Case Studies

3.7. B. Analysing case data

In analysing the case data, you are trying to answer the following:

• Why or how did these issues arise? You are trying to determine cause and effect for the problems identified. You cannot solve a problem that you cannot determine the cause of! It may be helpful to think of the organisation in question as consisting of the following components:
  • resources, such as materials, equipment, or supplies, and
  • people who transform these resources using
  • processes, which creates something of greater value.

Now, where are the problems being caused within this framework, and why?

• Who is affected most by these issues? You are trying to identify who are the relevant stakeholders to the situation, and who will be affected by the decisions to be made.
• What are the constraints and opportunities implicit to this situation? It is very rare that resources are not a constraint, and allocations must be made on the assumption that not enough will be available to please everyone.
  • What do the numbers tell you? You need to look at the numbers given in the case study and make a judgment as to their relevance to the problem identified. Not all numbers will be immediately useful or relevant, but you need to be careful not to overlook anything. When deciding to analyse numbers, keep in mind why you are doing it, and what you intend to do with the result. Use common sense and comparisons to industry standards when making judgements as to the meaning of your answers to avoid jumping to conclusions. Enough cannot be said about the analysis of case data since the extent of your analysis will either steer you away from or towards the optimal solution for the case problem(s).

In each case, at least one fundamental business problem is present. It may be a small, tactical issue, such as how this company will collect money from a delinquent customer. However, the issue may be broader in nature: “How can they reduce accounts receivable ageing to 30 days or less?” Larger, strategic problems might involve the company’s chronic, critical cash-flow difficulties. “If this company were no longer cash-starved, what longer-term opportunities might open up?”

You may identify more than one problem in a case. Complex cases often involve several such problems simultaneously. They may be technical in nature and involve accounting or cost control systems. They may involve the use of technology. You might see supply-chain problems in the business you are studying. You may identify marketing deficiencies. Alternatively, you might see human problems that involve supervision, communication, motivation, or training.

Once you have identified one or more business problems present in the case, think about the outcome(s) you would most hope to see for the company and people you have read about. If you were asked to consult on this company’s problems – and that is the role, most business students are playing as they read a case study – what results would you hope for? Do not limit your thinking to what the company should do, but what the most successful outcome would look like. Be specific about how the company will know if they have succeeded. Quantify the desired results whenever you can. Identify the critical issues that are at the heart of the case. If you miss a critical issue, you may not be able to solve the case to the satisfaction of your lecturer.

• Some issues are interdependent. That is, a solution to one issue might necessarily precede or depend on another. In a product-contamination case, for example, a media relations team cannot draft a press release until the production or packaging team knows what is wrong with the product. The team responsible for a new product launch cannot make final advertising and promotion decisions until issues related to packaging, transportation, and distribution have been solved.
• Some issues are more important than others are. A company may have a great opportunity to launch a product line extension, but not have sufficient market research data to support the idea. More to the point, they may not have the talent on staff to understand and properly use such data. Thus, hiring a market research chief might be more important than simply contracting with an outside firm to find the data.
• Each issue has a time dimension. While two problems may be equally important to the success of a company, one may be near-term in nature while the other is long-term. Setting up a corporate website may be important, but it will not solve the longer-term issue of marketing strategy: Should we sell direct over the web or use retail partners to market our products? Specify which problems must be addressed first, but think, as well, about the duration of the solutions – how long will it take to fix this?
• Some issues are merely symptoms of larger or deeper problems. Two managers in open warfare with each other about budget or resource issues may be symptomatic of more serious, long-term budget problems, inadequate communication among the management team members, or perhaps a corporate culture that encourages confrontation over minor issues. When Sears-Roebuck & Co. discovered that auto service managers in California were charging customers to replace parts that were not yet worn out, the problem was deeper than a few overzealous managers were. After analysing the complaints brought by the California Attorney General, Sears realised that their compensation system rewarded managers for selling more parts, and not for simply servicing customers’ vehicles.

Accept the fact that much of the information contained in the case will not be useful to your analysis. You should also accept the fact that you will never know all that you would like in order to produce a solution. Life is like that. So are case studies. Identify the relevant facts contained in case and think carefully about them. Identify additional information you might like to have – that might be part of your solution – but do not dwell on it.

Separate facts from assumptions. Recognise that there are some things you will know for sure and others that you will not. Recognise further that you may be required to subjectively interpret some evidence and to assume other evidence not directly stated in the case. The more suppositions you make, however, the weaker your analysis becomes.

You should be able to describe the problem or challenge in one or two sentences. You should be able to explain how this problem affects the strategy or performance of the organisation. You will need to explain why the problem occurred. Does the problem or challenge facing the company come from a changing environment, new opportunities, a declining market share, or inefficient internal or external business processes? In the case of information systems-related problems, you need to pay special attention to the role of technology as well as the behaviour of the organisation and its management. Information system problems in the business world typically present a combination of management, technology, and organisational issues. When identifying the key issue or problem, ask what kind of problem it is: Is it a management problem, a technology problem, an organisational problem, or a combination of these? What management, organisational and technology factors contributed to the problem?

• To determine if a problem stems from management factors, consider whether managers are exerting appropriate leadership over the organisation and monitoring organisational performance. Consider also the nature of management decision making: Do managers have sufficient information for performing this role, or do they fail to take advantage of the information that is available?
• To determine if a problem stems from technology factors, examine any issues arising from the organisation’s information technology infrastructure: Its hardware, software, networks and telecommunications infrastructure, and the management of data in databases or traditional files. Consider also the whether the appropriate management and organisational assets are in place to use this technology effectively.
• To determine the role of organisational factors, examine any issues arising from the organisation’s structure, culture, business processes, work groups, divisions among interest groups, relationships with other organisations, as well as the impact of changes in the organisation’s external environment – changes in government regulations, economic conditions, or the actions of competitors, customers, and suppliers. You will have to decide which of these factors, or a combination of factors, is most important in explaining why the problem occurred.