First Case Memo Assignment

Your first written case analysis, for which you will write a professional memo, will be somewhat different than the way we have worked on cases thus far. In this case assignment, you will develop your own case. You will, however, continue to use the major elements in the Guide to Case Analysis that you accessed on the Online Learning Center: Identification, Analysis and Evaluation, and Recommendations. The company that you will be analyzing is Hewlett-Packard (HP).

You will find a great deal of information about Hewlett Packard on the Internet. Your memo must make relevant connections to the concepts you have been learning about in your textbook. You must also include information about the recent restructure of Hewlett Packard, global and domestic impacts of the changes that have occurred in the company, including the impact it has had (and is having) on Corvallis, Oregon and surrounding areas.

The memo will begin with these elements in the heading:

To: The Combined Boards of Directors of Hewlett Packard (HP)

From: Your name, Analyst

Date:

Subject: A Case Analysis of HP

The body of the memo will be single-spaced and should be structured as follows (use the highlighted wording as subheadings in your memo):

Introduction, one to two paragraphs, which includes the purpose of your memo.

The body, which should include the following:

*a brief history of HP (no more than one page);

* Identification of issues and problems (at least one page);

* Analysis and Evaluation, including discussion of trends you found when you computed key financial ratios (at least one page); and

* Recommendations (at least two pages).

To complete the memo, you should access information in the popular press, use at least one peer-reviewed article through EBSCO-host in your recommendations section, use the Securities and Exchange EDGAR filings and other financial statements shown on the Internet, and incorporate concepts and analysis tools that are included in your textbook (Chapters 1 through 6). No fewer than ten (10) references should be used. This does not count your textbook, which you should use as a reference. Be careful to not overuse any one reference in your memo. If it works better for you, you may also restructure your memo to put the Analysis and Evaluation section before the Identification of issues section.

You must use 1) footnotes rather than parenthesis for your in-text citations, (2) have a reference page (not a Works Cited page), (3) except for using single-spacing, use the APA format on your reference page, including hanging indents, and (4) use one-inch margins and 12 point Times Roman font.

Your analysis section will be where you discuss the use of your analysis tools (e.g. SWOT, financial ratios, etc.). The “tools”, however, will be included in an Appendix section and will be labeled Appendix A, Appendix B, etc.

In addition to the instructions discussed above, you should also carefully read through the Grading Guidelines before you start writing your memo.