Determining if the organization faces a problem that requires action on the part of managers

The logical process of analyzing a case study involves: (1) Determining if the organization faces a problem that requires action on the part of managers; (2) the nature of this problem, including both direct and in-direct causes of the problem; and (3) the specific actions that should be taken in order to improve or rectify the situation that the firm faces. Students are typically asked to role-play by assuming that they are either an individual identified in the case or an individual being asked to provide specific advice to the central organization in the case study.

Specifically, students are provided with a case study document that recounts a real management challenging facing a manager/management team. Students then analyze the situation by defining the Primary Problem, developing Alternative Solutions, and creating an Implementation Plan that covers the short/medium/long term. This is a written assignment and students will prepare a report of not more than seven (7) pages in length (single-spaced, 12-point font, 1 inch margins), not including a required Executive Summary.

(Here is the case information, the whole text is on the file below. )

William Blair Funds investing for the future: The Global/Local Challenge of Online Groceries

Introduction:

The global COVID-19 pandemic has forced billions of people into their homes and out of retail stores. The result has been a massive shift towards online shopping which has hugely benefited e-commerce companies. In addition to being one of the world’s most valuable companies, Amazon is now also the world’s most valuable brand, having expanded from books to almost everything consumers want to buy. Well, almost everything. For a company like Amazon, that seeks to make life more convenient for consumers, developing an online grocery always seemed like a natural fit, and they have long coveted this valuable, if competitive, global market. But success in this market has proven elusive, both for Amazon and other would-be online grocery retailers. One of the key questions surrounding, what most expect will be a robust online market for groceries even when the current pandemic passes, is whether the online world of groceries was likely to be more international or even global when traditionally, grocery retailing had remained dominated by domestic competitors.

William Blair & Company is an American investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Chicago. The company was established in 1935 and has almost $100B USD in assets under management. Their International Growth Fund looks to invest into companies that are likely to experience growth in the next couple of years, over and above what is expected for the industries in which they are operating. In other words, they are looking to select the companies that are best positioned to out-perform their competitors.

As a new investment analyst with William Blair, you have been asked to look at the market for online groceries and to select one company from either the United States, Canada or the United Kingdom which you believe is well-positioned to outperform over the next few years in this market. The company can be an existing grocery retailer such as Loblaw, Wal-Mart or Morrisons, or one of the app developers such as Instacart or an online retailer such as Amazon. You will want to consider the business model of the company (how they make money), the market(s) in which they operate, and the likelihood of success of their approach to on-line grocery shopping compared to the others being developed.

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