Case Brief Two
Module 2 – Collaborative Work – “Medisys”
General Theme: Collaborative Work (Groups & Teams)
Case Name: Medisys Corp.: The IntensCare Product Development Team
Please see attached Case Brief Checklist for assignment details. Must be professionally written per attached Grading Rubric. MUST include supporting evidence. I have attached all documents needed to prepare the Case Brief. This is also a group assignment.
Paper MUST BE WRITTEN in as an applied report on a consulting project. Do not write as an academic research paper.
In order to receive FULL CREDIT, you must follow the grading rubric.
MGT 600 – Written Rubric
Professional (100%) Adequate (80%) Amateur (60%) Poor (40%)
Content
(25%)
The document’s purpose is
clearly stated at the beginning.
Sections are thematically
coherent and accomplish the
intended function; clear
relationship between ideas;
organization fits readers’
needs.
The document’s purpose is
reasonably clear.
Organization is evident, but
weak transitions undermine
the structure; occasional
digressions may leave readers
with questions.
Readers may be puzzled at
times regarding document’s
purpose. There are illogical
sections or the organization is
confusing; readers left with
numerous questions.
The document’s purpose is not
evident. There is no
discernible organization;
thoughts are random and lack
connection; readers have
several, substantial questions.
Evidence/Analysis
(25%)
Arguments clearly supported
by accurate evidence
considered credible by the
audience; sufficient detail
supports points.
Many details support the
argument, but some are not
fully developed or sufficiently
specific; may be missing
relevant evidence or contain
irrelevant evidence.
Some evidence provided, but
data is neither fully explained
or is irrelevant; important
evidence missing; contains
inaccuracies.
Little or no data support main
ideas of argument; contains
mostly inaccurate data.
Coherence
(15%)
Paragraphs internally
consistent; transitions between
paragraphs and sections allow
seamless integration of
argument(s); variations (e.g.,
bullet points) are used
appropriately and effectively.
A few paragraphs lack internal
consistency; some transitions
are weak and/or missing;
variations are mostly
appropriate but sometimes
interfere with flow.
Many paragraphs lack internal
consistency; transitions are
weak or nonexistent; variations
do not fit well with text.
Main idea in paragraph cannot
be identified; minimal
discernible relationships
among paragraphs. Variations
are unnecessary and detract
from flow and understanding.
Language
(15%)
Sentences flow smoothly, are
structurally correct, and
convey intended meaning;
phrasings are succinct and use
meaningful vocabulary. No
clear grammar, punctuation, or
spelling errors.
A few sentences are awkward,
incorrectly structured, or
wordy. A few grammar,
punctuation, and/or spelling
errors are present.
A significant number of
sentences are awkward,
incorrectly structured, or
excessively wordy. Several
grammar, punctuation, or
spelling errors are noticeable.
Many sentences are awkward,
incorrectly structured, or
wordy. Many grammar,
punctuation, or spelling errors
are apparent.
Visual Aids
(10%)
Visual aids are appropriately
positioned, referenced, and
formatted so as to appear
integrated seamlessly with
text; enhances document’s
purpose.
Visual aids are, in general,
positioned, referenced, and
formatted so as to not detract
from the document’s purpose
but improvements could be
made to enhance document’s
purpose.
Visual aids lack appropriate
positioning, referencing, and
formatting; detracts from
document’s purpose.
Visual aids are not appropriate
or improperly used; inhibits
document’s purpose.
Design
(10%)
Document employs an
appropriate layout; margins,
white space, font style and
size, headings, etc. are all
integrated flawlessly and
uniformly; enhances
document’s purpose.
Document looks mostly
professional, but some
elements could be more
appealing; margins, etc. are
mostly adequate but may lack
uniformity; neither enhances
nor detracts from the
document’s purpose.
Document strives for
professionalism but falls short
with many elements; margins,
etc. are inconsistent; detracts
from document’s purpose.
Document does not appear
professionally written; margins,
etc. are haphazard and
inappropriate; inhibits
document’s purpose.
CASE BRIEFS CHECKLIST
Read “Guide to Case Analysis” before reading this document to get an idea of the goals of case
analysis. The descriptions of the sections in that document are more informative while the
details in this document are complementary to that discussion and more technical (i.e., specific
tips to support your learning curve). My strongest recommendation is that this document be used
as a checklist. When your team has finished creating a particular brief, go through each item,
especially those that are noted under specific sections (e.g., situation overview, etc.) and ensure
each aspect has been met.
General Comments:
1. Approach briefs as though you are part of a team of consultants who have been
contracted to investigate an organizational problem. In doing this, you will want to
provide your client a discussion where they can see you have thoroughly investigated the
issues and that your recommendations are objectively supported, logically sound, and
consistent with the client’s organizational objectives.
2. Do not use contractions.
3. Third-person speech should be your default.
4. Insert page numbers.
5. Double-spacing between lines within the same paragraph is not necessary. You are
writing reports instead of research papers.
6. A reference or works cited list is not usually needed. However, should you use
information from a source other than your head(s), the case, or the material posted on Bb,
cite and reference those materials.
7. A Table of Contents and/or Table of Tables is not usually necessary unless your
document is very long (and it probably will not be).
8. Work with your classmates, colleagues, family, etc. in generating alternatives and
refining ideas. Real life problems are not solved in isolation, so there is no need to take
that approach here. Teams are responsible for their own work but discussing ideas across
teams and options is a robust practice.
9. You are engaged in a scientific exercise, so the importance of details and precision can
never be understated. Make them count.
10. Realize each section must be built on the foundation of previous sections and subsequent
sections are only as strong as those that precede them. I recommend writing each section
in sequence and integrating them using similar language.
11. Expect to revise each brief several times. Professional documents are never complete
with only a rough draft – revise until the job is finished.
12. Compare and contrast when appropriate; many aspects of organizational issues are
relative, so providing a referent point (e.g., context, other issues, mission/vision, strategic
objectives, etc.) can greatly support your points, and, as a result, reader understanding.
13. Writing matters, and I commit to reading every word that you write. Therefore, given
that you are graduate students working in teams with other graduate students, I expect a
pristinely perfect document in this regard. Any errors in punctuation, spelling, grammar,
type-o’s, etc. will be considered egregious and penalized accordingly. I strongly
encourage the use of Grammarly or a similar service to assist you in this effort.
Section-relevant Tips
With the exception of the Executive Summary, you will notice the “Guide to Case Analysis”
document provides an overview of each section referenced below. While you do have some
flexibility in writing your case briefs, I fully expect that, at a minimum, you will have use these
four sections/headings and each point below them will be diligently addressed. Freely use sub-
headings as necessary.
Executive Summary:
1. Write this last.
2. Depending on the nature of the project, Executive Summaries can sometimes span
several pages. However, given relative “small” problems you will be discussing this
term, two-three paragraphs succinctly written paragraphs will be sufficient.
Situation Overview & Problem Identification:
1. Be sure to provide sufficient but not excessive context to frame the problem. It might be
useful to think, “Have I provided the information necessary to understand the individual,
group, and structural determinants of behavior as they relate to this case?” Be sure that
you do not simply cut and paste material already written in the case. You must only
include the relevant portions.
2. Clearly state the problem(s) in a way that is easy to find and see; do not just embed it in a
paragraph. One approach I use is to have someone scan the document. If they cannot tell
me the problem I am attempting to address (in a general sense – remember that they only
scanned it), then I revise this section.
Analysis & Evaluation:
1. The goals in this section are three-fold: (1) produce a list of possible alternatives that may
address the problem; (2) introduce and justify the criteria through which you will
evaluate your alternatives; (3) and review the alternatives produced in Part 1 using the
criteria justified in Part 2.
a. First, identify potential alternatives to addressing the problem.
i. Potential alternatives should be exhaustive and, collectively, may very
well incorporate factors across all levels of the organization (i.e.,
individual, group, & structural).
ii. Use lists or other formatting approaches to clearly highlight potential
options.
b. Second, identify the criteria by which you will judge/evaluate/assess your
alternatives.
i. The criteria list needs to be comprehensive, and it may be
necessary/advantageous to assign relative weights to each criterion
according to its importance to the organization.
ii. You must justify, using case information and/or logic, both the criteria you
chose and the weights you assign them.
iii. Use lists or other formatting approaches to clearly highlight your options.
c. Third, systematically review each of your alternatives according to every criterion
you previously identified.
i. For example, if you have four alternatives and five critical issues, you will
have 20 different items to examine and explain (4×5).
ii. Qualitative explanations are useful, but quantitative ones are vital to
objectively supporting your recommendations.
iii. Tables are critical tools for showing your findings. Ensure they are
professional in appearance. It is sometimes easier to create a table that
summarizes your findings first, discuss with your colleagues and refine the
ideas second, then explain the logic behind the information in the table
last. If you use this approach, do not be afraid to modify the information
in your tables as you begin writing and justifying your ideas.
iv. You are trying to convince your clients they should immediately enact
your ideas, so you must be persuasive. State things as fact and support as
such.
2. Regarding tables:
a. They must be referenced in the narrative before they are shown. Next, they
should be pasted into the document as close to the reference in the text as possible
(but not before it). Finally, the table must be discussed/referenced in the text.
b. All tables/exhibits should be appropriately labeled (e.g., “Table 4: Criteria &
Weightings”) and should be professionally and consistently formatted to match
other tables.
Recommendations:
1. All recommendations must be supported by evidence from the previous sections, and
there must be a logical flow of ideas and critical treatment of issues throughout the
document (by “critical” I mean that you have adequately considered relevant elements
and justified them accordingly). The quality of this section is fully dependent on the
quality of prior sections. If one or more prior sections are weak, then your
recommendations will be subsequently weak.
2. If an idea or issue has not been previously raised in a previous section, then it probably
has no place now. In general, introducing key ideas/alternatives in this section is not
appropriate. You are merely specifying the alternative or combination of alternatives that
your group thinks will address the problem.
3. Be sure to include both short- and long-term solutions and use appropriate headings to
segment these discussions. In the short-term, think, “What must we do now to address
the issue at hand?” For the long-term, think, “What must the client do
4. Provide a timeline and budget where appropriate.
5. Translate recommendations into actionable initiatives. Think of this as a step-by-step
guide that a manager might take to implement your ideas. Depending on the structure of
your brief, you may two sets of initiatives, one each for the short- and long-term, or one
encompassing set for both – either option can work.
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“Sonoco Products Company (A):
Building a World-Class HR Organization”
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I. Executive Summary
Sonoco Products Company, an international packaging company, began operations in
1899. Originally called Southern Novelty Company when founded by Major James Coker in
Hartsville, South Carolina with $6,000 of initial capital. Around 2000, Sonoco became one of the
largest packaging companies and was achieving revenues around $2.6 billion. Sonoco amasses a
workforce including over 17,300 employees spread across 32 countries and services various
customers in nearly 85 countries with consumer and industrial packaging solutions. When
Sonoco restructured itself in the late 1980’s into a more divisional organization with a
decentralized human resources department it put Sonoco’s HR department in a tactical role
versus a strategic one within the company. Sonoco’s HR departments aligned well with their
respective divisions. However, company-wide initiatives and strategic plans were hard to
implement with unaligned HR departments.
The senior vice president of human resources, Cindy Hartley, was tasked with devising a
new HR organization that would be more financially responsible, create corporate-wide
consistency, increase the accountability of corporate managers, and provide strategic support to
the business. Hartley and her task force are torn between two options, either a hybrid or
centralized HR organization. With the implementation of the hybrid HR organization Sonoco
will be able to reduce costs by $2.7 million, allow for more flexibility in responses to changes in
the market and with competition, become more aligned with both individual divisions and the
company as a whole, and address the accountability of managers by clearly identifying division’s
needs in terms of employee development. By following the multi-step plan of implementation,
Hartley and her task force will be able to successfully navigate the restructuring of Sonoco’s HR
department and in turn achieve all of the benefits that will be provided by the hybrid
organization.
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II. Situation Overview
The packaging industry employed over 5 million people in 100,000 companies
worldwide in the late 1990’s. The United States accounted for over 28% of the total sales of the
industry. The packaging business experienced growth during the early 1970’s due to the
introduction of aluminum cans, and a decade later, the industry benefited by the increasing
popularity of plastics. This material was becoming more and more popular and replacing others
such as glass and metal, and it was considered beneficial due to their durability, being cost-
effective, and its environmental advantages.
Nevertheless, in late 1990’s, the packaging industry was facing challenges presented by
the increasing competition and potential growth of opportunities resulting from globalization.
The manufacturing process was moving out of the United States to countries with lower labor
costs such as India and China. This competitive market was not only characterized by their low
prices, but also by their poor quality, value, and service. An increasing number of U.S companies
started investing overseas, leading to a large number of plants closing.
The growing popularity of e-commerce and the growing appreciation for the role
packaging played in building and enhancing brand value provided manufacturers the
opportunities and challenges to tailor packaging to the different demands of various customer
groups. The packaging industry was challenged to design high-visibility packaging solutions that
would highlight the product, build consumer brand recognition, and motivate shoppers to
purchase. Many companies had to focus on placing more attention on the needs and desires of
the end consumer.
The packaging company, Sonoco Products Company, founded in 1899 in Hartsville,
South Carolina by Major James Coker was originally known as The Southern Novelty Company.
They focused on the production of a cone-shaped paper yarn carrier used for winding and
transporting yarn for the textile industry. The automated manufacturing process used to produce
them led to sales close to $1 million in 1923. The company continued its expansion by mainly
acquiring over 60 companies around the world.
The company employed 17,300 employees across 285 operations in 32 countries,
reaching to 85 nations. Sonoco’s business was characterized with two segments: industrial and
consumer packaging. The manufacture and sales of consumer and industrial packaging resulted
in revenues over $2.6 million in 2000. The industrial division accounted for 55% of the revenues
and employed 11,000 employees, while the consumer packaging division employed 6,000
employees and accounted for 45% of the total revenue.
Sonoco, in 1995, was highly decentralized, inconsistent in its production process, and
unequal in the services that existed among the various businesses. The company had a more
divisional structure, which led human resources (HR) to become decentralized. This
decentralization allowed the HR to be aligned with the divisions, and focused on being more
tactical than strategic. The HR managers’ daily duties were to handle employee relation issues,
hiring new employees along with ensuring the employee-employer relationship would not
develop any major problems for the company. Each of the company’s divisions (paper,
industrial, and consumer) had its own HR department who managed budgets, performance
management process, development, and leadership training program.
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In 1995, Sonoco hired Cindy Hartley as the Vice President of Human Resources. With
extensive experience in the HR field, the newly appointed CEO of the company, in August 2000,
assigned Hartley to develop a company reorganization by introducing two new potential HR
structures. This restructuring would reduce the function’s costs by 20%, or $2.8 million and
additionally would help ensure top-level accountability for talent management and upgrading.
This strategy would also contribute to a more even distribution of HR talent and support.
Moreover, this restructuring was needed to support the company’s growth, which often meant
working across division lines to meet a single consumer’s demand.
Hartley, after a few months of work, identified several aspects of the company she
needed to address in order to meet the requirements asked by the CEO. She prioritized the
change in performance and compensation management to become more consistent and reward
the employee according to their performance. Additionally, she focused on identifying and
building the required employee skills for the job and to identify the next generation of leaders
that would replace the current employees who have been failing to perform. Lastly, she included
in her long-term plan the goal of becoming a more diverse company, which would benefit them
by creating competitive advantage while incorporating minority and women representation.
In order to be able to accomplish the requirements asked by the CEO, Hartley
recommended two options to the Executive Committee. Firstly, she introduced a centralized HR
function in which costs would be reduced by $3.1 million. Under this function, a large group of
HR representatives would take control over 10 to 15 plants. On the other hand, she suggested a
hybrid organizational plan, which would reduce costs to up to $2.7 million and would generate
more direct involvement with staffing, succession planning, personnel programs, compensation,
and benefits. There are also some disadvantages that they must take into consideration prior to
the implementation of one of these plans. Even though the centralized program would have the
largest savings, it would not guarantee the achievement of other objectives; the lack of
opportunity to be directly in communication with the HR representatives might fail to meet the
individual needs of each department or employee. The hybrid structure would generate the
savings suggested by the CEO, but it would also not guarantee an easy implementation of this
plan across the company.
Harley’s job was to analyze and decide which of the two structures would best fit the
company needs while providing costs savings, standardize and streamline the HR processes
related to recruiting and development and to drive more accountability for talent throughout the
organization.
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III. Problem Identification
1. Decentralization of HR
When Sonoco restructured itself in the late 1980s into a more divisional organizational
structure, the HR department followed suit, evolving into a highly decentralized facet of the
company. HR managers began reporting directly to general managers of the businesses. HR
managers’ roles changed to support day-to-day employee relations issues and hiring within their
division. Each division developed its own HR function with separate HR systems, budgets,
performance management processes, and employee development programs. As a result of this,
businesses across the company were inconsistent in their processes and unequal in the services
available to its customers. In addition to driving down costs, HR must be structured to support
the company’s growth strategy, improve productivity, and create opportunities for cross-training
and talent management.
2. Poor administration of benefits and compensation
While this decentralized HR structure enabled HR to be highly aligned with the divisions,
it played more of a tactical role as opposed to strategic role. Benefits and compensation
administration was separated from the benefits and compensation planning function and reported
to a separate vice president. Consequently, when the planning group would devise a program or
develop a policy, there was little communication or coordination with administration regarding
overall intent or implementation across all of the divisions. In addition, benefits and
compensation were viewed more as entitlements rather than costs that the company needed to
manage or as a tool to drive performance.
Stemming from the lack of a corporate compensation procedure and guidelines, Sonoco’s
merit increases for employees often did not reflect their true performance or contributions to the
company. Division managers had free reign over how to determine raises and would often
manipulate performance ratings to get larger salary increases for their staff.
3. Lack of employee development process
Another deficiency is an employee development process that would highlight and further
refine employees’ skills and identify and develop required skills that were lacking. Management
skills were an apparent need for Sonoco. A number of employees with 15 or more years with the
company were failing once they reached the management ranks, it was believed, because of a
lack of preparedness.
4. Company culture negates employee accountability
Sonoco was founded in 1899 on the belief that People Build Businesses. It was
considered to be an ethical, team-oriented, collaborative, and family-friendly company.
However, there were some negative aspects of having a company culture based on the employee
relationship; the company failed to identify and penalize the employees’ underperformance that
did not meet company’s expectations and ensured jobs for life. During the times the company
had a strong financial position (1980 to 1990s), they did not have the need of changing this
company culture. However, when the stock prices started falling due to the globalization and
increasing competition, the need to make adjustments to the company culture and structure
became evident.
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5. Lack of diversity
One final attribute lacking at Sonoco was an instilled sense of diversity. Developing a
definition of diversity that could be easily communicated and implemented throughout the
company was a challenge. Employees would have to see the competitive advantage to diversity
in order for it to be accepted as part of the company’s culture.
Hartley was given a mandate of creating a more professional, business-oriented,
contributing HR group that would reduce the function’s costs by 20%, or $2.8 million. Hartley’s
challenge was to create an HR structure that would create a more strategic role for HR that was
most beneficial to the company as a whole and would work towards a more standardized mode
of business operations across the entire company. While the restructuring of HR was being done
in large part to reduce costs, it was also an opportune time to further streamline HR processes
related to recruiting and employee development, to drive more accountability for talent
throughout the organization, and to structure an HR that would provide customized, strategic
support to the businesses.
IV. Analysis and Evaluation
Identification of Alternatives
There are two alternatives identified as plans of reorganization for HR:
1. Implement the Hybrid Plan
2. Implement the Centralized Plan
Criteria
The following criteria will be used to evaluate the two alternatives identified above:
1. Flexibility: one of the key requirements in a fast growing industry that constantly needs
to adjust to economic and environmental changes. The globalization of the packaging
industry, as well as the introduction of e-commerce, are some of the examples of the
fluctuations of the industry that the company must easily incorporate in order to stay
profitable and competitive in the market. Employees and company divisions must be able
to manage and adjust to the changing packaging industry accordingly in order to meet the
organization’s targets. This criterion is weighted 0.2.
2. Accountability: the level of accountability placed on general managers in the business for
developing, retaining, and replacing talent. Some of the most talented employees in the
business can be easily recruited by other organizations; therefore, it is important that
managers and the HR department offer talented employees the opportunity to advance in
the company, be rewarded according to their performance and be able to obtain training
in this fast growing industry in order to maximize their capabilities of improvement.
Retaining talented employees will also assure the growth of the company and thus
increase profitability. This criterion is weighted 0.3.
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3. Company performance: the ability for the company to meet its financial targets,
production goals, improve productivity and effectiveness and the capabilities of
expansion. Company performance determines how well the organization is performing
overall, but it also demonstrates how the individual parts are working with each other.
Sonoco’s culture was described as “collaborative, family friendly, paternalistic, ethical,
and team oriented”. If the company culture is being met, then the company is performing
at its fullest as a result of the ethical, collaborative and team-oriented work. This criterion
is weighted 0.3.
4. Cost: the cost of implementing one of the two proposed programs can be a determinant
factor for the organization. The main goal for introducing the HR restructuring was to
reduce function costs. However, it is important to balance the immediate costs savings
against long-term costs that the program may incur. The expenses incurred for the
company may include employee costs such as training, salaries, traveling expenses, etc.
or company costs to implement a policy, building and equipment investment. This
criterion is weighted 0.2.
Analysis
The two alternatives are evaluated on a five point scale, ranging from 5 being “Excellent”
to 1 being “Poor”. Each of the four criteria is appropriately weighted according to their
importance to the company as described above. Table 1 provides our alternatives and their
ratings for each criterion.
Table 1: Analysis of Alternatives
Flexibility
(0.2)
Accountability
(0.3)
Company
Performance
(0.3)
Cost
(0.2)
Score
1. Hybrid Plan
5.0 4.0 4.0 2.0 3.75
2. Centralized
Plan
3.0 2.0 2.0 5.0 3
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Hybrid Plan
The hybrid organizational model is structured so that the company is organized by two
sectors: consumer and industrial. Each sector would be led by a VP of HR with a director of
employee relations and a director of compensation and organizational development reporting
directly to him or her. Field HR reps would be assigned to one or the other sector.
Flexibility: The hybrid approach will allow HR the flexibility in responding to changes
mandated by actions of the external competitors, of the labor market, and the need for new
products, which all require diversified HR strategies. Hybrid organizational designs allow you to
tailor your business reporting and duty structure to the needs of your business. For example, if
you have multiple product lines, you may find combining a product and geographic
organizational structure allows you to move employees and resources quickly based on changing
customer demand. Tying your organizational structure to your product causes your employees to
focus on the support and advancement of each individual product you offer. Adding a geographic
component to your organizational structure can tailor offers, marketing, and services based on
differences in customer price points, packaging and product needs. The dual focus may help you
better meet customer needs and, in turn, increase your profits. The hybrid plan was rated a 5.0
for flexibility.
Accountability: HR reps embedded in the business units will facilitate the necessary cultural
shift by clearly identifying a divisions’ needs regarding employee development, thus addressing
accountability in managing performances. It also ensures ownership of the HR policies and
processes to the managers, integrating a more rigorous talent management thus achieving the
overall HR alignment across the company. Therefore, the hybrid plan is rated a 4.0 for
accountability.
Company Performance: The hybrid plan is structured so that HR works closer with the divisions
such that HR will better understand internal processes, working methods, strategic business
requirements, and the key competencies the workforce needs to possess to attain the strategic
goals. In doing so, HR will be able to adapt its policies and systems to the business context
achieving the alignment with the business unit’s needs. This approach will undoubtedly improve
company performance and therefore was rated a 4.0 for that criterion. It is not rated a 5.0 for
company performance due to the challenge of implementing changes across the entire company.
Cost: The goal for the reorganization of the HR was to reduce the function’s costs by 20 percent,
or $2.8 million. The projected cost savings would be $2.7 million for the hybrid structure.
Therefore, the hybrid plan was rated 2.0. However, it could be argued that the cost savings of
the hybrid structure would be realized over time with the developed efficiencies of talent
management and increased company performance.
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Centralized Plan
The centralized organizational model is structured so there was a single large group of
field HR reps, each handling 10 to 15 plants and an administrative staff of about five people who
would operate across all business units/divisions.
Flexibility: In order to meet constantly changing customer demands, it is essential for Sonoco to
be able to quickly adapt. The centralized organizational model is centered on a leaner,
consolidated, more efficient human resources organization operating at the core of the company.
This plan presents a disconnect between the different divisions and the HR reps and provides less
opportunity for HR initiatives to be directly aligned with the divisions’ business needs. Although
this model makes it easier to implement changes in HR policies and processes company-wide, by
not being completely aligned with the individual businesses, the centralized plan presents the
problem of not being able to accurately assess the strengths and weaknesses of a division. This
oversight will make it difficult to designate new products to the specific plants that can most
efficiently manage a change in product lines. Due to the limitations of the centralized plan’s
flexibility, it received a rating of 3.0.
Accountability: With the centralized plan, the lack of HR support provided to general managers
directly affects accountability. In order for general managers to successfully retain skilled talent
and manage employee needs, it is necessary for them to have a good working relationship with
HR. The structure of the centralized plan relegates the field HR reps to an “on call” position
where they are unable to provide anything beyond basic employee relations tasks. With the field
HR reps and the general managers not working together on a daily basis, HR’s ability to mitigate
problems and provide support are greatly diminished. Because of its negative impact on
accountability, the centralized plan scored a 2.0.
