Business Problem solving notes

BBA

Alok Chakravarty [UNext]

Contents
Syllabus..................................................................................................................................................4
Section-1: Introduction to Business Analytics........................................................................................5
Introduction.......................................................................................................................................5
Data Types.........................................................................................................................................5
Data Summarization and Visualization Principles..............................................................................6
Business Analytics Definition.............................................................................................................9
Types of Analytics............................................................................................................................10
Business Intelligence Vs Business Analytics.....................................................................................14
BI Example.......................................................................................................................................14
Machine Learning............................................................................................................................15
Predictive Analytics (Supervised ML)...............................................................................................15
Unsupervised ML.............................................................................................................................16
Prescriptive Analytics.......................................................................................................................17
CRISP-DM.........................................................................................................................................19
Popular Tools...................................................................................................................................25
Analytics Career...............................................................................................................................25
Questions.........................................................................................................................................27
Section-2: Introduction to Business Problem Solving..........................................................................28
What is Business Problem Solving...................................................................................................28
Business Problem Solving Framework.............................................................................................28
Frameworks.....................................................................................................................................30
Questions Section-2.........................................................................................................................31
Section-3: Problem Identification Techniques.....................................................................................31
Frameworks Summary.....................................................................................................................31
SWOT...............................................................................................................................................32
PESTEL.............................................................................................................................................36
Porter’s 5 Forces..............................................................................................................................37
BCG Growth Share Matrix................................................................................................................37
McKinsey 7S Framework..................................................................................................................38
Ansoff Matrix...................................................................................................................................39
VRIO Framework..............................................................................................................................39
Questions Section-3.........................................................................................................................40
Section-4: Conducting Unbiased Research..........................................................................................41
What is Business Research?.............................................................................................................41
 Business Research Methods............................................................................................................41
Section-4: Analytical Problem Solving..................................................................................................46
Types of Business Problems.............................................................................................................46
Problem Identification Techniques..................................................................................................48
5 Whys.........................................................................................................................................48
Fishbone Diagram........................................................................................................................49
Gap Analysis.................................................................................................................................50
Pareto Analysis.............................................................................................................................53
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis................................................................................................54
Process Flow Analysis..................................................................................................................55
Section-4: Creative Problem Solving....................................................................................................55
Mind Mapping.................................................................................................................................55
Brainstorming..................................................................................................................................58
Design Thinking...............................................................................................................................60
Section-5: Insights Generation.............................................................................................................63
Market Research..............................................................................................................................63
Understanding Customer Insights....................................................................................................63
Data Driven Insights Generation......................................................................................................63
Section-6: Story Telling for Business....................................................................................................63
Importance of Story Telling..............................................................................................................63
Story Telling Techniques...................................................................................................................63
Section-7: Data Visualization Techniques.............................................................................................63
Data Visualization Techniques..........................................................................................................63
Use of Visual Aids in Business Communication................................................................................67
Designing Effective Infographics......................................................................................................67
Section-8: Effective Presentations.......................................................................................................70
Prepare effective presentations.......................................................................................................70
4. Insights...................................................................................................................................75
5. Extras.....................................................................................................................................77
Presentation Techniques for Business..............................................................................................79
Communicating Insights and Story Telling through Presentations...................................................79
Assignment for Section-8.................................................................................................................79
Questions for Section-8...................................................................................................................79
Section-9: Case Study Analysis.............................................................................................................79
Assignment......................................................................................................................................81
Questions for Section-9...................................................................................................................81
Section-10: Team Based Problem Solving............................................................................................81
Section-11: Ethics in Business Problem Solving...................................................................................81
Section-12: Final Project......................................................................................................................81
Evaluation............................................................................................................................................81
BBA – Business Problem Solving
Syllabus
1. Introduction to Business Analytics: Understanding the scope and significance of
business analytics, exploring various job roles and current trends in the field.
2. Understanding Business Problems: Introduction to different types of business
problems, their advantages, and the role of the human brain in problem-solving.
3. Framing Business Problems: Techniques for framing a business problem,
distinguishing between facts and opinions, and using the Business Model Canvas.
4. Conducting Unbiased Research: Learning how to conduct research without bias,
building a hypothesis, and formulating research questions.
5. Interviewing Frameworks and Business Models: Understanding and applying
various interviewing frameworks such as SPIN, SMART, 5Cs, PESTEL, and MECE.
6. Analysing Possible Solutions: Techniques for analysing possible solutions,
prioritising options, considering implications, and implementing solutions.
7. Proof of Concept Approach: Understanding and applying the Proof of Concept
approach to validate solutions.
8. Industry Demonstrations: Learning from real-world examples through the Issue
Tree Framework and 7Ps Framework.
9. Case Studies: Analysing real-world case studies such as Air Crash Investigation,
Big Data Consultant, and Starbucks.
10. Wal Store Project: Applying the 5W’s+How framework to gather relevant facts
and data about Wal Store’s current state of operations, and using this data to
make informed decisions.
Section-1: Introduction to Business Analytics
Introduction

 Fruit Vendor analogy in Business Analytics.

 A high school dropout is using: customer profiling, demographic
segmentation, competitor analysis to take strategic business decisions!
 He has understood the behaviour of his customers and identified a niche and
identified himself as value provider in that niche.
 Fruit seller has 1 store, 1 market, 1 product.
 That is why he can participate in each transaction, observe the behaviour of
his competitors.
 Walmart (or Amazon, Flipkart etc): 9000 stores, 10000 to 100000 SKUs in
each store, over 1 million transactions every hour
 Requires 4 billion transactions to be analysed for 1 year’s data. Excel 2010
can handle 1 million rows.
In Business, Analytics comes with scale
Data Types

• Numerical: data expressed with digits; is measurable. It can either

be discrete or continuous.
• Categorical: qualitative data classified into categories. It can be nominal (no
order) or ordinal (ordered data).
Data Summarization and Visualization Principles
Business Analytics Definition
Business analytics refers to:
• Identifying the Business Problem, e.g. Sales forecasting
• Collect Data in line with Business Problem
• Identify trends, patterns, and root causes by analysing data
• Data-driven business decisions based on those insights
Heart of Business Analytics is about data driven decision making
GIGO: Garbage In, Garbage Out. Quality of analytical insights is directly
proportional to quality of data.

Types of Analytics

Descriptive Analytics
Answers “What happened”
Example-1: Doctor Visit
Patient Information: listens, patient’s vitals such as: weight, height, pulse,
temperature, medical reports pertaining to sugar, cholesterol, haemoglobin, Vitamin
B/D levels
Descriptive Analytics: Medical Reports
Example-2: Sales Performance
Descriptive Analytics: Sales per store / city, Sales Product Category wise, Sales
Month Wise, Sales on week days Vs. weekends, Impact of Promotion, Customer
Profiling in terms of gender, age, location,
Diagnostic Analytics
Answers “Why it happened” (Drill down)
Example-1: Doctor Visit
For e.g. seeing elevated cholesterol levels, he may ask patient about his eating
habits, daily routine, sleep pattern etc.
Example-2: Sales Performance
“Why sales are higher in a particular month or product category or region”.
Predictive Analytics
Answers “What May Happen” (Numeric or Categorical Data)
Example-1: Doctor Visit
Doctor may predict certain disease based on the reports.
Example-2: Marketing
Predicting Sales or which customer is likely to leave (churn)
These predictions would give the organization an opportunity to devise appropriate
interventions.
Prescriptive Analytics
Answers “What should be done”
Example-1: Doctor Visit
Doctor may prescribe diet, lifestyle changes, medicines etc.
Example-2: Marketing
Pricing Analytics: What’s the right price that’ll maximize sales or profits?
Analytics Types: Value, Complexity and Maturity
Descriptive Analytics Example Bakery Sales
Daywk Weekday Date Cakes Pies Cookies Smoothies Coffee Promotion
Tuesday 2 01-01-2013 79 46 518 60 233 none
Wednesday 3 02-01-2013 91 50 539 161 427 none
Thursday 4 03-01-2013 47 60 222 166 347 none
Friday 5 04-01-2013 89 64 734 153 358 none
Saturday 6 05-01-2013 112 73 764 240 392 none
Sunday 7 06-01-2013 89 57 922 259 510 none
Monday 1 07-01-2013 70 50 476 120 334 none
Tuesday 2 08-01-2013 70 48 496 222 316 none

How Bakery’s sales are affected by the following:

 Average Sales By Day of the week for each product with appropriate
visualization and observation
 Average Monthly Sales for each product year wise with appropriate
visualization and observation
 An upward (or downward!) trend over time in sales with appropriate
visualization and observation
 Effect of Promotions such as price cuts on Sales
Business Intelligence Vs Business Analytics

BI Example
Machine Learning

• Humans learn from experience

• Computers follow instructions
• Can Computers learn? Answer is Yes….from data

Predictive Analytics (Supervised ML)

In supervised ML there is labelled data (which are known values of target variable).
Model gets fed data + labels (that is features + known values of target variable). So
in effect, this is what happens:
Total Data = Training Data + Test Data
Training Data (Data + Labels)  Model
Model + Test Data  Accuracy of the Model (That is how predictions are faring vis a
vis actuals).
If target variable is numeric: Regression.
If target variable is categorical: Classification.
Features, Predictors, Independent Variables are synonymous.
Target, Label, Dependent Variable are synonymous.

