BU 481 Strategic Management Winter 2022

Re: Case Analysis Memo (CAM) and Presentation Instruction sheet

The case for used for this assignment is: Pacific Market: Invest, Sell or Stay the Same. The case can be
found in the Content section of MyLearningSpace (MyLS) under Evaluation Information/Case Analysis
Memo.

Students create their own groups of 6-7 members through the “self-registration” group functionality
provided by MyLS. The course instructor retains the right to add individuals to groups to make sure
numbers are even. The CAM group assignment is due on Friday March 11th at noon. The assignment
memo must be submitted as an electronic file that has been set up on MyLS (under Dropboxes).

The following references documents written by Dr. Kenneth Harling and Dr. Detlev Nitsch from Wilfrid
Laurier University are available on MyLS. Students may find these documents helpful in completing this
assignment successfully.

• A framework for decision making.
• Writing a managerial report.
• Report writing by Detlev Nitsch.

This assignment is worth 25% of your course grade. It is divided into two parts: a Case Analysis Memo (20%); and
a presentation (5%).

CASE ANALYSIS MEMO (CAM) (20%)
Rules:

1. Do not use external sources. Limit your analysis to information provided in the case. State any
assumptions you make (e.g. growth rate).

2. You do not need to provide citations for case facts. Exhibits should be briefly noted where they are
relevant in the memo.

3. Assignments are due on or before the assignment hand-in dates and times noted above. Late
assignments will not be accepted and all group members will receive a 0 on the memo .

4. Your CAM must be submitted electronically to “MyLearningSpace” Dropbox “CAM Memos”

i. You are only able to submit one electronic file once so make sure that your file
includes all exhibits.
ii. Submit the file as a Word document file or as a PDF.
iii. Your electronic submission will be automatically submitted to TurnItin.
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Format

The CAM memo is to be a persuasive document that is a maximum one-page, single space with up to an
additional three (3) pages of exhibits. An 11-point font and 1" margins are required for the memo. The
exhibits should use a 1” margin and cannot use a font smaller than 9-point.

Assignments must include a cover page with student name(s) and number, group number, course section,
professor, date, and the name of the case. Each page should have a page number. The cover page does
not count within the total number of pages allowed.

The memo follows the RSP format. It starts with the Recommendation (R) you would make if confronted
with the situation posed by the case. An effective recommendation contains several sentences and makes
use of strategic vocabulary to describe the solution and the problem it solves.

The recommendation part is followed by the Support (S) section which should contain three to six key
points of analysis that support your recommendation. This section represents the bulk of your memo and
needs to be rich with the highlights of your analysis. It makes reference to supporting exhibits, which
contain the bulk of the analysis. This section should avoid “feelings” and value judgments.

The third and last section of the memo is a brief summary Plan (P) describing at a high level how your
recommendation is to be implemented. Students are expected to briefly highlight some key elements that
would need to be addressed should their recommendation be approved.

Exhibits are used to support the arguments you present in the text and should not be used to escape from
the page length restrictions of the memo. Exhibits can include charts, diagrams and financial analysis etc.
They need to be well crafted and concise. The implication of each exhibit should ideally be described in a
short paragraph that appears on that exhibit. The major conclusions drawn from the exhibit should be
reported in the memo itself. The reader should not have to read the exhibit(s) in order to follow and
understand the text of the memo.

Your task is to persuade the reader to your point of view. If you rehash case facts you are wasting both
your time, that of the reader and precious space.

CAM ASSIGNMENT QUESTION

The Management Team at Pacific Market has asked your team to evaluate the firm on its current
strategic position and to evaluate options and provide recommendations on the path forward.
The company is open to considering an option that has not been outlined in the case although
any such option must be well supported. The Management Team expects your recommendation
to be well supported through an analysis (using the analysis tools covered in BU481) of the
external and internal environments as well as, but not limited to, Pacific Market’s current
financial and competitive position.
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CAM Expectations

1. The analysis addresses the important strategic issues. The question for the case is meant to get you
thinking. It does not necessarily point to the critical issues to be addressed in your analysis.
Furthermore, the decisions to be made, or the alternatives to be considered by the case protagonist(s)
are not the issues. Issues are factors that need to be taken into account in making these decisions.
They are internal organizational characteristics or aspects of the external environment that you
identify in your analysis, which make (or ought to make) a difference to the outcome of the decision-
making process.

2. An unsupported recommendation is unacceptable. Examples of unsupported recommendations are:
“ABC Inc. is advised sell off Division Q because it does not fit”; or: “ABC Inc. will create a brand for its
widgets” without indicating what problem this will resolve. Avoid using the words “should” and “must”
because they are value-laden.

3. Your arguments are persuasive. They are based on case facts. Hint: the numbers in the case are
typically important to thorough analysis. Examine your memo to make sure it shows effective use of
the analytical and reasoning skills you have learned in this and other courses at the Lazaridis School.

4. Editing your CAM several times before you hand it in can add the polish that makes your presentation
look professional and catches “soft spots” in your proposal that you can then fix. Do not repeat case
facts; use the memo to make persuasive arguments.

5. The written presentation is clear and professional in presentation. This includes using titles and white
space to break up the text, numbering and titling of exhibits, proper margins, correct spelling, and
denotation of units, pagination and so on.

6. Students must base their analysis on the case and nothing else. The case does not necessarily contain
all the information that was available to the actual decision makers and as a result may not lead to
the same conclusions and recommendations.

Marking

Please note the following:

Situation Marking impact
Electronic copy not submitted by due date and
Time
Student receives an “F” (0 grade) for CAM
assignment.
BU481



PRESENTATION (5%)

You are taking on the role of a management consultant presenting the results of your work to
Pacific Market. This is a PowerPoint presentation that should be designed as a presentation to
senior management. It should communicate the recommendations and related support in a
persuasive manner.

Rules:
1. The presentation should be eight minutes long (it will be timed). It will be followed by a five-
minute Q&A session by the course instructor and classmates. Your instructor may adjust these
durations depending on class size.

2. Every member of the group must present equally. Everyone should also try to participate in the Q&A.

3. The presentation must be uploaded to “MyLearningSpace” Drop box “CAM Presentations” at
least twenty-four hours before the first class of presentation (Session #19).

Presentation Expectations:
1. Your presentation must be based on your CAM submission and not introduce new information, i.e. not in
the memo.

2. Your presentation should be at a level of quality that one would expect when presenting to a
paying client.

3. Make sure you have edited and reviewed your presentation multiple times. Your presentation is
expected to look professional.

4. You should expect to defend your recommendations and analysis during the Q&A session.

Marking:
1. The presenting group will be graded on the quality of their presentation and answers during the
Q&A session.

2. Both style and substance will be considered in grading your presentation.

3. Participation will be marked as follows:

a. Those not presenting can (and are encouraged to) ask questions during the Q&A
session. Participation marks will be earned based on the quality and insightfulness of
the questions one asks as well as peer evaluation (see next point).

b. You will also evaluate at least one other presentations. Part of your participation
mark will be based on the quality of this evaluation.

i. Your instructor will provide you with evaluation forms.
ii. Your instructor will inform you which presentations to evaluate.
iii. At the end of class upload your evaluation to the CAM Peer Evaluation Dropbox.