Case Analysis

Though estimates vary it is said that we are exposed to up to 1,000 marketing

messages per day. Behind all of this activity are marketing managers making real

decisions, which will determine the success or failure of their organisations.

Therefore, the actual work of the marketing manager involves making many choices

and ensuring that desired actions and activities happen. It is a very real life activity.

The case study aims to simulate this kind of activity. It puts the student in the shoes

of the marketing decision maker, asking you to make choices and make decisions

based on the information in front of you. To many this can be quite daunting but the

purpose of this note is to guide you through the process of case analysis which will

help you to make better decisions in both imaginary and real business situations.

In short, case studies are written descriptions of sample business situations. Those

situations can be real or fictional, though in most instances they describe real

organisations. They come in many shapes and sizes. For example, the marketing

spotlights at the start of each chapter of Foundations of Marketing might be

described as a short case, which illustrates a business situation and could be the

subject of analysis and discussion. In contrast, some cases can be much longer and

extremely detailed. Cases may focus on industries, large global organisations, small,

entrepreneurial organisations, not-for-profit organisations and so on. The greater the

variety of cases examined, the more the student is exposed to the richness of

organisational life.

From a tutoring point of view, there are four ways of dealing with cases. These