AAAS Osta aid . GG 2 ta The | CASE |) SPUDY HANDBOOK | How to Read, Discuss, and | Write Persuastvely About Cases @ 2 el re ee So a . a Z, 2) oy e) e a 6 | WILLIAM ELLETCHAPTER 3 HOW TO ANALYZE A CASE As is a text that refitses to exphin itself. How do you construct a meaning for i? Start by recognizing some concextual factors that help limit and naeow che analysis. Cases are usually studied in a cousse.A marketing case requires you to think as a marketer, not a straegise or manufacturing manager. Consses are often divided into différeat modules or theses defined by tain types of situations and, often, concepts, theories, and practices appro- priate for chese situations. You can expect to encounter the chemes in the cases that are pare of the modules and opportunities to put to work the ana~ lytical tools and best practices your have learned. Past case discussions pro- vide a foundation for thinking about a new case, and study questions can call attention to important issues. You should make use of all these contex- tual factors, but they don’t amount wo a method for analyzing a case. cer- STARTING POINT FOR UNDERSTANDING The case method is hewisti—a vera for self-guided learning chat employs analysis to help draw conclusions about a situation, Analysis is derived from 2 Greek word meaning, “e dissolving” In English, analysis has two closely related definidons: to break something up into its constituent parts; and to study the relationships of the parts to the whole. To analyze a case, you therefore need ways of identifying and undeistanding important aspects of situation and what they mean in relation to the overall scuation, Each business discipline has its own theories, frameworks, processes and practices, and quantitative tools, All of them ate adapted to help understand specific types of situations, Michael Porter’ concepts are productive when investigating competitive advantage—but they aren't very helpfull for de- ciding whether co launch a product at a particular price or choosing the best method to finance the growth of a business. Porter's five forees can describe and explain the industry context in which a firm operates,! No one would expect Porter's framework to guide 2 product launch decision. Specialized methods are fruitiul because they're tailored to fit ‘well-defined purposes, They're often complex, shough, and hard to apply, especially for people who are just learning how to use them.20 ANALYSIS ‘This book teaches an approach to cases thar complements business con cepts and theories. les purpose is to provide a starting point for analysis that aids the use of theories and frameworks and quantitative formulas, all of which are indispensable for reaching conclusions about a case and building an argament for those conclusions, The case situation approach identifies fea- tures of case that can be helpfal to és analysis and encourages active reading, THINKING, NOT READING, IS KEY Seadents new to the case method usually believe the mast reliable way 10 understand a case is to read it from start to finish and then reread it as many times as necessary. (That's why many business schoo! seudents think speed- reading courses can help them.) They rush into a case, highlighter in hand, reading as if the case were 2 texsbook chapter, For case analysis you need to Know when to read fast and when to read slowly, You should also spend more time thinking about 2 case than reading it. ‘When you begin work on a new case, you don't know what to look for. ‘That is the major dilemma that confronts everyone who reads a case, In an active approach to a case, you start thinking before you read the case. And as you start reading it, you ask questions about the content. Then you seek answers in the case itself, As you fined partial or full answers, you think about how they relate ro each other and to the big picture of the case. You don't make knowledge by reading, Reading is never the primary resource of ease analysis, Reading is simply an instrument directed by the thought process that makes meaning ftom the text. TYPES OF CASE SITUATIONS Four types of situations occur repeatedly in cases: + Problems + Decisions + Evaluations + Rules People sometimes react indignantly to this classification. They insist hac there are a molkitude of situations portrayed in cases, and its misleading to say they're reducible to four.'The four aze not the oftly situations found in cases, but many case situations do belong in one of the four categories, and when they do, an awareness of which one can help organize analysis, This approach isn't the only correct way—i is one way. Try it and see if it helps.HOW TO ANALY: Feel five to integrate pieces of it with your own way of dealing wieh cases. ‘The greatest value of the case situation approach may be that it causes you Co think about how you think about ease studies. Problems The word problem fas many meanings. The meaning can be vague, seferring to something thar’ difficult or woubling. The definition of probleun as 2 e3se situation, however, is quite specific. Te is a situation in which (1} there is a significant outcome or performance, and (2) there is no explicit explanation of the outcome or performance. To pat it simply, a problem is a situation in which something important has happened, but we don’t know why it did. 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 2 detailed, data-driven analysis everyone admits is a breakthrough—and has failed to get any of the saies staff to go along. In another, an accounting manager ofa manufacturer notices that two good retail cuscomers suddenly have accounts payable that are large and overdue enough to be worrisome He has no idea why the two firms would fall so far behind in their payments, Both of these cases describe situations that involve negative outcomes. ‘The causes of these sorts of outcomes are important to know far a practical reason: the knowledge can help improve che situation, The change ellort anay be self-destructive because it has weaknesses that are not apparent, oF the manager may be good at many things but is a poor change agent. The manufacturer's retail customers may have large accounts payable because they have sloppy internal controls—or they mey both be on the verge of bankruptcy: These possibilities iustrate why accurate causal analysis is vital A conceptually flawed change is addressed very differently from an individ- ual who isn't well suited to lead change. If both situations exist, che corcec~ tive action is that much more complex. Rewil operations that need to clean up their accounting processes might requite the manufacturer co engage in aegotiations over a period of time, but two firms with bad debis that might go banktupt require the supplier's inmediate attention Success can also be a problem in che special meaning used here, Take che case of a company that specializes in outdoor advertising. It operates in chree different market segments, bur the case doesn't tell you which is the ‘most profitable, much less why. Another case describes the developntent ofa country over a period of thixty years or so; after severe political and social uyy- aval, che country slowly recovers and exceeds the performance of most counttigs in the region, Lut the case doesn’t state how nutch more successful 2422 ANALYSIS the country has been relative to its neighbors, and while ir provides a great deal of data, both economic and demographic, ic doesn’t enumerate the rea~ sons for the country’s revival Problem analysis begins with a definition of che problem. That seems obvious, yer many cases don’s state a problem. So first, you need to realize a problem exists and then define it for yourself Next, you work our an expla- nation of the problem by Linking the oxtcome or performance to its root causes—this is the main work of problem analysis, To carry i out, you'll need relevant tools, the specialized methods of business disciplines such as organizational behavior or operations management. Decisions Many cases are organized azound an explicit decision. The second para graph of “General Motors: Packard Electric Division” (reprodaced in this book) begins with this sentence: “The Product, Process, and Reliabiliey (PPR) committee, which had the final responsibilicy for the new product development process, had asked [Davi] Schramm for his analysis and rec~ commendation as to whether Packard Electric should commit to the RIM grommet for a 1992 model year car!” Like many cases, this one complicates that decision immediately: Schramm must mnake up his mind within a week, and the product development people and manufacturing disagree over which way to go. The existence of an explicit decision is an importane distinction, because nearly eff business cases involve decisions, In many of these cases, however, the decisions are implicit and dependent on another situation, Let’s take a case described earlier that involves a problem: the outdoor advertising com- pany. The case implies a decision: What is the best strategy the company should pursue in the future? This decision can oaly be made after the com- pany’s current strategy and how well ie works are analyzed. ‘The decisions featured in cases vary greatly in scope, consequence, and available data. An executive must decide whether to launch a product, move a plant, pursue a merger, or provide financing for a planned expansion—-or the president ofa country must decide whether to sign a controversial trade agreement. Regardless of the dimensions of a decision, analyzing it requites the following: + Decision options + Decision criteria * Relevant evidenceHOW TO ANALYZE A CASE Identiffing decision options is often easy because che case tells you what they are. As soon as you encounter a stated decision, you should look for a statement of the alternatives. IF