How to Read Case Study

7/27/2019 How to Read Case Study

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Welcome to

Introduction to Business II

Administrative Studies

University of Winnipeg


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Getting to know each other

Networkinggetting to know people

and their interests, making connections,

acquaintances, friendships

will bevery helpful to your business career.

Therefore, everyone is expected to know

each and every fellow student in thisclass by name!


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Please introduce yourself

Where are you from, where have you lived?

What is your work experience?

What do you plan to major in at U of W?

What are your career plans?

What are your extra curricular activities?

Why have you chosen to take this course?What do you expect to learn from it?


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The Case Method

Pioneered at Harvard Business School

Learning through discussion of actual

business situations (case studies) from theassumed role of the actual decision maker.

What wouldyoudo in this situation and why?


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Shared Responsibility for

Learning in the Case MethodYou are responsible for achievingunderstanding of each case situation anddeveloping a plan to address it!

There is no one right answer BUT

that doesnt mean anything goes.

Every student must be involved in every class

Contributing analysis, ideas and insightsActively listening to learn from other students

Instructor only moderates the discussion!


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Learning with the Case Method


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Three Stages of Case Learning

Individual Preparation

Small Group Discussion

Full Class Discussion

Each stage takes learning to a higher levelThere are no shortcuts!

Each stage exhibits diminishing returns


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The Case Method Process


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How NOTto Prepare a Case

DO NOT dive right in and plow

through the case word by word

on your first time through!

DO NOT try to memorize

every detail about the situation!DO NOT crunch numbers

just because they are there!


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Individual Preparation

an effective way

Read opening and closing paragraphs

Examine tables and figures in exhibits

Examine headings in the case

Review case analysis guidelines

Read first sentence of each paragraphRead closely, highlight, make notes, etc.

Decide what you would do and why


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Small Group Discussion

Every group member must have done

thorough individual preparation

Limit group time

be aware ofdiminishing returns

Test assumptions, calculations,

be willing to modify your analysis

Group consensus is not necessary


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Full Class Discussion

Share your analysis, insights and

expertise with classmates

Listen thoughtfully to the contributionsof others

Relate your contributions to the ongoing

flow of discussion; build on thecontributions of others.


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Lets try it with

Universal Pulp and Paper

West Coast Division(Ivey case #9A99D012)


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Case Preparation, Step 1

Read first and last paragraphs of the case

Identify decision issue, and your role as

decision maker

Why has this decision issue arisen?

What is the challenge (problem oropportunity) to be addressed?


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Opening paragraph

Mike Garfield, the new plant managerof the West Coast Division of Universal

Pulp and Paper, had just received adisturbing telephone call from hissuperior located at the companys headoffice. The head office staff had

received several complaints fromcustomers supplied by the West CoastDivision.


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Opening paragraph (cont)

These complaints concerned inferior

product quality and increasingly late

deliveries. Given only two weeks inwhich to investigate and report back to

his superior, Mike Garfield wondered

what, specifically, could be done quicklyto improve the overall operating

efficiency and effectiveness of his plant.


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Closing paragraph

With demand for newsprint expected to

increase from three million tons of paper this

year to 3,680,000 tons next year, Mike knew

the current complaints might be a sign of worse

days ahead. As plant manager, Mike knew he

was ultimately responsible for the efficiency

and profitability of his plant. With this inmind, he set out to prepare his report to his

superior at head office.


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Pause for thought!

What is the decision issue here?

What is your role as the decision maker?

Why has this decision issue arisen?

What is the challenge (problem or

opportunity) to be addressed?


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Read each subheading of the case

Read the title of each exhibit

What kinds of information seem to be

available in the case?

Why is this information there? How mightit be useful?


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Subheadings in the text

The West Coast Division

The Consumer

The Production Process

Wood Processing

Pulp Production

Paper Production

The Complaints


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Exhibit(s) at end of text

Plant and Equipment Investment

(in millions of dollars)

Capacity Enhancement Cost Study

Results


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Pause for thought!

What kinds of information seem to be

available in the case?

Why is this information there?

How might it be useful?


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Reread entire first paragraph, readsubheadings and topic sentence of each

paragraph, and reread entire last paragraph

What seems to be going on in the situation?

What are we trying to accomplish?

What sort of analysis is likely to be useful?

