A. Cases and the case method of instruction What is a"Case? I use the term "case" to refer to a description of a situation involving an organization operating in an environment and engaging in a certain set of business activities. Cases describe the activities the organization has performed and generally indicate whether these activities have been successful or unsuccessful in terms of the goals they were intended to accomplish Cases are written with specific intent. Authors provide information and data for specific pedagogical reasons. There is a correct way the author's want the data analyzed so it may be used correctly in taking a position in your recommendation Strategic and tactical decision making situations are created so that you are forced to make a managerial decision Your class participation grade is highly correlated with your ability to"solvethe case in line with the author's design of the case. This means getting the situation analysis done correctly and then being able to use your analysis to take a position and defend it. " If your underlying analysis is correct- quantitative and qualitative- and you have no flaws in logic, you cannot be faulted for your solution 2. What is"Case Analysis"? The term "case analysis"refers to a systematic process of examining all the available information related to the case and performing the following steps a. Putting all of the information in the case together to produce a coherent picture or map"of the situation b. Evaluating the actions and plans of the company and identifying and describing business problems C. Recommending a coordinated plan of action to correct business problems d. Providing a justification or rationale for the recommended plan of action Each of these steps in the case analysis process is described in greater detail below 3. What Purpose is Served by Case Analysis in this Course? The process of case analysis provides students with the closest available approximation to the experience of being a manager. Case analysis serves as a substitute for large amount of actual business experience. Although case analysis is based on descriptions of business situations rather than the business situations themselves, it provides the best2 A. Cases and the Case Method of Instruction 1. What is a "Case"? I use the term "case" to refer to a description of a situation involving an organization operating in an environment and engaging in a certain set of business activities. Cases describe the activities the organization has performed and generally indicate whether these activities have been successful or unsuccessful in terms of the goals they were intended to accomplish. Cases are written with specific intent. Authors provide information and data for specific pedagogical reasons. There is a correct way the author's want the data analyzed so it may be used correctly in taking a position in your recommendation. Strategic and tactical decision making situations are created so that you are forced to make a managerial decision. Your class participation grade is highly correlated with your ability to "solve" the case in line with the author's design of the case. This means getting the situation analysis done correctly and then being able to use your analysis to "take a position and defend it." If your underlying analysis is correct - quantitative and qualitative - and you have no flaws in logic; you cannot be faulted for your solution. 2. What is "Case Analysis"? The term "case analysis" refers to a systematic process of examining all the available information related to the case and performing the following steps: a. Putting all of the information in the case together to produce a coherent picture or "map" of the situation. b. Evaluating the actions and plans of the company and identifying and describing business problems. c. Recommending a coordinated plan of action to correct business problems. d. Providing a justification or rationale for the recommended plan of action. Each of these steps in the case analysis process is described in greater detail below. 3. What Purpose is Served by Case Analysis in this Course? The process of case analysis provides students with the closest available approximation to the experience of being a manager. Case analysis serves as a substitute for large amount of actual business experience. Although case analysis is based on descriptions of business situations rather than the business situations themselves, it provides the best