Unsupervised ML
In unsupervised machine learning, there’s no labelled data. We try to see pattern in
the data. Popular unsupervised machine learning techniques are clustering and
association.
Prescriptive Analytics
• Optimization techniques involve mathematical modelling to arrive at the
‘optimum’ solution
• There are various types of optimization techniques such as:
• Continuous Versus Discrete Optimization:
• Unconstrained Versus Constrained Optimization:
• None, One or Many Objectives
• Deterministic versus stochastic Optimization
Typical Approach in solving Optimization Problem
• Objective Function: Maximise Sales/Profits or Minimize Costs
• Constraints: Time, Money, Resources like Raw Material
• Decision Variables: Which variables we can play with, e.g. Qty to Manufacture
CRISP-DM
Popular Tools

Analytics Career
Five focus areas:
a) Domain Knowledge: HR, Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain, Health Care, Retail,
Telecom, Digital, Insurance etc.
b) Tools/Technology: e.g. R, Python, Tableau, Excel, Power BI etc.
c) Statistics (using Excel, SPSS, R)
d) ML Algorithms (using Python /R to solve the real world problems)
e) Visualization (for communicating analytical insights) and…..
++ Learning Mind-set
Roles
Data Analyst:
Data analysts are responsible for collecting, processing, and analyzing data to derive
insights and support decision-making. They use statistical techniques and tools to
interpret data and create reports or visualizations that communicate findings to
stakeholders.
Business Intelligence (BI) Analyst:
BI analysts focus on transforming raw data into actionable insights. They design and
develop dashboards, reports, and data visualizations that help business users
understand trends, patterns, and key performance indicators (KPIs) within the
organization.
Data Scientist:
Data scientists are experts in using advanced analytical techniques to extract
knowledge and insights from data. They often work on complex problems, build
predictive models, and employ machine learning algorithms to develop data-driven
solutions.
Quantitative Analyst (Quant):
Quants use quantitative methods and mathematical models to analyze financial
markets, investment strategies, risk management, and other related areas. They play
a crucial role in the finance industry, especially in areas like algorithmic trading.
Market Research Analyst:
Market research analysts study market conditions, customer preferences, and
competitive trends to help organizations understand their target audience, make
informed marketing decisions, and develop effective strategies.
Operations Analyst:
Operations analysts focus on optimizing business processes, identifying
inefficiencies, and improving operational performance. They analyze workflows,
resource allocation, and supply chain data to enhance overall efficiency.
Risk Analyst:
Risk analysts assess potential risks and uncertainties that could affect a business.
They analyze data to quantify and manage risks related to finance, operations,
compliance, and other areas, often using statistical modeling and simulations.
Web Analyst:
Web analysts concentrate on digital data, particularly website and online user
behavior. They track metrics such as website traffic, click-through rates, and user
engagement to optimize website performance and user experience.
Predictive Analyst:
Predictive analysts use historical data and statistical models to forecast future
trends, events, or outcomes. They help organizations anticipate demand, customer
behaviour, and other variables to make proactive decisions.
Healthcare Analyst:
Healthcare analysts work within the healthcare industry to analyse patient data,
medical records, and healthcare processes. They provide insights that improve
patient care, operational efficiency, and clinical outcomes.
Retail Analyst:
Retail analysts analyse sales data, customer behaviour, and market trends within the
retail sector. They help retailers make data-driven decisions regarding inventory
management, pricing, and marketing strategies.
Supply Chain Analyst:
Supply chain analysts focus on optimizing the movement of goods, materials, and
resources through the supply chain. They analyse data related to inventory, logistics,
and distribution to enhance efficiency and reduce costs
Assignment
 Take Insurance and IBM HR dataset, perform univariate & bivariate analysis
and share the insights.
 Build a simple linear regression model.
 Perform Pricing analytics using LPP.
Questions
 Discuss “Analytics in Business comes with scale”.
 Define Business Analytics
 Discuss types of business analytics
 Distinguish between Business Intelligence and Business Analytics
  Describe Machine Learning. Discuss how is it different from “rule based”
programming.
 Describe Predictive Analytics and its types.
 Describe Prescriptive Analytics.
 Describe Unsupervised Machine Learning
 Discuss CRISP-DM framework and its importance.
 What are the popular tools in analytics profession? Discuss them.
 Discuss career opportunities in analytics profession.

Section-2: Introduction to Business Problem Solving

What is Business Problem Solving
• Problem-solving in business is defined as implementing processes that
reduce or remove obstacles that are preventing you or others from
accomplishing operational and strategic business goals. (In order to have a
problem, you must have a goal!)
• In business, a problem is a situation that creates a gap between the desired
and actual outcomes. In addition, a true problem typically does not have an
immediately obvious resolution.
Business Problem Solving Framework
 Identify and define the problem.
 Prioritize the problem based on size, potential impact, and urgency.
 Complete a root-cause analysis.
 Develop a variety of possible solutions.
 Evaluate possible solutions and decide which is most effective.
 Plan and implement the solution.
Scenario: Improving Employee Satisfaction at a Tech Startup
Step 1: Identify and Define the Problem
• The problem identified is a decline in employee satisfaction within a fast-
growing tech startup. Employee turnover has increased over the past year,
and there are concerns about low morale and engagement among the
remaining employees. This issue could potentially hinder the company's
growth and innovation.
Step 2: Prioritize the Problem
• Assess the problem's size, potential impact, and urgency. In terms of size, a
significant portion of the workforce is affected. The potential impact is high, as
low employee satisfaction can lead to decreased productivity, increased
turnover costs, and a negative reputation in the job market. Urgency is also
high, as the startup's growth could be compromised if not addressed promptly.
Step 3: Complete a Root-Cause Analysis
Conduct interviews and surveys to identify the root causes of the decline in
employee satisfaction. Possible factors could include heavy workloads, lack of
career development opportunities, inadequate communication from management,
and a lack of work-life balance.
Step 4: Develop a Variety of Possible Solutions
• Flexible Work Arrangements: Implement flexible working hours or remote
work options to improve work-life balance.
• Professional Development Programs: Offer training and development
programs to enhance employees' skills and career prospects.
• Open Communication Channels: Establish regular town hall meetings and
one-on-one sessions with management to improve communication and
address concerns.
• Wellness Initiatives: Introduce wellness programs such as yoga classes,
meditation sessions, and mental health support.
• Recognition and Rewards: Implement an employee recognition program to
acknowledge and reward outstanding performance.
Step 5: Evaluate Possible Solutions and Decide Which Is Most Effective
• Use criteria such as feasibility, potential impact, and alignment with the
company's values and culture to evaluate the proposed solutions. After
thorough evaluation, it's determined that implementing a combination of
flexible work arrangements, professional development programs, and open
communication channels will likely have the most positive impact on
employee satisfaction and engagement.
Step 6: Plan and Implement the Solution
• Flexible Work Arrangements: Roll out a policy allowing employees to choose
flexible work hours or work remotely on certain days.
• Professional Development Programs: Partner with training providers to offer
skill-building workshops and courses for employees.
• Open Communication Channels: Schedule regular town hall meetings and
establish a feedback mechanism for employees to express their concerns.
Article: Six Problem Solving Mindsets https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-
and-corporate-finance/our-insights/six-problem-solving-mindsets-for-very-uncertain-times
Frameworks
https://www.business-to-you.com/frameworks/

Business frameworks are useful tools that can help you analyse business issues,
structure your thinking, and communicate recommendations. You can take a broader
conceptual framework and scale it to fit your needs. A business framework also gives
you a starting place and a common vocabulary that you can edit to fit your
own purpose. In the end, a business framework should simplify complex business
problems and create structure.
Frameworks can be categorized based on several levels of analysis:
Macro-Level

 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions

 Porter’s Diamond of National Advantage
 PESTEL Analysis
Industry-Level

 Industry Life Cycle

 Porter’s Five Forces
 Value Net Model
Corporate-Level

 Acquisition Integration Approaches

 A.T. Kearney Strategy Chessboard
 BCG Growth-Share Matrix
 GE/McKinsey Matrix
 McKinsey 7S Model
 Strategy Diamond
Business-Level

 Ansoff Matrix
  Bartlett and Ghoshal’s Matrix
 Business Model Canvas
 OLI Paradigm
 Porter’s Generic Strategies
 Profit Tree
 SWOT Analysis
 Value Chain Analysis
 Value Disciplines
 VRIO Framework
Product-Level

 AIDA Model
 Marketing Funnel
 Technology Adoption Life Cycle
 Product Life Cycle
 Price Elasticity
Management-Level

 Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid

 Fiedler’s Contingency Model of Leader-Situation Matches
 Hersey and Blanchard’s Leadership Styles
 Kotter’s 8 Steps of Change (Management) Model
 Lewin’s 3 Step Model of Change (Management)

Questions Section-2
 Explain what is business problem solving?
 Discuss the general framework for business problem solving.
 Use the business problem solving framework to address the employee
satisfaction issue in a tech startup.
 Discuss the problem-solving mindsets.
 What is a business framework? Give examples of 5 business frameworks with
a brief explanation.