What kind of alternatives are likely to arise?


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Opening paragraph

Mike Garfield, the new plant managerof the West Coast Division of Universal

Pulp and Paper, had just received adisturbing telephone call from hissuperior located at the companys headoffice. The head office staff had

received several complaints fromcustomers supplied by the West CoastDivision.


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Opening paragraph (cont)

These complaints concerned inferior

product quality and increasingly late

deliveries. Given only two weeks inwhich to investigate and report back to

his superior, Mike Garfield wondered

what, specifically, could be done quicklyto improve the overall operating

efficiency and effectiveness of his plant.


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The West Coast Division

(first subheading and topic sentences)

The West Coast Division was amanufacturing operation involved in the

processing of cut timer (wood) and theproduction of various paper products.

The West Coast Division was a fullyintegrated operation, in that it produced

and processed all of the wood pulp (rawmaterial) it required for its manufactureof paper products.


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The Consumer

(second subheading and topic sentences)

Although an endless number and variety

of paper products were sold at the retail

level, the West Coast Division plantsupplied companies that produced or

used paper products for two basic

purposes:


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The Consumer (cont)


1. Approximately 95 per cent of the

plants production was newsprint, used

primarily in the production of dailynewspapers.

2. The remaining five per cent of the

plants production was used for specialtywriting paper products.


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The Consumer (cont)


End consumers of these [specialty] paper

products tended to buy infrequently and

in small quantities.Mike Garfield recalled that, although the

West Coast Division plant was originally

designed primarily for the production ofhigh volume, low-to-medium quality

newsprint;


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The Production Process (cont)

(third subheading and topic sentences)

The production process was quite

complex at the West Coast plant, but

could be simplified into three keycomponents: wood processing, pulp

production, and paper production.


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Wood Processing. The entire production

process began with the receipt of wood

logs.Once de-barked, the logs were moved to a

chipper machine.

The entire wood processing component ofthe production process could provide 730

tons of wood chips per hour.


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(third subheading and topic sentences)Pulp Production. Pulp, the key raw materialfor the production of paper, was produced usinga complicated chemical process known as the

Kraft process.Upon leaving the digesters, the digested chipsentered a machine known as a blow tank.

The pulp production facilities were capable ofconverting as much as eight million tons ofwood chips into about four million tons of paper

per year.


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(third subheading and topic sentences)Paper Production. The two paper-making machines in the West Coast plantwere extremely large and involved aninvestment of about $500 million each.

A paper-making machine had a wet end(where the diluted wood fibre pulp

entered the process), and a dry end (wherethe completed paper was wound onto verylarge rolls or logs of paper).


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(third subheading and topic sentences)The paper-making process was highly

complex, and required the monitoring of many

variables such as temperature, chemical

content, and machine speed.

Mike Garfield recalled a report prepared by

the director of computer services indicating

that a computer program was available thatcould enhance the present system so that all 75

measurements could be computer-controlled.


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If machine capacity was at the root of

the complaints, Mike knew that a report

recently prepared by the productionengineers would be most helpful.


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The Complaints

(fourth subheading and topic sentences)To better understand the source and

cause of the recent complaints, Mike

held a meeting with the chief productionsupervisor, Charlie Robertson.

Its not my fault! Its those idiots in

sales and marketing that keep sendingme those stupid, small fancy orders


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Closing paragraph

With demand for newsprint expected to

increase from three million tons of paper this

year to 3,680,000 tons next year, Mike knew

the current complaints might be a sign of worse

days ahead. As plant manager, Mike knew he

was ultimately responsible for the efficiency

and profitability of his plant. With this inmind, he set out to prepare his report to his

superior at head office.


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Pause for thought!

What seems to be going on in the casesituation?

What are we trying to accomplish as thedecision maker?

What sorts of analyses are likely to beuseful?

What kind of alternatives to address thissituation are likely to arise?


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For next class.

Do your individual preparation for theUniversal Pulp and Paper: West Coast

Division (case 6.10 in the text) using theabove context to guide your work.

For further information and helpful hintson the case method, read:

Learning by the Case Method, IB Web site
http://acsas.uwinnipeg.ca/introbus/IB2/ReadingsIB2/CaseMethod.htmhttp://acsas.uwinnipeg.ca/introbus/IB2/ReadingsIB2/CaseMethod.htm

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