The purpose of the case analysis is to present you with a typical scenario you will encounter in business at some point in your early career and to let you apply the concepts you’ve learned in class and/or from the book to analyze the issues facing a specific company (or person). For a good case analysis, you must closely examine the issues with which the company is confronted. A case analysis is not an essay or a report:

Case = A statement of facts and reasons (figures, charts and graphs as well as data) used to support an argument.

Analysis = A careful and methodical investigation of the component parts of a whole and their relationships in making up the whole. Requires critical thinking.

You will probably need to read the case several times – once to grasp the overall picture of what is happening with the company and then several more times to discover and grasp the specific problem(s) that need to be addressed.

Generally, “textbook driven” cases provide clear hints as to what to consider – typically in the form of questions to be answered. The questions may also provide the high-level background that offers both the direction your answer should take and potential sources of additional information. In the case of questions posed by a senior manager in the work environment, such as this case, the questions to be answered may be less clear and will require you to develop/consider additional questions – i.e. you must apply a significant degree of research and critical thinking to explore and articulate alternatives.