THE SIX-STEP CASE ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK

1. THE SIX-STEP CASE ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK By Bun Sucento Graduate School of Business Universitas Bina Nusantara

2. STEP 1 : ANALYZING THE COMPANY’S HISTORY, DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH • A list of company’s past strategy and structure • The most essential development in today business • Functional competencies to pursue new business and main lines of business STEP 2 : SITUATION ANALYSIS (SWOT) INTERNAL ANALYSIS • Outcome Analysis : sales analysis (brand; geographic area ; market segments ; specific of distribution ) • Input Analysis : track the cost and level of human resources; expenses and activity in all areas of the marketing mix to generate outcomes

3. EXTERNAL ANALYSIS • General Analysis : environment analysis (take place at the corporate, business unit, long-term trend, product/market level, political/legal, regulation, cultural trends, economy) • Industry Analysis : (actual and potential industry size; industry growth; industry structure; cost structure; distribution systems; industry trend and developments; identification pf key success factors) • Customer Analysis : (what are our customers ?; what do our customers do with our product(s) ?; Where do our customers make their purchase ; when do our customers make their purchase ?; Why do our customers select our products ?) • Competitive Analysis : (identifying primary (brand), secondary (product and generic), and potential competitors; understanding competitors by ascertaining their size, growth, profitability, objectives, and strategies; assessing competitor’s on marketing capabilities in terms of four p’s; estimating competitors’ most likely strategies )

4. STEP 3 : MISSING INFORMATION • List important information not contained in the case, why that information might be useful, and how you might go about acquiring it • Some of the information that is not available can addressed through assumptions • The list should contain only those items that will be truly useful in enhancing the quality of the decisions made

5. STEP 4: THE PROBLEM STATEMENT •  The identification and clear presentation of the problem or issue facing the company is the most critical part of the analysis framework • Only a problem properly defined can be addressed • The most important word in the identification of the problem is why • The statement should be brief, almost always one or two sentences • Be careful with the difference between symptoms and problem • It is often said, and very true : a problem well defined is a problem half solved

6. STEP 5 : DEVELOPMENT OF ALTERNATIVES • Once we have the problem clearly and succinctly defined, we are in a position to develop a set of strategic alternatives that have reasonable potential to solve the problem • One alternative is always the status quo • Besides the status quo, you should use creative thinking to develop several truly strategic alternatives

7. STEP 6 : EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES AND RECOMMENDATION • Once you have developed a set of realistic alternatives, it is time to do a thorough evaluation of each of the options • Three major sets of criteria should be used in this evaluation process : • How well does the alternative address the problem or issue as defined in step 3 ? • The consistency of the alternative with the organization’s mission statement, as well as its ability to assist in achieving the plan’s stated goals and objective • Relates to the feasibility and probable success of each alternative (how well does the alternative match up with the internal and external environments of the organization ?. Does the organization have, or can it realistically acquire, the human and financial resources required by the alternative ?)