How to analyze a case
- 2. Knowing how to analyze a case will help you attack virtually any business problem.
- 3. Goal of Analysis Conclusion about the main issue Evidence showing why your conclusion is Reasonable You have thought about other possible conclusions Why yours is preferable to them.
- 4. Study analysis can be broken down into the following steps: Identify the most important facts surrounding the case. Identify the key issue or issues. Specify alternative courses of action. Evaluate each course of action. Recommend the best course of action.
- 5. Point of View Adopt the point of view of the protagonist – the main character.
- 6. Hypothesis A hypothesis is a tentative explanation that accounts for a set of facts and can be tested by further investigation
- 7. DESCRIPTION OF PROCESS The process has five phases: 1. Situation 2. Questions 3. Hypothesis 4. Proof and action 5. Alternatives
- 8. 1. Situation The most difficult part of a case analysis seems to be the beginning. You have to bridge the gap between no knowledge about the case and knowledge sufficient to form a hypothesis.
- 9. 2. Questions Knowing the situation allows you to ask questions pertinent to a problem, a decision, or an evaluation. The most important of these questions is: What do I need to know about the situation
- 10. 3. Hypothesis Armed with a list of things you want to know about the situation map of the content,
- 11. 4. Proof and Action A hypothesis drives a different approach to the case. You want to prove something, not look for something to prove. Ask these questions: What evidence do I have that supports the hypothesis? What additional evidence do I need?
- 12. 5. Alternatives It may seem paradoxical, but the last phase of analysis should be to question your own hypothesis: What is the greatest weakness of the hypothesis? What is the strongest alternative to it?
- 14. Examine and describe the business environment relevant to the case study.
- 15. Describe the structure and size of the main business under consideration
- 16. Identify the key issue or problem in the case study
- 17. Describe how the business responds to these issues or problems.
- 18. Identify the successful aspects of this response as well as its failures
- 19. Point to successes, failures, unforeseen results, and inadequate measures
- 20. Describe what changes you would make in the business to arrive at the measures you proposed, including changes to organization, strategy, and management.
- 21. Conclude your analysis by reviewing your findings and emphasizing what you would do differently in the case.
- 22. DISCLAIMER PRIYA DHARSHINI.S DR.SAMEER MATHUR IIM LUCKNOW BANNARI AMMAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY