HOW TO ANALYZE

A CASE STUDY

Mohammad Sajjad Hossain

Lecturer
Business Administration Department
East West University

 How will your Family do in next 5 years?

The Value Chain

A company is a chain of activities for transforming
inputs into outputs that customers value
including the primary and support activities.

3|4

Case Study : Unsystematic Attempt

Identify Concerned Components

External Environment Components
General environment components
Industry environment components

Internal Environment Components

Understand the existing value chain
Importance of superiority

360 analysis

External Environment Components

General environment

Economic
Political/ Legal
Socio-cultural
Technological
Demographic
Global

External Environment Components

Industry environment

Intensity of existing rivalry

Bargaining power of suppliers
Bargaining power of buyers
Threat of new entrants
Threat of substitute products

Reference: Porters 5 Forces Model

Identify Concerned Components

External Environment Components
General environment components
Industry environment components

Internal Environment Components

Understand the existing value chain
Importance of superiority

The Value Chain

A company is a chain of activities for transforming
inputs into outputs that customers value
including the primary and support activities.

3 | 10

Building Blocks
of Competitive Advantage

3 | 11

So What is a Case Study

analysis?

More than simple description

A text that refuses to explain itself
Describes a situation in narrative form
A Dynamic situation

Positions to Take
Strategic
Decision Maker

Outside
Consultants

Board of
Directors

Case Study: Thematic Category

3 types of situations occur regularly in
case studies:
1) Problems
2) Decisions
3) Evaluations and
4)Hybrid

Case Theme: Problems

It is a situation in which:
1) Something significant has happened
2) And we dont know the proper
explanation
Here different models/tools and
subject knowledge come in to action.
Accurate causal relationship is vital
Operations management, marketing,
finance etc.

Useable Models / Tools

Porters 5 Forces Model

Product Life Cycle
BCG Matrix
SWOT Analysis
Fishbone Analysis
DuPont Analysis
Fishbone Analysis

Case Theme: Decisions

What is the best strategy the company
should pursue in future?
The decisions vary in scope,
consequence, and available data
There is NO objectively correct decision

Case Theme: Decisions

1) Create/ consider decision options
2) Create/ Consider decision criteria
1)
2)
3)
4)

Profit generation for company

Value generated to customer
Customer satisfaction index
Annual customer/ revenue growth

3) Look for relevance evidence

Find the decision that creates the best fit
between available evidence and criteria

Case Theme: Evaluations

Evaluations express a judgment about
the worth, value, or effectiveness of:
1) performance
2) decisions, already taken
3) outcome
4) act etc.
Subject of evaluation can be an
individual, a group, a department, entire
organization, a country, even a region

Evaluation : Types
1. Qualitative evaluation

Quality of leadership
Different models based analysis

2. Quantitative evaluation

Ratio analysis
Breakeven analysis
NPV analysis
Revenue/profit growth analysis

Remember : Numbers are not decisions

Case Theme: Hybrid

Encompasses more than one theme
Now-a-days hybrid cases are used

Steps of Case Analysis

Steps 1
Put yourself inside the case
Think like an actual participant
Strategic decision maker
Board of directors
Outside consultant

Steps 2
Become familiar with the material
Read quickly through the case
one time
Use initial read-through to assess possible
links to strategic concepts
Read the case again, making notes

Try to pick the theme of the case

Steps 3
Do external environment analysis
Inputs from general environment
Inputs from industry environment

Do internal environment analysis

Study the value chain
Evaluate performance, decisions etc.

Steps 4
Try to identify the problem theme
Marketing related case/ finance related case/
strategic management case
There can be multiple subjects, involved
Some cases have more than one problem

Avoid getting hung up on symptoms

Problem Vs Symptoms
Problem: Sales people are leaving the
company
Causes:

Improper training
Unfair compensation
Bad product
Unrealistic quotas

Symptoms
High turn over rate
High training costs

Problem Vs Symptoms
Problem: In mature stage of product life
cycle
Causes
Maturing needs and wants

Symptoms:
Increased Competition
Price War
More Regulation

Steps 5
Develop decision alternatives
Identify/ develop criteria

Go for a detail evaluation

Use qualitative tools
Use quantitative tools

Steps 5
Evaluate alternatives
Can the company afford it?
Is the solution likely to evoke a competitive
response?
Will employees accept the change?
How will it affect other stakeholders?
How does it fit with the vision, mission,
objectives?
Will the culture or values of the company
change?

Step 6
Make a set of recommendations that your
analysis supports
Describe exactly what needs to be done
Explain why this course of action will solve the
problem
Include suggestions for how best to implement
the proposed solution
Develop Implementation Plan
GANTT Chart

Key points:

Find the problem or problems

Establish causal relationship
Develop decision alternatives
Come up with recommendations
Include the implementation plan
Use tools/models
Ask questions
Read to understand

Questions ?

 Evaluate alternatives
Can the company afford it?
Is the solution likely to evoke a competitive
response?
Will employees accept the change?
How will it affect other stakeholders?
How does it fit with the vision, mission,
objectives?
Will the culture or values of the company
change?