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Types of Cases Cases tend to fall into one of three categories that sometimes overlap: Decision Cases describe a decision faced by the case protagonist. The student ultimately must choose among a finite set of distinct decision alternatives. Decision cases are probably the most common type. Decision cases begin by describing a decision faced by the case protagonist, and often identifying distinct decision alternatives. These cases ask students to choose an alternative and to defend that choice with arguments and evidence. As a Decision Case, however: Is Mr. Katada doing the right thing? Is he wise to be attempting this big change at this time? Problem Cases require a student to diagnose a problem in a business case and to formulate possible solutions. Problem cases are similar to decision cases, in that they ask students to assume the role of a case protagonist and make recommendations, but they don't provide clear alternatives from which to choose. Instead, they describe a problem the protagonist must confront, and challenge students to invent and justify an action plan for dealing with the problem. What has gone wrong at Komatsu? How should it be fixed? Evaluation Cases illustrate a business success or failure. The student analyzes the underlying reasons for that success or failure to arrive at management lessons. Evaluation cases, sometimes called Best-Practice or Worst-Practice cases, portray situations that are interesting or remarkable, usually because they are especially successful or unsuccessful. These cases typically do not include an obvious single problem or decision. Instead, the student must look at all that is relevant, good, bad or in-between and those outcomes must be evaluated to provide a clear assessment. The assignment questions include a lot of evaluation words such as "well," "evaluate," "assess," and "grade." The basic challenge: Remains the same identifying the important issues at the heart of the case, addressing those through analysis, and identifying what lessons from the case can be applied more broadly.

One Approach to Case Analysis It's useful to think of a case analysis as digging deeper and deeper into the layers of a case. 1. You start at the surface, Getting oriented and examining the overall case landscape.

2. Then you begin to dig, Identifying Problems, as well as possible alternative solutions. 3. Digging deeper, Performing Analyses you identify information that exposes the issues, gather data, and perform calculations that might provide insight. 4. Finally, you begin Action planning to outline short-, medium-, and long-term well-defined steps.

2- Identifying problem: What seems like the central problem or issue you'll want to focus on in analyzing the case? What do you most need to understand first? What factors do other answers and action plans depend on? Revise your problem statement, if applicable, and list and prioritize your key concerns 3. PERFORMING ANALYSES "Analysis" describes the varied and crucial things you do with information in the case, to shed light on the problems and issues you've identified. That might mean calculating and comparing cumulative growth rates for different periods from the year-by-year financials in a case's exhibits. Or it might mean pulling together seemingly unrelated facts from two different sections of the case, and combining them logically to arrive at an important conclusion or conjecture.

Relent Reluctant Deteriorate Recoup Proceeding Prior Preceding Intent

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