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"The marketing campaign would have to be fully planned at least three months before actual product introduction."
"The president said she would call back in one hour."
The concluding paragraph, therefore, may have significant impact on the urgency question which will be covered more fully later.
Exhibits
Many cases contain exhibits after the text portion of the case.
Turn to the exhibits as they are referenced in the text to understand their context and content. Scrutinize them thoroughly. Some exhibits, such as financial statements or organization charts, may appear fairly standard. Still look for anything odd or unusual about them. Other exhibits are unique to the case and provide a summary or illustration of key data. Make sure that you understand the purpose of each exhibit. Part 2: Analyze the Case
A generic approach to case analysis includes the following steps: A) define the issue; B) analyze the case data with focus on causes and effects as well as constraints and opportunities;
C) generate alternatives; D) select decision criteria; E) assess alternatives; F) select the preferred alternative; and G) develop an action and implementation plan. Note that some parts of this model will not apply to every case and some aspects will receive more emphasis than others at different times during the course.
Specific analytical approaches, techniques and tools may be applied depending on the course, type of case and your instructor's particular requirements. It may be appropriate to re-visit regularly any particular analytical model, framework or concept suggested by your instructor or outlined in the course syllabus.
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Step A. Define the Issue
Your initial job in case analysis is to develop a clear and comprehensive statement of the issue(s) involved in the case.
The key concern(s), problem(s), decision(s), challenge(s) or opportunity(ies) you are facing as main actor of the case need to be clearly identified. The Short Cycle Process should have been very helpful in this first step.
The old adage, "stating the right problem takes you more than half way towards the right solution" certainly applies to case analysis. Unless you pose the right questions, you are unlikely to find the correct answers. This is why defining the issue(s) clearly is such a crucial part of your analysis. Do not be too hasty. What may appear to you as a problem may be only a symptom of a deeper hidden issue. Think of the tip of the iceberg phenomenon and get below the surface.
Immediate and Basic Issues. You will find that in almost all cases there are immediate as well as basic issues. The immediate issue refers to the specific decision, problem, challenge or opportunity faced by the decision maker in the case. For example, the decision focus may be on the purchase of software, where several options are available. The decision as to which of the software options to purchase is the immediate issue. Basic issues are larger and more generic in nature. They relate to the conceptual content and design of the course. For example, a basic issue in the software case might be
"make or buy." Another could be the design of information systems. Yet another could be organizational roles and responsibilities: How much influence should the user of a software package have over this kind of purchase versus the chief information officer or the purchasing manager?
The immediate issue is the one that needs to be resolved within the time frame indicated in the case. Since few cases, if any, ever repeat themselves exactly in real life, the purpose of concerning yourself with the immediate issue is to develop a
42 Chapter 3 better grasp of the basic issue(s) underlying it. Basic issues tend to be ever present and common. Make or buy, information flow, and organizational roles and responsibilities issues occur in every organization all the time. The purchase of this particular package of software may never be faced by you in the future. Yet wrestling with it and dealing with the details appropriately is a valuable aid in developing an approach generalizable to a host of other situations.
Importance. One of the first judgements that needs to be made about the case issue is whether this issue is of strategic importance to the organization or not. Could it make or break the organization? Could it be a source of major competitive advantage? Could it impact the profitability significantly?
Could it have a major effect on the morale of the employees or on the corporate image?
Urgency. As part of the first step of defining the issue, a feeling for the sense of urgency is fundamental to effective case analysis. A good analogy is the emergency room in a hospital.
Someone comes in and the attendant behind the counter makes a very quick judgment whether this patient can go through the regular routine process of registration and sit in the waiting room until his or her turn, or whether the patient needs to be brought directly in for immediate attention. The same feel for timing must be developed with cases. Is this decision critical and everything has to be dropped to tend to it or can it wait for some time?
The combination of importance and urgency places the case issue on a priority list and will affect the criteria for decision making, the resources that should be used, including the amount of money that can be spent, and the options which may be considered to resolve it. That is why putting the issue in context early is vital to effective case analysis.
A simple 2-by-2 matrix highlights the potential combinations of importance and urgency (see Exhibit 3-4).
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Exhibit 3-4
CASE ISSUE IMPORTANCE AND URGENCY MATRIX
IMPORTANCE
LOW HIGH
URGENCY
LOW I II
HIGH III IV
Quadrant IV represents both high importance and high urgency requiring quick action on a critical issue. In contrast,
Quadrant I represents a minor issue without much urgency which can be resolved eventually. It is good practice in case analysis to place the key case issue on this importance/urgency matrix and, therefore, a provision for this has been made in
Exhibit 3-2, the Case Preparation Chart.
Step B. Analyze the Case Data
It is not possible to use this little corner of the Case
Preparation Chart to summarize your analysis of the case data.
Therefore, it is necessary to go off the chart and use as many pages as your need for this task. Proper analysis is vital before alternatives and decision criteria can be assessed and should not be rushed. Usually a significant amount of individual preparation, small group and large group discussion time is spent on case analysis to ensure the correct interpretation of