they aren't stated, chen the fitse goal of analysis is to come up with plausible decision option: The most important part of a decision analysis is determining the crite- ria. A rational decision can't be made without appropriate criteria. A deci- sion case isn’t likely to state criteriathey have eo be derived through carefil stucly of the specifics of the case, with the help of specialized methods The criteria are used to develop evidence to complete a decision analysis The goal is to determine the devision that creates the best fit between the available evidence and the criteria, In the Genera Motots case, 2 possible decision criteria is value to che customer, The reader needs vo find evidence indicating which option delivers the greatest value to the customer, (That doesn’t settle the matter, though, because there are other criteria} One other characteristic of decision analysis deserves mention here, There is no objectively corvect decision, The standard for a good decision is che one that creates more benefits than che alternatives and has fewer ot less severe downsides, Evaluations Evaluations express a judgment about the worth, value, ot effectiveness of a performance, act, or outcome. The unit of analysis of an evaluation can be an individual, a group, a department, an entire organization, a country, or global region. An annual performance evaluation of an employce is a real- world example. So is a new CEO evaluating the performance of the com- any she is now heading. An evaluation can also involve the assessment of an act, such as a decision that has already been taken, Here is an example: From the perspective of carrent BU members, do you agree with their decésion fo enlarge the Union by iew new meunbers? Finally, an outcome can be the subject of an assessment. The competitive position of 2 company, for instance, is the outcome of numerous decisions and performances as well as contingencies such as macroeconomic conditions. Like decision analysis, evaluation requites appropriate criteria. Without them, there are no standards for assessing worth, value, or effectiveness. As in decision analysis, evaluative criterie are inferred from the particulars of a sit- uation with help from specialized methods. Evaluating a company’s finan- cial performance over a five-year period can be undertaken with a long list of financial formulas, but the circumstances portrayed in the case come into play as well. The numbers may show that a company has a steaclily declining 2824 ANALYSIS performance over the period, but i still may be doing well because the national economy is slumping and the company is actually doing better than its competitors, An overall evaluation expresses the bese fit beaween the evidence and the criteria. In the example just given, measured against purely financial erite- via, the company is doing poorly:Yet. the evidence pertaining to macroeco- nomic and competitive criteria alters the evaluation: in a tough muarket, the company is actually performing better than its peers Another requirement of evaluation is that is include both positive and negative sides. A leader has strengths and weaknesses, and both ate included in an accttrate evaluation. Moreover, there may be aspects of the leader's performance that are ambiguous—he has delegated power widely, but it is too early to tell whether the managers below him can handle the power. And this individual’s performance as a leader could be substantially affected by factors owtside his control—corporate headquarters has intervened in his promotion decisions and insisted that certain favorites be elevated even though they aren't the best-qualified candidates Rules Quantitative methods can provide critical information about business situ- ations. For example, say there isa need to compare the value ofa company when a specific condition exisis—a parmership with another company— and when it doesn't exist. The way co calculate future cash values—one that experts and experience support as reasonably accurate—is net present value. An NPV calculation is done according ¢o a formula. Mathematically, there is a right way to perform the calculation; any other way provides an inaccurate zesalt. For rules analysis, you need to know: «The type of information needed in a situation + The appropriate rule to fornish that information + The cozrect way to apply the rule » The data necessary to execute the rule Rusles analysis exists in virtually every area of business. A breakeven cal- culation is a rule used in marketing, In manufacturing, quantitative meth- ods ate used for process analysis, and accounting and finance consist primarily of rules, The scope of rules is very narrow, For the most part, they are usefial only in specific sets of circumstances, but in those ciscuenstances are very productive, There is a correct way to execute of perform the rule,HO) and the oncpur is of one type. A