- Problem statement
- Analysis (using appropriate tools and frameworks)
- Alternatives (at least two, with pros and cons of each)
- Recommendation
- Implementation
Brief should adopt a consultant’s role and target their briefing toward the top management team of the firm. The overall objective of each briefing is to demonstrate a new and deeper understanding of the issues that the firm in the case must deal with and generate recommendations based on that deeper understanding. When writing your briefing:
• Don’t summarize the case.
• Ensure that your briefing has the five sections mentioned above.
• Use the most appropriate tools and ideas that you have learned in any week of the course to organize and present your analysis.
• Stay true to the consulting scenario. Think about who your client is and what he/she would like to see in your report.
Briefings will be evaluated on the following criteria:
- Does the briefing reflect a full, balanced, and objective analysis of case material?
- Does the briefing demonstrate a new and deeper understanding of the case and particularly, the problem(s) facing the company? (That is, does it add significant value or does it just re-hash of the case facts?)
- Have appropriate concepts and models been applied appropriately and to the fullest extent?
- Does the briefing consider the pros and cons of at least two distinct alternatives?
- Are the recommendations well supported by the logic and analysis presented in the briefing? That is, do the recommendations represent natural extensions of the analysis in the briefing or do they seem “out of the blue”? Do these recommendations actually address the problems you identified at the beginning of the briefing?
- Does the implementation section recognize organizational realities that may act as barriers to certain strategies (e.g., politics, culture, and informal rewards)?
- Is the briefing clearly presented? Is it well organized and free of mistakes? Are the graphics used effectively to communicate key ideas?