How to analyse case study
How to analyse a case study
Step 1: Get a general impression
• Which organisations and industries/sectors does it relate to?
• Is the organisation doing well or badly and how has it performed in the past? Is it an organisation that has an unbroken record of success or has it fallen on hard times?
• Look at the development of the organisation over time. What strategies has it pursued? Which have succeeded and which have failed? How successful has the organisation been – and on what bases do you know?
• What are your initial impressions of the main issues and choices confronting the organisation? Is it in an expanding industry/sector, or a maturing one? Are customer needs changing? Does the organisation confront a variety of opportunities? Or is there a particular strategic issue which the case is oriented towards?
• What information is there in the case as tables and annexes?
Step 2: Start to analyse seriously
• First, with regard to its environment: o Which are the types of environment where it has been able to succeed, and in which types has it had problems? o What have been and are likely to be the key drivers in the macro environment that may give rise to changes that could provide opportunities or give rise to threats? o What is the nature of the competitive environment?
• Second, get insights about the organisation itself: o What kind of strategic resources does the organisation have – and which does it lack? o Think about which of these have provided advantage over competitors; or could provide competitive advantage. o Draw these analyses together by considering in what ways the organisation has strengths or weaknesses greater than competition.
So you will have built up a picture of the relative strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) for the organisation.
• Third, look at issues about the organisation's stakeholders. What are their expectations? Are they similar or in conflict? Who has more or less power and
Step 1: Get a general impression
• Which organisations and industries/sectors does it relate to?
• Is the organisation doing well or badly and how has it performed in the past? Is it an organisation that has an unbroken record of success or has it fallen on hard times?
• Look at the development of the organisation over time. What strategies has it pursued? Which have succeeded and which have failed? How successful has the organisation been – and on what bases do you know?
• What are your initial impressions of the main issues and choices confronting the organisation? Is it in an expanding industry/sector, or a maturing one? Are customer needs changing? Does the organisation confront a variety of opportunities? Or is there a particular strategic issue which the case is oriented towards?
• What information is there in the case as tables and annexes?
Step 2: Start to analyse seriously
• First, with regard to its environment: o Which are the types of environment where it has been able to succeed, and in which types has it had problems? o What have been and are likely to be the key drivers in the macro environment that may give rise to changes that could provide opportunities or give rise to threats? o What is the nature of the competitive environment?
• Second, get insights about the organisation itself: o What kind of strategic resources does the organisation have – and which does it lack? o Think about which of these have provided advantage over competitors; or could provide competitive advantage. o Draw these analyses together by considering in what ways the organisation has strengths or weaknesses greater than competition.
So you will have built up a picture of the relative strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) for the organisation.
• Third, look at issues about the organisation's stakeholders. What are their expectations? Are they similar or in conflict? Who has more or less power and