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Section 1 Presents some good guidelines for preparing cases in general. This information will help you prepare your group case to present to the class as well. Section 2 Describes specific questions that must be addressed in the course of your group presentation. Section 1 GUIDE TO CASE ANALYSIS Preparing a Case for Class Discussion If this is your first experience with the case method, you may have to reorient your study habits. Unlike lecture courses where you can get by without preparing intensively for each class and where you have latitude to work assigned readings and reviews of lecture notes into your schedule, a case assignment requires conscientious preparation before class. You will not get much out of hearing the class discuss a case you havent read, and you certainly wont be able to contribute anything yourself to the discussion. What you have got to do to get ready for class discussion of a case is to study the case, reflect carefully on the situation presented, and develop some reasoned thoughts. Your goal in preparing the case should be to end up with what you think is a sound, well-supported analysis of the situation and a sound, defensible set of recommendations about which managerial actions need to be taken. To prepare a case for class discussion, we suggest the following approach Read the case through rather quickly for familiarity. The initial reading should give you the general flavor of the situation and indicate which issue or issues are involved. If your instructor has provided you with study questions for the case, now is the time to read them carefully. Read the case a second time. On this reading, try to gain full command of the facts. Begin to develop some tentative answers to the study questions your instructor has provided. If your instructor has elected not to give you assignment questions, then start forming your own picture of the overall situation being described. Study all the exhibits carefully. Often, there is an important