Case Memos

The course includes 8 major cases.  On the daily schedule each major case has "case memo" listed in the assignment column.

We write case memos for these major cases.  Each student must write a case memo for 7 of the 8 cases, including "Do I Hear 5 Million Euros?" and "Emerson Electric."  In other words you may skip writing a memo for 1 case or you may write memos for all of the cases and the professor will drop your lowest memo grades in computing your overall memo grade  (But everyone must write a memo for Do I Hear 5 Million Euros?" and "Emerson Electric.").

Instructions:

Address the memo to a major decision-maker in the case.  The memo should set out your advice to this person.  Use the following two-section format. 

1. Main issue, question or problem toward which the decision-maker should be directing his or her attention. In other words, what needs to be decided or solved or fixed? (usually 1sentence)

2. The course of action that you recommend and your reasoning.  (This section is the bulk of the memo).  Your reasoning may be based the pros and cons of the possible courses of action.    Make extensive use of  facts from the case support your reasoning.  Include any important limitations/downsides to your recommended approach or major assumptions. You must take a stand.  For example, it is not sufficient to merely recommend that "more study is needed" or that "the parties must work out their differences."

Use the following format:

• 1 page maximum

• 12 point Times New Roman font

• .75 inch margins on all sides

• Double space, except for "to, from, date" section, which you may single space

• Omit fancy headings, company logos and the like

The one-page maximum may seem like more of a curse than a blessing  because, as you start writing, you will likely have much more than a page's worth of good ideas.  However the page limit is intended to help you focus on your best ideas and to learn to present your analysis succinctly--an important competency for successful business people.

You may work with other students to analyze the case.  However, your memo should be your own work: Do not collaborate with others when writing the memo itself.  You may have fellow students read and give you feed back on your memo for style and content (the instructor encourages this practice). You may then change your memo in response to their suggestions.  However, students should not do the actual memo writing together. 

For some cases the instructor may assign you to answer a series of questions or perform some other exercise, rather than follow the memo format outlined above.  In this case, this deliverable would count as a memo in the grading calculus for the course.

For most cases, the instructor provides discussion questions or "questions to get you started."  These questions are to help you get going on your memo or help prepare you for class discussion.   However, unless instructed otherwise, merely typing out the answers to these questions does not fulfill the memo requirement.