Guidelines to write the Case Analytical Report
There is no pre-set formula for preparing a case analysis because companies differ in focus, size, and complexity. Students must apply strategic management concepts and techniques they learn and experience to their case analyses. It is important to collect information about the company of the concerned case and its environment from various sources that are relevant and reliable. In writing the report, students are advised to discuss particular strategic issues that will concern the organization. Students are also advised to avoid vague terminology, redundant words, acronyms, abbreviations, and biased language in writing and presenting the reports. Tables, figures, and charts may be used to help communicate important issues. The case study report should be prepared collectively by all the members of the group. Each member of the group might research two or more of the steps and compile the information to formulate a proper structure for the report. Students must remember that their research should be done with the idea that they are acting as consultants to the organization or as a top-level management team. Students must identify current sources for company given in the case study and use them to write and analyze their cases.

The submission of a successful case analytical report and obtaining an excellent grade will substantially depend on the extent to which the group designs and writes the report in an effective manner. Hence, each student group is advised to consider the following guidelines before designing and writing the reports. Your report must consist of the following elements.
FRONT MATTER Title/Cover page Group Contributory Sheet Ethics Disclaimer Declaration Acknowledgments Table of Contents List of Exhibits (Tables, Graphs, etc.) List of Abbreviations Compulsory Compulsory Compulsory Optional Compulsory Optional Optional

BODY CONTENT / SUBJECT MATTER As organized by the Group BACK MATTER Appendix: These could include: Annexure/s such as Supportive Graphs, Maps, flowcharts etc. Financial and Non-financial Statistics and related analyses Enclosure/s such as Letters of permission/confirmation for data collection etc. List of References Bibliography

[Include your Department Name here]
Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce
University of Sri Jayewardenepura

[Include your Degree name here] Year IV - Semester I

BUS 4320 Strategic Management

[Title of the Case]

Due Date of Submission [Date]

Group Number [#]

Lecturer in Charge [Lecturer’s Name]

Word Count [Words…..]

Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce
University of Sri Jayewardenepura

Year IV - Semester I

BUS 4320 Strategic Management Group Contributory Sheet
Group No: ______ Name of the Lecturer in charge: ________________________________ Group Leader's Name: _______________________________
Department Name of the Student 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Index Number (CPM) Reg. Number (MC) Signature

Ethics Disclaimer Declaration
Group No: _____ Group Leader's Name: _________________________________
The undersigned group members herewith declare that the contents included in this report is meeting with the acceptable ethical standards and the policies of the Department of Business Administration and do not count for plagiarism and also assure that the data/information contained in this report will be used only for the intended academic purpose.
Department Name of the Student 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Index Number (CPM) Reg. Number (MC) Signature

Specific Guidelines for report formatting and presentation Use left aligned topical method of text organization
When writing the report you are required to adopt the left aligned topical method of text organization with text justification as the accepted method to write academic assignment reports. The following text presentation example is provided for your understanding.

1.

Main Topic xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

1.1 Sub topic
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. 1.1.1 Sub-sub topic Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx.

How to present important body text Supplements
How to present an Exhibit How to highlight an Important Word, Phrase, Sentence or a Paragraph How to present a Citation How to present a Quotation or a Comment How to present a Footnote How to present a Header How to present Footer How to present an Internal Reference for an Appendix

How to present an Exhibit
Exhibit 1 - Model of Individual Behaviour BELIEF ABOUT AN OBJECT ATTITUDE TOWARDS AN OBJECT VALUE HELD AS IMPORTANT
Source: Luthens F. (1992), p.44

INTENTION TO BEHAVIOUR

OBSERVABLE BEHAVIOUR

How to present a Table
What is a Table?
A tabular framework used to arrange textual and numerical data in columns and rows. (Mostly used when the reader needs facts and figures to justify textual presentation)
A Table in a dissertation should indicate the following pieces of information. 1. Table Number in Arabic Numerals 2. Title of the Table indicating the contents of the table 3. Source of the Table (1 point below the size of the table text) 4. Key to the abbreviations or vital facts/figures included in the Table 5. Appropriate reference and description about the Table in the body text

The Table/s should be included in the List of Tables in the front matter of the report. The Source of the table/s (if taken from secondary source) should be included as a reference item in the List of References in the back matter of the report.

Example:
In conclusion, the statistical analysis of the study findings confirmed that the overall labour productivity performance of the foreign owned factories was significantly better than the locally owned factories of similar stature. Refer Table 4 below for descriptive statistics.

Example of a lengthy Quotation or Comment – According to the Harvard referencing style:
“Many cultural values relating to Society, Religion (Buddhism) and Organisations relate to individual behaviour and personality in our organisations. Therefore, one must view the cultural problem not as a secondary, but as a central problem in understanding managerial behaviour. Culture is the central factor for many managerial problems that Sri Lankan organisations experience today. Therefore, an understanding of the underlying cultural assumptions of the people involved in the management of these enterprises are of extreme importance to enhance the overall performance in these organisations” (Nanayakkara, 1983, p.13)

If you are using the Harvard style then the full details of the above citation is given under the List of References in the back matter.

Example of a footnote
The marketing plan1 prepared has been very useful in drafting the initial project reports and the project estimations for the ensuing year. However, the vision of the company does not encourage businesses in the area of instant consumer goods using colorants and preservatives.

__________________________________
1

The marketing plan was prepared for PLT division which produced culinary items for the year 2002.