Company Performance: By focusing on administrative goals, human resources leaders in a
centralized HR organization overlook the need to develop different services, such as maximizing
business time spent on workforce productivity, identifying how business performance is
impacted by workforce metrics, understanding the root cause behind first-year and high-
performer attrition, and coordinating succession planning and management development
activities. Overall there is a general lack of direct support for division leaders and lack of
involvement of the field HR reps with core HR functions such as employee development,
compensation, etc. Therefore, the company performance was rated a 2.0 for this plan.
Cost: The centralized plan was rated 5.0 for the cost criterion based solely on projected cost
savings. The total cost savings for this plan was projected to be $3.1 million, which represents
higher cost reduction than the CEO’s expectations of $2.8 million. This structure is the most
cost-effective because it trims down costs associated with driving administrative and other types
of process improvements. However, the cost savings for the centralized structure can be
attributed to the minimal support directly provided to the general managers of each business.
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V. Recommendations
Based on the analysis provided, the recommendation for Sonoco is to implement a hybrid
HR plan. With the hybrid plan, Sonoco will have the flexibility needed to remain competitive in
an ever changing marketplace. Due to the two sector organization of the hybrid plan, the
company will be able to quickly implement changes to improve performance and to receive the
feedback needed to make informed decisions. By maintaining a presence on the divisional level,
HR will have the benefit of aligning its functions with the strategic goals of the division.
Although the $2.7 million savings represented by implementing the hybrid plan falls short of the
$2.8 million mandate given to Hartley, the plan’s long-term benefits outweigh the additional
short-term savings. The problem with creating a leaner, more efficient human resources
organization is that today’s business leadership needs something different. Surely, everyone
needs to be cost effective and serve their internal customers efficiently, but the changing global
business market requires human resources to deliver a different array of services, not the same
service for less.
The hybrid organizational structure creates a shared mission and allows for employees to
work on different projects and in different sectors. Instead of having a top-heavy, traditional
structure of management and employees, a hybrid organization uses a network based structure
involving groups of individuals, sometimes in different geographic areas, working together to
accomplish shared goals.
As companies embrace globalization and competitive pressures, local labor markets are
rapidly evolving and changing, and the skill shortages are pushing human resources into the
frontlines of acquiring, developing, and retaining talent. Business strategies are increasingly
forcing employees to collaborate across customer segments, regions, and processes, which
requires changes to organizational design. Sonoco’s implementation of the hybrid HR plan will
cultivate the talent to make this possible and build business knowledge within its teams.
The following are the short-term and the long-term effects resulting from the
implementation of the hybrid structure in Sonoco:
Short-term
➢ 3 to 6 months
○ Initial cost savings
○ Talent distribution to smaller divisions
○ HR support to business units
Long-term
➢ 1 year
○ Improved performance
○ Increased returns to shareholders
○ Talent development
○ Cultural shift
○ Higher retention ratio
11
VI. Plan of Implementation
Step 1: Introduce the HR hybrid model
The first step is to consolidate the HR function adopted since 1995 and introduce the HR
hybrid model. Human resources team members must understand the true nature of their
business’s competitive environment and the company’s executive strategies to achieve success.
This understanding is not simply a responsibility of HR leadership. For processes to deliver their
true value, every member of the team has to be ingrained into the business.
Step 2: Implement talent management process
The initial step to implementing a talent management process is detecting the gaps
discovered from the performance management systems. A company must identify and align
competencies needed to carry out strategic business plans. The next step would be to introduce
the new competency framework aligned with recruitment, performance management, incentive
programs and promotion processes. The next step is to assess the job training needed to fill in the
existing gaps. The design of talent management will be controlled by HR and not delegated to
the division managers. To upgrade HR staff, the company would support workshops on
organizational strategies, online certifications, and job rotations and cross training. To upgrade
managers, the company would provide training on HR principles, mentoring subordinates, team
building, change management, etc.
Step 3: Assign accountability to the human resources organization to achieve business
goals.
HR will take on an active role in the execution of the business’s strategic plan as part of
the hybrid organizational structure. Accountability forces both the division and human resources
to collaborate. HR must adapt practices that deliver business through their processes. For
example, performance management processes must change from an annual documentation
process to a process that progressively develops talent, quantifies skills, and identifies high
performance.
Step 4: Evaluation using Key Performance Indicators
It is imperative that an organization measures how effective they are achieving their
business objectives, especially after organizational restructuring has been done. One of the most
frequent techniques for completing such an evaluation is the use of key performance indicators
(KPI). KPI’s are used throughout the company’s division as an evaluation of its success. The
following tables summarize some of the KPI’s Sonoco can use in order to measure their
performance. These indicators are used to measure its financial, HR, sales and diversification
outcomes and are described below:
12
Table 2: Financial KPIs
KPI Definition
KPI Goal
Stock Price
Cost of purchasing a single
security
Control stock prices stay
consistent to the industry
average
Net Profit Margin
Company profit for every
dollar in revenue
Measure the company
profitability and make
adjustments to the packaging
productions as needed to
increase sales
Stock price is an important indicator that measures the company’s performance. Because
Sonoco is in a changing industry that can be affected by small economic, political, environmental
and societal factors, it is determinant that the company has indicators that will quickly
demonstrate something has changed. Therefore, by continuously tracking the stock price, this
will keep managers, employees and Executive Committees aware of the current market and
industry behavior and be able to compare to the company’s stock price and make adjustments
accordingly.
Net profit margin is another helpful indicator because it measures the amount of profit
obtained by every dollar of revenue. Sonoco, as a sales company, must work hard in order to
maximize their profits and their shareholder’s wealth. Therefore, the use of a net profit margin
performance indicator will help all parts of the company become knowledgeable of the
production and sales amount and how targets should be changed if actual profits exceed the
targets.
Table 3: HR KPIs
KPI Definition
KPI Goal
Turnover Rate
Employee retention ratio
Measures the capability of the
organization to keep their
employees
ROI of Training
Compares the amount of
money invested for training
and the performance of that
individual employee
Measures the effectiveness in
the use of training program
13
After the HR restructuring has been implemented, it is important that key performance indicators
are used to evaluate how the hybrid program is benefiting (or not) the company. The use of
turnover ratios will help measure the capability of Sonoco to keep their employees. The longer
those employees stay in the company, the more trained and talented they will be at their job.
Additionally, the return on investment of training is a way to measure how effective was the
training completed by the employees. This ratio measures the amount of dollars invested in
training and compare it to the individual performance. This is a key indicator to evaluate if the
training offered to the employees is sufficient or if there is something that must be changed in
order to improve individual performance.
Table 4: Diversity KPIs
KPI Definition
KPI Goal
Female to Male Ratio
Amount of female employees
for every male employee
Assures that the company is
meeting the minimum
requirements of females
employed in the organization
Percentage of racial/ethnic
designation per division
Ethnicity/race percentage in
each division
Evaluates if the company is
following the diversification
of workforce by hiring
employees with different
backgrounds
Diversification is another newly introduced idea that the company wishes to accomplish
with the implementation of the hybrid plan. KPIs are important to measure the diversification
targets at the early stage of this plan and also throughout the life of the company. Two different
KPIs are introduced in order to evaluate the diversification plan. Firstly, the female to male ratio
will assure the company is meeting the minimum requirements. Secondly, the percentage of
racial and ethnic designation per division will be helpful to evaluate if the company is following
the diversification of workforce by hiring employees with different backgrounds.
VII. Conclusion
Through the use of our plan of implementation, we believe that Cindy Hartley and her
task force will be able to successfully restructure Sonoco’s HR department into a hybrid
organization. In doing so, HR will be able to aid businesses strategically and meet the goals of
the company that have been laid out for them such as lowering costs, increasing the
accountability of managers, and creating flexibility in the ways Sonoco can adapt to changes
both internally and those caused by external forces like competition. We have done extensive
analysis using meaningful criteria to review the effectiveness of both of the alternatives, hybrid
14
and centralized organizations, and have no doubt that the hybrid format will meet all of Sonoco’s
needs.
A Guide to
Case Analysis
I keep six honest serving men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When;
And How and Where and Who.
— Rudyard Kipling
A Guide to Case Analysis2
In most courses in strategic management, students use cases about actual companies to practice strategic
analysis and to gain some experience in the tasks of crafting and implementing strategy. A case sets forth, in
a factual manner, the events and organizational circumstances surrounding a particular managerial situation.
It puts readers at the scene of the action and familiarizes them with all the relevant circumstances. A case on
strategic management can concern a whole industry, a single organization, or some part of an organization;
the organization involved can be either profi t seeking or not-for-profi t. The essence of the student’s role
in case analysis is to diagnose and size up the situation described in the case and then to recommend
appropriate action steps.
Why Use Cases to Practice Strategic Management?
A student of business with tact
Absorbed many answers he lacked.
