Week 2: Pepsi Case, Trigger Words, Root Cause (5 Why's) Flashcards
When looking at a case, you should be spending _____ of your time on analysis
2/3
So if you have 3 hours, two hours should just be reading and understanding the material
If a case has one clear cut question, it is not a case, just a ________
Question
A case should always have multiple solutions fam
Coke and Pepsi Case Following these slides
Title: The Shifting Landscape of the Carbonated Soft Drink Industry
CSD
carbonated soft drink (CSD)
The largest costs for CSD manufacturers, including Coca-Cola and Pepsi, were
advertising, promotional materials, market research, and support for bottlers, including local advertising and negotiating with the bottler’s raw material suppliers and their primary customers, retail stores
Fountain accounts
companies that distributed CSD products through fountains (mixing concentrate and carbonated water on the spot) rather than in cans or bottles.
Restaurant chains, such as McDonald’s or Burger King, were important fountain customers
For the majority of Coca-Cola and Pepsi’s histories, independently owned,__________ were the companies’ primary source of distribution and sales
franchised bottlers
The strong rivalry between Coca-Cola and Pepsi throughout the twentieth century became known as the ________
cola wars
The 5 Whys Slide’s beyond this
The 5 Whys Slide’s beyond this
Brief overview
The 5 Whys is a technique that can help you to find the root cause of a problem.
By understanding the root cause of the problem, you can solve it in such a way that it doesn’t reoccur.
The 5 Why’s outline
1) Define the problem
2) Why is it happening
3) Why is that
4) Why is that?
5) Why is that?
6) Why is that -> Root Cause
Who invented the 5 WHys
The 5 Whys Technique was developed within the Toyota Motor Corporation in the 1930s
The 5 Whys outline example
Let’s take a look at what might have caused your website to go down
Problem: Website went down.
Why did it happen? It ran out of memory.
Why? Because it was incorrectly configured.
Why? Because the site admin made a mistake.
Why? Because development hadn’t provided adequate instructions.
Why? Because they assumed it was obvious
Countermeasure
The corrective action you take to the problem
Countermeasure to the 5 Whys Website down example
Cause 1: The website ran out of memory.
Countermeasure: Get the site up and running again.
Cause 2: Incorrect configuration.
Countermeasure: Create a Standard Operating
Procedure to verify configuration before every update.
Cause 3: Site admin made a mistake.
Countermeasure: Make sure site admin knows how to run the new verification test.
Cause 4: Development hadn’t provided adequate instructions.
Countermeasure: Train dev team to provide sufficient instructions.
Cause 5: Assumed it was obvious.
Countermeasure: Have a word with dev team manager to ensure they speak to their team about the importance of being precise no matter how obvious it seems.
Rule of Thumb
Asking why five times is a rule of thumb. You may have to ask “Why?” just three times or even ten times to get to the real root cause of the issue you’re investigating.
How to Run a 5 Whys Meeting
Step 1: Organize a 5 Whys Meeting Step 2: Define the Problem Statement Step 3: Ask the First “Why?” Step 4: Ask “Why?” Four More Times Step 5: Determine your Countermeasures Step 6: Assign Responsibilities Step 7: Monitor Progress Step 8: Close the Meeting
Step 1: Organize a 5 Whys Meeting
Organize for everyone who might be affected by the problem or have input to its solution to attend a 5 Whys Meeting
If you are not leading the session then make sure that someone is. It is the session leaders responsibility to lead the 5 Whys process and assign people as being responsible for countermeasures.
Step 2: Define the Problem Statement
At the start of the session, you should define the problem you are trying to solve. Write the problem on a whiteboard if you can
It’s essential to keep the problem statement focused only on the problem. Do not state any possible reasons for the problem or make any assumptions
Step 3: Ask the First “Why?”
Ask your assembled team why the problem is occurring.
Try to avoid entertaining answers that are guesses – stick to facts. If there is more than one reason given for the problem, then ask your team to vote on the most likely cause
Step 4: Ask “Why?” Four More Times
Ask why another four times, each time using the previous answer to base your question on. Once you have done this, you will have five reasons, one for each “why?” question.
As previously mentioned, you may need to ask why more times than five if you haven’t got to the root of the problem.
Step 5: Determine your Countermeasures
Agree what countermeasures you will take to address each of your five reasons that are now on the whiteboard.
Step 6: Assign Responsibilities
For each countermeasure, agree who is responsible for it and how they will measure the success of that countermeasure
Step 7: Monitor Progress
Agree how progress will be monitored. Usually, this will involve a follow-up session in a few hours, days, or weeks.
During your follow-up meeting, you may need to adjust your countermeasures, or even create new ones, depending upon how successful the previously agreed countermeasures have been.
Step 8: Close the Meeting
Now that you have determined all the causes of your problem including the root cause, determined countermeasures, and how you will monitor progress, its time to bring your meeting to a close.
The advantages of the 5 Whys include that it:
Allows you to identify the cause of your problem, not just its symptoms.
