Case study analysis

Case method teaching immerses students into realistic business situations.  Cases provide the reality of managerial decision making — which includes incomplete information, time constraints, and conflicting goals — as students learn how to analyze business situations.  The case method stimulates students’ thinking and encourages discussion.  Not only is it a very relevant and practical way to learn, it’s exciting and fun.

The cases are from Harvard Business School Press.  The cases will help you understand how companies are using Supply Chains in innovative ways.  The instructor will provide a list of questions with each case. The instructor will lead a discussion of these cases in the class.  For each case, one group will also be expected to make a presentation of the case in the class.

One group will present this case in the class, and another group will post the correct answers to these case questions on the blog after the class discussion.  The remainder of the groups are required to submit a printout of their answers to the instructor at the beginning of the class. Also, be prepared to discuss the case in the class.

Instructions for each Student and All Groups

Although the answers to the case questions posed are to be submitted by the group, each individual student’s preparation and participation is critical.  Specifically:

1. Preparation. Each student must read the case.  Then work within their team to analyze the case, and then formulate an action plan.  Without this, the case discussion will mean little.
2. Presence. If the student is not present, she or he cannot learn and, more important, cannot add her or his unique thoughts and insight to the class discussion.
3. Promptness. Students who enter the classroom late disrupt the discussion and deprecate the decorum of the process.
4. Participation. Each student’s learning is best facilitated by regular participation.  More important, the case student has the responsibility to share his or her understanding and judgment with the class to advance the group’s collective skills and knowledge.

Instructions for the group making case presentation

Submission:

1. Submit the case study analysis via email to me (at Edward.Beaver@temple.edu) – no later than the day the case study is to be discussed in class. The file should be in Microsoft Powerpoint (.ppt or pptx) format.
2. Submit a printout of your presentation slides to instructor at the beginning of the class.
3. Please bring the case to class on a flash driveand make sure you hand it to me before the class starts.
4. Late submissions will not receive assignment credit

Content:

1. Briefly (3-5 slides) discuss the company and the main points of this case.
2. Present a slide or two on how the company is doing now (through some research on Google) – what their latest profit is or how they seem to be doing overall. If you can include some latest news about their supply chain, that’ll be great.
3. Prepare a diagram of the complete supply chain (as given in the case). On the diagram, highlight the insourced and outsourced components.
4. Prepare 1-2 slides on each of the case questions from the blog.

Presentation Style: Points will also be awarded for presentation style. Here are some tips that you may want to note:

1. Remember that the slides are not the presentation. Avoid reading verbatim from the slides.
2. Make sufficient eye contact with the class. It is not a good idea to read prepared notes directly.
3. Make the slides sufficiently interesting. For example, you can include pictures or videos related to the company.
4. Formal attire is not required for this presentation.

Instructions for the group posting correct answers

Every week, one group will post correct answers to the case questions on the blog. Here are the instructions to that group:

1. Please post your answers as a comment to the post which contains the case questions.
2. The answer should be posted after we discuss the case in class (preferably before noon the following day).
3. Please make sure that you post correct answers based on the inclass discussion. Points will be deducted if you post incorrect answers to the case questions on the blog.
4. Feel free to discuss any answer with me if you are not sure of the correct answer to any question.

Instructions for Other Groups (not-presenting, not posting answers)

One group will present this case in the class, and another group will post the correct answers to these case questions on the blog after the class discussion.  The remainder of the groups are required to submit a printout of their answers to the instructor at the beginning of the class.  All groups are to be prepared to discuss the case in the class.

Here are some tips for writing the case answers:

1. Answers should be brief and to the point (10 lines max).
2. Answers should be substantiated by proper reasoning from the case or other sources.
3. Avoid general statements such as “make customers happy”, “increase profits” etc without proper explanations.