The Complete AFM433 Case
Approach
Module 11
AFM433 Case Approach
Current Assessment SP’s Analysis Recommendation Implementation
Case Diagnostic
- Situation Size-up
- Role
- Requirement
- Stakeholders
External Analysis
Financial - Porter’s
Strategic - PEST
Size-up Decision - Considerations
Possibilities
- SQ Matrix - Risk Analysis
SQ Simplified Internal Analysis
Strategy BMC - SP1 - Resource
. Gap Recommend
. - Profitability ation
Advantage? - SPN
Trigger SWOT
Barriers
2
AFM433 Case Approach
Current Assessment SP’s Analysis Recommendation Implementation
Case Diagnostic
- Situation Size-up
- Role
- Requirement
- Stakeholders
External Analysis
Financial - Porter’s
Strategic - PEST
Size-up Decision - Considerations
Possibilities
- SQ Matrix - Risk Analysis
SQ Simplified Internal Analysis
Strategy BMC - SP1 - Resource
. Gap Recommend
. - Profitability ation
Advantage? - SPN
Trigger SWOT
Barriers
3
AFM433 Case Approach
Current Assessment SP’s Analysis Recommendation Implementation
Case Diagnostic
- Situation Size-up
- Role
- Requirement
- Stakeholders
External Analysis
Financial - Porter’s
Strategic - PEST
Size-up Decision - Considerations
Possibilities
- SQ Matrix - Risk Analysis
SQ Simplified Internal Analysis
Strategy BMC - SP1 - Resource
. Gap Recommend
. - Profitability ation
Advantage? - SPN
Trigger SWOT
Barriers
4
Phase I – Current Assessment
• Step 1: Status Quo Strategy
i. Strategic Objective. Strive for specific, measurable, single-goal, and time
bound (but depends on the case facts)
ii. Value Prop. This is the product or service offering from the eyes of the customer
and lists the reasons why the customer goes to the company instead of a competitor.
List as many points, in priority sequence, as you like. Don’t forget the “toothpaste”.
iii. Target Customer. Describe the target customer(s) and make sure to include
geographic scope. List as many points, in priority sequence, as you like.]
iv. Internal Advantage. What are the key capabilities deployed by the company
to deliver the Value Proposition? List as many points, in priority sequence, as you
like
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Phase I – Current Assessment
• Step 1: Status Quo Strategy – Continued:
v. Strategy Statement. Summarize in a concise Strategy Statement
that is approximately 35 words (this is a guide not a requirement). The four
components should include: 1) “To” (Strategic Objective), 2) “By offering”
(Value Proposition”), 3) “To” (Customer), 4) “Through” (Internal Advantage).
You do not need to do a Value Proposition map or Activity Systems map for
case solutions.
6
AFM433 Case Approach
Current Assessment SP’s Analysis Recommendation Implementation
Case Diagnostic
- Situation Size-up
- Role
- Requirement
- Stakeholders
External Analysis
Financial - Porter’s
Strategic - PEST
Size-up Decision - Considerations
Possibilities
- SQ Matrix - Risk Analysis
SQ Simplified Internal Analysis
Strategy BMC - SP1 - Resource
. Gap Recommend
. - Profitability ation
Advantage? - SPN
Trigger SWOT
Barriers
7
Phase I – Current Assessment
• Step 2: Competitive Advantage
i. Financial Size-up. Quickly review the financial statements. Assess revenue
- what sources? how large? Is it growing? (How does it compare to the
competition?). Assess profitability - cost structure and margins, as well as overall
net profit and EBITDA – is the company profitable? Are they generating cash?
what is the trend? (and how do they compare to the competition?). Assess
financial position - How much cash do they have, how much do they generate,
and what is their debt? How well positioned are they to finance strategic
possibilities. AND provide a concise summary of the financial size-up.
ii. S-BMC. Build the Simplified Business Model Canvas. Use your SQ Strategy
components for the top part of the model. Identify revenue streams and cost
structure, and emphasize how they are different from the competition or create
advantage.
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Phase I – Current Assessment
• Step 2: Competitive Advantage
i. Strategic and Financial Alignment. Does the company
have a good strategy? (i.e. how does the internal advantage (capabilities)
support the external advantage (value prop and target customer). Is the
strategy leading to strong financial results? (i.e. how does strategy above
the line convert to financial results below the line, and how is this different
than the competition). Think this through to determine whether the
company has a competitive advantage, and summarize your thinking to
justify your answer.
ii. Do they have an advantage?. Make with a concise
statement of whether they have an advantage and why, using the points
you came up with above to support your answer.
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AFM433 Case Approach
Current Assessment SP’s Analysis Recommendation Implementation
Case Diagnostic
- Situation Size-up
- Role
- Requirement
- Stakeholders
External Analysis
Financial - Porter’s
Strategic - PEST
Size-up Decision - Considerations
Possibilities
- SQ Matrix - Risk Analysis
SQ Simplified Internal Analysis
Strategy BMC - SP1 - Resource
. Gap Recommend
. - Profitability ation
Advantage? - SPN
Trigger SWOT
Barriers
10
Phase I – Current Assessment
• Step 3: Trigger
Identify the major external event(s) (challenges or
opportunities) that have caused the company to re-
evaluate its strategy. Be concise.