Section-3: Problem Identification Techniques

Frameworks Summary
S No Framework Level Purpose
1. SWOT Business Aka Internal, External analysis. Used along with
VRIO (Strengths), PESTEL (External Macro),
Porter’s 5 Forces (External Micro). It’s also used
as a tool in gap analysis.
2. PESTEL Macro PESTEL stands for Political, Economic, Social,
Technological, Environmental and Legal. This
analysis is done in the early phase of strategy
development. https://www.business-to-
you.com/scanning-the-environment-pestel-
analysis/
3. Industry Life Industry https://www.business-to-you.com/product-life-
Cycle cycle/
4. Porter’s 5 Industry Porter’s Five Forces analysis is a framework that
 Forces helps analysing the level of competition within a
certain industry. It is especially useful when
starting a new business or when entering a new
industry sector. According to this framework,
competitiveness does not only come from
competitors. Rather, the state of competition in an
industry depends on five basic forces: threat of
new entrants, bargaining power of suppliers,
bargaining power of buyers, threat of substitute
products or services, and existing industry rivalry.
https://www.business-to-you.com/porters-five-
forces/
5. Value Net Industry The Value Net Model is an alternative to Porter’s
Model Five Forces and recognizes the importance of
(Optional) competitors’ as well as complementary products in
the industry. The model focuses on the four main
groups that influence a company’s direct
environment: Customers, Complementors,
Competitors and Suppliers. Customers and
Suppliers are described in similar terms to Porter’s
model. Competitors however entails the Existing
Rivals, New Entrants and the Substitutes in this
model. The Complementors are a new element to
the model.
https://www.business-to-you.com/value-net/
6. BCG’s Corporate The BCG Matrix (also known as Boston Box) is a
Growth Share framework to help decision making on existing
Matrix product lines. Developed in the 1970s, it has been
used to evaluate how a company should think
about its portfolio based on two criteria: the relative
market share of a product and the market growth
rate resulting in four archetypes: the Dogs,
Question Marks, Stars and Cash Cows. Also refer
Product Life Cycle. https://www.business-to-
you.com/bcg-matrix/
7. McKinsey 7S Corporate The McKinsey 7S Framework is a management
model developed by business consultants Robert
Waterman Jr. and Tom Peters in the 1980s. The 7
S’s are Structure, Strategy, Systems, Skills, Style,
Staff and Shared values. The model is most often
used as an organizational analysis tool to assess
and monitor changes in the internal situation of an
organization. The model is based on the theory
that, for an organization to perform well, these
seven elements need to be aligned and mutually
reinforcing. So, the model can be used to help
identify what needs to be realigned to improve
performance, or to maintain alignment (and
performance) during other types of change. It’s
also used as a tool in gap analysis.
 http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strate
gy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/enduring-
ideas-the-7-s-framework
8. Ansoff Matrix Business There are different ways of growing a business.
Igor Ansoff identified four strategies for growth and
summarized them in the so called Ansoff Matrix.
The Ansoff Matrix (also known as the
Product/Market Expansion Grid) allows managers
to quickly summarize these potential growth
strategies and compare them to the risk associated
with each one. The idea is that each time you
move into a new quadrant (horizontally or
vertically), risk increases. https://www.business-to-
you.com/ansoff-matrix-grow-business/
9. Business Business The Business Model Canvas is a strategic
Model management and entrepreneurial tool. It allows
Canvas you to describe, design, challenge, invent, and
pivot your business model. This method from the
bestselling management book Business Model
Generation is applied in leading organizations and
start-ups worldwide.
https://www.strategyzer.com/library/the-business-
model-canvas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoAOzMTLP5s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CakUeC1sCSs
10. VRIO Business The VRIO Framework or VRIO Model is part of the
Framework Resource-Based View (RBV), which is a
perspective that examines the link between a
company’s internal characteristics and its
performance. The key concepts within this view
are Firm Resources and Sustainable
Competitive Advantage
11. Value Chain Business
Analysis
12. Product Life The Product Life Cycle (PLC) is a marketing
Cycle framework that helps visualizing and
understanding the sales evolution of a product
category over time. Because just like humans,
products have a life cycle in which they get ‘born’
and ‘die out’ eventually. That life cycle can be
illustrated using a graph representing the sales
from the moment a product category enters the
market up until its exit. The curve is normally S-
shaped and breaks down product sales over time
into four discrete segments or phases:
Introduction, Growth, Maturity, and Decline. This
framework should not be confused with
the Technology Adoption Life Cycle which is
related to the Product Life Cycle, but focuses on
analysing consumer behaviour instead. Also refer
 BCG Growth matrix.
https://www.business-to-you.com/product-life-cycle/

SWOT
https://www.business-to-you.com/swot-analysis/

SWOT Analysis (also known as SWOT Matrix) is a business framework that helps
assessing a wide variety of factors that may have a profound impact on a business’s
performance. These factors may either be internal to a company or external.
Furthermore, these factors may either be favourable/helpful or unfavourable/harmful
to a company. By combining these two dimensions one can draw a 2×2-matrix
consisting of four quadrants: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

Strengths (SWOT Analysis)

A company’s strengths are its characteristics that give it an advantage over
others (competitors). Sometimes these strengths are also referred to as unique
selling points (USPs), firm-specific advantages (FSAs) or competitive
advantage. The source of these strengths are resources and capabilities that are
valuable, rare, hard-to-imitate and organization-wide supported. The VRIO
framework is a useful tool to evaluate a company’s resources. Examples of valuable
company resources are patents, a strong brand reputation, a new innovative
product, a talented workforce, historically developed know-how and large financial
reserves. Another way of assessing where a company’s strengths are coming from is
by doing a Value Chain Analysis. By mapping out a company’s complete value
chain, from the purchasing of raw materials to the marketing and sales of the end-
products, management is better able to see where true value is created.

Weaknesses (SWOT Analysis)

Similarly, these tools are very helpful in assessing a company’s weaknesses. These
weaknesses are company characteristics that place a company at a disadvantage
relative to others. In other words: they are harmful to a company. Weaknesses could
for example be a lack of patent protection, poor reputation among customers, a small
working capital, bad leadership and an inefficient production process. Weaknesses
are best discovered by having enough feedback loops in place, both internally and
externally. Think about sending out customer surveys and organizing monthly
employee gatherings. Together, the strengths and weaknesses form the internal side
of the organization and the SWOT analysis.

Opportunities (SWOT Analysis)

Opportunities are the external factors of the SWOT analysis that may affect a
company’s performance positively. To assess the opportunities, a company
should look for elements in the environment that could be exploited to its own
advantage. The best way to asses the external factors is by using PESTEL
analysis for the macro-environment and Porter’s Five Forces for the industry
dynamics. PESTEL looks at political, economic, social, technological, environmental
and legal trends in the macro-environment. Examples are the increasing purchasing
power of customers, governmental subsidies, more favourable international trade
policies, and general lifestyle changes among the population. Porter’s Five Forces
on the other hand looks more specifically at industry factors like the current
competition, upstream supplier power, downstream buyer power, potential new
entrants and substitute products or services.

Threats (SWOT Analysis)

The threats on the other hand are the external factors that could
cause trouble for the company in the future. Similarly, to the opportunities,
one could use a PESTEL analysis and a Porter’s Five Forces model to assess the
elements in the environment that could harm the organization. Examples of harmful
macro-environmental developments could be an increasing unemployment rate,
disruptive technologies, protests from NGO’s and increasing government corruption
levels. In terms of industry specific threats, one could think about new competitors
entering the arena, the availability of substitute products and increasing bargaining
power from suppliers. Together, the opportunities and threats make up the external
part of the SWOT analysis.
TOWS Matrix (Optional Reading)
A SWOT analysis helps assessing a company’s current internal and external
situation, but does not provide concrete strategic actions to take. One way to map
out the strategic options a company has, is by using the so-called TOWS
matrix (or TOWS analysis). By combining the external environment’s opportunities
and threats with the internal organization’s strengths and weaknesses, management
can come up with four basic strategies to follow based on the situation it is in:

WT situation: Mini-Mini strategy

The company in this case has little development opportunities. It operates in a
hostile environment and its potential for change is small. It does not have significant
strengths, which could withstand threats. The aim of the Mini-Mini strategy is to
minimize both weaknesses and threats. Mini-Mini strategy boils down to a
pessimistic scenario such as the liquidation of a company or in an optimistic situation
– to strive for survival by merging with another organization.

WO situation: Mini-Maxi strategy

In this situation the company has more vulnerabilities (weaknesses), but its
environment provides plenty of opportunities to resolve that. The Mini-Maxi strategy
attempts to minimize the weaknesses and to maximize the opportunities. The
strategy should include the exploitation of these opportunities while reducing or
correcting weaknesses within the organization. Outsourcing activities or acquiring
another company with the right resources could be an option for example.

ST situation: Maxi-Mini strategy:

In this case we see a strong company operating in a hostile environment. The aim of
a Maxi-Mini strategy is to maximize the strengths of a company while minimizing the
threats through these strengths. A company with strong financial capabilities and
cost-reducing skills, could lower its prices to drive out competition.

SO situation: Maxi-Maxi strategy:

Any company would like to be in a position where it can maximize both strengths and
opportunities. Such an enterprise can lead from strengths, utilizing its resources to
take advantage of the opportunities the market is offering. Companies in these
situations could think about expanding internationally or diversifying their product
portfolio to boost revenues. For these growth opportunities you might want to look at
the well-known business growth framework: the Ansoff Matrix.

Video

a. SWOT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-
NWhwskTO4&pp=ygUNc3dvdCBhbmFseXNpcw%3D%3D
b. SWOT Starbucks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=mR9eICQJLXA&pp=ygUNc3dvdCBhbmFseXNpcw%3D%3D
 c. SWOT Tesla: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=I7CT8Ox_Gcg&pp=ygUNc3dvdCBhbmFseXNpcw%3D%3D

PESTEL
Originated as PEST Analysis, this framework is used in the early phases of strategy
development to describe the landscape and environment in which a firm operates
(PESTEL stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and
Legal). Note: It is sometimes transformed into SLEPIT (Social, Legal, Economic,
Political, Intercultural, Technological), STEEPLE (Social, Technological, Economic,
Environmental, Legal, Ethical) and DESTEP (Demographic, Economic, Social,
Technological, Environmental, Political). This tool is especially useful when starting a
new business or entering a foreign market. It is often used in collaboration with other
analytical business tools such as the SWOT analysis and Porter’s Five Forces to
give a clear understanding of a situation and related internal and external factors.