well-defined set of rules is needed to ana~ Iyze a company’s liquidity: Those rules are the most useful in the situation, because they are designed tw be. Each calculation specified by a rule has a procedure chat must be Slowed, [fi isn’t, che result is a meaningless nam ber. Bach calculation yields a precise output ofa prescribed type (e.g..a per centage less chan or equal t0 ze10}. Qualitative methods ave different from rules. There ate often many alter native methods for obtaining che same or similar information. ‘fo analyze the quality of leadership in an organization or its competitive strategy, there ave a large number of methods to choose from. There is no prescribed snethod that provicles correct information about competitive advantage. In marketing, two different methods can be applied to the same situation, can produce very different resulis, and. can both be usefiulor useless. A second difference beeween rules and qualitative mechods is how they are executed There is a correct way to execute a rule such as the formula for net present value; there is no objectively comect way to execute qualitative methods for analyzing competition. That is not to say that rules analysis lacks uncertainties and ambiguities Any calculation about the future involves unceriainty. This uncertainty is built into formules through assumptions, anid assumptions involve judg- ment, not objective erath, Settling on a growth or inflation rate over a cer- tain period of time is speculative. The key is the reasoning behind the choice, Centtal bankers can be wrong about inflacion and growth, and so can the rest of us. Assumptions need to have a teasonable basis, but reason able people can disagree about them, But note that the argument is about assumptions, ot sbout the rules themselves. (Experts do argue about the fimess of rules and make changes to them, but after they do, everyone uses the changed rule and executes it the same wey Sometimes, though, an idiosyneratic assumption has no material effect on the resule of @ calculation, In the earlier valuation example, you might assume a growth rate that is too optimistic, but if the rate is the same for the calculation with and without che partnership, it should have no effect on the comparison of the end values. The results of rules analysis fiequently provoke sharp difleeences of opin- jon. Whar two people infer fiom the same numerical resus can diverge Economists are famous for looking ar the same set of numbers and coming to vastly different conclusions abou them, even though chey all agree on ¢ formulas and data that have produced the numbers, The same is true in companies, One executive can read financial numbers as confirmation that a strategy is working, while another can read them as a warning that disas- ter looms, In short, numbers don't expla what they mean, and they dow't make decisions for you TOANALYZBAC 2526 ANALYSIS However, the interpretation of the output of rules is distinct fiom the rules themselves. Ifthe right rule is applied and correctly performed, and the rule doesn’ involve a controversial assumption (like the predicted groweh rate of GNP), everyone will come up with exactly the same result. F?2 qualita. tive method relevent co a siazation is applied to the samte set of facts it a way consistent with the generally understood meaning of its concepts, everyone will not necessavily come up with the same result, That is the fimdamental difference between rules, as defined here, and qualitative methods Roses aren’ pursued further in this book. Learning rules analysis means learning & certain category of rules—valtation, for instance—and when and how to use them, That leaming is the province of accounting, finance, tux, and other areas that are intensely rule governed. However, it may be helpful to remember that when rales depend apon assumptions, the values chosen for chem require an argument. Moreover, the information rules provide has great importance for the analysis of problems, decisions, and evalua- tions. Accounting rules can diagnose the financial health ofan organization, Macroeconomics i invaluable in evaluating a nation’ development strat- egy. Financial rules are indispensable to a decision about whether to sell a company at a piven time and price, Rules are a large and important subset of the specialized methods necessaey te understand case situations. CASE ANALYSIS AS A PROCESS The way you analyze a case differs fiom the way anyone ele does. There is a difference, though, between personal study habits and a process for ana- lyzing a case. The latter involves more than habits and practices. It concerns how you think about a case, The intention of this section is to suggest a process that has helped case method stadents become more efficient and productive. This process is designed for case discussion preparation, but it is easily adapted to a process for writing a case essay. (However, the