But acquiring a job,
He said with a sob,
“How does one fi t answer to fact?”
The foregoing limerick was used some years ago by Professor Charles Gragg to characterize the plight
of business students who had no exposure to cases.1 The facts are that the mere act of listening to lectures
and sound advice about managing does little for anyone’s management skills and that the accumulated
managerial wisdom cannot effectively be passed on by lectures and assigned readings alone. If anything had
been learned about the practice of management, it is that a storehouse of ready-made textbook answers does
not exist. Each managerial situation has unique aspects, requiring its own diagnosis, judgment, and tailor-
made actions. Cases provide would-be managers with a valuable way to practice wrestling with the actual
problems of actual managers in actual companies.
The case approach to strategic analysis is, fi rst and foremost, an exercise in learning by doing. Because cases
provide you with detailed information about conditions and problems of different industries and companies,
your task of analyzing company after company and situation after situation has the twin benefi t of boosting
your analytical skills and exposing you to the ways companies and mana gers actually do things. Most college
students have limited managerial backgrounds and only frag mented knowledge about companies and real-life
strategic situations. Cases help substitute for on-the-job experience by (1) giving you broader exposure to a
variety of industries, organizations, and strategic problems; (2) forcing you to assume a managerial role (as
opposed to that of just an onlooker); (3) providing a test of how to apply the tools and techniques of strategic
management; and (4) asking you to come up with pragmatic managerial action plans to deal with the issues
at hand.
Objectives of Case Analysis
Using cases to learn about the practice of strategic management is a powerful way for you to accom plish
fi ve things:2
1. Increase your understanding of what mana gers should and should not do in guiding a business to
success.
2. Build your skills in sizing up company resource strengths and weaknesses and in conducting strategic
analysis in a variety of industries and competitive situations.
3A Guide to Case Analysis
3. Get valuable practice in identifying strategic issues that need to be addressed, evaluating strategic
alternatives, and formulating workable plans of action.
4. Enhance your sense of business judgment, as opposed to uncritically accepting the authoritative
crutch of the professor or “back-of-the-book” answers.
5. Gaining in-depth exposure to different industries and companies, thereby acquiring something close
to actual business experience.
If you understand that these are the objectives of case analysis, you are less likely to be consumed with
curiosity about “the answer to the case.” Students who have grown comfortable with and accustomed to
textbook statements of fact and defi nitive lecture notes are often frustrated when discussions about a case do
not produce concrete answers. Usually, case discussions produce good arguments for more than one course
of action. Differences of opinion nearly always exist. Thus, should a class discussion conclude without
a strong, unambiguous consensus on what do to, don’t grumble too much when you are not told what
the answer is or what the company actually did. Just remember that in the business world answers don’t
come in conclusive black-and-white terms. There are nearly always several feasible courses of action and
approaches, each of which may work out satisfactorily. Moreover, in the business world, when one elects a
particular course of action, there is no peeking at the back of a book to see if you have chosen the best thing
to do and no one to turn to for a provably correct answer. The best test of whether management action is
“right” or “wrong” is results. If the results of an action turn out to be “good,” the decision to take it may be
presumed “right.” If not, then the action chosen was “wrong” in the sense that it didn’t work out.
Hence, the important thing for you to understand about analyzing cases is that the managerial exercise
of identifying, diagnosing, and recommending is aimed at building your skills of business judgment.
Discovering what the company actually did is no more than frosting on the cake—the actions that company
managers actually took may or may not be “right” or best (unless there is accompanying evidence that the
results of their actions were highly positive.
The point is this: The purpose of giving you a case assignment is not to cause you to run to the library or
surf the Internet to discover what the company actually did but, rather, to enhance your skills in sizing up
situations and developing your managerial judgment about what needs to be done and how to do it. The
aim of case analysis is for you to become actively engaged in diagnosing the business issues and managerial
problems posed in the case, to propose workable solutions, and to explain and defend your assessments—
this is how cases provide you with meaningful practice at being a manager.
Preparing a Case for Class Discussion
If this is your fi rst experience with the case method, you may have to reorient your study habits. Unlike
lecture courses where you can get by without preparing intensively for each class and where you have
latitude to work assigned readings and reviews of lecture notes into your schedule, a case assignment
requires conscientious preparation before class. You will not get much out of hearing the class discuss a case
you haven’t read, and you certainly won’t be able to contribute anything yourself to the discussion. What
you have got to do to get ready for class discussion of a case is to study the case, refl ect carefully on the
situation presented, and develop some reasoned thoughts. Your goal in preparing the case should be to end
up with what you think is a sound, well-supported analysis of the situation and a sound, defensible set of
recommendations about which managerial actions need to be taken. The Case-TUTOR soft ware downloads
that accompany the text and that are available on this same Web site will assist you in preparing the cases—
the Case-TUTOR fi les contain a set of study questions for each case and step-by-step tutorials to walk you
through the process of analyzing and developing reasonable recommendations.
A Guide to Case Analysis4
To prepare a case for class discussion, we suggest the following approach:
1. Skim the case rather quickly to get an overview of the situation it presents. This quick overview should
give you the general fl avor of the situation and indicate the kinds of issues and problems that you will
need to wrestle with. If your instructor has provided you with study questions for the case, now is the
time to read them carefully.
2. Read the case thoroughly to digest the facts and circumstances. On this reading, try to gain full
command of the situation presented in the case. Begin to develop some tentative answers to the study
questions your instructor has provided or that are provided in the Case-TUTOR software package which
you can download at the Web site for the text. If your instructor has elected not to give you assignment
questions or has elected not to use Case-TUTOR, then start forming your own picture of the overall
situation being described.
3. Carefully review all the information presented in the exhibits. Often, there is an important story in the
numbers contained in the exhibits. Expect the information in the case exhibits to be crucial enough to
materially affect your diagnosis of the situation.
4. Decide what the strategic issues are. Until you have identifi ed the strategic issues and problems in the
case, you don’t know what to analyze, which tools and analytical techniques are called for, or otherwise
how to proceed. At times the strategic issues are clear—either being stated in the case or else obvious from
reading the case. At other times you will have to dig them out from all the information given; if so, the
study questions and the case preparation exercises provided in the Case-TUTOR software will guide you.
5. Start your analysis of the issues with some number crunching. A big majority of strategy cases call
for some kind of number crunching—calculating assorted fi nancial ratios to check out the company’s
fi nancial condition and recent performance, calculating growth rates of sales or profi ts or unit volume,
checking out profi t margins and the makeup of the cost structure, and understanding whatever revenue-
cost-profi t relationships are present. See Table 1 for a summary of key fi nancial ratios, how they are
calculated, and what they show.
6. Apply the concepts and techniques of strategic analysis you have been studying. Strategic analysis is
not just a collection of opinions; rather, it entails applying the concepts and analytical tools described
in Chapters 1 through 13 to cut beneath the surface and produce sharp insight and understanding. Every
case assigned is strategy related and presents you with an opportunity to usefully apply what you have
learned. Your instructor is looking for you to demonstrate that you know how and when to use the
material presented in the text chapters. The case preparation guides on Case-TUTOR will point you
toward the proper analytical tools needed to analyze the case situation.
7. Check out confl icting opinions and make some judgments about the validity of all the data and
information provided. Many times cases report views and contradictory opinions (after all, people don’t
always agree on things, and dif fer ent people see the same things in different ways). Forcing you to
evaluate the data and information presented in the case helps you develop your powers of inference
and judgment. Asking you to resolve confl icting information “comes with the territory” because a great
many managerial situations entail opposing points of view, confl icting trends, and sketchy information.
8. Support your diagnosis and opinions with reasons and evidence. The most important things to prepare
for are your answers to the question “Why?” For instance, if after studying the case you are of the opinion
that the company’s managers are doing a poor job, then it is your answer to “Why?” that establishes just
how good your analysis of the situation is. If your instructor has provided you with specifi c study questions
for the case or if you are attempting to complete any one of the case preparation exercises on Case-TUTOR,
by all means prepare answers that include all the reasons and number-crunching evidence you can muster
5A Guide to Case Analysis
to support your diagnosis. Work through the case preparation exercises on Case-TUTOR conscientiously or,
if you are using study questions provided by the instructor, generate at least two pages of notes!
9. Develop an appropriate action plan and set of recommendations. Diagnosis divorced from corrective
action is sterile. The test of a manager is always to convert sound analysis into sound actions—actions
that will produce the desired results. Hence, the fi nal and most telling step in preparing a case is to
develop an action agenda for management that lays out a set of specifi c recommendations on what to do.
Bear in mind that proposing realistic, workable solutions is far preferable to casually tossing out off-the-
top-of-your-head suggestions. Be prepared to argue why your recommendations are more attractive than
other courses of action that are open. You’ll fi nd the case preparation exercises on Case-TUTOR helpful
in performing this step, too.