PESTLE Nike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5Fl-1AOqOU

Porter’s 5 Forces
Porter’s Five Forces analysis is a framework that helps analysing the level of
competition within a certain industry. It is especially useful when starting a new
business or when entering a new industry sector. According to this framework,
competitiveness does not only come from competitors. Rather, the state of
competition in an industry depends on five basic forces: threat of new entrants,
bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, threat of substitute
products or services, and existing industry rivalry.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCnlArFuU-E&t=1s

BCG Growth Share Matrix

The BCG Matrix (also known as Boston Box) is a framework to help decision making
on existing product lines. Developed in the 1970s, it has been used to evaluate how
a company should think about its portfolio based on two criteria: the relative market
share of a product and the market growth rate resulting in four archetypes: the Dogs,
Question Marks, Stars and Cash Cows.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yulWLHRdNVQ
McKinsey 7S Framework
The McKinsey 7S Framework is a management model developed by business
consultants Robert Waterman Jr. and Tom Peters in the 1980s. The 7 S’s are
Structure, Strategy, Systems, Skills, Style, Staff and Shared values. The model is
most often used as an organizational analysis tool to assess and monitor changes in
the internal situation of an organization. The model is based on the theory that, for
an organization to perform well, these seven elements need to be aligned and
mutually reinforcing. So, the model can be used to help identify what needs to be
realigned to improve performance, or to maintain alignment (and performance)
during other types of change

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKfuCdxpF4I

7S Tesla: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-dy_XfaihM&t=4s

Ansoff Matrix
There are different ways of growing a business. Igor Ansoff identified four strategies
for growth and summarized them in the so called Ansoff Matrix. The Ansoff Matrix
(also known as the Product/Market Expansion Grid) allows managers to quickly
summarize these potential growth strategies and compare them to the risk
associated with each one. The idea is that each time you move into a new quadrant
(horizontally or vertically), risk increases.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ikdyc6o14s

VRIO Framework
The VRIO Framework or VRIO Model is part of the Resource-Based View (RBV),
which is a perspective that examines the link between a company’s internal
characteristics and its performance. RBV is therefore complementary to the
Industrial Organization (I/O) perspectives that look more at external factors such as
competitiveness in order to determine performance and profit potential (e.g. Porter’s
Five Forces). The supporters of RBV argue that organizations should look inside the
company to find the sources of competitive advantage instead of looking at the
competitive environment. The key concepts within this view are therefore Firm
Resources and Sustainable Competitive Advantage. Firm resources can be
defined as ‘all assets, capabilities, organizational processes, firm attributes,
information and knowledge controlled by a firm that enables it to improve its
efficiency and effectiveness’. Resources are often classified into categories such
as tangible (e.g. equipment, machinery, land, buildings and cash)
and intangible (e.g. trademarks, brand reputation, patents and licenses)
or physical, human and organizational resources. In order for companies to
transform these resources into sustainable competitive advantage, resources must
have four attributes that can be summarized into the VRIO framework.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxCycoQOwFs

Questions Section-3
 Discuss SWOT analysis with an example. When is it done?
 Discuss PESTEL analysis with an example. When is it done?
 Discuss Porter’s 5 forces analysis with an example. When is it done?
 Discuss BCG Matrix analysis with an example. When is it done?
 Discuss Ansoff growth matrix analysis with an example. When is it done?
 Discuss VRIO framework analysis with an example. When is it done?
 Discuss McKinsey 7S framework analysis with an example. When is it done?

Section-4: Conducting Unbiased Research

What is Business Research?
https://www.questionpro.com/blog/business-research/#:~:text=Business%20research%20is%20a
%20process,most%20profitable%20or%20in%20demand.
Business research is a process of acquiring detailed information on all the areas of
business and using such information to maximize the sales and profit of the
business. Such a study helps companies determine which product/service is most
profitable or in demand. In simple words, it can be stated as the acquisition of
information or knowledge for professional or commercial purposes to determine
opportunities and goals for a business.
For example: A mobile company wants to launch a new model in the market. But
they are not aware of what are the dimensions of a mobile that are in most demand.
Hence, the company conducts business research using various methods to gather
information, and the same is then evaluated, and conclusions are drawn as to what
dimensions are most in demand.
This will enable the researcher to make wise decisions to position his phone at the
right price in the market and hence acquire a larger market share.
Business Research Methods
Quantitative
Quantitative research methods are research methods that deal with numbers. It is a
systematic empirical investigation using statistical, mathematical, or computational
techniques. Such methods usually start with data collection and then proceed to
statistical analysis using various methods.
Example: Survey research is one of the most widely used methods to gather data,
especially for conducting business research. Surveys involve asking various survey
questions to a set of audiences through various types like online polls, online
surveys, questionnaires, etc. Nowadays, most of the major corporations use this
method to gather data and use it to understand the market and make appropriate
business decisions. surveys, questionnaires, etc. Nowadays, most of the major
corporations use this method to gather data and use it to understand the market and
make appropriate business decisions.
For example: A company wants to know the NPS score for their website i.e. how
satisfied are people who are visiting their website. An increase in traffic to their
website or the audience spending more time on a website can result in higher
rankings on search engines which will enable the company to get more leads as well
as increase its visibility.
Hence, the company can ask people who visit their website a few questions through
an online survey to understand their opinions or gain feedback and hence make
appropriate changes to the website to increase satisfaction.
Bias in Survey Sampling
In survey sampling, bias refers to the tendency of a sample statistic to systematically
over- or under-estimate a population parameter.
Bias Due to Unrepresentative Samples
A good sample is representative. This means that each sample point represents the
attributes of a known number of population elements.
Bias often occurs when the survey sample does not accurately represent the
population. The bias that results from an unrepresentative sample is called selection
bias. Some common examples of selection bias are:
Undercoverage. Undercoverage occurs when some members of the population are
inadequately represented in the sample. A classic example of undercoverage is the
Literary Digest voter survey, which predicted that Alfred Landon would beat Franklin
Roosevelt in the 1936 presidential election. The survey sample suffered from
undercoverage of low-income voters, who tended to be Democrats.
How did this happen? The survey relied on a convenience sample, drawn from
telephone directories and car registration lists. In 1936, people who owned cars and
telephones tended to be more affluent. Undercoverage is often a problem with
convenience samples.
Nonresponse bias. Sometimes, individuals chosen for the sample are unwilling or
unable to participate in the survey. Nonresponse bias is the bias that results when
respondents differ in meaningful ways from nonrespondents. The Literary Digest
survey illustrates this problem. Respondents tended to be Landon supporters; and
nonrespondents, Roosevelt supporters. Since only 25% of the sampled voters
completed the mail-in survey, survey results overestimated voter support for Alfred
Landon.
The Literary Digest experience illustrates a common problem with mail surveys.
Response rate is often low, making mail surveys vulnerable to nonresponse bias.
Voluntary response bias. Voluntary response bias occurs when sample members
are self-selected volunteers, as in voluntary samples. An example would be call-in
radio shows that solicit audience participation in surveys on controversial topics
(abortion, affirmative action, gun control, etc.). The resulting sample tends to
overrepresent individuals who have strong opinions.
Random sampling is a procedure for sampling from a population in which (a) the
selection of a sample unit is based on chance and (b) every element of the
population has a known, non-zero probability of being selected. Random sampling
helps produce representative samples by eliminating voluntary response bias and
guarding against undercoverage bias. All probability sampling methods rely on
random sampling.
Bias Due to Measurement Error
A poor measurement process can also lead to bias. In survey research, the
measurement process includes the environment in which the survey is conducted,
the way that questions are asked, and the state of the survey respondent.
Response bias refers to the bias that results from problems in the measurement
process. Some examples of response bias are given below.
Leading questions. The wording of the question may be loaded in some way to
unduly favour one response over another. For example, a satisfaction survey may
ask the respondent to indicate where she is satisfied, dissatisfied, or very
dissatisfied. By giving the respondent one response option to express satisfaction
and two response options to express dissatisfaction, this survey question is biased
toward getting a dissatisfied response.
Social desirability. Most people like to present themselves in a favourable light, so
they will be reluctant to admit to unsavoury attitudes or illegal activities in a survey,
particularly if survey results are not confidential. Instead, their responses may be
biased toward what they believe is socially desirable.

Qualitative
Qualitative research is a method that has a high importance in business research.
Qualitative research involves obtaining data through open-ended conversational
means of communication. Such research enables the researcher to not only
understand what the audience thinks but also why he thinks it.

In such research, in-depth information can be gathered from the subjects depending
on their responses. There are various types of qualitative research methods, such as
interviews, focus groups, ethnographic research, content analysis, and case study
research, that are widely used.
Building a Hypothesis
https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/hypothesis/
What is a hypothesis?
A hypothesis states your predictions about what your research will find. It is a
tentative answer to your research question that has not yet been tested. For some
research projects, you might have to write several hypotheses that address different
aspects of your research question.
A hypothesis is not just a guess – it should be based on existing theories and
knowledge. It also has to be testable, which means you can support or refute it
through scientific research methods (such as experiments, observations and
statistical analysis of data).
Variables in hypotheses
Hypotheses propose a relationship between two or more types of variables.
An independent variable is something the researcher changes or controls.
A dependent variable is something the researcher observes and measures.
If there are any control variables, extraneous variables, or confounding variables, be
sure to jot those down as you go to minimize the chances that research bias will
affect your results.
Example: Hypothesis
Daily exposure to the sun leads to increased levels of happiness.
In this example, the independent variable is exposure to the sun – the assumed
cause. The dependent variable is the level of happiness – the assumed effect.
Developing a Hypothesis
Step 1. Ask a question
Writing a hypothesis begins with a research question that you want to answer. The
question should be focused, specific, and researchable within the constraints of your
project.
Example: Research question
Do students who attend more lectures get better exam results?
Step 2. Do some preliminary research
Your initial answer to the question should be based on what is already known about
the topic. Look for theories and previous studies to help you form educated
assumptions about what your research will find.

At this stage, you might construct a conceptual framework to ensure that you’re
embarking on a relevant topic. This can also help you identify which variables you
will study and what you think the relationships are between them. Sometimes, you’ll
have to operationalize more complex constructs.
Step 3. Formulate your hypothesis.
Now you should have some idea of what you expect to find. Write your initial answer
to the question in a clear, concise sentence.
Example: Formulating your hypothesis
Attending more lectures leads to better exam results.
Step 4. Refine your hypothesis.
You need to make sure your hypothesis is specific and testable. There are various
ways of phrasing a hypothesis, but all the terms you use should have clear
definitions, and the hypothesis should contain:
The relevant variables
The specific group being studied.
The predicted outcome of the experiment or analysis
Step 5. Phrase your hypothesis in three ways.
To identify the variables, you can write a simple prediction in if…then form. The first
part of the sentence states the independent variable and the second part states the
dependent variable.
If a first-year student starts attending more lectures, then their exam scores will
improve.
In academic research, hypotheses are more commonly phrased in terms of
correlations or effects, where you directly state the predicted relationship between
variables.
The number of lectures attended by first-year students has a positive effect on their
exam scores.
If you are comparing two groups, the hypothesis can state what difference you
expect to find between them.
First-year students who attended most lectures will have better exam scores than
those who attended few lectures.
Step 6. Write a null hypothesis.
If your research involves statistical hypothesis testing, you will also have to write a
null hypothesis. The null hypothesis is the default position that there is no
association between the variables. The null hypothesis is written as H0, while the
alternative hypothesis is H1 or Ha.
H0: The number of lectures attended by first-year students has no effect on their final
exam scores.
H1: The number of lectures attended by first-year students has a positive effect on
their final exam scores.
Hypothesis Examples
Research question Hypothesis Null hypothesis

What are the health benefits of Increasing apple consumption in over-60s Increasing apple consumption
eating an apple a day? will result in decreasing frequency of in over-60s will have no effect
doctor’s visits. on frequency of doctor’s visits.

