XBCM (WIL) Case Studies

welcome to will or X become, as I call it, So work.

Integrated learning is really designed for students who

haven't worked before and in the distance space.

This is often not the case,

so we make the most of it in terms of analysing

it as a case study and you'll see in your module manual

there is a section explaining what a case that is is

about and how we will use this and work integrated learning.

So that's what I'm gonna go through now just to explain

the components. And really, what the objective of will or X P. C. M. S.

Okay,

so this comes a lot from the theory that's in

your case study on page 54 in the module manual and

H,

and the idea is to deal with a real world scenario.

So there's various case studies that could be used and ShopRite checkers.

You've had Unilever.

And when you look at the real world situations

that those businesses in South Africa are involved in,

I'm sure you can see that there's gonna be a lot of higher

order thinking to really analyse the situations in which they find themselves,

especially in today's volatile operating environment.

And then we put ourselves in the shoes of what it

would be like to be a manager at those businesses,

or at least a decision maker.

And you will be a consultant or a

company that would be advising the case study company

on some issues around strategy and also specific to

your third year core discipline for your degree,

some of the issues that are specifically relevant for you.

All right,

so there is some of the theory about what the

case study is and what the intention is behind this.

And the reason why I'm bringing this up now is that part of the exercise in

completing your portfolio evidence will be to create

a reflective essay on what you've learned.

So really,

this is a good idea to think about some of the issues that you should be

learning so that at least you can write reflectively about them at a later stage.

All right,

so just the analysis process and how do we approach this

whole idea of analysing the specific business as a case study?

You'll be working in teams so very much a real world scenario and those of you that

are working and have worked in teams know that

that brings a whole new dimension to things.

So these positives and negatives and it's a learning experience in both.

So if you haven't yet worked in a team, then this will be a good learning exercise.

So the Shoprite case study you will see on page 62 in an extra eye,

and you want to go and read through that case city That is just your starting point.

You will be doing a lot more research and

some online Googling and perhaps even some in store,

if you can.

If you live near a ShopRite or one of the ShopRite brands,

you could even go do some primary research there.

But basically you're going to try and understand that,

and then look at the various features in there and

then apply some of the theory that you've used.

Now you've done multiple years of business management, but in actual fact,

most of the theory you can get out of your first year BMG book.

So I hope you hang on to that that Erasmus book

and you're gonna look at particular issues

that are raised through various questions,

which I'll show you later.

And then you will come up with some solutions, some ideas,

some alternative ways of thinking and then present your results.

Okay,

so if we have a look at the particular steps that we would follow their then

so you need to have an overview of that case study so on your own.

Without your group,

you should have read through the case study and understood a

little bit about ShopRite checkers in this case and understood what the

business is about in the various features that are brought up

in that case study that is in your module manual election.

I

all right, and then you're trying to identify the central issues,

and these will come through from the questions and

you'll see those in the amateurs as well.

So there's sort of generic ones and then the specific ones for your

discipline that will be in various parts of an extra K,

which will go through later as well.

But the questions really tell you what the central issues are

that you're going to write about in your analysis now,

the issues of prompts or starting points you're not going to put into your P o e.

Question one. Why is ShopRite checkers, or why is Unilever a good employer?

And then you answer? It's not an assignment.

It's a professional consulting kind of doctor that you would present if you

were hired by ShopRite to do this analysis to their management team,

So you certainly wouldn't put questions in there.

Those are just to guide you in terms of

what you should be writing about in your portfolio.

So your central issues from each so the question.

Are ShopRite checkers a good employer?

You could pose that as a heading in your portfolio, saying ShopRite as an employer,

for example,

all right,

and then you need to go and actually find

out the answers to that by analysing the organisation.

Look at its website. Look at what news reports and other analysts have said about it.

See what's news and topical. What are they doing with their share price?

Has there been any particular issues that have been in the news?

Whether they're positive or negative, have they won awards?

So if you're looking again at that idea of them as an employer,

have they been in the news for perhaps a an award as a

employer in the National Inter Organisational Awards for top employer of the year.

Or what about as a retailer of the year?

Are they the top or the bottom retailer in South Africa?

So there's all sorts of things you can look at their and and really,

it's up to you in terms of how you want to engage in this and how you want to

analyse it.

Alright and then the conducting additional research.

You do need to base your,

especially when you ask the question when you asked to make a recommendation or,

for example, the alternative analysis of the

vision or mission statement.

You can't just thumb suck that or, you know,

base it on something that you assume we'll be right you do.

You need to base it on theory.

So your additional research from your textbooks or from

other valid sources we know about credible sources already.

You want to at least back up your statements with some credible sources,

and that's going to require some additional research as well.

All right,

and then you want to be able to justify your conclusions

and because a lot of your research as I've just said,

it's going to be based on valid sources.

You can justify through facts through figures

through theories that will state well.

This is a better alternative mission statement because, according to Erasmus,

these are the three criteria that vision and mission must contain,

and you back it up with particular reference sources that are credible.

But then also, you use visual elements, so this is gonna come through very,

very strongly.

It is a professional document. It is not an assignment.

It is not an academic assignment.

