BUSINESS SKILL DEVELOPMENT COURSE (BSDC)-III SEMESTER

BBA
CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

I. Introduction and Objectives

Introduction
A case study analysis is a form of academic writing which analyses a situation, event, place
or person to form a conclusion. They are useful for phenomena that can’t be studied in a
laboratory or via quantitative methods. Case studies are commonly used in several fields,
such as, the social sciences, medicine and business.

Business Skill Development Course (BSDC) is a key requirement to complete the BBA
programme. Case Study Analysis Record Book should be prepared by the student during
the third semester under BSDC. Five cases of Medium Small scale Industry relating to
subjects studied in the first three semesters have to be analyzed and recorded in the Case
Study Analysis Record Book under the guidance of Academic mentor.

Objectives
 To develop thinking and analytical skills
 To develop managerial skills

II. Reporting Process & Timeliness

During the third semester, the students are expected to identify and select five cases of
Medium Scale industry relating to subjects studied in the first three semesters in
consultation with the academic mentor. The students need to be in constant touch with the
academic mentor explaining selection and the progress of BSDC.

Sources of Free Case study:

1. Free Case Studies-ICMR India
(https://www.icmrindia.org/free%20resources/casestudies/freesample.htm)
2. BusinessEthics.ca
3. Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative - Case Studies
4. Ethics Unwrapped
5. Knowledge@Wharton
6. Merlot OER Case Studies
7. MIT LearningEdge Case Studies
8. SHRM Case Studies (Human Resources)
9. World’s Best Case Studies.
10. Any other Sources

III. Case Study Analysis Report Format

1. Reading the Case

It is important to gain a feel for the situation by first skimming quickly through the
case study. Ask yourself:
What is the nature of the industry?
What sort of organization is the case study about?
What is going on in the external environment?
What is going on in the internal environment?
What problems management appears to face?
What are the communication strategies identified in the case?
Are there additional communication strategies that might be relevant?
What can you control and what can’t you control? 
An initial fast reading, without attempting to take notes or underline, should provide
you with some sense of what information is being presented for analysis. Then you will be
ready to make a very careful second reading of the case. This time, underline key points
and take some notes. In addition to the above questions, consider the following:
 What are the objectives of the organization and the key players in the case?
 Are they mutually compatible objectives? If not, can they be reconciled, and will it
be necessary to redefine the objectives?
 What decisions need to be made and who will be responsible for making them?
 What resources and constraints are present which will help or hinder attempts of
the organization to meet its objectives?

You should make a special effort to establish the significance of any

quantitative data presented in the case. See if combining and manipulating data
presented in different parts of the case may lead to new insights. But don’t blindly
accept the data. With cases, as in real life, not all information is equally reliable or
relevant.
A separate handout is provided for most case. It defines the problem and guides your
approach to the case. Often it will include references such as links to articles or other
resources you can use. Do NOT ignore these reference materials.  They were provided for
a reason.

2. The Report format

When you write a report of a case study, assume that your audience is a manager
who has asked you to review the facts and make a recommendation. Prepare an action-
oriented advisory report that presents concisely your analysis and recommendations.

The Report Format

I. Executive Summary
II. Report Main Body
A. Situational Analysis
B. Statement of the Problem/Formulation of the Problem
C. List of Critical Factors/Facts
D. Assumptions
E. SWOT Analysis
F. Solutions for the questions in the Case study.
G. Conclusion
H. References
III. Appendices (tables and exhibits as appropriate) Label each of the parts with the
subheading indicated.

I. Executive Summary
It provides an overview of the report to follow. The executive summary should consist of six
paragraphs, each of which very concisely summarizing sections A through G of the report.
The executive summary should be no more than one page in length.
II. Report Main body
A. Situational Analysis
Summarise the entire case in one-third words with emphasis on the key issues and
environment around the key issues.

B. Statement of the Problem (or) Formulation of the Problem

Concisely state the central question to be resolved in the report in a sentence.
Include any sub-parts of the problem and all requirements that have been established for a
satisfactory solution, only if necessary. Briefly indicate also any critical restrictions that
have been placed on the acceptable solution such as limitation on monetary expenditures,
time, distribution, or personnel. State the problems in terms of possible action to be taken
(e.g., “How to improve . . . so as to achieve . . . without an undue expenditure of . . .?”
State the problem, not the symptoms. Unless your diagnosis of the problem is correct, all
subsequent decision making will be flawed.
C. List of Critical Factors (or) Facts
Don’t try to summarize all the data in the case. Instead, focus on the key factors that
will impact how you plan to resolve the key problem you identified. A table can be used in
this section. Consider using sub-heads to group related items.  Comment briefly on each
factor. Just identify concisely why they matter at this point. A table is recommended where
the factor is stated in the left column and a sentence describing why it matters to your
decision goes in the right column.  For example, if you’ve been asked to select a target
audience for an advertiser and one of their objectives is to cultivate a different demographic
group than their current customers, this matters because sending the Text message to the
existing users does not address this objective.
 
