Tips on How to Analyze a Case
Tips on How to Analyze a Case
An Introduction to the Case Method
For many of you, this will be the first course using cases that you have ever taken. The fact that
this form of learning is new to you will naturally cause you some concern, and early on, some
difficulty. Your casebook has a number of articles as well as ten “stories” about companies
called cases. These cases give you the chance to look at the present situation facing an
organization, and after a systematic analysis, make recommendations that will produce a change
in the results or outcomes. While you cannot be certain what that outcome will be, through the
discussion and critique of your suggestions by fellow students and your professor, projections
can be made about the foundation for the probable success of your recommendations.
In this course you will have the opportunity, through cases, to see how well you can assess and
address a marketing issue or problem. The role of the case course is to provide you with the
opportunity to utilize the knowledge you have gained to this point to evaluate and make
recommendations to enhance the performance of real organizations. This is not a substitute for
real world experience in a job with an organization, but it is the type of learning that helps
prepare you to begin using the business knowledge you have acquired.
Analysis Frameworks
Because the process of learning through case analysis may be new to you, we will devote much
of this discussion to providing you with a framework to use in analyzing the cases found in your
casebook. Such a framework is useful not only in analyzing cases in casebooks, but also in
considering business situations described in publications such as The Wall Street Journal,
Business Week, Fortune, and Forbes. In reality, most articles about companies in magazines and
newspapers are mini-cases. The cases in your text tell stories, including facts, opinions,
projections, results, expectations, plans, policies, and programs. As readers, we need some way
to structure the information presented in a way that makes it more useable. Analysis frameworks
provide a means to accomplish this end.
There are several benefits in having a framework to use for analyzing situations. The first is that
a framework provides comprehensive coverage of the topics and issues involved. Without a
framework, the analyst may overlook some issues. For example, a person might not consider the
various effects of the economic environment facing the organization at a given point in time.
Recommendations made without this consideration may not be appropriate, and they may even
lead to the failure of the organization. Another benefit of a framework is ease of communication.
When everyone uses a similar framework to analyze cases, the terms each person uses person
have similar meanings. This is a huge advantage in discussing cases in and outside of class. A
final benefit is consistency of analysis. A framework provides a blueprint to approach situations
consistently every time. This is a great aid in getting started and conducting the analysis
effectively and efficiently. Using the framework repeatedly will make you very proficient with it.
In fact, experience shows that students continue to use this framework in their jobs long