Table 1
Key Financial Ratios: How to Calculate Them and
What They Mean
Ratio How Calculated What It Shows
Profi tability ratios
1. Gross profi t margin Sales – Cost of goods sold
Sales
Shows the percentage of revenues available to cover
operating expenses and yield a profi t. Higher is
better and the trend should be upward.
2. Operating profi t margin
(or return on sales)
Sales – Operating expenses
Sales
or
Operating income
Sales
Shows the profi tability of current operations without
regard to interest charges and income taxes. Higher
is better and the trend should be upward.
3. Net profi t margin (or net
return on sales)
Profi ts after taxes
Sales
Shows after tax profi ts per dollar of sales. Higher is
better and the trend should be upward.
4. Return on total assets Profi ts after taxes + Interest
Total assets
A measure of the return on total investment in the
enterprise. Interest is added to after tax profi ts to
form the numerator since total assets are fi nanced by
creditors as well as by stockholders. Higher is better
and the trend should be upward.
5. Return on stockholders’
equity
Profi ts after taxes
Total stockholders’ equity
Shows the return stockholders are earning on their
investment in the enterprise. A return in the 12-15%
range is “average”, and the trend should be upward.
6. Earnings per share Profi ts after taxes
Number of shares of common stock
outstanding
Shows the earnings for each share of common stock
outstanding. The trend should be upward, and the
bigger the annual percentage gains, the better.
Liquidity Ratios
1. Current ratio Current assets – Current liabilities Shows a fi rm’s ability to pay current liabilities using
assets that can be converted to cash in the near term.
Ratio should defi nitely be higher than 1.0; ratios of 2
or higher are better still.
2. Quick ratio (or acid-test
ratio)
Current assets – Inventory
Current liabilities
Shows a fi rm’s ability to pay current liabilities
without relying on the sale of its inventories.
A Guide to Case Analysis6
3. Working capital Current assets – current liabilities Bigger amounts are better because the company
has more internal funds available to (1) pay its
current liabilities on a timely basis and (2) fi nance
inventory expansion, additional accounts receivable,
and a larger base of operations without resorting to
borrowing or raising more equity capital.
Leverage Ratios
1. Debt-to-assets ratio Total debt
Total assets
Measures the extent to which borrowed funds have
been used to fi nance the fi rm’s operations. Low
fractions or ratios are better—high fractions indicate
overuse of debt and greater risk of bankruptcy.
2. Debt-to-equity ratio Total debt
Total stockholders’ equity
Should usually be less than 1.0. High ratios
(especially above 1.0) signal excessive debt, lower
creditworthiness, and weaker balance sheet strength.
3. Long-term debt-to-
equity ratio
Long-term debt
Total stockholders’ equity
Shows the balance between debt and equity in
the fi rm’s long-term capital structure. Low ratios
indicate greater capacity to borrow additional funds
if needed.
4. Times-interest-earned (or
coverage) ratio
Operating income
Interest expenses
Measures the ability to pay annual interest charges.
Lenders usually insist on a minimum ratio of 2.0, but
ratios above 3.0 signal better creditworthiness.
Activity Ratios
1. Days of inventory Inventory
Cost of goods sold ÷ 365
Measures inventory management effi ciency. Fewer
days of inventory are usually better.
2. Inventory turnover Cost of goods sold
Inventory
Measures the number of inventory turns per year.
Higher is better.
3. Average collection
period
Accounts receivable
Total sales ÷ 365
or
Accounts receivable
Average daily sales
Indicates the average length of time the fi rm must
wait after making a sale to receive cash payment. A
shorter collection time is better.
Other Important Measures of Financial Performance
1. Dividend yield on
common stock
Annual dividends per share
Current market price per share
A measure of the return that shareholders receive in
the form of dividends. A “typical” dividend yield is
2-3%. The dividend yield for fast-growth companies
is often below 1% (maybe even 0); the dividend
yield for slow-growth companies can run 4-5%.
2. Price-earnings ratio Current market price per share
Earnings per share
P-e ratios above 20 indicate strong investor
confi dence in a fi rm’s outlook and earnings growth;
fi rms whose future earnings are at risk or likely to
grow slowly typically have ratios below 12.
3. Dividend payout ratio Annual dividends per share
Earnings per share
Indicates the percentage of after-tax profi ts paid out
as dividends.
4. Internal cash fl ow After tax profi ts + Depreciation A quick and rough estimate of the cash a company’s
business is generating after payment of operating
expenses, interest, and taxes. Such amounts can
be used for dividend payments or funding capital
expenditures.
Table 1 continued
7A Guide to Case Analysis
As long as you are conscientious in preparing your analysis and recommendations, and have ample reasons,
evidence, and arguments to support your views, you shouldn’t fret unduly about whether what you’ve
prepared is “the right answer” to the case. In case analysis there is rarely just one right approach or set of
recommendations. Managing companies and crafting and executing strategies are not such exact sciences
that there exists a single provably correct analysis and action plan for each strategic situation. Of course,
some analyses and action plans are better than others; but, in truth, there’s nearly always more than one good
way to analyze a situation and more than one good plan of action. So, if you have carefully prepared the case
by either completing one of the Case-TUTOR case preparation exercises or developing your own answers to
the assignment questions for the case, don’t lose confi dence in the correctness of your work and judgment.
Participating in Class Discussion of a Case
Classroom discussions of cases are sharply different from attending a lecture class. In a case class students
do most of the talking. The instructor’s role is to solicit student participation, keep the discussion on track,
ask “Why?” often, offer alternative views, play the devil’s advocate (if no students jump in to offer opposing
views), and otherwise lead the discussion. The students in the class carry the burden for analyzing the
situation and for being prepared to present and defend their diagnoses and recommendations. Expect a
classroom environment, therefore, that calls for your size-up of the situation, your analysis, what actions
you would take, and why you would take them. Do not be dismayed if, as the class discussion unfolds, some
insightful things are said by your fellow classmates that you did not think of. It is normal for views and
analyses to differ and for the comments of others in the class to expand your own thinking about the case.
As the old adage goes, “Two heads are better than one.” So it is to be expected that the class as a whole will
do a more penetrating and searching job of case analysis than will any one person working alone. This is
the power of group effort, and its virtues are that it will help you see more analytical applications, let you
test your analyses and judgments against those of your peers, and force you to wrestle with differences of
opinion and approaches.
To orient you to the classroom environment on the days a case discussion is scheduled, we compiled the
following list of things to expect:
1. Expect the instructor to assume the role of extensive questioner and listener.
2. Expect students to do most of the talking. The case method enlists a maximum of individual participa–
tion in class discussion. It is not enough to be present as a silent observer; if every student took this
approach, there would be no discussion. (Thus, expect a portion of your grade to be based on your
participation in case discussions.)
3. Be prepared for the instructor to probe for reasons and supporting analysis.
4. Expect and tolerate challenges to the views expressed. All students have to be willing to submit their
conclusions for scrutiny and rebuttal. Each student needs to learn to state his or her views without
fear of disapproval and to overcome the hesitation of speaking out. Learning respect for the views
and approaches of others is an integral part of case analysis exercises. But there are times when it
is OK to swim against the tide of majority opinion. In the practice of management, there is always
room for originality and unorthodox approaches. So while discussion of a case is a group process,
there is no compulsion for you or anyone else to cave in and conform to group opinions and group
consensus.
5. Don’t be surprised if you change your mind about some things as the discussion unfolds. Be alert to
how these changes affect your analysis and recommendations (in the event you get called on).
A Guide to Case Analysis8
6. Expect to learn a lot in class as the discussion of a case progresses; furthermore, you will fi nd that
the cases build on one another—what you learn in one case helps prepare you for the next case
discussion.
There are several things you can do on your own to be good and look good as a participant in class
discussions:
Although you should do your own independent work and independent thinking, don’t hesitate before (and
after) class to discuss the case with other students. In real life, managers often discuss the company’s
problems and situation with other people to refi ne their own thinking.
• In participating in the discussion, make a conscious effort to contribute, rather than just talk. There
is a big difference between saying something that builds the discussion and offering a long-winded,
off-the-cuff remark that leaves the class wondering what the point was.
• Avoid the use of “I think,” “I believe,” and “I feel”; instead, say, “My analysis shows —” and “The
company should do ______.because ______.” Always give supporting reasons and evidence for your
views; then your instructor won’t have to ask you “Why?” every time you make a comment.
• In making your points, assume that everyone has read the case and knows what it says; avoid reciting
and rehashing information in the case—instead, use the data and information to explain your
assessment of the situation and to support your position.