So all of the rule book that you've had for your other

modules in terms of layout and stuff goes out the window.

Because if you've ever seen a professional document,

they are not all identical.

They use the Maybe it's a consulting agency,

which you can think of your group as being.

They use their style. You bring your own personality to to use white space.

You use visuals, you use graphics.

You use creativity and presenting your results both written and oral e.

So that means when you are getting points across,

you highlight the key things you make.

Make it readable.

You have an executive summary you display something

in an type of infographic or a diagram,

or use a picture where you can to explain what you what.

You're trying to get across use tables,

so that is how you're going to really get your

point across and you'll see that there's any marks.

Additionally, for that as well.

Okay,

so that present the presentation of your actual results when you present them,

you're going to be writing your own individual p o e.

However, the questions that you'll see our for the group to answer as a whole,

those are identical, so safe assign will pick it up as being identical.

That's absolutely fine.

So those you can literally have one person write it and everybody reuse it.

That's absolutely fine.

And then there are a number of questions that are meant to be answered individually,

but you certainly would work as a group and

share your research so you don't duplicate effort.

You could find images.

You could ask one person to do some research and try and find out some states for you.

Whatever it is, you can research, but it has to be written.

The final section that is from the questions and and

the UK have to be written in your own words,

so

share as much as you can conquer the

basic research that's required.

Find sources together, share those, but then write it in your own words.

Okay, well written.

And then, Like I said, it must be a creative presentation of the written work.

But at the same time, it mustn't be immature or sort of childish.

It does need to look businesslike and professional

so you can use templates in Microsoft.

Word you could use, um, Canberra. There's numerous

software.

Maybe you even got something specific that you use at work,

so work to your strengths.

Then there's the oral presentation.

So once you've created your written work,

you will then present sections of that as a group to an audience.

And again, it must be professional.

But also it must have that wow factor you are selling yourself.

You are selling your company so you can't have a

boring looking power point with bullets and no visuals,

and I will definitely give you help with that later.

Because that comes towards the end of the module.

You're gonna have to work out how to pace yourselves. Keep it within a time limit.

Really practise it well,

show off what you've learned and work well as a group together which,

if you practised, should come across quite well.

It will be an online presentation and more about that later.

Alright, so that's how you get through all of the analysis.

And then when you come to the actual case, study questions alright,

you must be specific.

They are asking you a specific issue that you need to look at,

so you need to specifically answer that.

But also it needs to be detailed, comprehensive,

a rich analysis of whatever that is.

So again, if I take the example of, um

being a good employer, what makes a good employer according to whom?

And then if you agree or disagree with those

things in terms of your analysis of the company,

then why did you say that?

Did they win an award? If you're looking at the history question, he has a timeline.

He has the international timeline. He has their local timeline.

This is where we are now,

and when you find sources,

whether it's from the company's website or whether

it's there from your textbook Of course,

it must be in your own words and summarised,

and you want to have exemplary referencing.

Practical examples will be great.

So you could say at the Checkers and Dan Fern, they have got a new concept going.

It is using the fresh stop and

some of the things that they learned from there.

And you can give a detailed,

rich example from something that you know as well as from what's in

the case study and what other analysts and use reports have said.

Okay, so you do want to show off that you've done research,

primary and secondary research, and you reference that,

okay, your selection and arrangement of info must be interesting.

You can use landscape. You must have a framework for each question.

So, for example, draw up a visual timeline for the history question.

You can decide that ahead of time.

Okay, Apart from just the actual analysis of each question

and then meetings, you have to have evidence of minutes.

Formal minutes Use Microsoft's words minutes template.

You need to have a team leader and the secretary,

and everybody needs to have their roles,

and this needs to be documented in your final P O.

E. And these roles are not negotiable.

And you will get nailed if you do not work well with your team.

So you're team leader basically needs to organise stuff

and decide who is going to do what.

By when,

However,

the Secretariat probably has a little bit more

work to do because they need to take the

minutes and then distribute those all and therefore anyone

who is not one of those two roles.

You perhaps give them other work like they must create

the presentation on Power Point or Crazy or Canberra,

or you get them to make an infographic on behalf of everybody.

But you're basically getting everybody to pull their weight because, as I say,

there is a part in the rubric that will very quickly nail you.

If that does not come right.

All right. So Page 70 there are your first two questions.

You can assign that, and since you're gonna have groups of six,

you can probably just need one person to do one

question and one person to do the other and then divide

up the specific questions according to your discipline and note

that you only do one from each of the elections.

So if you are all Strat, you will all be doing an actual K one.

If you have one marketing person in the group,

then they're not going to be doing K one.

They're gonna be doing K two.

You do not answer all of those questions, only the ones relevant to your discipline.

So just remember that, and we will go over that in more detail as well.

Okay,

so that is really all I wanted to say about the case study and how

you approach it and we will go over more in your other sessions and,

of course, our online collapse.

And we will look specifically at what you have done what your group has done. You

document everything.

Make sure that you've got evidence of every single meeting,

everything that you are going to upload to me.

So I've got a record of your continual progress as well.

So just make sure you work consistently and you work hard and you'll be fine

XBCM (WIL) Case Studies

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