Example of a Header in the Report
BUS 4320 - Strategic Management Case Analytical Report on Apple Inc.

Example of Footer in the Report
Department of Business Administration – Group 03

Page: 1

How to present Citations
The inductive as well as deductive method of investigations of the positivist tradition has produced reliable and valid results in many previous occasions for similar studies of this nature (Roger, 1990, p. 5). In a study of individual behaviour, Edwards (1994) found that perception is the process of creating an internal representation of the external world. It is a process of interpreting what people’s senses provide in order to give meaning to the environment they live in. The main contributory factors for this industrial boom are not significant to explain this deviation (Kelegama and Epaarachchi, 1991). Or if there are three authors then the citation could be presented as (Kelegama, Epaarachchi and Wijedasa, 1991). If the number of authors exceeds more than three then the citation is presented as (Kelegama et al., 1991). Organisational culture as a foundational factor has a strong relationship with the organisational performance (Nanayakkara, 1985; Shein, 1991; Carson, 1996). Or if there are multiple joint authors at different year of publication then the citation could be presented as (Nanayakka and Wijedasa, 1980; Wheelen and Hungar, 1985). There are 400,000 persons directly and close to 1,000,000 indirectly employed in 834 large, medium and small factories as at end 2008 (Central Bank of Sri Lanka, 2008). Together, the private sector has employed around 3.2 million workforce as at end 2006 which amounts to about 40% of the total active work force in Sri Lanka (Department of Labour, 2006).

How to present an Internal Reference for an Appendix in the Report
The findings in this report come from a survey carried out in three major supermarkets. A total of 800 women were interviewed. The interview questions and results can be found in Appendix A. Recommendations and conclusions have been drawn up from a statistical reading of the findings. While 72% of readers are generally satisfied with the content, almost 70% would like to see a travel section and 48% would like to see fewer pages devoted to features on cooking. Price is an important issue for a staggering 94% of readers (Refer Appendix B for a detailed analysis of the study results). LIST OF REFERENCES – According to Harvard System
Central Bank of Sri Lanka (2008), Annual Report, Colombo. Department of Labour (2006), Labour Statistics of Sri Lanka, [online] available at http://www.labourdept.gov.lk/statistics.htm, accessed on January 15, 2008. Edwards, J.R. (1994), The study of congruence in organisational behaviour: Critique and a proposed alternative, Organisational Behaviour and Human Decision Process, p. 51. Kelegama, S., Epaarachchi, R. (1991), “Productivity, Competitiveness and Job Quality in Garment Industry in Sri Lanka”, discussion paper, presented at the International Labour Organization South Asia Multidisciplinary Advisory Team (SAAT), New Delhi, pp. 234-56. Luthens, F. (1992), Organisational Behaviour, 7th edi., Mc.Graw - Hall, Inc., New York - USA. Roger, C.R. (1990), “Inductive and Deduction reasoning applied in cultural studies”, Journal of Organisational Psychology”, Vol. 6, No.3, pp. 27-35. Schein, E.H. (1985), Organisational culture and leadership, Jossey Bass Publishers, San Francisco-USA.

BIBLIOGRAPGHY – According to Harvard System
Easterby, S., Thorpe, R. and Lowe, A. (1991), Management Research: An Introduction, London: Sage pp. 254-284. Hofstede, G. (1980), Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work related Values, Sage Publications Beverly Hills CA - USA. Peters, J. and Waterman, H. (1982), In Search of Excellence, Harper and Row Publishers, New York - USA. Weerasuriya, S.B. (1996), “Labour productivity in the garment industry of Sri Lanka”, PIM Research Paper, Wee 27. Wijewardene, H, Wimalasiri, S. (1996), “In search of an Asian Style of Management”, Sri Lankan Journal of Management, Vol. 1, No. 2, April-June, pp. 32-36.

All the reference items should be presented according to the Harvard referencing guidelines (Author, Date method) Note: List of reference and bibliography should be presented according to the alphabetical order of the author's surname. Both list of reference and bibliography are generally not text justified.

How to number the pages in the Report
Numbering the Front Matter i ii iii iv v

Numbering the Body Contents/Subject Matter 1 2 3 4 5

Numbering the Back Matter
APPENDIX – A B C D E

How to format the Report
Text type - Times New Roman Text size - 12 (Main topics 15, Sub topics 14, Sub Sub topics 13) Paragraphing – Short paragraphs Line spacing – 1.5 (In between paragraphs and topics 2) Indenting - Optional Text justification – Only the body text appropriately Margins – 1" (Top, Bottom, Left and Right) Page size - A4 Paper type – A reasonably quality white papers

Editing the Report
Once the report is completed it must be edited. The editing process should review the following aspects of the proposal.
Structure Style Tense Flow Vocabulary Spelling Grammar Punctuation Typography : See the structure of the report tally with the table of contents : Make the language more formal and professional in style : Use the simple present, past & future tense appropriately : Ideas must be well linked with topic and sub topic : Use simple and unique sentences, phases and words. : Make sure that there are no spelling mistakes : Make sure that there are no grammatical errors : Make sure that there are no punctuation errors : Make sure that there are no typographical errors

Page Formatting : Make sure page formatting requirement are fulfilled

Colour Printouts: Not allowed

BINDING : Nicely and neatly done (Better not to have transparency sheets in binding the report. This is to be more environmental concerned).

Please remember, 30 marks have been allocated for the group assignment. ***********