Template for Case Study, Book Name: Crafting and Executing Strategy
1) Identification of key issues/context
Problem identification:
Strategies: Generic, Business, Functional
2) Analysis
External analysis: 5 Forces, Driving Forces, SWOT, TOWS, Competitor Analysis-Strategy Map, KSFs, PESTEL
Conclusions and implications for company
Internal analysis: Financial analysis, value chain, competencies, VRINE
Conclusions and implications for company
3) Cross analysis
Links across external/internal analysis
4) Alternative generation and analysis
Generate several alternatives
Eliminate impractical ones
Pros and Cons of each
Key decision criteria used
5) Recommendations and justification
Decision
Justification
6) Action plan
Implementation and execution plan
Key milestones, dates, responsibilities
Contingency issues, risk mitigation
Requirement:
Word document, Font size 11, 1.5 line spacing for the body text, 1" margins, required to use only case information as of the date of the case. Research may help you understand the industry better but be careful using specific company information. Also remember that management may have made the wrong decision, so you are free to come up with your own recommendations.
You may start with the problem identification; discuss driving forces and key success factors (I will leave it up to you to determine the most effective placement of these components). It must be clear why you used a particular tool, what insights were offered and collectively how the tools paint a picture of the external and internal environments (separate the sections for clarity).
The cross-analysis should not be forgotten for the individual case study. Consider the use of weights for your decision criteria to make it apparent what factors were important and how these criteria each factor across the alternatives. Cite material from your internal and external analysis in your recommendation section.
You may also wish to be more precise in your action plan in terms of not only timing, but organizational and resource management issues across each of the specified terms. Please include citations in the main body of the text where material has been sourced including from the textbook. As well, a reference list should be included at the end of the report.