way a case is analyzed for an essay is more prescriptive, since an essay must have certain clenzents, Chapters 10 through 12 will explain these elements.) The key to the process is active reading. Active reading is interragetive and purposeful. You ask questions about the case and seek answers, Questions give a purpose for reading; they direct and focus stady on important aspects ofa situation. The moment you sense that you are reading without purpose, stop and regroup. It may be a good time to step away and stretch, do some yoga, or walk, Active reading i also iterative, meaning you make mubiple passes through a case. With each iteration, the purpose of reading changes you are fooking for new information or looking at old information in a new way. Three concepts contribute to active reading: « goal, a point of view, and a hypothesis.HOW TO ANALYZE ACASE 97 Goal of Analysis Atirst it may seem obvious, What other goal can there be for analyzing a case chan to understand it? The problem is thae “understanding” is too vague. Another way to chink about the goal is, How do you know when to conclude the study of a case? This is an important question, If you don't have « conerete limit, vou can diift along for hows, much of ir taken up by distraction and undirected effort, Here is @ mote conctete goal: you ate familiar with the information in the case, you have come co a conclusion about the main issue, you have evidence showing why your conchision is ble, and you have thought about other possible conclusions and why yours is preferable to them. This substantive goal can be combined with time limit, Allocate a set amount of thne—awo hous, for example-~-for each case, At the end of the pexiod, stop and seitle fox whatever you know about the case. This is a very good way to pur constructive pressure on yourself to make the most of the time Feast Point of View ‘To anchor analysis, take advantage of what's already in the case. Adopt the point of view of the protagonist—the main character. Put yourself in her shoes, Her dilemma should be your dilemma, If irs a decision, set a recom- mended decision as your goal. When you adopt the persona of the main character, don’t assume chat you're dealing with a cardboard cutout, 2 dra matic veneer. Consider the character’ strengths, responsibilities, and blind spots, By all means, too, be sensitive to the dilemmas characters find them selves in, Offen, a good question to ask yourselfis, Why is the person in this dilemma? Hypothesis One of the most useful constructs for resolving the protagonists dilemma is a ‘yportesis. A hypothesis is “s tentative exphnation that accounts for a set of facts and can be tested by further investigation?” Ir is indispensable to science and to any fact-based analytic activity in which multiple conclasions are possible. A hypothesis offers the advantage of a concrete statement you can est against case evidence, Say that che protagonist of a case must evaluate an individual she has hited—a vising scar, but also a person who alienates many people inside the firm and ets some corners in his relentless pursuit of new business. The hypothesis is that the new hire should receive a high rating despite some flows in his petformance. To test ig you'll have to develop a28 ANALYSIS serong argument, based on relevant criteria, facts, and inferences, that backs a positive evaluation but also recognizes poor performance on other criteria. Cases don't allow just any hypothesis, The available evidence in the case sets the rational limit on the range of hypotheses. A hypothesis that can't be argued from evidence in the case is simply an unsubstantiated opinion However, there is a range of possible hypotheses about every case. A con- arian’ position—one that opposes what seem to be safer hypotheses and can be argued fiom evidence—can have a galvanizing effect in a discussion, forcing everyone to look at the evidence from an entirely new angle of consider evidence no one else has noticed DESCRIPTION OF PROCESS The rest of this chapter outlines a process for working on cases, The process has five phases: 1, Situation Questions Hypothesis a BN Proof and action 5, Akernatives The process is meant to be flexible and adaptable, Experiment with it, using the cases in this book, Many MBA students don’t give mach thought to their case-study approach, not because it is unimportant bat because they don't see anything tangible to think about, Ulrimately, the value of the process described below depends on whether it prompts you to think about your own process 1. Situation (5 minutes) ‘The most difficule part of a case analysis seems to be the beginning. You have to bridge the gap between no knowledge about the case and knowl- cdge sufficient to form a hypothesis. Phat gap can look very wide as you begin reading a case thick with detail: it can seem to be all parts and no whole, Earlier in the chapter, | stressed