1. What I know about the company:

type of the company

products

location

size (If the case involves more than one company, you could repeat this information for the second company).

2. What I know about the people in the case:

name

position

other information (how long with the company, attitudes, accomplishments) (repeat for each person).

3. What I know about the problem in the case:

A. Chronology of events (direct - what happened first, what happened next, then happened this, this finally happened)

B. Main issues

Quantitative aspects (financial, marketing, production, data)

Qualitative aspects (attitudes, emotions, conflicts)

Harvard Business School Format of Case Analysis:

I. SUMMARY (a summary of what has happened, takes a paragraph of 3-5 sentences, not more.)

II. THE PROBLEM (a 7-8 words sentence, counting all words, a statement, not a question or an ellipse)

III. Cast of characters

a. People (name, job, title, age, facts related to the person)

b. Institutions (name, legal status, role)

IV. CHRONOLOGY (establishing reverse time sequence - just the basic facts, first item being the most recent, most distant event - last)

V. ISSUES (concepts that get in the way of solving the problem, both from inside and outside)

VI. OPTIONS (possible decisions of whoa to do), more than 1, and for each:

a. Advantages (2-3)

b. Disadvantages (not less, balanced to the advantages)

VII. RECOMMENDATION (taking the first option)

17. Stating the course of action;

18. Reasoning and Rationale (reason for choosing the one not one of the others)

VIII. PLAN OF ACTION (as extensive and detailed as possible)

19. Step one: first part, second part;

20. Step two.