Use the following format to write a case study analysis:
- Provide a brief summary listing the key facts in the case - Inspire Learning Corporation.
- Identify key issues and identify one problem you wish to resolve in your analysis. The problem statement should be clear and concise. A problem statement is typically no more than one sentence in length.
- List recommended solutions or strategies to resolve the problem. Be sure to include the who, what, why, when, where and how of each solution or strategy you propose.
- Analyze each recommended solution or strategy by linking information from course materials and outside research sources. List the pros and cons of each solution. Choose the best solution or strategy and list an explanation why it is the best choice. The reasons for your choice should be clearly linked to your analysis. Be sure to use APA format to cite your sources. (APA formatting is preferable, which includes double-spacing, and headers.)
Write a conclusion.
Rubric
Criteria Superior Work Meets Expectations Fair/Needs Work Incomplete Identification of Key Issues and Problems
- Identifies and demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of the main key issues and problems in the case study.
Analysis and Evaluation of Key Issues and Problems
- Presents an insightful and thorough analysis of all identified issues/problems; includes all necessary calculations.
Problem Statement
Presents an accurate and concise problem statement that reflects the analysis and evaluation of the key issues and problems of the case.
Recommendations on Effective Solutions/Strategies
- Supports diagnosis and opinions with strong arguments and well documented evidence; presents a balanced and critical view; interpretation is both reasonable and objective.
Links to Course Readings and Additional Library Research Sources
- Makes appropriate and powerful connections between identified issues/ problems and the strategic concepts studied in the course readings and lectures; supplements case study with relevant and thoughtful research and documents all sources of information.
Grammar, Spelling, Citation and Reference Formatting
- Excellent writing with correct grammar and spelling; citations & references provided and formatted consistently when needed. APA formatting.
CASE STUDY
Inspire Learning Corporation
When the idea first occurred to her, it seemed like such a win-win situation. Now she wasn't so sure. Marge Brygay was a hardworking sales rep for Inspire Learning Corporation, a company intent on becoming the top educational software provider in five years. That newly adopted strategic goal translated into an ambitious, million-dollar sales target for each of Inspire's sales reps. At the beginning of the fiscal year, her share of the sales department's operational goal seemed entirely reasonable to Marge. She believed in Inspire's products. The company had developed innovative, highly regarded math, language, science, and social studies programs for the K-12 market. What set the software apart was a foundation of truly cutting-edge research. Marge had seen for herself how Inspire programs could engage whole classrooms of normally unmotivated kids; the significant rise in scores on those increasingly important standardized tests bore out her subjective impressions.
But now, just days before the end of the year, Marge's sales were $1,000 short of her million-dollar goal. The sale that would have put her comfortably over the top fell through due to last-minute cuts in one large school system's budget. At first, she was nearly overwhelmed with frustration, but then it occurred to her that if she contributed $1,000 to Central High, the inner-city high school in her territory probably most in need of what she had for sale, they could purchase the software and put her over the top. Her scheme would certainly benefit Central High students. Achieving her sales goal would make Inspire happy, and it wouldn't do her any harm, either professionally or financially. Making the goal would earn her a $10,000 bonus check that would come in handy when the time came to write out that first tuition check for her oldest child, who had just been accepted to a well-known, private university.
Initially, it seemed like the perfect solution all the way around. The more she thought about it, however, the more it didn't quite sit well with her conscience. The time was running out. She needed to decide what to do.