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Renewable Energy Corporation – Case Study

Recommended Outline for Case Write-up #1

The following is a recommended outline for a write-up for Case #1.

1. Introduction – one paragraph
   1. Define the situation, including the company’s business model and business strategy overview
   2. Identify alternative actions the company/manager could take
   3. State the conclusion from your external environment, internal resources/capabilities analyses, competitive landscape analysis
   4. State your preferred action plan in a clear thesis statement
2. Body of the paper – 2+ pages
   1. Describe the highlights from your external environment analysis
      1. This should focus only upon the key takeaways from the analysis of the PESTEL forces and the Industry structure, while the details of the analysis should be placed in an appendix.
         1. This can be presented as follows in this example: “As one can see in Appendix 1, the PESTEL and the industry forces that are most impactful on this industry are …”.
         2. Appendix 1 will provide the detailed external environment analysis (including discussion of all the PESTEL forces and each of the five forces) and any diagrams.
      2. This section should also describe the implications from the external environment analysis for the choice of alternatives described in the introduction.
   2. Describe the highlights from your analysis of resources, capabilities and VRIO framework
      1. This should also focus upon the key takeaways from the analysis of the company’s operations in each segment, while the details again should be placed in an appendix.
         1. Similar to the industry discussion, this section will reference the appendix (e.g., As appears in Appendix 2, the company’s critical resources and capabilities are … and the VRIO analysis shows…)
         2. Appendix 2 will provide the detailed discussion of resources and capabilities and the VRIO framework.
      2. This section should similarly describe the implications from the internal analysis for the choice of alternatives described in the introduction.
   3. Describe the highlights from your competitive landscape analysis
      1. This should also focus upon the key takeaways from the analysis of the competitor analysis and rivalry, while the details should be placed in an appendix.
         1. Similar to the earlier sections, this section will reference the appendix (e.g., As appears in Appendix 3, the company is likely a direct competitor with … and an indirect competitor with …)
         2. Appendix 3 will provide the detailed discussion of competitor analysis and rivalry.
      2. This section should similarly describe the implications from the competitor analysis and rivalry for the choice of alternatives described in the introduction
   4. Discussion – 1 page
      1. Elaborate upon how your preferred option is the better for the company in this situation than each of the other alternatives considered.
      2. If room, it is helpful to discuss any challenges or limitations with the best option and how the managers can be overcome these challenges/limitations during implementation.
   5. Summary – 1 paragraph
      1. Summarize the situation and your recommendation
   6. Appendix
      1. Appendix 1: External environment analysis, including details and figures of PESTEL and Industry Forces
      2. Appendix 2: Internal analysis of resources and capabilities, including the VRIO table
      3. Appendix 3: Competitive landscape, including a framework of competitor analysis.