Managing the Digital Firm, Seventh Canadian Edition
Appendix C
Hands-on Guide:
How to Analyze a Case Study
Management Information Systems by Laudon, Laudon, and Brabston 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 help you
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 case study analysis must not merely summarize the case. It should identify key issues
and problems, outline and assess alternative courses of action, and draw appropriate
conclusions. The case study analysis can be broken down into the following steps:
1. Identify the most important facts surrounding the case.
2. Identify the key issue or issues.
4. Evaluate each course of action.
1. Identify the most important facts 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 the case are true, but statements, judgments, or
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 able to 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
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 nature of management
decision-making: Do managers have sufficient information for performing this
role, or do they fail to take advantage of the information that is available?
3. Specify alternative courses of action. List the courses of action the company can
take to solve its problem or meet the challenge it faces. For information system-
related problems, do these alternatives require a new information system or the
modification of an existing system? Are new technologies, business processes,
organizational structures, or management behavior required? What changes to
Managing the Digital Firm, Seventh Canadian Edition
organizational processes would be required by each alternative? What
management policy would be required to implement each alternative?
4. Evaluate each course of action. Evaluate each alternative using the facts and
issues you identified earlier, given the conditions and information available.
Identify the costs and benefits of each alternative. Ask yourself “What would be the
likely outcome of this course of action? State the risks as well as the rewards
associated with each course of action. Is your recommendation feasible from a
technical, operational, and financial standpoint? Be sure to state any assumptions on
5. Recommend the best course of action. State your choice for the best course of
action and provide a detailed explanation of why you made this selection. You