Is simple and easy to use.
Helps you avoid taking immediate action without considering if you’ve identified the real root cause of the problem.
Helps you build a culture that embraces continuous improvement.
The disadvantages of the 5 Whys technique include:
Different people may get different answers as to the cause of the same problem. This raises a question about the reliability of the technique.
The method can only be as good as the knowledge and experience of the people using it.
You may not dive deep enough to uncover the root cause of the problem entirely
Cautious Diplomacy
Confident but not in your face (ego)
Opportunities
ways of taking advantage of conditions in
the environment to become more profitable
Threats
conditions in the competitive environment that endanger the profitability of the firm
Use of any guide to case analysis required practice and good judgement
True
The order of the general case analysis process recommended by Richardson is _____
1) gather information
2) Identify issues
3) Prioritize issues
4) Generate alternatives
5) Evaluate consequences
6) Provide a recommendation
7) Discuss implementation issues
A good case analysis will provide evidence that you have
Made a reasoned recommendation, supported y a reasonable set of alternatives, for which solid critical thinking and analytical skills have been applied
Sometimes the information you need to successfully analyze a case is not explicitly included in the case but rather is implied by the circumstances
True
If two people analyze the same case but come to completely opposite recommendations, both could be recognized as having provided a good answer
True
According to Richardson, your case analysis should be all of the following, expect not necessarily
Correct
Which of the following statements is more accurate regarding use of case facts in your analysis
Your analysis should refer to case facts that are relevant only if they move your analysis forward
The 5 Whys technique is relatively new technique used as a performance evaluation tool
False
Using the 5 Whys technique, you may have to ask “why?” more than 5 times to get to real root cause of the issue you are investigating
True
The 5 Whys technique is only as good as the knowledge and expertise of the people using it
True
The 5 Whys technique allows you to identify the cause of your problems, not just its symptoms
True
The 5 Whys technique involves analyzing the root cause of the problem before taking action
True
For the 5 Whys technique to be effective you need to take corrective action at every level of the 5 Whys
True
For the 5 Whys technique to be effect, you only need to take corrective action at the level of the 5th Why
False
Often what at first glance appears to be a technical problem turns out to be a human or process problem at its root
True
Week 2 slides
Week 2 Slides
Guide to Case Analysis
Major points
- there is no correct answer
-A lack of correct answer does not mean that better or worse answers exist
-two people looking at the same case can come to completely different answers and both be right
-Required practice and good judgment
-There is no ideal model for case analysis
-
There is no “ideal” model for case analysis. However, in any case analysis you
MUST:
- demonstrate sound analytical skills using “correct” / logical information
- consider and discuss a reasonable set of alternatives
- arrive at well-supported conclusions
- make well-supported, reasoned recommendations
- ensure that your recommendations / conclusions are clearly and logically supported by your analysis
Information Gathering
Read to:
Understand your role
Identify key facts and issues
Identify the decision(s) to be made
Identify key stakeholders and their objectives
Identify / anticipate constraints (i.e. any factors that may limit the range of alternatives that can be considered)
Issue Identification
Remember: “In a management decision context, issues are any choices
management must make regarding how to allocate resources,
coordinate action, or evaluate and reward performance.”
•“It is important to use your own judgement …”
Issue Prioritization
•Remember: “The importance of various issues depends on the objectives
of the decision maker in the case and the consequences of the issues.”
•“Be careful also to differentiate between symptoms and root causes.”
•“Before trying to provide a solution, be sure you understand the issues.”
Alternative Generation
Consider (and address):
•“… how difficult or costly it would be to implement”
•“… how many of the issues in the case it would address”
•“… what conflicts it might generate”
Consequence Evaluation
•“… compare the consequences of each alternative and determine which
one best meets the objectives of the decision maker.”
•“… consider both quantitative and qualitative outcomes.”
Recommendation
•“Once you have decided on the best alternative, you must present your
recommendation to the decision maker.”
•“Your recommendation must be fully justified in terms of that person’s
objectives and capabilities.”
Important: “This is not the time to add additional reasons or details!
Your recommendation is a summary of your analysis, not another step in
the analysis.”
Implementation Issues
- “… specify what will need to be done to implement your recommendations.”
- E.g. “… consultation with various parties or changes in operations may be necessary to ensure success.”
DO NOT simply repeat case facts in your analysis
- “Your analysis need only mention those facts that are relevant.”
- “Any time case facts are mentioned in your case write-up, they should
move your analysis forward.” - “The important facts are the ones that help you identify issues and
evaluate alternatives.” - “… tell the reader why those facts are important to your analysis.”
A good case analysis:
“… is sensitive to the facts of the case”
“ … interprets those facts using sound knowledge”
“… identifies and prioritizes the issues facing the decision maker”
“… creatively constructs and justifies alternatives”
“… provides a recommendation based on a careful assessment of the
costs and benefits of each alternative”
“… provides guidance for implementing the recommendation”
“… provides evidence of the analysis process that you followed”
“… is written clearly and persuasively”
