Cracking Case Studies

Several of the top Business schools, including some of the IIMs, use Case Studies as part of their selection process along with the more conventional Interviews etc. In some institutes, this has replaced the Group Discussion process.

The reason for this is two-fold. One, a Case Study is perhaps a better way of assessing a candidate, since everybody who is provided with the Case has the same information. The candidate's prior knowledge of the topic, which would be important in a conventional Group Discussion, doesn't matter; hence everyone starts off on the same page. The focus thus shifts primarily to your Analytical Ability-which is what the institute aims to assess, amongst other factors such as teamwork etc.

Second, a Case Study aims to simulate a real-life situation. It puts the candidate into the role of being an actual decision-maker, rather than a mere participant in a discussion. Thus, the evaluator can assess how the candidate arrives at a decision-his methodology, approach, the framework he uses etc.

Now let us take an example of a simple Case Study. The idea of picking up this example is just to illustrate the approach that candidates could follow. So I shall keep the case itself simple for the purpose of this article; those interested in looking at other Case Studies can refer to my book ‘Marketing Case Studies', published by Pearson Education.

Let's suppose that you are the Head of Sales & Marketing in a company whose sales have been consistently declining for the past few quarters. In addition to declining sales, you face another problem-your sales force is getting de-motivated and therefore, key staff are quitting and joining rival firms.

You are asked as to how you would go about tackling the issue.

Tackling a Case Study: A Three-fold Approach

1. Analysing the Issue

The first step in a Case Study discussion is to identify and understand the issue. More importantly, you need to separate the problem from its symptoms. For example, in this case (where you are supposed to play the role of the Head of Sales & Marketing), remember that declining sales is actually the symptom of the problem, and not the problem in itself.

You have to try and understand why sales are declining-the real issue. The reason is what is being manifested in declining sales-which are the symptom. Looking at additional data that may be provided or discussing with other participants is the first thing you should do.

For example, the reasons behind declining sales could be any of the following:

• The pricing is not appropriate and the customer does not perceive that he is getting value
• The product has become obsolete
• New alternatives are available in the market which were not present earlier
• The distribution is not good enough due to the use of an inappropriate distribution channel, lack of incentives to retailers/ the sales force etc

There could be several other reasons, which the group may come up with during the course of the discussion.

2. Coming up with Alternative Solutions

Having now identified the real issue, the next step is to see what can be done. It is advisable to come up with alternate possibilities for action-do not just state a single solution. The best way forward is for the group to discuss the pros and cons of each possible solution. This is where the analytical ability of various candidates comes to the fore-can they demonstrate an ability to analyse all aspects of the solution?

Let me give you a simple example based on the above Case. You could suggest several alternatives such as a decrease in price of the product, better packaging, catchy advertising, appointing a brand ambassador etc. Indeed, it is fairly easy to generate alternatives. But you have to analyse their efficacy-for example, if you decrease price, you might indeed increase demand, but what would be the effect of the brand image-may it suffer a negative impact? Similarly, a decrease in price may actually decrease total revenues-you may have to try and assess the ‘elasticity of demand' with respect to price.

3. Recommendations

After the discussion on pros and cons of the various alternatives, the group is ready to make recommendations. There are a couple of things to be kept in mind here:

• You might find that there is a short term issue that needs immediate attention (like your staff quitting) and one that can be addressed in the medium/ longer term. In that case, you must clearly spell out separately the steps that should be taken in the short and medium/ longer term.
• Whatever alternative you choose is likely to have some repercussions. It is important to demonstrate an ability to understand how things are inter-linked and therefore affect each other. For example, the launch of a car like Nano by the TATAs is likely to affect not only the sales of its competitors, but also the sales of other cars that TATA produces like the Indica.

4. Summary

After the group finishes the discussion, it is advisable for someone to take the initiative to summarise the recommendations. If you do so, keep your summary short and simple. Remember that a Case Study is all about analysis and logical thinking. Try and demonstrate this ability from beginning to end!

About the Author:

Sidharth Balakrishna is an alumnus of IIM Calcutta and has been employed with the world's top Marketing, Management Consultancy and energy firms. Besides his regular Corporate job, he has written a number of books and articles for various reputed publications and has taken several guest lectures and seminars across the country.

His books include the following, all published by Pearson Education :

• ‘An Introduction to CAT-Tips from an IIM Alumnus'; available from http://pearson.vrvbookshop.com/book/an-introduction-cat-sidharth-balakrishna/9788131733400
• ‘Reading Comprehension for the CAT- A Winning Approach by an IIM Alumnus'; available from http://pearson.vrvbookshop.com/book/reading-comprehension-cat-sidharth-balakrishna/9788131760598
• ‘Marketing Case Studies'-part of the Pearson Case Book series; available from http://pearson.vrvbookshop.com/book/case-studies-marketing-sidharth-balakrishna/9788131757970
• Sidharth is a Career Counselling Expert with the Hindustan Times and a member of the Interview Panel to select MBA students at various MBA institutes. Sidharth has also given lectures as a Visiting Faculty in several MBA institutes.

He can be contacted at bsiddharth_2001@yahoo.co.in

Source: Sidharth Balakrishna

Date: 19^th May, 2011