Which airlines have the most Low-cost airlines are more likely to have Low-cost and premium airlines
delays? delays than premium airlines. are equally likely to have
delays.

Can flexible work Employees who have flexible working There is no relationship
arrangements improve job hours will report greater job satisfaction between working hour flexibility
satisfaction? than employees who work fixed hours. and job satisfaction.
Research question Hypothesis Null hypothesis

How effective is high school Teenagers who received sex education High school sex education has
sex education at reducing teen lessons throughout high school will have no effect on teen pregnancy
pregnancies? lower rates of unplanned rates.
pregnancy than teenagers who did not
receive any sex education.

What effect does daily use of There is a negative correlation between There is no relationship
social media have on the time spent on social media and attention between social media use and
attention span of under-16s? span in under-16s. attention span in under-16s.

Questions Section 4
 What is Business Research? Give examples of Business Research.
 Discuss types of business research methods.
 Discuss bias in survey sampling.
 Discuss bias due to measurement error.
 Discuss giving steps how a hypothesis is developed.
 Give few examples of research questions, its corresponding hypothesis and
null hypothesis.

Section 5: Interviewing Frameworks and Business

Models
5 Cs of Interviewing

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5cs-interviewing-andrew-malkin/

Confidence—It’s critical to go into any interview convinced that you can do the job in
question, are an appealing cultural match for the company and make a meaningful
impact quickly. But you don’t want to go in so confident that the interviewer finds you
arrogant or thinks this job is too junior for you either. Quiet any doubts you may have
in the moments just before you start the interview. For me, I just pump myself up by
saying “You can do this. You’ve got this!”

Courage—All-day interviews full of behavioral questions and assessment by as

many as eight people can be grueling and mentally draining. You have to be willing
to step in the arena without hesitation.

Clarity—We have all been on the receiving end of a rambling response to an

interview question. Structure makes an enormous difference. Prepare in advance
using the Situation-Action-Result (SAR) model to describe an accomplishment at
your current or previous employer.

Conviction—When you answer a question, say it with confidence, enthusiasm and

alacrity. Content matters, of course, but delivery is very important. Body language
can be involved as long as you aren’t gesticulating and distracting the interviewer in
the course of your response.

Calm—Possibly the most important that pairs up with another “C”, Composure. Calm
energy is essential the day of your interview be it in person or via video Skype or
phone. Exercising before your interview, to about 60-80% of what you would
normally do, can remove some nerves. I’m sure yoga or meditation would also bring
mindfulness. If you are calm but alert in an interview situation, this will help you react
to any curveballs.

A final “C” to keep in mind, Content (Really a “P” for Positive). I realize that if you are
interviewing, you most likely aren’t totally pleased with your current position. That
said, everyone likes (and wants to work with) an upbeat person unless their sunny
disposition seems insincere.

SPIN Framework
https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/the-4-steps-to-spin-selling

What are the SPIN selling questions?

 Situation: Establish buyer’s current situation.
 Problem: Identify problems the buyer faces that your product solves.
 Implication: Explore the causes and effects of those problems.
 Need-Payoff: Show why your product is worth it.
SMART

SMART Framework
Here are the steps to using this framework to create, develop, and achieve a clear, meaningful goal.
1. Specific: Define a clear, specific goal.
2. Measurable: Make sure your goal is measurable to track progress, which helps you stay focused
and meet deadlines.
3. Attainable: Create a realistic goal. It shouldn’t be limiting but should be attainable.
4. Relevant: Ensure your goal matters to you and aligns with your other goals and the needs of the
organization.
5. Time-bound: Assign a target date so that your SMART goal doesn’t get lost in day-to-day demands.
MECE Framework
https://caseinterview.com/mece
https://youtu.be/RPXuZrD2TfU
MECE stands for Mutually Exclusive Collectively
Exhaustive. The MECE Principle is a framework used by management consulting
firms to group data into categories that following a two specific rules. This
categorization makes it easier to analyse and derive useful conclusions. The two
data categorization rules of MECE are: Mutually Exclusive – An item or data record
can only be in one category at a time and Collectively Exhaustive – All items or
data records must be included in one category (e.g., your categorization structure
cannot exclude an item or data record)

Section-4: Analytical Problem Solving

Types of Business Problems
Summary
 Strategic Problems
 Operational Problems
  Financial Problems
 Marketing Problems
 Human Resources Problems
Strategic Problems:
 Market Expansion Strategy: The company is struggling to identify the most
effective approach for entering a new market, taking into account competition,
cultural differences, and regulatory challenges.
 Diversification Decision: The organization needs to decide whether to diversify
its product or service offerings to reduce risk and capture new opportunities in
related industries.
 Technology Adoption: The company faces the challenge of adopting emerging
technologies to stay competitive while managing the associated risks and
ensuring a smooth transition for employees and customers.
Operational Problems:
 Supply Chain Disruptions: The business is experiencing disruptions in its
supply chain due to issues like supplier bankruptcy, transportation
bottlenecks, or geopolitical conflicts, affecting production and delivery.
 Quality Control: The organization is grappling with inconsistent product quality,
leading to customer complaints and returns, necessitating a review of
production processes and quality assurance measures.
 Workflow Efficiency: Inefficient processes and communication gaps are
causing delays and errors in project execution, demanding a re-evaluation of
workflows and the implementation of streamlined procedures.

Financial Problems:
 Cash Flow Constraints: The company is facing cash flow challenges due to
slow-paying clients and high operating expenses, requiring strategies to
manage cash inflow and outflow effectively.
 Profit Margin Erosion: Declining profit margins are a concern, prompting a
thorough analysis of cost structures, pricing strategies, and opportunities for
cost reduction.
 Investment Prioritization: The organization needs to prioritize its capital
investments, deciding which projects to fund based on potential ROI, risk
assessment, and alignment with the overall business strategy.
Marketing Problems:
Brand Perception: The company's brand perception is inconsistent across
different customer segments, necessitating a branding and communication
strategy to create a cohesive brand image.
 Low Customer Acquisition: The business is struggling to attract new
customers in a competitive market, requiring a re-evaluation of marketing
channels, messaging, and customer targeting.
 Digital Presence: Inadequate online visibility is impacting customer
engagement and sales, demanding an enhanced digital marketing strategy
encompassing social media, SEO, and content marketing.
Human Resources Problems:
  Talent Retention: High employee turnover is affecting productivity and morale,
prompting an assessment of compensation, benefits, career growth
opportunities, and work culture.
 Diversity and Inclusion: The organization needs to address diversity and
inclusion gaps in its workforce, implementing initiatives to create a more
inclusive and equitable workplace.
 Performance Management: Ineffective performance management processes
are leading to unclear expectations and demotivation, requiring a revamp of
performance appraisal systems and goal-setting practices.

Problem Identification Techniques

5 Whys
• The 5 Whys technique is a simple yet powerful method for exploring the
cause-and-effect relationships behind a problem.
• It involves repeatedly asking "Why?" to uncover deeper layers of causes.
• By doing so, we can reach the root cause of the issue.
• This technique encourages in-depth thinking and avoids stopping at
superficial solutions.
Example: Problem - Production Delays
• Why 1: Why are there production delays?
• Because the machines are frequently breaking down.
• Why 2: Why do the machines break down often?
• Because they are not being properly maintained.
• Why 3: Why is maintenance lacking?
• Because there is a shortage of maintenance staff.
• Why 4: Why is there a shortage of maintenance staff?
• Because the budget for hiring is limited.
• Why 5: Why is the budget limited?
• Because upper management has not allocated enough funds.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_nN_YTDsuk
Fishbone Diagram

The Fishbone Diagram, also known as the Ishikawa or Cause-and-Effect Diagram,

visually represents the possible causes contributing to a problem.
The diagram takes the form of a fish skeleton, where each "bone" represents a
category of potential causes, such as People, Process, Equipment, Environment,
and Materials.
This technique helps identify diverse factors that might be contributing to the issue.
Example: Problem - Low Customer Satisfaction
Categories: People, Process, Environment, Equipment, Materials
People: Inadequate training of customer support staff.
Process: Complex and time-consuming order processing.
Environment: Noisy and uncomfortable store atmosphere.
Equipment: Outdated computer systems causing delays.
Materials: Poor-quality raw materials affecting product durability.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wYJnZTzLgM
Gap Analysis

A gap analysis is the means by which a company can recognize its current state—by
measuring time, money, and labour—and compare it with its target state. By defining
and analysing these gaps, the management team can create an action plan to move
the organization forward and fill in the performance gaps.
Step 1: Identify Your Current State
• A gap analysis starts by focusing on where your organization is currently
operating at. This includes researching the products it offers, customers it
serves, geographical locations it reaches, and benefits it offers to its
employees. This information can be quantitative (i.e., financial records as part
of required filings) or qualitative (i.e., surveys or feedback from key
stakeholders).
Step 2: Identify Your Future State
• In gap analysis, a company must make specific, measurable goals to yield the
greatest long-term success. For example, in the situation above, it would do
the company little good to set the goal of “becoming better at customer
service.” Instead, the company must identify more trackable metrics, such as
“achieve customer satisfaction of 90% within 12 months.”
Step 3: Identify the Gaps
• With the current state and future state defined, it’s time to bridge the two and
understand where the most critical differences lie. In our running example, it’s
in this stage that a company realizes it may be woefully understaffed, has not
 provided enough staff training, or does not have the technical capability to
keep up with customer inquiries.
Step 4: Evaluate Solutions
• Now that a company has defined its deficiencies, it’s time to come up with
plans on how it will reach its target state. Sometimes, there may only be one
solution; other times, the gap analysis may call for several simultaneous
changes that must work in tandem.
Step 5: Implement Change
• Once the best ideas from Step 4 are chosen, it’s time to put them into action.
In this stage, the company attempts to close the gap identified in the analysis.
By putting the solutions in place, the company attempts to become better at a
targeted area of business or overcome a deficiency.
Step 6: Monitor Changes
• For this reason, the company must also conclude its gap analysis by
monitoring any changes. Sometimes, the company took exactly the right
steps. Other times, the gap might have been wider than the company thought
or the company failed to adequately assess its current position.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xXReyiFtBY

