes "wrong" answers:
- Inappropriate or incorrect use of analytical and
strategic concepts
- Inconsistencies between analysis and
recommendations
- Recommendations not clearly supported by
thorough analysis
- Lack of details in recommended course of action
- Each case study on the course schedule will have a few case study
questions (CSQs) that will help stimulate and guide your thinking.
These CSQs are not intended to represent an exhaustive list of
the issues to be analyzed in your CARS. Case studies are intended to
be "stand-alone" situational/informational capsules. Therefore, no additional/outside
"research" is required. However, your intuition,
knowledge, and experience will certainly play a role in performing your
analysis.
- CARS
Structure:
- One page of written text -- 1" margins,
12-point font
- One page of exhibits: Charts, diagrams, tables,
data, etc.
- Exhibits should not be used to expand
page length. Rather, they are to be used prudently and
purposefully to help your reasoning, analysis, and/or
recommendations. Adding exhibits without meaningful interpretation
adds no value. Don’t simply reproduce exhibits from class
notes, the book, or the case...modify and adapt them in accordance with
the specific demands of the case at hand.
·
Here is an
abbreviated, unformatted example CARS (without supporting exhibits):
o
Explorer Inc.
should not enter the Z industry because:
§
Five-forces and
competitor analyses reveals that the long-run attractiveness of industry X will
likely erode for three reasons:
§
Slow industry
growth (-5% per year forecasted)
§
Lower barriers to
entry (loss of proprietary technology enables potential competitors to enter
with only $50MM investment)
§
The top two
industry incumbents (Big Inc. and Dominator Inc.) have reputation for fiercely
defending market share (each has slashed prices and increased advertising
budget by 40% when threatened by new entrants)
o
Develop and
introduce a differentiated, high-margin version of its product in the W industry:
§
Strategic group
analysis reveals potential underserved customers in the X-Y market space who
value "quality" and "image"
§
Explorer already
enjoys a sustainable advantage in the A and B value-generating activities,
which cannot be easily imitated by competitors in industry W
§
To improve
quality and image, co-brand and co-market with Upscale Inc., best known for
their quality reputation in the Q industry (which is related to W through J and
K)
§
Create joint
advertising campaign during televised PGA golf tournaments
§
Feature Upscale's
logo prominently on Explorer's packaging
§
Allow Upscale to
distribute differentiated version of product
Oral Reports
- Each
team will present its recommendations for the assigned case to the class.
If the team plays the role of an outside consulting firm, the
class/audience might play the role, for example, of the firm’s
principal shareholders and industry analysts. Thus, the oral
presentation should be conducted in the most professional manner possible:
clarity, brevity, impact, energy, passion, and persuasiveness all are very
important. Total presentation time for
- Oral reports may be presented in any style you wish, however most
reports are likely to cover the following:
issues and outlook, external analysis, internal analysis, and
strategic recommendation (mission, goals, and detailed action plan). Since
the oral report limited in duration, presenters should identify only the
most important "pre-recommendation" issues (» 4-5 minutes).
Presenters should therefore emphasize the action plan (» 8-10 minutes).
Presenters are required to prepare overheads using Microsoft PowerPoint.
For better visibility, use at least 24-32 point font for
most text, chart labels, etc. Also, please bring enough copies of
your own CARS to distribute to everyone in the class. Finally,
be sure to submit "handouts" (perhaps 4 slides per page) to
the course instructors.
- Following each presentation, the class will fulfill their concerned
shareholder/analyst roles by asking salient, challenging, and probing
questions (» 5-10 minutes) of the presentation team. To encourage
participation, I may randomly select one or two teams to serve as Q&A
discussion leaders. (NOTE: This format requires that presentation be
well-rehearsed and ALL "shareholders" be fully prepared.)
Report Content and Structure
* Refer to the Fuji-Xerox
written report (above) to provide some content and structure ideas and
guidelines.
In terms of
organization and content, you are welcome to present oral reports using any
format/style you see fit. However, each case report will often
include the following components in some form or fashion:
- Issues and Outlook Profile:
This section should broadly address only the most important issues
confronting the firm? What is the significance of each? What has been the
firm’s level of/interest in international activities up until the
"end" of the case? Has the firm been successful? Why? Could the
firm be successful? Very broadly, where is the firm headed? Consider a 3-5
year time frame both before the "end" of the case and into the
future. (No histories, please. Be mindful of who your "audience"
is. The "executives" of the firm are in the audience and are
already knowledgeable about the firm.)
- External Analysis: Which
environmental forces are most likely to influence the firm’s
actions and future performance: international competitive, economic,
political, cultural, technological, or legal forces or actors? Who are the
firm’s present/future customers? ...competitors? Use these questions
to develop list of opportunities and threats and briefly discuss
why each are important.
- Internal Analysis: What
are the firm’s sources of competitive advantage? Has the firm
approached strategic management in a way that leverages its competitive
advantage and/or potential for success? Does the firm follow a strategy
appropriate for the matrix of environmental forces? Use these questions,
and others, to develop a list of strengths and weaknesses and
discuss why each is important.
- Action Recommendations:
This section comprises the largest, most important single section of the
paper and should be given the most weight and attention. It may be most
helpful to put yourself in the shoes of an outside consultant who is been
hired by the main characters or the top-management team (TMT) in the case.
To receive your full consulting "fee," you must persuade
them to adopt your specific recommendations instead of some
competing consulting team’s recommendations.
- First, specify a mission statement for
international involvement for the firm. (Written: Use italics to set
off the mission statement from other text. A sentence or two before
and/or after the mission statement may be included for clarification,
intent, and/or elaboration.)
- Then, a set of specific goals --
financial and/or strategic goal need to be identified. Also, provide some
indication as to the timeframe by which each goal is to be achieved. Use
numbering or bullet point format to draw attention to each one. Have a
set of goals which is either too simplistic (only one or two); nor too
complex (7-8 goals).
- Next, develop a detailed strategic action
plan which addresses all or most of the salient issues you identified
in the sections above. For example, you might have identified a new,
attractive industry segment to sell to (external analysis); yet, the firm
lacks the experience and/or resources to move into the market with
sufficient speed or force (internal analysis). You might then recommend
that the firm form an alliance with another firm. However, you must
provide more specific details about the critical aspects of
alliance formation: partner selection criteria, degree of formality (equity-based
vs. loose commitment); contributions of each partner (cash vs. technology
vs. distribution channel vs. marketing knowledge); relative control over
alliance for each partner; roles and responsibilities of each partner;
and, expected results for the alliance. NOTE: This section should be as
complete as possible. That is, your strategic action plan should leave
very few issues identified in the External and Internal analysis sections
unresolved.
- The best plans are likely to be broken up into
discrete, identifiable components and sub-sections (like those identified
in the alliance example above). Each component of the overall
action plan should contain the following: a label for each strategic
action, a set of specific tasks to be carried out, justifications, a
brief description of new resources required/to be developed, and a brief
description as to how this action component will contribute to the
attainment of one or more of the goals identified. For oral
presentations, this is easy to accomplish - since each PowerPoint slide
can help you effectively delineate one idea from the next.
(NOTE:
It is not necessary to have one-for-one goal-action pairs. In some
instances, specific strategic actions can relate to more than one goal.) Your
overall plan of action and set of goals should, in many cases, be challenging,
yet achievable -- creative and innovative, yet feasible.
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