chat it is hard to find something when you don’t know what you're looking for. To get started. you can structure analysis with a series of questions. The process f advocate is under- standing the big picture first and chen filling it in with details. Scart by ask- ing this question: What is ihe situation?HOW TO ANALYZE A C2 Usually reading the first and last sections of the case is sufficient to iden- tiff the situation. Decisions and evalttions cend to be stated at the beginning Problems are harder to recognize, and more details about identifying them provided in chapter 5, A chaeacceristic ofa problem case is the absence of any actionable statement made by or about the protagonist, Often, che main character is reflecting on a situation and wondering what to do, Reading the first and las: sections of the case can often provide far move information than just the type of situation, In decision eases, these sections nny specify the decision options."That is true of the case “General Motors: Packard Blecitic Division.” 1f you don't find options at the beginning or end of 2 case, you should scan other sections. The opening or ending of a problem case enay present a partial or complete description of the problem. In all types of cases, the initial and final sections frequently express a tension ot conflicc important to the analysis. In “General Motors.” the first section identifies the decision and a confict between two functional groups, The two sides of che conflict, with the protagonist in the middle, can be refer- ence points for analysis, Why do the produce developaint people so strongly support an innovative component that they'te willing 00 take a for midable risk? And why are the manuficturing people just as adamant that the company should not go forward with the component in the short term? After reading the openings and closing sections, you should put the case aside for a moment and consider what you have learned, Is the situation a problem, decision, or evaluation? Do you have any ideas about the cata frameworks or criteria that might fit the situation? Does it seem you'll have 4 cut durough 2 large amount of information in the case or make many inferences because the information is scarce? Are there any hints in the two sections about causes, criteria, or even a plausible decision or evaluation? Do the hints seem reliable or just a way to theow you of? 2. Questions (15 minutes) Knowing the situation allows you to ask questions pertinent to a problem, a decision, of an evaliation. The most important of these questions is: [What do Lined to kenow aborit the sitnation? Here are questions specific to cach sitaation PROBLEM Who or what is che subject of the problem (eg.,a manager, a company, a country}? What is the problem? Am I trying to account fora failuse, a success, or something more ambiguous? What's the significance of the problem co the subject? Who is responsible for che problem (usually itis 2330 ANALYSIS the protagoniss) and what might he need to know to do something about it? DECISION, What are the decision options? Do any seem particularly strong or weak? What’ ar stake in the decision? What are the possible criteria? ‘What might the most important criteria be for this kind of decision? Are any of the criteria explicitly discussed in the case (case headings can sometimes give good clues)? EVALUATION Who or what is being evaluated? Who's responsible for the evaluation? What at stake? What are the possible criteria? What might the most important criteria be for this sore of evaluation? Are any of the criteria explicidy discussed in the case (case headings can sometimes give you good clues)? You won't be able to answer these questions now. That will wake farther study. To make this fiese pass chtough the text more targeted. it’s useful to do a content inventory. ts purpose is 60 locate information thet might be used to answer the questions about the situation. “To perform a fist inventory scan the headings in che text. Read a litte of the sections, especially those that seem to have valuable information, Exam~ inc the exhibits ro got a sense of what they convey, You will learn some- thing about the case—sometimies a great deal more than you might expect You'll aso build a map of the usefull content, Because cases often aren't lin eat in their organization, this map is very important; pieces of information related to the same issue will be found in different sections of the case and in the exhibits Use a pencil or pen to matk up the case. Mark high-value sections and circle facts, numbers, and statements of possible importance. Be sutte to cap- fare any thoughts about the answers to your questions, and record new questions that come to mind. Note what issues particular exhibits may illa- minate, and what calculations might be performed later to yield relevant information. 