11
AFM433 Case Approach
Current Assessment SP’s Analysis Recommendation Implementation
Case Diagnostic
- Situation Size-up
- Role
- Requirement
- Stakeholders
External Analysis
Financial - Porter’s
Strategic - PEST
Size-up Decision - Considerations
Possibilities
- SQ Matrix - Risk Analysis
SQ Simplified Internal Analysis
Strategy BMC - SP1 - Resource
. Gap Recommend
. - Profitability ation
Advantage? - SPN
Trigger SWOT
Barriers
12
Phase II – Strategic Possibilities (SP’s)
• Step 1: Identification of SP’s
– A Strategic Possibility is a significant alternative, difficult to undo and
mutually exclusive of the other strategic possibilities
– These are typically identified in the case (vs. in the “real world” where you
will need to brainstorm to identify them)
– Status Quo strategy is considered an SP and must be included
• Step 2: Barrier Conditions
– Identify barrier conditions that may exist for your Strategic Possibilities that
are so high that you will eliminate that SP now and not carry it through to the
Analysis phase
– After barrier elimination, the ideal target is 2-3 SP’s (including SQ) to take
through to the Analysis phase
13
AFM433 Case Approach
Current Assessment SP’s Analysis Recommendation Implementation
Case Diagnostic
- Situation Size-up
- Role
- Requirement
- Stakeholders
External Analysis
Financial - Porter’s
Strategic - PEST
Size-up Decision - Considerations
Possibilities
- SQ Matrix - Risk Analysis
SQ Simplified Internal Analysis
Strategy BMC - SP1 - Resource
. Gap Recommend
. - Profitability ation
Advantage? - SPN
Trigger SWOT
Barriers
14
Phase III – Analysis
• Step 1: External Analysis – Porter 5 Forces
– Define the Industry. Define the industry that the company operates in. Ensure that your
industry is tightly defined but broad enough to encompass all of your SP’s
– Industry Analysis. Complete the following chart for the industry. Remember that you do
not consider the company in this step of the analysis. List as many relevant case facts (in bullet
point format) as you can, in order of importance, in the third column to support your assessment of
the Strength of the Force.
Force Strength of Force (Low / Case Facts to Support
Medium / High)
Competitors L/M/H?
Buyers L/M/H?
(Customers)
Suppliers L/M/H?
Threat of New L/M/H?
Entrants
Threat of L/M/H?
Substitutes
– Implications on each Strategic Possibility. State the Implications (So What)
of your analysis on each of your SP’s. Write 1 to 3 sentences for the Implications on each Strategic
Possibility. You are giving consideration for weaker forces that you can exploit or are exploiting
(Opportunities) and stronger forces that you will need to mitigate or are mitigating against (Threats).
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Phase III – Analysis
• Step 2: External Analysis – PEST
– Trend Analysis. Complete the following chart for the trends. Remember that
you do not consider the company in this step of the analysis. List as many relevant
case facts (in bullet point format) as you can, in order of importance, in the second
column to support your assessment of that trend category. If there are no case facts
to support a Trend Category, it is fine to leave the Case Facts to Support column
blank.
Trend Category Case Facts to Support
Political
Economic
Social
Technological
– Implications on each Strategic Possibility. State the Implications (So
What) of your analysis on each of your SP’s. Write 1 to 3 sentences for the
Implications on each Strategic Possibility. You are giving consideration for favourable
trends that you can exploit or are exploiting (Opportunities) and unfavourable trends
that you will need to mitigate or are mitigating against (Threats).
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Phase III – Analysis
• Step 3: Internal Analysis – Resource Gap
– Resource Gap Analysis. Complete the following chart for the company’s
Physical, Human, Intangible/Intellectual, and Financial Resources. List as many
relevant case facts (in bullet point format) as you can in each Resource category, in
order of importance, to support your assessment of the Current Resources (Status
Quo) and the resources needed to fill the gap to do your other Strategic Possibilities
Resource Current Resources Resources needed to Resources needed to
(Status Quo) fulfill SP #1 fulfill SP #2
Physical
Human
Intangible
Financial
– Implications on each Strategic Possibility. State the Implications (So
What) of your analysis on each of your SP’s. Write 1 to 3 sentences for the
Implications on each Strategic Possibility. You are giving consideration for the
company’s Strengths and Weaknesses.
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Phase III – Analysis
• Step 4: Internal Analysis – Financial
– Financial Analysis. Perform financial analyses for each your
SP’s in order to quantitatively compare each of your alternatives.
