Case for Class Discussion

Preparing a Case for Class Discussion:

If this is your first experience with the case method, you may have to reorient your study habits. Unlike lecture courses where you can get by without preparing intensively for each class and where you have latitude to work assigned readings and reviews of lecture notes into your schedule, a case assignment requires conscientious preparation before class. You will not get much out of hearing the class discuss a case you haven't read, and you certainly won't be able to contribute anything yourself to the discussion. What you have got to do to get ready for class discussion of a case is to study the case, reflect carefully on the situation presented, and develop some reasoned thoughts. Your goal in preparing the case should be to end up with what you think is a sound, well-supported analysis of the situation and a sound, defensible set of recommendations about which managerial actions need to be taken. The Strat-Tutor software package that accompanies this edition will assist you in preparing the casesit contains a set of study questions for each case and step-by-step tutorials to walk you through the process of analyzing and developing reasonable recommendations.

To prepare a case for class discussion, we suggest the following approach:

• Read the case through rather quickly for familiarity. The initial reading should give you the general flavor of the situation and indicate which issue or issues are involved. If your instructor has provided you with study questions for the case, now is the time to read them carefully.

• Read the case a second time. On this reading, try to gain full command of the facts. Begin to develop some tentative answers to the study questions your instructor has provided or that are provided on the Strat-Tutor software package. If your instructor has elected not to give you assignment questions or has elected not to use Strat-Tutor, then start forming your own picture of the overall situation being described.

• Study all the exhibits carefully. Often, there is an important story in the numbers contained in the exhibits. Expect the information in the case exhibits to be crucial enough to materially affect your diagnosis of the situation.

• Decide what the strategic issues are. Until you have identified the strategic issues and problems in the case, you don't know what to analyze, which tools and analytical techniques are called for, or otherwise how to proceed. At times the strategic issues are cleareither being stated in the case or else obvious from reading the case. At other times you will have to dig them out from all the information given; if so, the study questions and the case preparation exercises on Strat-Tutor will guide you.

• Start your analysis of the issues with some number crunching. A big majority of strategy cases call for some kind of number crunching calculating assorted financial ratios to check out the company's financial condition and recent performance, calculating growth rates of sales or profits or unit volume, checking out profit margins and the makeup of the cost structure, and understanding whatever revenue-cost-profit relationships are present. See Table 1 for a summary of key financial ratios, how they are calculated, and what they show. If you are using Strat-Tutor, much of the number-crunching has been computerized and you'll spend most of your time interpreting the growth rates, financial ratios, and other calculations provided.

• Use whichever tools and techniques of strategic analysis are called for. Strategic analysis is not just a collection of opinions; rather, it entails application of a growing number of powerful tools and techniques that cut beneath the surface and produce important insight and understanding of strategic situations. Every case assigned is strategy related and contains an opportunity to usefully apply the weapons of strategic analysis. Your instructor is looking for you to demonstrate that you know how and when to use the strategic management concepts presented in the text chapters. The case preparation guides on Strat-Tutor will point you toward the proper analytical tools needed to analyze the case situation.

• Check out conflicting opinions and make some judgments about the validity of all the data and information provided. Many times cases report views and contradictory