Cases in Strategic Mgt.
September 29, 2011
Introduction
A case study provides an account of the trends and actions that have occurred in a business or industry over a certain period of time. It records the events and decisions managers had to deal with. Changes in the market, new competition, fluctuating profits, changes in the board of a company are all examples of significant events that would be documented in a case study. After the events of a business are documented and analyzed a recommendation is given that would help the business’ organizational problems.
Case Analysis
Case studies are used for a number of reasons. They provide experience and examples of organizational issues that the reader may not have encountered. It gives the reader an understanding of how top level managers solve problems as they occur. These solutions can then be compared and contrasted based on their level of success or failure. This will give a person a decent basis to provide recommendations
To analyze a case study one must first look at the history of a company, considering their development and growth overtime. It is important to chart the important incidents in the company’s history, tracing the most critical or unusual events that lead to the development of the company that it is today.
After researching the company’s history it is time to view the current manifestation of the business. Using the SWOT analysis technique and the historical data that was charted a document of the strengths and weaknesses of the company should be developed. Using these strengths and weaknesses it is now necessary to analyze the current environment of the industry the company is in. Having done these steps there should now be a document of the strengths and weaknesses as well as opportunities and threats within the industry the company is in.
Following the SWOT analysis it is necessary to view the corporate level strategy defining the company’s