CASE ANALYSIS
I. Background — brief, no more than 1/2 page II. SWOT Analysis a. Strengths and Weakness — Internal Situation b. Opportunities and Threats — External Situation i. Business Environment — OT deals with the environment, such as aging population, decreasing unionization, increasing diversity, globalization, more eating out at restaurants, etc. ii. Be sure not to list strategic alternatives here -a you will not be able to list alternatives later for evaluation. For example, don't list expansion of restaurants as an opportunity; list growing trend toward to eating in restaurants as the opportunity c. Competitor Analysis — 5 Forces Model, if information is available in case. III. Strategic Analysis — this may include any or all of the following items; don't assume all cases require all these items: a. What is the current strategy? Mission? Vision? b. Does the company even have a strategy? Mission? Vision c. If it has a stated strategy, mission, or vision, is the company following the characteristics associated with that strategy, mission, or vision? i. What are the characteristics (use your textbook to find out the characteristics they should have)? ii. What facts or evidence illustrate they are following the strategy? d. Does the strategy fit the environment? i. Does there seem to be a mismatch between the strategy and the business environment? ii. Has there been a recent change in the competition or business environment that is creating a mismatch? ill. Is the company trying to be all things to all people, and in the process, losing focus? e. Consider basic strategy (what, who, how, where), generic strategies, corporate strategies (what businesses should they be in), diversification strategies, international strategies, etc. — Here I will be looking for your knowledge of what we cover in the textbook. This will be one of the most important areas of how your case is graded. Sometimes I will be very specific about what I will be looking for when you do your analysis — be sure to pay attention if I give you some hints as to what textbook information the case deals with. IV. Strategic Evaluation a. Is the company doing well with its strategy? If so, what is the evidence — market, financial (ratios or statement analysis), human resources, operational, etc. b. If the company is not doing well, list strategic alternatives i. Evaluate each alternative ii. List advantages and disadvantages of each iii. Be realistic Strategic Recommendation a. Choose which of the alternative seems best; state why you choose that alternative b. You may also wish to discuss implementation issues here. Be sure to be strategic first