3. Hypothesis (45 minutes) Armed with a lise of things you want to know about the situation and a map of the content, you ate ready for this question: Wha’ my hypothesis? ‘This is che most important phase of work on the case, Through close study of high value sections and exhibits, you nacrow the possibilities to theHOWTO A NALYZT ACASE 31 one that seems most plausible to you. If there are theee alvernatives for a decision, test them, starting with the one you suspect has the most promise. Here are some other suggestions for structuring your work at this point: PROBLEM * Make sure you know the problem thar needs to be diagnosed. Com sider whether the characteristics of the problem suggest causes * Think about the frameworks that seem most appropriate to the sita- ation. Quickly review the specifics of the frameworks if you aren’: sure of them. * Pursue the diagnosis by looking at case inform of the cause you are most certain about. 1 through the Jens * For each cause, make a separate pass through the case looking for evidence of it, * Ifthe case has a lot of quantitative evidence, to what cause is it most relevant? If you don't have a cause relevant to the quantitative evi- dence, formulate one. Work up as much relevant, high-value quanti- tative evidence as you can. * Ina case with 2 protagonist, consider whether she is a potential cause. Ifyou think she is, work out hovr she contributes to the problem. DECISION * Review the criteria you have come up with so far. Which do you have the most confidence in? + Review the decision options. Do any seem especially strong or weak? * Apply the criterion that seems to identify the most evidence in the case * Investigate the scrongest decision option with the criterion you have the most confidence in. Or, if you're reasonably certain aboue which is weakest, ee if you can dismiss that option quickly. + Tf the case has a lot of quantitative evidence, which eriterion is most relevant to ic? If you don’t have a criterion relevant to the quantita- tive evidence, formulate one. Work up as much zelevant, high-value quantita evidence as you can,32 ANALYSIS + TPthere are conflicts about the decision between individuals or gzoups, think about why chat is, Look at the decision from the point of view of each of the parties to the conflict. + If the protagonist is in a difficute position in relation to the decision, consider why that is. EVALUATION + Review the criteria you have come up with so fer, Which do you have the most confidence in? + What are the terms of the evaluation going to be (¢.g..strengths/ weaknesses)? Do any stand out in the case (e.g,, an obvious strength of an individual)? + Do you already have a sense of the bottom-line evaluation you favor? If you do, what are the reasons for the preference? Pursue those reasons, + Start by applying the criterion that seems to identify che most evie dence in the case. + Investigate the most positive rating or the most negative wich the criterion you have the, most confidence in. + Tf the case hes a lot of quantitative evidence, which criterion is most relevant co it? If you don't have a criserioa relevant to the quantita~ tive evidence, formulate one, Work up as much relevant, high-value quantitative evidence as you can. ‘Taking notes helps you organize and remember information, but it serves the equally important purpose of recording your thought process, Without note taking, you can too easily stray from active reading. Of course, note taking can degenerate into transferring information in the case to a piece of paper or computer screen, Notes on 4 case don’t simply recond facts. They capeure anything that might lead to answers to the questions you've asked. Te may sound trivial, but I recommend that scudents try to contain the “highlighter habit" his study aid is well adapted to the lecture model of tearing, but i¢ can be a detriment to case study. Highlighting sentences is satisfying because it makes you feel you're doing something. In reality, what you're doing is marking sentences to think about later, and thee’ 2 setup for passive reading, You should be thinking about statements she first time you encounter them. That said, highlighters can be useful as tool to differenti~ ate related content: facts about one aspect of the case, for example, or text and numbers thac belong to one category of evidence.HOW TO ANALYZE A CASE 33 A pencil or pen is more conducive to active reading—to write down questions and amake notes When you begin to gravitate toward 2 concln- sion, stop work and write it down. The function of a hypothesis is to give you a position to try out, not a final conclusion, so listen carefully to your intuition, HE you have time, put the case away after this iteration, Even a short break can be usefull There is scientific evidence that our subconscious minds are much better at dealing with complexity than our conscious minds. Turning your attention ro something efse allows that subconscious