· Analysis and Recommendations

The case should be written as an executive memo, containing the following sections:

· Executive summary

· Introduction

· Analysis and Recommendations

· Conclusion (brief summary)

Do NOT just answer the questions as in a homework style format. Note the following:

· The cases may be done in groups of three students.

· The case report should be approximately 3 to 5 pages in length (1.5 spaced, 12 point font) with up to 8 pages of appendices (graphs, tables, etc.). Do NOT insert appendices from the case into your report unless you have added your own calculations to the page. If your report is less than 3 pages, you did not go into enough detail.

· The case questions are designed to assist you in focusing on the issues. If you believe that the questions do not fully address the issues, then you may go outside the parameters of the questions.

· In the Introduction, briefly describe the company, the current situation and the issues. However, the most important section is the Analysis and Recommendations. This should be the main component (and longest section) of the report.

· Most importantly, you must take a position regarding the issues and make specific recommendations on how to overcome them. Also, make sure you provide support for you recommendations. Use specific data and/or calculations from your appendices to provide this support.

· Note on the Executive Summary: It should include:

o 2 to 3 sentence overview of the firm

o Brief statement of the situation/problem

o Your recommendation. Include important numbers in the recommendation, but do not show how they are calculated (the calculations should be in an appendix).

o The executive summary should be about ¾ page to 1 page. The intent is that if an executive read only the executive summary, they should be able to understand the situation, the problem, and your recommendations, without reading the rest of the report.