• Bring the printouts of the work you’ve done on Case-TUTOR or the notes you’ve prepared (usually
two or three pages’ worth) to class and rely on them extensively when you speak. There’s no way
you can remember everything off the top of your head—especially the results of your number
crunching. To reel off the numbers or to present all fi ve reasons why, instead of one, you will need
good notes. When you have prepared thoughtful answers to the study questions and use them as
the basis for your comments, everybody in the room will know you are well prepared, and your
contribution to the case discussion will stand out.
Preparing a Written Case Analysis
Preparing a written case analysis is much like preparing a case for class discussion, except that your analysis
must be more complete and put in report form. Unfortunately, though, there is no ironclad procedure for
doing a written case analysis. All we can offer are some general guidelines and words of wisdom—this
is because company situations and management problems are so diverse that no one mechanical way to
approach a written case assignment always works.
Your instructor may assign you a specifi c topic around which to prepare your written report. Or, alternatively,
you may be asked to do a comprehensive written case analysis, where the expectation is that you will
(1) identify all the pertinent issues that management needs to address, (2) perform whatever analysis and
evaluation is appropriate, and (3) propose an action plan and set of recommendations addressing the issues
you have identifi ed. In going through the exercise of identify, evaluate, and recommend, keep the following
pointers in mind.3
Identifi cation It is essential early on in your paper that you provide a sharply focused diagnosis of
strategic issues and key problems and that you demonstrate a good grasp of the company’s present situation.
Make sure you can identify the fi rm’s strategy (use the concepts and tools in Chapters 1–8 as diagnostic aids)
and that you can pinpoint whatever strategy implementation issues may exist (again, consult the material in
Chapters 9–11 for diagnostic help). Consult the key points we have provided at the end of each chapter for
9A Guide to Case Analysis
further diagnostic suggestions. Review the study questions for the case on Case-TUTOR. Consider beginning
your paper with an overview of the company’s situation, its strategy, and the signifi cant problems and issues
that confront management. State problems/issues as clearly and precisely as you can. Unless it is necessary
to do so for emphasis, avoid recounting facts and history about the company (assume your professor has
read the case and is familiar with the organization).
Analysis and Evaluation This is usually the hardest part of the report. Analysis is hard work! Check out the
fi rm’s fi nancial ratios, its profi t margins and rates of return, and its capital structure, and decide how strong
the fi rm is fi nancially. Table 1 contains a summary of various fi nancial ratios and how they are calculated.
Use it to assist in your fi nancial diagnosis. Similarly, look at marketing, production, managerial competence,
and other factors underlying the organization’s strategic successes and failures. Decide whether the fi rm has
valuable resource strengths and competencies and, if so, whether it is capitalizing on them.
Check to see if the fi rm’s strategy is producing satisfactory results and determine the reasons why or why
not. Probe the nature and strength of the competitive forces confronting the company. Decide whether and
why the fi rm’s competitive position is getting stronger or weaker. Use the tools and concepts you have
learned about to perform whatever analysis and evaluation is appropriate. Work through the case preparation
exercise on Case-TUTOR if one is available for the case you’ve been assigned.
In writing your analysis and evaluation, bear in mind four things:
1. You are obliged to offer analysis and evidence to back up your conclusions. Do not rely on unsupported
opinions, over-generalizations, and platitudes as a substitute for tight, logical argument backed up
with facts and fi gures.
2. If your analysis involves some important quantitative calculations, use tables and charts to present
the calculations clearly and effi ciently. Don’t just tack the exhibits on at the end of your report and
let the reader fi gure out what they mean and why they were included. Instead, in the body of your
report cite some of the key numbers, highlight the conclusions to be drawn from the exhibits, and
refer the reader to your charts and exhibits for more details.
3. Demonstrate that you have command of the strategic concepts and analytical tools to which you have
been exposed. Use them in your report.
4. Your interpretation of the evidence should be reasonable and objective. Be wary of preparing a
one-sided argument that omits all aspects not favorable to your conclusions. Likewise, try not to
exaggerate or overdramatize. Endeavor to inject balance into your analysis and to avoid emotional
rhetoric. Strike phrases such as “I think,” “I feel,” and “I believe” when you edit your fi rst draft and
write in “My analysis shows,” instead.
Recommendations The fi nal section of the written case analysis should consist of a set of defi nite
recommendations and a plan of action. Your set of recommendations should address all of the problems/
issues you identifi ed and analyzed. If the recommendations come as a surprise or do not follow logically
from the analysis, the effect is to weaken greatly your suggestions of what to do. Obviously, your
recommendations for actions should offer a reasonable prospect of success. High-risk, bet-the-company
recommendations should be made with caution. State how your recommendations will solve the problems
you identifi ed. Be sure the company is fi nancially able to carry out what you recommend; also check to see
if your recommendations are workable in terms of acceptance by the persons involved, the organization’s
competence to implement them, and prevailing market and environmental constraints. Try not to hedge or
weasel on the actions you believe should be taken.
A Guide to Case Analysis10
By all means state your recommendations in suffi cient detail to be meaningful—get down to some defi nite
nitty-gritty specifi cs. Avoid such unhelpful statements as “the organization should do more planning” or
“the company should be more aggressive in marketing its product.” For instance, if you determine that
“the fi rm should improve its market position,” then you need to set forth exactly how you think this should
be done. Offer a defi nite agenda for action, stipulating a timetable and sequence for initiating actions,
indicating priorities, and suggesting who should be responsible for doing what.
In proposing an action plan, remember there is a great deal of difference between, on the one hand, being
responsible for a decision that may be costly if it proves in error and, on the other hand, casually suggesting
courses of action that might be taken when you do not have to bear the responsibility for any of the
consequences. A good rule to follow in making your recommendations is: Avoid recommending anything you
would not yourself be willing to do if you were in management’s shoes. The importance of learning to develop
good managerial judgment is indicated by the fact that, even though the same information and operating data
may be available to every manager or executive in an organization, the quality of the judgments about what
the information means and which actions need to be taken does vary from person to person.4
It goes without saying that your report should be well organized and well written. Great ideas amount to
little unless others can be convinced of their merit—this takes tight logic, the presentation of convincing
evidence, and persuasively written arguments.
Preparing an Oral Presentation
During the course of your business career it is very likely that you will be called upon to prepare and give a
number of oral presentations. For this reason, it is common in courses of this nature to assign cases for oral
presentation to the whole class. Such assignments give you an opportunity to hone your presentation skills.
The preparation of an oral presentation has much in common with that of a written case analysis. Both
require identifi cation of the strategic issues and problems confronting the company, analysis of industry
conditions and the company’s situation, and the development of a thorough, well-thought out action plan.
The substance of your analysis and quality of your recommendations in an oral presentation should be no
different than in a written report. As with a written assignment, you’ll need to demonstrate command of the
relevant strategic concepts and tools of analysis and your recommendations should contain suffi cient detail
to provide clear direction for management. The main difference between an oral presentation and a written
case is in the delivery format. Oral presentations rely principally on verbalizing your diagnosis, analysis,
and recommendations and visually enhancing and supporting your oral discussion with colorful, snappy
slides (usually created on Microsoft’s PowerPoint software).
Typically, oral presentations involve group assignments. Your instructor will provide the details of the
assignment—how work should be delegated among the group members and how the presentation should
be conducted. Some instructors prefer that presentations begin with issue identifi cation, followed by
analysis of the industry and company situation analysis, and conclude with a recommended action plan to
improve company performance. Other instructors prefer that the presenters assume that the class has a good
understanding of the external industry environment and the company’s competitive position and expect
the presentation to be strongly focused on the group’s recommended action plan and supporting analysis
and arguments. The latter approach requires cutting straight to the heart of the case and supporting each
recommendation with detailed analysis and persuasive reasoning. Still other instructors may give you the
latitude to structure your presentation however you and your group members see fi t.
11A Guide to Case Analysis
Regardless of the style preferred by your instructor, you should take great care in preparing for the
presentation. A good set of slides with good content and good visual appeal is essential to a fi rst-rate
presentation. Take some care to choose a nice slide design, font size and style, and color scheme. We
suggest including slides covering each of the following areas:
• An opening slide covering the “title” of the presentation and names of the presenters.
• A slide showing an outline of the presentation (perhaps with presenters’ names by each topic).
• One or more slides showing the key problems and strategic issues that management needs to
address.
• A series of slides covering your analysis of the company’s situation.
• A series of slides containing your recommendations and the supporting arguments and reasoning
for each recommendation—one slide for each recommendation and the associated reasoning
has a lot of merit.
