CASE STUDY ANALYSIS GUIDELINES, FORMAT, AND RUBRIC

This assignment requires a case study. 

Use APA

double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5" x 11")

1" margins on all sides

12 pt. Times New Roman font

4-5 pages (not including title page)

1)  Examine and describe the business environment relevant to the case study (10% of grade)

Describe the type of company being started.  Explain the business environment opportunity for the company and why the opportunity didn’t exist before.  Provide information about the market when the company started and the customer base.  Describe the competitors in the early years of the company.   

2)  Describe the structure and size of the main business under consideration.  (10% of grade)

Describe the management/organization structure from the beginning and how and why it changed over the years.  Discuss how ownership changed, employee base, and financial history. Provide a brief overview of the business’s leaders and the command chain.

3)  Identify the key issue or problem in the case study. (10% of grade)

The company faced many problems over the years.  Decide the main concern discussed in the case study by examining what most of the data talks about, the main problems facing the business, and the conclusions at the end of the study.  Examples might include expansion into a new market, response to competitor’s marketing campaign, or a changing customer base.

4)  Describe how the business responds to these issues or problems. (10% of grade)

Provide a chronological progression of the steps taken (or not taken) in response to issues or problems.  Cite data included in the case study such as increased marketing spending, changed revenue streams, etc.    

5)  Identify the successful aspects of this response as well as its failures. (10% of grade)

Explain how the business became successful after being able to address various problems and issues.  Also note areas that were not successful and the problems or issues couldn’t be solved.  Use numerical benchmarks, like increased market share, to show whether goals were met.  Also analyze broader issues, such as inventory, logistics, organizational changes, and competition to discuss the response as a whole.

6)  Point to success, failures, unforeseen results, and inadequate measures. (10% of grade)

Use the knowledge you gained in this class to suggest alternative or improved measures that could have been taken by the business.  Provide specific examples and provide support for your suggestion with data and calculations.

7)  Describe what changes you would make in the business to arrive at the measures you proposed, including changes to organization, strategy, and management. (20% of grade)

The case stops in 2007 as the company was considering new investors.  Describe how you would propose to move the company forward from 2007.  Include any changes to the organization, strategy, and management.  Support your answer with additional research on the wine market in Japan from export.gov as well as other information about the Japanese market as found on export.gov and other resources.  Cite your sources using APA format.

8)  Conclude your analysis by reviewing your findings and emphasizing what you would do differently in the case.  (20% of grade)

Showcase your understanding of the case study and the import/export business strategy. 

Total = 100%