capacity to work on the information you have collected, 4. Proof and Action (40 minutes) A hypothesis drives a different approach to the case. You want to prove something, not look for something to prove. Ask these questions: Wat evi- dence do T have that supports the hypothesis? What additional evidence do I weed? Look at the information you've compiled and identify evidence sup- porting the hypothesis. Your first priority should be to add to the evidence you have. What is the strongest evidence? Can you add more to it? Now assess where evidence is missing. Where will you find more—or is there any evidence in the ease? Think about any factors you may have over- Jooked such as a cause, criterion, or evaluative category. Go back into the case, with the single purpose of bringing out more evi- dence that aligns with your hypothesis. You don’t have to work from the first page to the last. You can go directly to the sections and exhibits you think have what you need, Of course, you can work from beginning to end if that makes you more comfortuble. Just be sure to stay focused on what you're trying to prove, Let’ say that you'te building an argument for a decision option and one of the criteria is cost savings. You've noted some statements that imply your decision option will save money for the firm and circled numbers chat you thought were relevant to savings. Collect chose nunabers now, and work out calculations to estimate the total savings. You may then have one of those gratifying moments of case study: from those scattered numbers that looked so inconsequential when viewed individually, you've pulled together an estimate that indicates 2 very large annual savings~~and that’ just one part of your argument, Abo give some thought to the actionable content of your position. How would you implement the decision you'te recommending? What actions does your diagnosis or evaluation call for? Think in practical, real-world, not ideal-world, teen:s. Don't juse sketch out in your mind a broad34 ANALYSIS approach to action. Think about tangible actions and write them down. Finally, give a bic of daought to the order of the actions. An action plan is a program in which actions axe taken at a certain time for a reason. Tt isn’t a to-do list. 5. Alternatives (15 minutes) Ie may seem paradoxical, but the lase phase of analysis should be to question your own hypothesis: Phat is the greateet weakness of the hypothesis? What is the strongest alternative to it? ‘The intention isn’t to undermine your hard work but to take a step back and look critically at che hypothesis and the evidence. Every position has a weakness, and you should be the one who recognizes it, nat the professor or your pects, Here are some ways to chink critically about your work: PROBLEM Can the problem be defined differently? Would that make a difference to the diagnosis? Are there any holes ia the diagnosis—could there be causes anissiug? What’ he weakest part of the diagnosis? Could an entively different diagnosis be made? What would it look like? DECISION What’ the biggest downside of the recommended decision? How would you manage the downside? Whar’ the strongest evidence against the recommendation? How would a case for the major alternative look? EVALUATION Have you been objective and chorough about the evaluative findings that oppose your overall assessment? Think how a different overall evaluation might be proved, Have you accounted for factors that the subject of che evaluation couldn't concro!? “BUT WHAT IE MY HYPOTHESIS IS WRONG?” Scudents have asked me that question many times. A hypothesis isn’t wrong; a hypothesis fails when you can’t make a credible argument for it from case evidence. If you find yourself in that situsion—and you will sooner or later—first make sare the difficulty lies with the hypothesis and not with your evidence gathering. You may have overlooked important information or not used specialized tools effectively, If you're certain the evidence isn’t there, face up to it but realize that the work you've already done isa’t wasted.HOW TO ANALYZE & CASE You now have a good grasp of the case and probably have a good sense of what the evidence is and where ic is, Your work with a new hypochesis is therefore likely 10 move along quickly. Another way of looking at the fear of being wrong is t0 ask yourself what che alternative is, 1 have not heard of « method of case analysis that never leads to dubious conclusions. In fact, malsing analytic mistakes is invaluable. Through mistakes, we lean more about the thought proces: called case analysis. And a shaky analysis can sometimes be 2 symptom of risk taking, which is ako an invaluable learning experience. Nores 1, Michael B, Potter, Conperitive Stitagy:Fehulgues for nalpzing Badutries ond Compest fe1s (New YorksPhe Free Press, (980) 2, The Americas He Company, 1993), Disionny, shied edition (Bosion: Houghton MiB 35