Assessment 1: Case Study Analysis Report (10%)

 

The Case Study Analysis Report is to be undertaken individually.  The following guidelines are provided to assist you in preparing for your Case Study Analysis Report.

You are required to undertake an analysis of one Case Study (available on the Learning Hub at the end of week 2) and prepare a Business Report in which you present your analysis.  The case provides a real-life scenario that relates to the content of the topics listed above. Therefore the case provides you with the opportunity to apply what you have learnt in class to a realistic situation.

Your business report will discuss a set of issues relating to the case and the topic on which the case is based (provided with the case study).

YOU SHOULD NOT ADDRESS THESE ISSUES AS IF THEY ARE INDEPENDENT QUESTIONS. THEY SHOULD SIMPLY FORM THE BASIS FOR THE ISSUES YOU DISCUSS WITHIN YOUR REPORT

PREPARING REPORTS

 

This assessment requires you to prepare a report, not an essay. In week 3 you will be given guidelines for preparing Business Reports, which you are expected to follow when undertaking this assessment. In the meantime the following points are worth noting.

Reports are very different to essays. Reports tend to be very structured and this structure is achieved by using Headings and Subheadings. There are also a number of different types of reports. You can visit the following RMIT Study and Learning Centre website for information about different types if reports.

http://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/content/reports-0

The report you are preparing is a short report. These reports often include simple headings (with each heading also including sub headings where relevant), such as:

• Title page
• Contents
• Introduction – Purpose of Report
• Background
• Discussion of Issues (using separate subheadings to address main issues
• Recommendations (if relevant)
• Conclusion
• References

When preparing your report remember the following;

• You have been given a set of issues to be addressed in your report. These should not be seen as independent questions. They are issues that should form the basis of your discussion within your report. Therefore they should provide structure to your report your report.
• Headings and subheadings should be descriptive – i.e. they indicate the focus of the section following the heading, so that the reader has some context for the section they are about to read.
• Each section shouldn’t be too long – each section should represent one main point/issue and not have too many paragraphs. If you find you have more than, said, three paragraphs, or very long paragraphs, think about whether you need more subheadings.
• When an argument is presented or a point is made, it should be supported/justified by case information and/or knowledge about the topic.
• Statements should not be made without any attempt to justify the point made.
• Discussion should be relevant and specific to the issue being discussed. General or irrelevant statements should not be made as they confuse the reader, and make the report unfocussed and unclear. It’s better to say nothing than to be irrelevant.
• Sometimes it might be useful to illustrate a point with a quote from the case.
• It’s okay to sometimes use dot points in reports – they’re not essays. Use dot points reasonably sparingly though, and make sure you still justify your arguments. As a general rule, dot points shouldn’t be used to represent the dot points shouldn’t be used to represent the main issues in your report.
• Remember there are rarely “right” answers when analysing cases.

For further information on how to prepare reports please visit the following RMIT Study and Learning Centre website:

The preparation of your Case Study Analysis Report requires you to utilise and further develop the following skills:

 

Critically analyse – the case and the issues it addresses

Reason logically – to consider a point of view after reading the case and then develop that point of view in a commonsense and progressive manner

Clearly communicate – to effectively write (communicate) your thoughts in a manner which is clearly understood and concise (don’t use a lot of words if you are just trying to reach the word limit).

Identify problems – analyse the facts of the case and your knowledge of the topic area to identify problems

Solve problems – to clearly articulate solutions to problems identified

You are encouraged to discuss your views about the cases with other students in the course. This process will assist with your critical analysis as you may be required to defend your point of view and/or consider alternative views that may modify your own.  Also remember that you will have an opportunity to improve your grade for the second case using the feedback provided by your tutor on your first case analysis.