MBA coursework usually takes one of four shapes: the company case study, the framework analysis, the functional module assignment, and the research methods proposal. Markers reward the same thing in each: a framework applied to evidence, then a judgement. A SWOT that stops at four lists, or a finance answer without the working, loses marks.
In a case study the credit sits in the recommendation and the evidence behind it. Our Toyota case study takes one company through the Uppsala and OLI models, the Toyota Production System and its marketing mix, using figures from Toyota’s own annual results.
In a framework analysis each point needs a source and a date, and the paragraph after the matrix counts for more than the matrix. The PESTEL analysis of Netflix is built on the company’s annual report and shareholder letters; the SWOT analysis of Apple and Zara PESTLE and VRIO show the same method on two other firms.
In a functional module the theory has to meet the organisation. Our HRM assignment example applies Perlmutter’s staffing approaches to a coffee chain opening in China. More MBA assignment samples are in the category.