How to Prepare a Case Study Report

by
Prof. Herbert Sherman

A case tells of an incident or a series of incidents occurring in a business organization.

Case problems are designed to give you an opportunity to apply the theoretical principles
you have studied to a true-life situation.

You should consider the case study report as a task assigned to you by your employer
because the problems lie within the scope of your responsibilities.

As a task performed which is a part of your job, a report will have its effect upon your
boss's opinion of how well you do. Your rate of pay and your chances for advancement
are often influenced by your efforts.

It is essential in problem solving that a problem be clearly recognized and understood.

This is because a problem not defined is one that cannot be solved.

To assist you, the following four steps may help you think through your problem in a
logical manner and then permit you to prepare your report.

1) Recognize the problem

Read the entire case to get an overall impression of what it is about. Read it
again and list in brief form all the key facts.

Next, examine the key facts and try to isolate symptoms, which call attention
to the problem and the possible causes of it. (A low record of sales is a
symptom. It may be caused by one or more of the following causes:
inadequate advertising; a prior history of bad service; being more expensive
than your competition; a big layoff in town; etc.).

2) Determine what principles of business organization and management are

involved

Ask yourself, are the objectives clear? Does everyone know what we are
trying to accomplish? Is it a case of “nobody feels responsible for this”? Are
we doing what we should be to get maximum mileage out of our labor
expense? Is our production plan sound? Is staffing adequate? Is authority
properly delegated?

3) Evaluate the causes and the principles (as in 2 above) and then plot
possible
courses of action available to you to correct the situation
 List all possible actions that occur to you even the ones that seem downright
impractical. (Sometimes these prove most helpful in bringing to you a
different view or approach that is practical.) Then go back and study each
possible action in terms of: What are the chances that it will cure the problem?
How can it do this? Can I really put this action into operation? What hurdles
do I face in putting it into operation? Where does it leave me if it fails? Does
it bring in new problems of its own even if it succeeds?

4) Make your final selection of the action or actions you intend to use

Not every problem has a “complete” solution. It is also possible that any one
of several solutions may work.

And Now for the Preparation of the Report

Everything done thus far has been “think” work. You have tackled your problem and you
have a recommendation to make. Your problem now is to present it in such a manner that
it will be given careful attention. Above all, you want to have wisdom of your decision
recognized.

Make your report neat, clear and easy to read.

A suggested format (though by no means the preferred one) is:

1. State the basic problem in terms of what has been happening and the
principles involved. Avoid telling or repeating all the petty details.

2. Indicate briefly the possible approaches you considered.

3. Indicate in detail the steps you choose to take. Tell exactly what you
intend to do. Tell why you believe this action will solve the problem. Point
out the difficulties you anticipate and the actions planned to deal with them.
Wherever possible relate the actions you take and the reasons you give to the
principles of good organization and management practice that you have
studied.

In short, to tell what you intend to do is only half of the task. The other half requires you
to tell why you think it makes sense to do so.