You and your team members should carefully plan and rehearse your slide show to maximize impact and
minimize distractions. The slide show should include all of the pizzazz necessary to garner the attention of
the audience, but not so much that it distracts from the content of what group members are saying to the
class. You should remember that the role of slides is to help you communicate your points to the audience.
Too many graphics, images, colors, and transitions may divert the audience’s attention from what is being
said or disrupt the fl ow of the presentation. Keep in mind that visually dazzling slides rarely hide a shallow
or superfi cial or otherwise fl awed case analysis from a perceptive audience. Most instructors will tell you
that fi rst-rate slides will defi nitely enhance a well-delivered presentation but that impressive visual aids, if
accompanied by weak analysis and poor oral delivery, still adds up to a substandard presentation.
Researching Companies and Industries via the Internet
and
Online Data Services
Very likely, there will be occasions when you need to get additional information about some of the assigned
cases, perhaps because your instructor has asked you to do further research on the industry or company or
because you are simply curious about what has happened to the company since the case was written. These
days it is relatively easy to run down recent industry developments and to fi nd out whether a company’s
strategic and fi nancial situation has improved, deteriorated, or changed little since the conclusion of the
case. The amount of information about companies and industries available on the Internet and through
online data services is formidable and expanding rapidly.
It is a fairly simple matter to go to company Web sites, click on the investor information offerings and
press release fi les, and get quickly to useful information. Most company Web sites allow you to view or
print the company’s quarterly and annual reports, its 10K and 10Q fi lings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, and various company press releases of interest. Frequently, a company’s Web site will also
provide information about its mission and vision statements, values statements, codes of ethics, and
strategy information, as well as charts of the company’s stock price. The company’s recent press releases
typically contain reliable information about what of interest has been going on—new product introductions,
recent alliances and partnership agreements, recent acquisitions, summaries of the latest fi nancial results,
tidbits about the company’s strategy, guidance about future revenues and earnings, and other late-breaking
company developments. Some company Web pages also include links to the home pages of industry trade
associations where you can fi nd information about industry size, growth, recent industry news, statistical
trends, and future outlook. Thus, an early step in researching a company on the Internet is always to go to
its Web site and see what’s available.
A Guide to Case Analysis12
Online Data Services
Lexis-Nexis, Bloomberg Financial News Services, and other on-line subscription services available in many
university libraries provide access to a wide array of business reference material. For example, the web-
based Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe contains business news articles from general news sources, business
publications, and industry trade publications. Broadcast transcripts from fi nancial news programs are also
available through Lexis-Nexis, as are full-text 10-Ks, 10-Qs, annual reports, and company profi les for more
than 11,000 U.S. and international companies. Your business librarian should be able to direct you to the
resources available through your library that will aid you in your research.
Public and Subscription Websites with Good Information
Plainly, you can use a search engine such as Google or Yahoo! or MSN to fi nd the latest news on a company
or articles written by reporters that have appeared in the business media. These can be very valuable in
running down information about recent company developments. However, keep in mind that the information
retrieved by a search engine is “unfi ltered” and may include sources that are not reliable or that contain
inaccurate or misleading information. Be wary of information provided by authors who are unaffi liated with
reputable organizations or publications and articles that were published in off-beat sources or on Web sites
with an agenda. Be especially careful in relying on the accuracy of information you fi nd posted on various
bulletin boards. Articles covering a company or issue should be copyrighted or published by a reputable
source. If you are turning in a paper containing information gathered from the Internet, you should cite your
sources (providing the Internet address and date visited); it is also wise to print Web pages for your research
fi le (some Web pages are updated frequently).
The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Forbes, Barron’s, and Fortune are all good sources of articles on
companies. The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition contains the same information that is available daily
in its print version of the paper, but also maintains a searchable database of all Wall Street Journal articles
published during the past few years. Fortune and Business Week also make the content of the most current
issue available online to subscribers as well as provide archives sections that allow you to search for articles
related to a particular keyword that were published during the past few years.
The following Websites are particularly good locations for company and industry information:
Securities and Exchange Commission EDGAR
database (contains company 10-Ks, 10-Qs, etc.) http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/srch-edgar
CNN Money http://money.cnn.com
Hoover’s Online http://hoovers.com
The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition http://www.wsj.com
Business Week http://www.businessweek.com
Fortune http://www.fortune.com
MSN Money Central http://moneycentral.msn.com
Yahoo! Finance http://fi nance.yahoo.com/
Some of these Internet sources require subscriptions in order to access their entire databases.
Learning Comes Quickly With a modest investment of time, you will learn how to use Internet sources
and search engines to run down information on companies and industries quickly and effi ciently. And it
is a skill that will serve you well into the future. Once you become familiar with the data available at the
different Web sites mentioned above and with using a search engine, you will know where to go to look for
the particular information that you want. Search engines nearly always turn up too many information sources
that match your request rather than two few; the trick is to learn to zero in on those most relevant to what you
13A Guide to Case Analysis
are looking for. Like most things, once you get a little experience under your belt on how to do company and
industry research on the Internet, you will fi nd that you can readily fi nd the information you need.
Th e Ten Commandments of Case Analysis
As a way of summarizing our suggestions about how to approach the task of case analysis, we have compiled
what we like to call “The Ten Commandments of Case Analysis.” They are shown in Table 2. If you observe
all or even most of these commandments faithfully as you prepare a case either for class discussion or for a
written report, your chances of doing a good job on the assigned cases will be much improved. Hang in there,
give it your best shot, and have some fun exploring what the real world of strategic management is all about.
Table 2
The Ten Commandments of Case Analysis
To be observed in written reports and oral presentations, and while participating in class discussions.
1. Go through the case twice, once for a quick overview and once to gain full command of the facts;
then take care to explore the information in every one of the case exhibits.
2. Make a complete list of the problems and issues that the company’s management needs to
address.
3. Be thorough in your analysis of the company’s situation (either work through the case preparation
exercises on Case-TUTOR or make a minimum of 1 to 2 pages of notes detailing your diagnosis).
4. Look for opportunities to apply the concepts and analytical tools in the text chapters—all of the
cases in the book have very defi nite ties to the material in one or more of the text chapters!!!!
5. Do enough number crunching to discover the story told by the data presented in the case. (To help
you comply with this commandment, consult Table 1 in this section to guide your probing of a
company’s fi nancial condition and fi nancial performance.)
6. Support any and all off-the-cuff opinions with well-reasoned arguments and numerical evidence;
don’t stop until you can purge “I think” and “I feel” from your assessment and, instead, are able
to rely completely on “My analysis shows.”
7. Prioritize your recommendations and make sure they can be carried out in an acceptable time
frame with the available resources.
8. Support each recommendation with persuasive argument and reasons as to why it makes sense
and should result in improved company performance.
9. Review your recommended action plan to see if it addresses all of the problems and issues you
identifi ed—any set of recommendations that does not address all of the issues and problems you
identifi ed is incomplete and insuffi cient.
10. Avoid recommending any course of action that could have disastrous consequences if it doesn’t
work out as planned; therefore, be as alert to the downside risks of your recommendations as you
are to their upside potential and appeal.
A Guide to Case Analysis14
1 Charles I. Gragg, “Because Wisdom Can’t Be Told,” in The Case Method at the Harvard Business School,
ed. M. P. McNair (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1954), p. 11.
2 Ibid., pp. 12–14; and D. R. Schoen and Philip A. Sprague, “What Is the Case Method?” in The Case
Method at the Harvard Business School, ed. M. P. McNair, pp. 78–79.
3 For some additional ideas and viewpoints, you may wish to consult Thomas J. Raymond, “Written
Analysis of Cases,” in The Case Method at the Harvard Business School, ed. M. P. McNair, pp. 139–63.
Raymond’s article includes an actual case, a sample analysis of the case, and a sample of a student’s
written report on the case.
4 Gragg, “Because Wisdom Can’t Be Told,” p. 10.
Endnotes
Case Brief Two Videos
1.
Narrated Slides for Collaborative Work
2.
TED – Why Work Doesn’t Happen At Work – Jason Fried
3.
TEDx – Cultivating Collaboration – Jim Tamm
4.
TED – Marshmallow Challenge – Tom Wujec
This report is the most densely-packed, tightly written submission I have ever had in this class, and I mean that in the most positive sense. Everything reads and looks very professional – it’s impressive work. However, it also reads more like an academic research paper instead of an applied report on a consulting project. Also, you must – absolutely 100% – include an Analysis and Evaluation section, including the table showing the ratings for alternatives (more details in the comments). Beyond that, strive to make this less dense and less “researchy” – I’m reluctant to even say this but modify it so it’s more likely to be understood by a broader base of people. If this is unclear, I’m happy to chat about it. But don’t be discouraged – this took a long time and a great deal of energy to create, and I see that. And I’m certain you can meet these modifications going forward.