State all of your assumptions. Your detailed Financial Analysis will
be in the Appendix of your Report. A summary of your Financial
Analysis will be in the body of your Report. If the case does not
have financial information, then state the financial information that
you would like to have and what analyses you would do if you had
it
– Implications on each Strategic Possibility. State the
Implications (So What) of your analysis on each of your SP’s.
Write 1 to 3 sentences for the Implications on each Strategic
Possibility. You are interpreting your financial analysis and stating
what it means for your SP.
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Phase III – Analysis
• Step 5: SWOT Analysis
– SWOT Analysis. Complete the following chart for the company’s Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. From your External Analyses (Porter 5 Forces
and PEST) list the major Opportunities and Threats that you identified, in order of
importance, to support your assessment. From your Internal Analyses (Resource Gap
and Financial) list the major Strengths and Weaknesses that you identified, in order of
importance, to support your assessment. You prepare only one (1) SWOT analysis as it
is a summary of your findings from your Internal and External analyses
Strengths Weaknesses
Opportunities Threats
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Phase III – Analysis
• Step 5: SWOT Analysis – Continued
– SWOT Analysis – Implications on each Strategic Possibility. State
the Implications (So What) of your analysis on each of your SP’s. Write 1 to 3
sentences for the Implications on each Strategic Possibility. You are interpreting your
SWOT analysis and stating what it means for your SP
– Elimination of Strategic Possibilities. Are any SP’s clearly not a good fit? If
yes, drop that SP and do NOT take it through to the Recommendation phase.
Explain:
o Which one(s) is not a good fit?
o Why does it not fit - use SWOT
o Obvious Barrier conditions?
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AFM433 Case Approach
Current Assessment SP’s Analysis Recommendation Implementation
Case Diagnostic
- Situation Size-up
- Role
- Requirement
- Stakeholders
External Analysis
Financial - Porter’s
Strategic - PEST
Size-up Decision - Considerations
Possibilities
- SQ Matrix - Risk Analysis
SQ Simplified Internal Analysis
Strategy BMC - SP1 - Resource
. Gap Recommend
. - Profitability ation
Advantage? - SPN
Trigger SWOT
Barriers
21
Phase IV – Recommendation
• Step 1: Decision Matrix
– Complete the following Decision Matrix chart. You determine the number of decision
criteria based on the case:
DC #1 DC #2 DC #3 DC #4 DC #5
SP #1
SP #2
SP #3
– Develop decision criteria that are a mix of quantitative and qualitative criteria
– State outside of the chart, why you chose each decision criteria
– Your decision criteria are a set of specific criteria that can be used to evaluate ALL
Strategic Possibilities with clear links to your Situation Size Up and Analysis Phases.
When determining decision criteria, considerations include where applicable and are not
limited to: alignment with the corporate mission/vision/values, achievement of corporate
goals, adherence to corporate constraints, alignment with key decision maker(s)
preferences, alignment with key success factors, and leverage of any major SWOT
element deemed important.
– When completing the matrix, ensure that your results are comparable and measurable
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Phase IV – Recommendation
• Step 2: Recommendation
– Make a recommendation
– Your recommendation will directly flow from your
Decision Matrix
– State: “I recommend that the company proceed
with __________ (state your recommended
SQ/SP(s)) because _________ (list supporting
points from decision matrix).”
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AFM433 Case Approach
Current Assessment SP’s Analysis Recommendation Implementation
Case Diagnostic
- Situation Size-up
- Role
- Requirement
- Stakeholders
External Analysis
Financial - Porter’s
Strategic - PEST
Size-up Decision - Considerations
Possibilities
- SQ Matrix - Risk Analysis
SQ Simplified Internal Analysis
Strategy BMC - SP1 - Resource
. Gap Recommend
. - Profitability ation
Advantage? - SPN
Trigger SWOT
Barriers
24
Phase V – Implementation
• Step 1: Five (5) Implementation
Considerations
– List five (5) implementation considerations to
ensure the successful implementation of your
Recommendation(s). Be specific
– Your Resource Gap Analysis and SWOT Analyses
are great tools to help you identify implementation
considerations
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Phase V – Implementation
• Step 2: Risk Assessment
– Identify the top risks in terms of high likelihood and
high impact
– Provide a risk event card for those risks (risk
event, outcome/impact, risk indicators,
mitigation/actions)
– The exam case will indicate how many risks to
identify
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AFM433 Case Approach
Current Assessment SP’s Analysis Recommendation Implementation
Case Diagnostic
- Situation Size-up
- Role
- Requirement
- Stakeholders
External Analysis
Financial - Porter’s
Strategic - PEST
Size-up Decision - Considerations
Possibilities
- SQ Matrix - Risk Analysis
SQ Simplified Internal Analysis
Strategy BMC - SP1 - Resource
. Gap Recommend
. - Profitability ation
Advantage? - SPN
Trigger SWOT
Barriers
27
Recommended Exam Timing
epare the case 45
sizeup, advantage, trigger and SPs 30
WOT 60
mmendation, implementation and risk 30
download/printing 15
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