Types of Gap Analysis

Market Gap Analysis
• Also called product gap analysis, market gap analysis entails making
considerations about the market and how customer needs may be going
unmet. If a company is able to identify areas where product supply is not
meeting consumer demand, then the company can take measures to
personally fill that market gap. This type of analysis may be performed by
external consultants who have more expertise in these areas of business in
which the company may not currently be operating.
Strategic Gap Analysis
• Also called performance gap analysis, strategic gap analysis is a more formal
internal review of how a company is performing. The analysis often entails
comparing how a company has done against long-term benchmarks such as
a five-year plan or a strategic plan.
Financial/Profit Gap Analysis
• A company may choose to directly analyse where its company may be falling
short compared to competitors by looking specifically at financial metrics. This
may include pricing comparisons, margin percentages, overhead costs,
revenue per labour, or fixed vs. variable components. The ultimate goal of a
profit gap analysis is to determine areas in which a competitor is being more
financially efficient.
Skill Gap Analysis
• Instead of looking at the financial aspects of a company, a business may
choose to look at the human element instead. A skill gap analysis helps
determine if there is a shortfall in knowledge and expertise with current
personnel. A skill gap analysis must clearly define the goals of the company,
then map how current laborers may fit into that design. A skill gap analysis
may lead to the recommendation of simply training existing staff to incur new
skills or seeking outside expertise to bring in new personnel.
Compliance Gap Analysis
• Often leveraging internal audit functions, a compliance gap analysis evaluates
how a company is faring against a set of external regulations that dictate how
something should be getting done. For example, a company may internally
evaluate its accounting and reporting functions in advance of seeking an
external auditor to provide an opinion on its financial statements.
Product Development Gap Analysis
• As a company builds new products, gap analysis can also be performed to
analyse which functions of the products will meet market demand and where
the product will fall short. This type of gap analysis is often associated with the
development of software products or items that take a long time to develop (in
which the market demand may have shifted).
Gap Analysis Tools
SWOT Analysis
One of the more recognizable analysis tools, SWOT analysis determines a
company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. As a gap analysis tool,
a company can evaluate both internal and external factors that it can improve upon
or realize its lead on.
Fishbone Diagram
A fishbone diagram, also called a cause-and-effect diagram or an Ishikawa diagram,
is useful to identify what might be causing problems. It is also helpful to encourage
creative thinking when sleuthing through a business constraint.
McKinsey 7S
The McKinsey 7S framework identifies seven elements that are key to determining
how well a company performs and what has an impact on how it operates. The
model contains three “hard elements” of strategy, structure, and systems, along with
four “soft elements” of shared values, skills, style, and staff.
Using the McKinsey 7S model, a company can identify how each area fits into
prevailing gaps and how the company can influence each aspect to better conform to
long-term objectives.
Pareto Analysis
• Imagine that you've just been promoted to head of department. You're
brimming with ideas about how to improve things, so where do you start?
• Ideally, you want to focus on fixing the problems that have the biggest impact.
But how do you decide which one to tackle first?
• Pareto Analysis is a simple decision-making technique for assessing
competing problems and measuring the impact of fixing them.
• Pareto Analysis uses the Pareto Principle – also known as the "80/20 Rule" –
which was coined by Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto, in his 1896 book,
"Cours d'économie politique."
• The Pareto Principle states that 80 percent of a project's benefit comes from
20 percent of the work. Or, conversely, that 80 percent of problems can be
traced back to 20 percent of causes.
Example
• Jack has taken over a failing computer service center, with a host of problems
that need resolving. His objective is to increase overall customer satisfaction.
• He decides to carry out a Pareto Analysis to assess and prioritize the biggest
issues facing the centre. He starts by listing these (see the Problem column in
the table). He then identifies the underlying causes behind each (see the
Causes column). Finally, he scores each item by the number of customer
complaints that each has received (see the Score column)
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis

Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is a systematic approach to identify and
prioritize potential failure modes in a process, product, or system.
It involves assessing the severity, occurrence, and detection of each failure mode to
calculate a Risk Priority Number (RPN).
This helps focus efforts on preventing or mitigating high-risk failure modes.
Example: Process - Online Payment System
Failure Mode: Payment gateway crashes during peak load.
Severity (S): High - Customer financial transactions impacted.
Occurrence (O): Moderate - Could happen during high traffic.
Detection (D): High - Regular system monitoring.
RPN = S × O × D = High × Moderate × High = High Priority

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ena1GxBwSNw

Process Flow Analysis

Questions Section-3

Section-4: Creative Problem Solving

Mind Mapping
https://www.mindmapping.com/mind-map

https://simplemind.eu/how-to-mind-map/basics/

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elkd8D9stbQ

A Mind Map is an easy way to brainstorm thoughts organically without worrying

about order and structure. It allows you to visually structure your ideas to help with
analysis and recall.

A Mind Map is a diagram for representing tasks, words, concepts, or items linked to
and arranged around a central concept or subject using a non-linear graphical layout
that allows the user to build an intuitive framework around a central concept.

Here is an example of an outline for vacation plans: Right side is Mind Map
Example Mind Map: Vacation
Example Mind Map: Business Plan

Example Mind Map: Wedding Photographer Website

Mind maps can be created in many different ways, but they share the same basics:
Central theme
A central theme is placed in the centre of a blank page. This is the title, the subject, a
problem or just a thought. When thinking of something images automatically take
form in your head. For example the image of a “colorful bunch of balloons” when
thinking of “birthday”.

Associations
From the central theme associations radiate out. Associations directly from the
central theme are called first level associations. Then second level associations are
created, third level and so on. The brain thinks by imagination and association.
When associations are created, connections are made. These connections are
essential for remembering and thinking.
Keywords
Mind maps summarize information. Instead of sentences, ideally only single
keywords are used. A single word per association gives more freedom, creativity and
clarity.

Mind Mapping is perfect for:

 Brainstorming and visualizing concepts

 Presenting and communicating ideas
 Graphic organizers and electronic note books
 Running meetings more effectively
 Outlining reports and documents
 Simplifying task and project management
 Writing essays

Brainstorming
https://www.mindtools.com/acv0de1/brainstorming
https://helpfulprofessor.com/brainstorming-examples/#:~:text=be%20highly%20effective.-,Example
%201%3A%20Product%20Development,cutting%2Dedge%20technology%20and%20features.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMl0uXedbOI

What is Brain Storming?

Madison Avenue advertising executive Alex Osborn developed the original
approach and published it in his 1953 book, "Applied Imagination."
Brainstorming combines a relaxed, informal approach to problem solving with
lateral thinking. It encourages people to come up with thoughts and ideas that
can, at first, seem a bit crazy. Some of these ideas can be crafted into original,
creative solutions to a problem, while others can spark even more ideas. This
helps to get people unstuck by "jolting" them out of their normal ways of
thinking.
Examples
Product Development
Brainstorming can be used to generate new product ideas or improve upon
existing ones. For example, a team of designers, engineers, and marketers
could brainstorm ideas for a new smartphone that incorporates cutting-edge
technology and features. Importantly, the team should be composed of product
market experts and, ideally, people with prior knowledge about issues with the
current product iteration, consumer feedback, and gaps in the marketplace.
Marketing Campaign
Brainstorming is common in marketing and advertising, and in fact, the term
was coined by a marketing professional.
Generally, this session would involve bringing together a team of creatives with
good knowledge of the market as well as cutting-edge marketing techniques in
order to come up with a campaign idea. For example, a team of marketers
could brainstorm ideas for a new social media campaign that leverages the
power of influencers to reach the audience.
Devise Strategic Plan
It helps you visualize how your business may look like in the future while
allowing feedback from team members involved in the development process to
obtain insights from all departments.

A team of executives may get together around a single table with reports and
data sheets explaining different growth areas of the company.

Design Thinking
https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/design-thinking
https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/design-thinking-examples

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WI3B54m6SU

Video: https://youtu.be/hnSPmcZjEqs (GE Health Care)

Design thinking is a non-linear, iterative process that teams use to understand users,
challenge assumptions, redefine problems and create innovative solutions to
prototype and test. Involving five phases—Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype and
Test—it is most useful to tackle problems that are ill-defined or unknown.

Stage 1: Empathize—Research Your Users' Needs

Here, you should gain an empathetic understanding of the problem you’re trying to
solve, typically through user research. Empathy is crucial to a human-centred design
process such as design thinking because it allows you to set aside your own
assumptions about the world and gain real insight into users and their needs.
Stage 2: Define—State Your Users' Needs and Problems
It’s time to accumulate the information gathered during the Empathize stage. You
then analyze your observations and synthesize them to define the core problems you
and your team have identified. These definitions are called problem statements. You
can create personas to help keep your efforts human-centered before proceeding to
ideation.
Stage 3: Ideate—Challenge Assumptions and Create Ideas
Now, you’re ready to generate ideas. The solid background of knowledge from the
first two phases means you can start to “think outside the box”, look for alternative
ways to view the problem and identify innovative solutions to the problem statement
you’ve created. Brainstorming is particularly useful here..
Stage 4: Prototype—Start to Create Solutions
This is an experimental phase. The aim is to identify the best possible solution for
each problem found. Your team should produce some inexpensive, scaled-down
versions of the product (or specific features found within the product) to investigate
the ideas you’ve generated. This could involve simply paper prototyping.

