MANA 5395 Case study project assignment

Part B: Context
Your objective in Part B of the first project assignment (Project Assignment #1, Part B: Context) is to
write a detailed description of your case’s decision context. Your submission should be approximately
1,500 words. You should think carefully about what information to include and about how to organize it. The decision context of your case is directly related to the decision level of your case’s primary problem
or issue (see Chapter 3). If the decision level of your case is the individual or the group (e.g., what should
this individual, or this group, do?), then your decision context is the part of your focal organization in
which the individual or group you describe in your case is embedded. On the other hand, if your decision
level is the organization itself (e.g., what should this company do?), then your decision context is most
likely the industry in which your company operates.
If your decision level is the individual (or group), consider these questions:
1) Where is this individual (or group) located in the organizational hierarchy?
2) To whom does this individual (or group) report? Who reports to this individual (or group)? Describe
these relationships.
3) What is this individual’s (or group’s) job description or function within the organization?
4) What is this individual’s (or group’s) history with this organization?
5) Are there any relevant political considerations or power dynamics? Explain.
6) What resources does this individual (or group) control?
7) How does this individual (or group) view their work relationship with the organization? Do they
identify with the organization? Explain.
8) Is there a good fit between this individual and the organization? A good fit in a cultural sense? In terms
of specific job demands? Explain.
9) What aspirations does this individual (or group) have within the organization? What does this
individual (or group) want? Authorized for use only by greg okhovat in Formulating and Implementing Strategy at University of Texas at Tyler from Jan 16, 2018 to May 31, 2018.
Use outside these parameters is a copyright violation.
The Case Project Guide: How to Write a Great Business Case as a Class Project
24 On the other hand, if your decision level is the organization, then your decision context is the larger
environment in which the organization itself is embedded. For business cases, this is usually an industry
or industry segment. If you’ve chosen a large, publicly-traded company, you should focus on the primary
industry in which the company operates. If the company operates in a number of industries, as is common
with larger companies, you should select one industry (or maybe two, at the most). If you’ve chosen
another entity (a foundation, charity, etc.), then you’ll need to define the external environment in a way
that makes sense and adapt the questions below to your particular situation.
1) What is the primary industry of your case site? If applicable, what is its NAICS code?
2) How large is the industry (based on different measures)?
3) What, exactly, is the industry’s product? What needs or desires does the industry satisfy?
4) Is there anything particularly interesting and/or relevant about this industry’s history?
5) What are the primary demand drivers?
6) What does the industry value chain look like?
7) Who are the most important players in the industry? Why?
8) Are there different market segments? What are these segments?
9) Are there different strategic groups?
10) On what bases (price, quality, brand names, etc.) do industry participants compete? Why?
11) Are Porter’s Five Forces23 applicable? If so, based on an assessment of these forces, is this an attractive
industry?
12) How has technology affected the industry?
13) How have demographic, social, cultural, and political considerations affected this industry?
14) How has the industry evolved? What industry life cycle stage is it in?
15) What do you think is interesting about this industry? Why?