Boamah 1

Abena Boamah

BU111

Winter 2024

Lesson 1:

Skills for Professional Success

1.​ Communication

2.​ Teamwork

3.​ Punctuality

4.​ Critical thinking

5.​ Organization

Main Idea of the Course

There are external factors that affect businesses and change conditions in businesses and
industries (When conditions change they can simultaneously create opportunities and threats)
➢​ What changes should businesses make to their strategies to achieve their goals?
➢​ We constantly have to change our strategy because of constant change in external
factors
SWOT
Strengths
Weakness
Opportunity
Threats

How do you use the Diamond E framework?

➢​ Primary strategic framing tool
➢​ Use external and/or internal conditions to come up with unique plan to meet client or
business needs
➢​ Strategy needs to align with internal and external conditions
➢​ We look at external conditions first because we cannot control it (by understanding we
can choose strategies that better align with them) Develop a set of alternative that fit
the conditions of the external strategy
➢​ Then determine which external strategy align and are consistent with the internal
conditions
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PEST framework (Part of external analysis-Macroeconomics)

Political & Legal
Economics
Social Environmental
Technological

Internal: What can we do?

Strategy : The plan the business uses to pursue opportunities & avoid threats (Has to align
with external and consists with internal)
External: What should we do?

Lesson 2 : Analytical thinking

What is the purpose of case analysis?
​ To develop a GOOD solution that is
​ ​ Feasible - firm has or can get the resources to implement it
​ ​ Complete - outlines all the key activities that must be executed
​ ​ Effective - achieves the immediate and overarching objectives
Analytical thinking is critical thinking

Case Analysis Process

Process Explanation

Identify the issues – immediate, underlying Elements:

- and summarize as a question Understand immediate question, underlying
issue

Identify relevant models and frameworks

Tools:
-​ 3 Whys (Come up with 3 reasons
why)
-​ Models, frameworks, issue trees
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Protip:
The immediate issue and hints at underlying
are usually found in
the introduction and/or conclusion of case

Identify the objectives and aspirations Importance of identifying objectives and

(What do we want to accomplish) aspirations:
1.​ Affects design
2.​ Proves effectiveness
Two kinds of objectives:
1.​ Given in case – obvious – what do
we want to achieve with this
solution?
2.​ Aspirational-long term – what else
do we want now and in the future?
(What’s our vision?)
Why consider aspirations? Decisions made
today affect options of
tomorrow.
Understanding aspirations ensures that
decisions made today don’t
constrain you from building towards
desired future

Identify complications & constraints Elements:

-​ Complications/constraints, strengths
Importance: Need to understand the & opportunities [feasible]
situation to ensure your solution is -​ Complete solution components
complete, feasible and effective [complete]

Tools:
-​ Models, frameworks, issue trees;
Diamond-E plus…
-​ Research on industry, competition,
customer and environment

Examples of constraints & complications

Diamond-E
-​ Human resources are largely
non-tech savvy
-​ Already have a lot of debt so can’t
borrow to expand
-​ Technology talent is in short supply
and tends to go to larger firms
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Porter’s Five Forces

-​ High competition, unreachable
customers, majority of suppliers are
at capacity with existing contracts

Generic strategies
-​ Product is viewed as commodity –
hard to differentiate
-​ Low cost requires large scale but
markets are too small

Horizontal analysis: Changes in relevant

items over time

Vertical analysis: is something really big or

too small relative to revenues or
profits?

Identify & apply relevant models and do Issue:

research to enhance understanding -​ What elements make up this issue?
-​ What is the company missing or
doing poorly?

Solution:
-​ Options: how could we solve this?
What must we consider?
-​ Tactics: What must a company do to
execute a complete solution?
-​ Strategy: What underlying issue to
focus on and resolve

Application:
-​ Guidance for 3 whys
-​ Guidance for implementation
-​ Can be combined for complete
solution
-​ Can be used to address issues from
other disciplines

Develop and evaluate hypotheses (options) -​ Sometimes given in case – address

them
-​ Sometimes come from model
-​ Okay to add your own if it is as
strong or better
-​ Sometimes status quo is okay
-​ Should be mutually exclusive – you
 Boamah 5

can only pick one

-​ Use decision criteria to compare

Propose good solution with implementation Strategic

-​ What is the “big idea” for answering
the key question in the case
Tactical
-​ What are the 2-3 main
questions/actions needed to make
the strategic recommendation a
reality
Operational
-​ What do we need to make, buy,
borrow, acquire to implement the
tactical recommendation

Identify risks , mitigation and contingency -​ Risks arise from assumptions or

strategies uncontrollable variables in the
implementation plan
-​ Can vary in severity and impact
-​ Mitigation strategy reduces the
likelihood it will occur
-​ Contingency is what to do if risk
occurs
-​ Contingency can’t be “go back and
do the other strategy option”

-​ Identify the 1 to 3 most likely and

impactful risks
-​ Have a plan for all three risks

Prioritize them:
-​ Identify how much damage but also
the likelihood a risk will occur
-​ Focus your energy and resources on
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most serious, i.e. #1 and #2 if you

have limited resources to commit

Demonstrate impact What to prove? Satisfaction of objectives

and aspirations identified - quantitative
and qualitative objectives

Begin by understanding where the

company would be if it changed
nothing, then layer your solution on top
(incremental changes)

Three approaches
1.​ Calculation of what solution
achieves
2.​ Identification of what would have to
occur at a minimum via solution to
meet objective and show that this is
satisfied – pick most critical
driver/assumption and show you are
reaching this threshold
3.​ Show ROI – if it’s >1 then it’s
worthwhile!

Prove effectiveness by showing proof

Show that they are reasonable:
-​ Historical data or information:Past
company success on similar
situations;
-​ Industry norms
-​ Similar companies or competitors
using similar solutions or solution
elements and the outcomes they
achieved

Porter five Forces:

Determine if force is low, medium, high, don’t wait until it is extremely low to do something
or take action.
Substitutes are indirect competitors (substitute product/service in different markets/firms)