Stage 5: Test—Try Your Solutions Out

Evaluators rigorously test the prototypes. Although this is the final phase, design
thinking is iterative: Teams often use the results to redefine one or more further
problems. So, you can return to previous stages to make further iterations,
alterations and refinements – to find or rule out alternative solutions.
Examples
1. GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare is an example of a company that focused on user-centricity to
improve a product that seemingly had no problems.
Diagnostic imaging has revolutionized healthcare, yet GE Healthcare saw a problem
in how pediatric patients reacted to procedures. Many children were observed crying
during long procedures in cold, dark rooms with flickering fluorescent lights.
Considering this, GE Healthcare’s team observed children in various environments,
spoke to experts, and interviewed hospital staff to gain more insight into their
experiences.
After extensive user research, hospital pilots, and reiteration, GE Healthcare
launched the “Adventure Series.” This redesign initiative focused on making
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines more child friendly.
For example, the “Pirate Adventure” transforms MRI machines from dark, black holes
to pirate ships with scenery of beaches, sandcastles, and the ocean. By empathizing
with children’s pain points, GE Healthcare was able to craft a creative solution that
was not only fun but increased patient satisfaction scores by 90 percent. This also
yielded unexpected successes, including improved scan quality of paediatric
patients, and ultimately saved customers time and resources.
https://thisisdesignthinking.net/2014/12/changing-experiences-through-empathy-ge-
healthcares-adventure-series/
2. Oral B
Design thinking not only succeeds at finding effective solutions for companies but
also at putting initiatives to the test before implementation.

When Oral B wanted to upgrade its electric toothbrush, it enlisted designers Kim
Colin and Sam Hecht to help. The company’s request was to add more functions for
electric toothbrush users, such as tracking brushing frequency, observing gum
sensitivity, and playing music.
While clarifying the problem, however, Colin and Hecht pointed out that brushing
teeth was a neurotic act for many people. Users didn’t want additional functionality
and, in many cases, thought it could potentially cause more stress. Instead, they
recommended two solutions that could improve user experience without adding
gimmicks.

Their first recommendation was to make the toothbrush easier to charge, especially
while users were on the road. Another was making it more convenient for users to
order replacement heads by allowing toothbrushes to connect to phones and send
reminder notifications. Both proposals were successful because they focused on
what users wanted rather than what the company wanted to roll out.
3. Netflix
Although many companies have successfully used design thinking, Netflix has
repeatedly leveraged it to become an industry giant. During the company’s inception,
its main competitor, Blockbuster, required customers to drive to brick-and-mortar
stores to rent DVDs. The process was the same for returns, which was a major pain
point for many. Netflix eliminated that inconvenience by delivering DVDs directly to
customers’ homes with a subscription model.

While this revolutionized the movie industry, Netflix’s real success has been in its
innovation over the years. For example, when the company realized DVDs were
becoming outdated, it created an on-demand streaming service to stay ahead of the
curve. This also inadvertently eliminated the inconvenience of having to wait for
DVDs.

Subsequently, in 2011, Netflix took its design thinking one step further and
responded to customers’ need for original, provocative content that wasn’t airing on
traditional networks. Later, in 2016, it improved its user experience by adding short
trailers to its interface. Each of Netflix’s major updates was in response to customers’
needs and driven by an effective design thinking process.

4. Airbnb
Another household name, Airbnb, started by only making around $200 a week. After
some observation, its founders recognized that the advertising pictures hosts were
posting online weren’t of a high enough quality, which often deterred customers from
renting rooms.
To empathize with customers, the founders spent time traveling to each location,
imagining what users look for in a temporary place to stay. Their solution? Invest in a
high-quality camera and take pictures of what customers want to see, based on their
travel observations. For example, showing every room rather than a select few,
listing special features like a hot tub or pool in the description, and highlighting the
neighborhood or areas in close proximity to the residence. The result? A week later,
Airbnb’s revenue doubled.

Instead of focusing on reaching a bigger audience, Airbnb’s founders used design

thinking to determine why their existing audience wasn’t utilizing their services. They
realized that rather than focusing on traditional business values, like scalability, they
needed to simply put themselves in users’ shoes to solve business problems.

5. UberEats
The go-to food delivery service app UberEats attributes its success to its ability to
reiterate quickly and empathize with customers.
A prime example of this is UberEats’s Walkabout Program, where designers observe
cities in which the company operates. Some elements they inspect are food culture,
cuisine, infrastructure, delivery processes, and transportation. One of the innovations
that came from their immersive research is the driver app, which focuses on delivery
partners’ pain points around parking in highly populated urban areas. To address
this, the driver app provides step-by-step directions from restaurant to customer to
ensure smoother delivery processes.
Understanding that pain points vary between geographic locations helps UberEats
implement effective upgrades to its service that solve problems in specific locations.

Section-5: Insights Generation

Market Research
Understanding Customer Insights
Data Driven Insights Generation

Section-6: Story Telling for Business

Importance of Story Telling
Story Telling Techniques

Section-7: Data Visualization Techniques

Data Visualization Techniques
https://www.tableau.com/learn/articles/data-visualization

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUeWXNK-9yA Data Visualization Crash Course |

Consulting Best Practices
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csXmVBw8cdo
Use of Visual Aids in Business Communication
Designing Effective Infographics
https://venngage.com/blog/how-to-make-an-infographic-in-5-steps/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN8_85gKOTc&list=PLtOgJbXC-
L_NaVXoLtjrf0tg2XJsUXUvV

An infographic is a collection of imagery, data visualizations like pie charts and bar
graphs, and minimal text that gives an easy-to-understand overview of a topic.
Infographics are great for making complex information easy to digest. They can be
helpful anytime you want to:
 Provide a quick overview of a topic
 Explain a complex process
 Display research findings or survey data
 Summarize a long blog post or report
 Compare and contrast multiple options
 Raise awareness about an issue or cause
Section-8: Effective Presentations
Prepare effective presentations.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/office/create-a-presentation-in-powerpoint-422250f8-5721-
4cea-92cc-202fa7b89617?wt.mc_id=otc_powerpoint#

https://www.theanalystacademy.com/design-any-powerpoint-slide-in-5-minutes/

The M.O.V.I.E. framework is a simple but effective five-step process that you can use
to consistently design PowerPoint slides that are clear, effective, and engaging.
1. Message
This might seem like a boring step, but it’s a critical one. A common mistake I see a
lot is people will pick a slide template, then try to force their message into that
template. But that can create problems because it forces you to adapt what you’re
saying to the logical layout of the slide. And before you know it, you’re trying to fill
your slide with meaningless bullet points just because they’re there.
A better approach is to think about what you want to say first, then you can figure out
the best way to present that information visually. Let’s say we wanted to build a slide
about Spotify and their growth in the audio streaming market. Very simply, our
message might be something like, “Spotify is expected to grow”, so let’s put that at
the top of our slide.
The truth is, every well made slide has a clear message. In this slide from Oliver
Wyman for example, the message is that digitally-focused banks are more
successful at attracting new customers than traditional banks. And it’s pretty easy to
see that reflected in the content with each of these visuals showing the net flow of
customers from digital to traditional and vice versa.

“Customer Experience: The 14BN Risk” Oliver Wyman, 2018

Or this slide from McKinsey about innovation in the mining industry. The clear
message is that companies are using innovation to address declining productivity
trends, as stated here in the title. And again you can see that message clearly
supported by these two quotes from mining company executives.
“Challenges in Mining: Scarcity or Opportunity?” McKinsey, 2015
2. Organization
Step number two in the MOVIE framework is to organize your information. Now that
you’ve established a message for your slide, you can start organizing your data to
support that message. This is going to make your slide more persuasive, and help
your audience understand how you’ve reached your conclusions.
This is where the Pyramid Principle comes into play. If you’ve never heard of the
Pyramid Principle make sure you check out some of our other videos on the topic, or
take a look at our advanced courses.
Put simply, the Pyramid Principle is just a method for communication where you
start with your main message, then break that message down into its
component parts. When you do it right, each statement provides a summary of all
the statements below it.
And this type of approach is something you see used by top slide creators all the
time. In this slide from McKinsey you can see the main message of the slide at the
top, and support for that message in these two sections.
“Technology’s role in mineral criticality” McKinsey, 2017
In this slide from BCG the slide structure is even more pronounced, with three
distinct sections that all support the main takeaway of the slide as spelled out in the
title. And this works really well because the audience can read the title first to get an
overview of the content, then dive deeper into the details with each of these three
sections.

“Loose dogs in Dallas: Strategic Recommendations to Improve Public Safety and

Animal Welfare in Dallas” BCG, 2016
Let’s say for example that we’ve gathered the following data points from various
sources including investor presentations, annual reports, expert interviews, etc. The
first step would be to figure out how we can organize these data points into different
categories. And reading through them, you can see a few themes emerge. For
example, it seems like many of them are about podcasting, so let’s take those and
group them together. Then give them a summarizing title.

❝ Because the truth is, you don’t need to include every

single data point you have. You need to tell a compelling
story.
And being selective with what you decide to include is an
important part of that. ❞
Then a few of these are about the growth in users, so we can put those together as
well, and we’ll add the title “Strong user growth”.
Then these last couple don’t really seem to have a place, so we’ll just leave them for
now.
So now we can use these two groups to form the main content on our slide. Of
course it doesn’t have to be 2 groups, it can be 3, 4, or sometimes even more. All
you’re trying to do with this step is take the data you have, organize it into groups
that support the title, and put them on your slide. And notice how well this slide’s
organized now. The title at the top provides the main message, these subtitles help
support that message, and the bullet points support the subtitles. The logic is clear,
persuasive, and easy to follow.
Now, it’s worth noting that this isn’t the only way to go about this. We used a bottom-
up approach to organize our information, but another option would be to use a top-
down approach, where you first decide on your subtitles, then go and find data to
support those subtitles. Each method has its own pros and cons, so ultimately it
comes down to whichever method works best for you.
So with the basic organization of our slide in place, you might be wondering what we
should do with these other data points. And the answer to that is to just delete them.