Factor Significance
One objective is to cultivate a broader Focusing on the exact same audience as
audience than current customers. current users does not address this.
Current users are described as females, 65 Current users are aging.  If the company
and older, HS education, home owners, wants to survive long-term it must attract
conservative, family-focused, loyal… an equally loyal younger audience.
 
There are categories of factors that are likely to be relevant in every case, such as:  the
economy; the product; the objectives; current users; industry trends; target market;
competition; past/current advertising; the company producing the product.  These same
factors (including the many smaller factors implicit in each larger factor) will serve as the
tools for writing solutions to the given case questions.
  
D. Assumptions:
Assumptions are the ideas that we presume to be true before taking decisions.
Assumptions are made in businesses for developing a strategy, planning and making
decisions.
Business, in most cases, occurs in an unsure setting and assumptions are necessary to move
ahead with plan. Documenting assumptions help in recognizing threats. Before proposing any
solutions/recommendations we must assume certain factors related to finance, consumers
base, resource, profitability, management expertise, etc. On the basis of these assumptions the
solutions are proposed.

E. SWOT (or SWOC) Analysis

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (or Challenges),
and so a SWOT analysis is a technique for assessing these four aspects of any business
organizations. SWOT Analysis is a simple tool that can help to analyze what the company
does best right now, and to devise a successful strategy for the future. SWOT can also reveal
areas of the business that are holding the organization back. In this section, a SWOT matrix
can be prepared as given below listing Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats for
the organization.

STRENGTHS WEAKNESS
 
 
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS/CHALLENGES
 
 

F. Solutions for the questions in the Case study.

This is the heart of the case analysis. In this section, answer each question given in the case
study based on the information given in the case. There is very rarely a single solution to any
problem. Regardless of how many alternative solutions you have, you should only present the
most viable solution.  

G. Conclusion
Conclude the case by recommended program of action, that is, the alternative solutions that
you recommend. Your recommendation should be an outgrowth of imaginative and thorough
identification of all the alternatives or possibilities that might reasonably overcome other
obstacles involved in the problem. It is often good to conclude with a strong call to action.

H. References
The number of outside sources you use for a given case varies.  However, it’s hard to imagine
a case that wouldn’t warrant at least one outside source.  References should be provided in
standard bibliographic form.

III. Appendices
In writing your reports, it is not necessary to include any of the data tables or other
exhibits directly from the case report unless leaving them out makes it difficult to explain
your analysis or recommended course of action. If your case analysis includes some new
detailed information (for example a timeline or a comparative analysis) you should include
this detailed information in appendices.

3. The Report Formatting

The body of each case study report (exclusive of executive summary and appendices) should
be from 5 to 7 pages typed and printed in A4 size pages with different headings and sub-
headings. The case study report should follow the selected and printed “CASE STUDY.”
The case study analysis reports are to be hard-bound in a prescribed format before submission
to the academic advisor.

4. Documentation Details
The completed scanned document must be hard bound and the hard-bound copies are to be
submitted to the academic mentors.

IV. Evaluation and Marks allocation of BSDC

a. The external examiner appointed by the university shall award 70 marks on the basis of
Case Study Analysis Record Book submitted by the student (for FIVE cases analyzed by
the students 5 X 14)
b. A Viva Voce to be conducted by the external examiner for 30 Marks to assess the learning
outcome of the
cases analyzed by the students at the end of the semester.
c. After assessment, marks scored by the candidate to be sent to BU along with IA Marks.

***** ***** *****

BUSINESS SKILL DEVELOPMENT COURSE REPORT

Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements

for the Award of the Degree of

Bachelor of Business Administration

 2020-2023

By

Name of the student

Reg No:

Under the Guidance of

PROF …Guide Name……

Designation:

College Name

Address

Logo

(Affiliated to Bangalore University)

Feb/March, 2022

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(For Ex.)

SL. No. Contents Page No.

1. Case study 1: Case of AMUL 1 -5

2. Case study 2: Case of Britannia

 3. Case study 3: Case of Nestle

4 Case study 4: Case of HUL

5. Case study 5: Case of Apple

Prof. Mini K Abraham

BOE, Chairperson, BBA
9945948487