How to Analyze a Case

Excerpted from
the Case study handbook : How to read, discuss and write about cases
by William Ellet
 Presented by
1. Divya Nandini (1000321) Sept ’13
2. Ushanthini Santhirasegar (1207163001) Jun ‘16
 WHAT IS A CASE??
• A STORY OF A REAL LIFE SITUATION
• COLLECTION OF INFORMATION ABOUT A PARTICULAR INSTANCE OF
SOMETHING, SUCH AS A PERSON, COMPANY, INCIDENT OR PROBLEM
HOW TO ANALYZE A CASE

• recognizing some contextual factors that help limit and narrow the analysis
• Courses are often divided into different modules or themes
• defined by certain types of situations and, often, concepts, theories, and practices
appropriate for these situations
• should make use of all these contextual factors
• but they don’t amount to a method for analyzing a case.
TYPES OF CASE SITUATIONS

• Four types of situations occur repeatedly in cases:

Problems
Decisions
Evaluations
Rules
 Cases provide many examples of problems defined this way.
 In one, a well-trained, well-intentioned manager has tried to
introduce
 a worthwhile change in the sales strategy of an organization
 a change supported by a detailed, data-driven analysis
everyone admits is a breakthrough
 failed to get any of the sales staff to go along.
 The decisions featured in cases vary greatly in scope,
consequence, and available data
 Regardless of the dimensions of a decision, analysing it
requires
 Decision options
 Decision criteria
 Relevant evidence
 Evaluations express a judgment about the worth, value,
or effectiveness of a performance, act, or outcome
 unit of analysis of an evaluation can be
 an individual, a group, a department, an entire organization, a
country, or a global region
 evaluation include both positive and negative sides
 For rules analysis, need to know:
The type of information needed in a situation
The appropriate rule to furnish that information
The correct way to apply the rule
The data necessary to execute the rule
 CASE ANALYSIS AS A PROCESS
SUGGESTS A PROCESS THAT HELPS CASE METHOD
STUDENTS BECOME MORE EFFICIENT AND
PRODUCTIVE
 Iterative

Purposeful

Interrogative
 CONCEPTS CONTRIBUTING TO ACTIVE READING

• Concrete goal
Goal of Analysis • Substantive goal – combined with time limit

• Adopt the point of view of the main character

Point of View

• Tentative explanation that accounts for a set of facts that can be tested by
further investigations.
Hypothesis • Indispensable to science & to any fact based analytic activity – many
conclusions can be drawn
 DESCRIPTION OF PROCESS

4
1 2 3 5
Proof of
Situation Questions Hypothesis Alternatives
Action
1. SITUATION (5 MINS)
• Reading the first and last sections of the case is sufficient to identify the situation –
problem, decision or evaluation
• Problem cases may present the partial or complete description of a problem
• If a problem is not found – scan other sections

2. QUESTIONS (15 MINS)

• Ask questions based on the type of situation found – problem, decision or evaluation
• Won’t be able to answer the questions yet
3. HYPOTHESIS (45 MINS)

• Most important phase of work on the case

• Through close study of high value sections and exhibits, we can narrow the
possibilities to the one that seems more plausible to us
• Alternates – test them – starting with the one that shows more promise
• Work needs to be structured
4. PROOF OF ACTION (40 MINS)
• Evidence
• Assess the ones we already have
• Identify the ones missing
• Overlooked factors

5. ALTERNATIVES (15 MINS)

• Think critically about the work – identify weaknesses
WHAT IF THE HYPOTHESIS IS WRONG ???

• Hypothesis is not wrong

• Fails when we cant make a credible argument from it for the case
evidence
THE END
THANK YOU !