3. Visualization
The next step in the MOVIE framework is to visualize your information. This is going
to help the audience quickly and easily understand the details of your slide, in a way
that a text or numbers can’t really do. Without getting carried away, you want to try
and visualize as much of the information as possible. Most simply that means trying
to include charts where you have enough data, but that can also mean adding icons,
graphics, or pictures. As long as those icons, graphics, or pictures help bring clarity
to the message, instead of just being a distraction.
Taking a look at our slide here it’s pretty easy to see where we could add a chart. In
this section about user growth, we can probably just add a chart to visualize the
growth. And although these three bullet points aren’t all the exact same, they do all
cover the same general idea, which is that Spotify’s user growth is strong.
So to keep it simple, we’ll just add a basic line chart that shows Spotify’s monthly
active users, broken down by quarter. That way the audience can get a clear picture
of how consistently Spotify has been able to add to its active user base, which is
going to help support our main idea that the overall business is expected to grow.
Even a simple visual like this can be powerful. Not only does it make the information
easier to process, but it helps break up the content, adding a little bit of texture to the
slide. There’s nothing inherently wrong with a slide of just bullet points, but
sometimes a visual or two can keep the audience from falling asleep.
There are a number of ways to do this, but one way is just by directly stating the
insights.
Once again, this is a principle you can see all over the place. Some of the best slide
creators use visualization to bring life to the information on their slides, and it’s very
effective. In this slide from Kearney for example, notice how they’ve organized the
slide into four distinct sections, then used charts to provide support for the
takeaways in each section.

“Fintech New York: Partnerships, Platforms and Open Innovation” Kearney, 2020
Then even more subtly, notice how on this slide from Oliver Wyman they’ve used
icons to help visualize what might have otherwise been a pretty boring, text-only
slide. Even little things like this can really help the audience understand the content
of the slide more quickly.

“Responding to Covid-19” Oliver Wyman, 2021

4. Insights
The next step in the framework is to make your insights clear. This is a critical step in
the slide-building process that often gets forgotten – even by experienced slide
creators.
Most slides in the business world tend to be pretty dense – full of text, numbers,
charts, and other visuals – and this can be overwhelming for the audience. In a live
presentation the audience has to listen to the speaker, read through the information
on the slide, and think of how they’re gonna respond. Even for a smart and well-
informed audience, this can be difficult. So the solution is to make your insights
crystal clear.
In this slide from BCG notice how the title clearly and directly states the insight of the
slide. Then notice also how the subtitles do the same thing. Instead of just stating a 1
or 2 word topic, they explicitly call out what it is they want you to know.
Looking at our Spotify slide there are a few different places we can do this. First we
want to highlight the main ideas of our slide, which of course is our working title,
and then these subtitles, which are the support for that title. So let’s change this title
to be a bit more clear and descriptive… Then we can update these subtitles as
well to be very clear about the point we’re making…
The other way to make your insights clear is to highlight them with things like
bolded text, callouts, arrows, and lines. In this example from Strategy& there’s a
whole lot of text, but the insights are clear because of how they’ve strategically used
color and bolding to help guide you through the information. The main takeaway of
the slide is the biggest and commands the most attention, then the subtitles of the
slide use a different color and are slightly bigger than the paragraphs, but then even
the paragraphs use bolding to draw attention to the key parts. The end result is an
effective slide that might otherwise have been really hard to read.
Going back to our Spotify slide, there are a few different things we can do
to highlight the insights. First we can draw more attention to our title and
subtitles with large text, bolding, and the use of lines.
The next thing we can do is call out the main insight of the chart. Charts are typically
an easy place to do this because the data is distinct, so you can highlight a specific
bar or line to help emphasize your message. In this chart however it’s more about
the overall growth, so let’s add a callout here that tells the audience the compound
annual growth rate. This connects well with the message in the subtitle, which of
course connects with the overall message of the slide.

And just like that, our slide is significantly easier to understand. Now instead of
forcing the audience to take in all this information at once, we can guide them to the
parts of the slide that matter most.
5. Extras
The fifth and final step in the MOVIE framework is to take care of the extras. This
can refer to things like formatting, alignment, footnotes, or anything else that’s going
to help clean up the look and feel of the slide. Depending on your situation, this
might also mean making sure your company’s template and guidelines are followed.
If you’re enrolled in our advanced courses you’re going to automatically have access
to our comprehensive slide checklist, which you can use to quickly and easily finalize
your slide. But if not, just take a few minutes to look for typos, misaligned boxes, or
anything else that looks out of place.
❝ Make sure you have all your supporting details such as sources, footnotes, or
anything else someone would need to understand the slide when looking at it for the
first time. ❞
This might seem like a simple step, but any good slide creator is gonna take this part
very seriously. Notice how on this slide from Accenture everything is perfectly
aligned. There are no typos, and they’ve made sure to include units, sources, and
footnotes. The truth is, the overall quality of your slide is a reflection on you, your
team, and your company. And at places like Accenture they understand this really
well.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXinjIL7SKI Beginer’s guide to PowerPoint

Presentation Techniques for Business

https://ezcast-pro.com/stories/effective-presentation-techniques/

Communicating Insights and Story Telling through Presentations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnlWiVs9P5o PowerPoint Storytelling: How McKinsey,
Bain and BCG create compelling presentations
Assignment for Section-8
 Make a presentation of your choice on any of the frameworks studied earlier

Questions for Section-8

 Discuss 5 features of Microsoft Power Point
 Discuss the MOVIE framework for making an effective presentation.
 Discuss the SCQA framework for making presentations.

Section-9: Case Study Analysis

https://hbsp.harvard.edu/inspiring-minds/a-framework-for-using-cases-to-help-students-become-
better-decision-makers

https://www.ascdegreecollege.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Marketing-Management-Indian-
Cases.pdf Indian Case Studies

https://globalgeek.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/The-Times-100-Business-Case-Studies.pdf Times
100 Business Case Studies

What is case based learning?

Using a case-based approach engages students in discussion of specific scenarios
that resemble or typically are real-world examples. This method is learner-centred
with intense interaction between participants as they build their knowledge and work
together as a group to examine the case. The instructor's role is that of a facilitator
while the students collaboratively analyse and address problems and resolve
questions that have no single right answer.
Why use case-based learning?
To provide students with a relevant opportunity to see theory in practice. Real world
or authentic contexts expose students to viewpoints from multiple sources and see
why people may want different outcomes. Students can also see how a decision will
impact different participants, both positively and negatively.
To require students to analyse data in order to reach a conclusion. Since many
assignments are open-ended, students can practice choosing appropriate analytic
techniques as well. Instructors who use case-based learning say that their students
are more engaged, interested, and involved in the class.
To develop analytic, communicative and collaborative skills along with content
knowledge. In their effort to find solutions and reach decisions through discussion,
students sort out factual data, apply analytic tools, articulate issues, reflect on their
relevant experiences, and draw conclusions they can relate to new situations. In the
process, they acquire substantive knowledge and develop analytic, collaborative,
and communication skills.
Case Study Questions

Cases can be more or less “directed” by the kinds of questions asked. These kinds
of questions can be appended to any case, or could be a handout for participants
unfamiliar with case studies on how to approach one.

 What is the situation—what do you actually know about it from reading the
case? (Distinguishes between fact and assumptions under critical
understanding)
 What issues are at stake? (Opportunity for linking to theoretical readings)
 What questions do you have—what information do you still need? Where/how
could you find it?
 What problem(s) need to be solved? (Opportunity to discuss communication
versus conflict, gaps between assumptions, sides of the argument)
 What are all the possible options? What are the pros/cons of each option?
 What are the underlying assumptions for [person X] in the case—where do
you see them?
 What criteria should you use when choosing an option? What does that mean
about your assumptions?

PACADI: A six step decision making approach

The PACADI framework is a six-step decision-making approach that can be used in
lieu of traditional end-of-case questions. It offers a structured, integrated, and
iterative process that requires students to analyze case information, apply business
concepts to derive valuable insights, and develop recommendations based on these
insights.
Step 1: Problem definition. What is the major challenge, problem, opportunity, or
decision that has to be made? If there is more than one problem, choose the most
important one. Often when solving the key problem, other issues will surface and be
addressed. The problem statement may be framed as a question; for example, How
can brand X improve market share among millennials in Canada? Usually the
problem statement has to be re-written several times during the analysis of a case as
students peel back the layers of symptoms or causation.

Step 2: Alternatives. Identify in detail the strategic alternatives to address the

problem; three to five options generally work best. Alternatives should be mutually
exclusive, realistic, creative, and feasible given the constraints of the situation. Doing
nothing or delaying the decision to a later date are not considered acceptable
alternatives.

Step 3: Criteria. What are the key decision criteria that will guide decision-making?
In a marketing course, for example, these may include relevant marketing criteria
such as segmentation, positioning, advertising and sales, distribution, and pricing.
Financial criteria useful in evaluating the alternatives should be included—for
example, income statement variables, customer lifetime value, payback, etc.
Students must discuss their rationale for selecting the decision criteria and the
weights and importance for each factor.

Step 4: Analysis. Provide an in-depth analysis of each alternative based on the

criteria chosen in step three. Decision tables using criteria as columns and
alternatives as rows can be helpful. The pros and cons of the various choices as well
as the short- and long-term implications of each may be evaluated. Best, worst, and
most likely scenarios can also be insightful.

Step 5: Decision. Students propose their solution to the problem. This decision is
justified based on an in-depth analysis. Explain why the recommendation made is
the best fit for the criteria.

Step 6: Implementation plan. Sound business decisions may fail due to poor
execution. To enhance the likeliness of a successful project outcome, students
describe the key steps (activities) to implement the recommendation, timetable,
projected costs, expected competitive reaction, success metrics, and risks in the
plan.

Assignment
Make a group of 2-3, refer the Indian and Global Case Studies provided:
 Make a case presentation on an Indian Business Case
 Make a case presentation on an International Business Case
Questions for Section-9
 What is case based learning?
 Why use case-based learning?
 What are typical case questions?
 Discuss PACADI framework to solve business case.

Section-10: Team Based Problem Solving

Section-11: Ethics in Business Problem Solving

Section-12: Final Project

Evaluation
100 marks Components will be divided into 3 parts.
 30 marks as Internal
 30 marks as Midterm
 40 marks as End term
30 marks Internal component will be in the form of MCQ, Assignments, Projects, or
Presentations