Chapter 13 – Analyzing Strategic Management Cases
Why Analyze Strategic Management Cases?
The process of analyzing, decision making, and implementing strategic actions raises many good questions.
* Why do some firms succeed and other fail? * Why are some companies higher performers than others? * What information is needed in the strategic planning process? * How do competing values and beliefs affect strategic decision making? * What skills and capabilities are needed to implement a strategy effectively?
Case Analysis – A method of learning complex strategic management concepts – such as environmental analysis, the process of decision making, and implementing strategic actions – through placing students in the middle of an actual situation and challenging them to figure out what to do.
A strategic management case is a detailed description of challenging situation faced by an organization. One of the main reasons to analyze strategic management cases is to develop an ability to evaluate business situations critically. To analyze a case, it is important that you go beyond textbook prescriptions and quick answers. It requires you to look deeply into the information that is provided and root out the essential issues and causes of a company’s problems.
Three capabilities that can be learned by conducting case analysis:
Differentiate – Differentiating between the factors that are influencing the situation presented by a case is necessary for making a good analysis.
Speculate – Being able to imagine different scenarios or contemplate the outcome of a decision can aid the analysis.
Integrate – A strategic manager needs to comprehend how all the factors that influence the organization will interact.
How to Conduct a Case Analysis
Five steps to follow when conducting strategic management cases:
1. Become familiar with the material
* Read quickly through the