Case is attached. The structure, mentioned in the instruction, is also attached. Make sure to follow the exact structure for paper!!!! Read the instructions below very CAREFULLY! The following two

Structure of Final Exam Case Analysis Outline Report

Note: These guidelines are intended to help you get the structure right on the case report; meeting them

does not guarantee a quality work. Please use the same sections headings (e.g., Key Issues, Current

Strategy, etc.) in your paper. Please insert only bullet points (including short sentence) for each section; each point shall be no more than two lines (3-5 words beyond the second line is acceptable in rare cases). If you choose to fill in your points directly on this template, please make sure you remove all

instructional words (other than the section titles) for clear presentation.

Limit the text to 3 pages (12 font, single-spaced, 1” (2.54cm) margin on all sides), excluding cover

pages, tables and exhibits.

Key Issues (preferably 3-6 issues each in one bullet point;)

• Obvious and pressing issues, hidden problems, and long terms challenges facing the company.

These issues set a direction in terms of where your strategic alternatives should focus. Please

describe them (and number them) in order of importance.

External Assessment. Top Three most important opportunities/threats in total, not three each. A table of

external analysis (no need to include in the report) will be highly helpful for you to identify good

opportunities and threats.

Advice: focus on the strategic group of which the focal company is a member, NOT the case company.

DO NOT talk about the case company in describing the opportunities/threats. Do NOT give

recommendations here as to what firms can do or should do with respect to these opportunities and

threats.

• One sentence describing the strategic group (similar strategy and competitors)

• Opp/threat #1: One sentence that clearly specifies the opp/threat for the strategic group; 1-2

bullet points following the sentence to provide evidence for the opp/threat

• Opp/threat #2: ditto

• Opp/threat #3: ditto

Internal Assessment. Top Three most important strengths/weaknesses in total, not three each.

• Str/weakness #1: One sentence identifying the strength/weakness; 1 subpoint providing evidence;

2-3 separate bullet point arguments explaining the V, R, I evaluation of the strength. If it is a

weakness, 1-2 points to discuss whether it can be transformed into a strength in the future.

• Str/weakness #2: ditto

• Str/weakness #3: ditto

Financial Diagnosis – Exhibit 1 for this section

• 3-6 bullet points to interpret the ratios in the Exhibit 1. Use various comparisons (e.g., temporal

changes) and financial ratios to diagnose the company’s financial situation. Remember to

comment on the company’s overall financial health and capacity to carry on future investments

that might be part of your strategic alternatives.

Current Strategy

Note: focus on what the company is currently doing; do NOT discuss what it can or should do in the

future

• Business strategy (one sentence defining the strategy such as differentiation, followed by 1-3

bullet points of explanations)

• Functional strategy (2-3 separate points for major functional practices such as marketing

initiatives);

• Global strategy and corporate strategy, whenever the case provides information

Implementable Strategic Alternatives (a total of TWO alternatives; the most important section!)

Note: (1) Business level strategies are expected, while corporate level strategies are accepted. Please do

not propose functional level strategies (HR, marketing, etc.) as explained in Chapter 4, which focus on

operational changes that aim to improve internal efficiency and effectiveness.

(2) Business strategies represent major moves in the way the company competes on the market. They

often involve significant investments or divestments that carry long term impact on the company’s

competitiveness. These strategies are externally oriented, often answering the question of what to serve,

who to serve, where and how to compete.

(3) Business level strategic alternatives, often developed based on existing/potential strengths/weaknesses

and available environmental opportunities/threats, should deal with key issues (including the pressure for

growth).

(4) Two alternatives need to be significantly distinctive, yet they all need to generate significant revenue

or market growth to the company, which means that simply divesting (stop doing) something may not

suffice.

(5) Both strategies should go beyond a general goal (e.g., going international or developing a new

product) and discuss what the company needs to do exactly (e.g., which country to enter and in what

ways? what kind of new product you are talking about exactly?). Remember you do NOT have to use

generic strategy terms such as low cost or differentiation to describe your strategy. In fact, you can easily

run into cliché ideas if you simply play around these terms rather than explaining specific strategy

actions. For example, a strategy of Westjet building leadership in tourism travel segment does not need

mentioning any of those generic terms.

(6) Both alternatives should be plausible and appealing, supported with solid reasoning and strong

arguments. If your two alternative ideas can be easily combined, you probably need to combine them and

develop a new alternative. In addition, both strategies should either depart significantly from the firm’s

current strategy or add substantive value to the current strategy, showcasing your own contributions.

(7) Keep in mind that using status quo or current strategy (that is, continue to do what has been

doing) as an strategy alternative demonstrates weak creativity; I need to see your OWN original

ideas. Selling off the company is not an option of strategy in the exam. Lastly, a good advice to review

your proposed strategy: Do you think the CEO of the firm will find your strategy alternatives useful and

implementable? If they do not make sense to the firm (such as ask McDonald to sell luxury hand bags),

then you will want to go back and develop some new ones.

• Alternative #1: One sentence specifying the strategy, followed by 3-5 bullet points of

explanations of what it is exactly in terms of specific strategic actions expected from the firm,

with respect to the analysis in previous sections

• Alternative #2: ditto

Criteria and Evaluation of Alternatives by Criteria (second most important section) – Exhibit 2-3 for

this section

• One sentence to list 3 criteria (e.g., NPV), and 1-2 sentences to justify your choice of these

criteria (that is, why these, not others?)

• Then, separate points in correspondence to the three criteria, each point using one criterion to

compare the two alternatives with clear conclusion (which one is better) and justifications (why).

Recommendation and its Implementation

• 1-2 points to summarize the evaluations and recommend one strategy based on the evaluations

• 1-2 points to discuss major issues/challenges regarding the implementation of the strategy

• 1-2 points to discuss the limitations of the recommended strategy with respect to the identified

key issues. Offer suggestions on possible solutions if you can.

Exhibits (append all exhibits to the end of the paper in the following order)

• Exhibit 1: Financial Analysis. A table that presents financial ratios of multiple categories, such as

profitability, leverage, liquidity, etc., as well as any useful historical comparisons such as sales

increase/decrease. No specific ratios are mandatory. All depends on your analysis and needs.

• Exhibit 2-3: Two Exhibits of NPV corresponding to the two strategic alternatives respectively;

put key assumptions, with brief justifications, either at the bottom of the tables or on a separate

page. Please refer to the Westover Inn case in your case package for a template of NPV.