Posted: February 3rd, 2017

prepare a formal report in Executive Summary Format on the assigned case study (contained in your coursepack) that will analyze the company’s current situation and make recommendations for the future.

STRATEGIC THINKING WRITTEN CASE ANALYSIS

The Assignment:

Each student will individually prepare a formal report in Executive Summary Format on the

assigned case study (contained in your coursepack) that will analyze the company’s current

situation and make recommendations for the future. This exercise deliberately builds on, and

requires you to apply the concepts and frameworks learned in the course, and build your case

analysis in a systematic, thorough and rigorous way.

You should take the role of an outside strategy consultant, hired by the Board of Directors to

assess their company’s performance, and to provide recommendations for future strategic action.

Your focus should be on effectively articulating your analysis and conclusions to a senior

management audience. Your analysis write-up should be a maximum of 5 pages in length, single

spaced (12 point font, 1” margins). This does not include tables, charts, or appendices, which are

strongly encouraged to support your analysis. You should make extensive use of appendices to

provide exhibits which support your analyses and draw on tools and frameworks from the

course. Your appendices do not count toward your 5-page limit.

General Guidelines:

DO NOT go outside of the case for information. Your assignment is to help the company make

smart decisions related to their business, given the information available to them in the case.

Base your case analysis on the facts that are contained in the case – do not use your own

experiential knowledge as a consumer or from your previous work experience or information

from the Internet to explain or defend your analysis.

You should use any and all analytical tools we have learned thus far in the course to structure

your analysis.

Grading Rubric:

The grading rubric will include the following categories:

1.) your thoughtfulness and thoroughness in quantitatively and qualitatively analyzing the

situation and identifying the key issues, problems, or decisions inherent in the case,

2.) the creativity and the breadth of alternative actions/solutions you consider,

3.) the rigor and depth of quantitative and qualitative analysis you use to establish criteria for

choosing among alternatives and to assemble evidence in support of your recommended

actions,

4.) the appropriateness of your recommended actions given the facts of the case; and

5.) the persuasiveness and clarity of the presentation of your supporting arguments.

Please use these grading criteria to decide how best to structure and communicate your write-up.

Content Guidelines:

I expect to see the following sections in your Executive Summary:

• Situation Analysis
• Key Issues Statement
• Strategic Recommendations and Rationale
• Conclusions
• Appendices