Cómo Analizar Un Caso De Estudio

How to Analyze a Case Study
Hands-on Guide: How to Analyze a Case Study

Management Information Systems Tenth Edition provides a number of case studies
for you to analyze. Included in these cases are questions to help you understand and
analyze the case. You may, however, be assigned other case studies that do not have
questions. This Hands-on Guide presents a structured framework to helpyou
analyze such cases as well as the case studies in this text. Knowing how to analyze a
case will help you attack virtually any business problem.
A case study helps students learn by immersing them in a real-world business
scenario where they can act as problem-solvers and decision-makers. The case
presents facts about a particular organization. Students are asked to analyze the case
byfocusing on the most important facts and using this information to determine the
opportunities and problems facing that organization. Students are then asked to
identify alternative courses of action to deal with the problems they identify.
A case study analysis must not merely summarize the case. It should identify key
issues and problems, outline and assess alternative courses of action, anddraw
appropriate conclusions. The case study analysis can be broken down into the
following steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Identify the most important facts surrounding the case.
Identify the key issue or issues.
Specify alternative courses of action.
Evaluate each course of action.
Recommend the best course of action.

Let’s look at what each step involves.
1. Identify the most importantfacts surrounding the case. Read the case several
times to become familiar with the information it contains. Pay attention to the
information in any accompanying exhibits, tables, or figures. Many case
scenarios, as in real life, present a great deal of detailed information. Some of
these facts are more relevant that others for problem identification. One can
assume the facts and figures in thecase are true, but statements, judgments,
or decisions made by individuals should be questioned. Underline and then
list the most important facts and figures that would help you define the
central problem or issue. If key facts and numbers are not available, you can
make assumptions, but these assumptions should be reasonable given the
situation. The “correctness” of your conclusions maydepend on the
assumptions you make.

 
 

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2. Identify the key issue or issues.

Use the facts provided by the case to identify the key issue or issues facing the
company you are studying. Many cases present multiple issues or problems.
Identify the most important and separate them from more trivial issues. State the
major problem or challenge facing the company. You should be ableto describe
the problem or challenge in one or two sentences. You should be able to explain
how this problem affects the strategy or performance of the organization.
You will need to explain why the problem occurred. Does the problem or
challenge facing the company come from a changing environment, new
opportunities, a declining market share, or inefficient internal or external
businessprocesses? In the case of information systems-related problems, you
need to pay special attention to the role of technology as well as the behavior
of the organization and its management.
Information system problems in the business world typically present a
combination of management, technology, and organizational issues. When
identifying the key issue or problem, ask what kind of problem it is:Is it a
management problem, a technology problem, an organizational problem, or a
combination of these? What management, organizational and technology
factors contributed to the problem?
To determine if a problem stems from management factors, consider
whether managers are exerting appropriate leadership over the
organization and monitoring organizational performance. Consider
also the...