Preparing a Written case analysis:
In addition to asking you to prepare a case for class discussion, your professor could ask you to prepare a written case analysis. Written reports are generally more structured and more detailed than an oral presentation. always avoid using jargon, vague or redundant words, acro-nyms, abbreviations, sexist language, and ethnic or racial slurs. and watch your spelling! Use short sentences and paragraphs and simple words and phrases. Use quite a few subheadings. arrange issues and ideas from the most important to the least important. Use the active voice rather than the passive voice for all verbs; for example, say Our team recommends that the company diversify rather than it is recommended by our team to diversify. Use many exam-ples to add specificity and clarity. tables, figures, pie charts, bar charts, timelines, and other kinds of exhibits help communicate important points and ideas. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.
The Executive Summary:
Your professor could ask you to focus the written case analysis on a particular aspect of the stra-tegic-management process, such as (1) to identify and evaluate the organizations existing vision, mission, objectives, and strategies; or (2) to propose and defend specific recommendations for the company; or (3) to develop an industry analysis by describing the competitors, products, selling techniques, and market conditions in a given industry. these types of written reports are sometimes called executive summaries. an executive summary usually ranges from three to five pages of text in length, plus exhibits.
The Comprehensive Written Analysis:
If asked to develop a comprehensive written analysis, picture yourself as a consultant who has been asked by a company to conduct a study of its external and internal environment and to make specific recommendations for its future. Prepare exhibits to support your recommenda-tions. Highlight exhibits with discussion in the paper. comprehensive written analyses are usu-ally about 20 pages in length, plus 20 exhibits. throughout your written analysis, emphasize how your proposed strategies will enable the firm to gain and sustain competitive advantage. Visit www.strategyclub.com for examples.
Steps in Preparing a Comprehensive Written Analysis:
In preparing a written case analysis, you should follow the steps outlined here, which correlate to the stages in the strategic-management process and the chapters in this text. (noteMore detailed steps, including a minute-by-minute breakdown, are given later in this Part 6.)
Step 1 identify the firms existing vision, mission, objectives, and strategies.
Step 2 Develop vision and mission statements for the organization.
Step 3 identify the organizations external opportunities and threats.
Step 4 construct a competitive Profile Matrix (cPM).
Step 5 construct an external Factor evaluation (eFe) Matrix.
Step 6 identify the organizations internal strengths and weaknesses.
Step 7 construct an internal Factor evaluation (iFe) Matrix.
Step 8 Prepare a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-threats (SWOt) Matrix, Strategic Position and action evaluation (SPace) Matrix, Boston consulting group (Bcg) Matrix, internal-external (ie) Matrix, grand Strategy Matrix, and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) as appropriate. give advantages and disadvantages of alternative strategies.
Step 9 recommend specific strategies and long-term objectives. Show how much your recommendations will cost. clearly itemize these costs for each projected year. compare your recommendations to actual strategies planned by the company.
Step 10 Specify how your recommendations can be implemented and what results you can expect. Prepare forecasted ratios and projected financial statements. Present a timetable or agenda for action.
Step 11 recommend specific annual objectives and policies.
Step 12 recommend procedures for strategy review and evaluation.