Case Decision Memo Description, Peer Example, and Rubric
Background: What is a Business Memorandum?
As background, business memorandums are often sent to managers and senior executives with the goal of gaining their support for a specific decision or course of action that you are proposing. It is important to note that the memorandum recipient often starts by skimming a memorandum for the key idea(s) and support. If this is hard to find or communicated in a way that is confusing to follow, the reader will often simply move on to the next task at hand and never fully consider your proposal. As such, it is important to lay out your case in a way that quickly and strongly conveys what you are proposing, as well as the support for why you believe this is the right course of action.
Due to the purpose of the document and its intended audience, the writing style of a business memo is extremely different than a traditional academic paper. Specifically, as illustrated below, the writing is much “tighter”, using the minimum words necessary to convey each point. In terms of a general format, after an introductory sentence or two:
Specific recommendations are usually numbered and highlighted in bold.
Support for each recommendation then immediately follows, often using bullet points to separate each support point.
Finally, exhibits are attached at the end of document and then referenced when appropriate within the document. An exhibit is never attached without being referenced in the memorandum. Conversely, charts are very seldom found embedded within the memorandum itself. Every recommendation MUST cite at least 1 exhibit.
What Is Included in Analyzing a Case for a Decision Memo
A case analysis is an exercise in strategic and critical thinking, with clear, well supported recommendations. This is hard work and, with practice over the course of your Masters degree, you will begin to develop frameworks and principles that provide guidance, along with the discipline to systemically take apart and understand problems in order to develop meaningful and practical solutions.
No outside research is necessary, nor should it be done.
Rather, you should work to solve the problem presented in the case, at the time of the case. This should be done ONLY with the information supplied in the case, and with the application of course theory and tools.
Format Details
The case decision memo itself is limited to 2 pages (max), and 1 is even better.
The memo should start with:
TO: (A Key Player in the Case)
FROM: (Your Team)
RE: (Brief Problem Statement)
Following the Memo heading (To/From/Re: ), begin memo by briefly stating the background leading up to and specific problem to be addressed and summarize your main recommendation(s). (3-ish sentences.)
The remaining portion of the memo should detail and support each of your recommendations. This portion of the assignment should include several concise recommendation statements followed by bulleted support points.
Recommendations and support should link to the current and prior weeks’ marketing concepts, along with the issues presented in the case.
A minimum of 3 exhibits should be at the end of your Case Decision Memo for team assignments; 4 exhibits are required for the Individual Exam). The first exhibit is required to be a SWOT analysis (must be labeled Exhibit 1). Additional exhibits can take course tools and apply them to your case analysis or provide additional analysis of case material/ exhibits. (Note—exhibits cannot simply be copied directly from the case itself; they must reflect new thinking.)
Case Decision Memo Example:
The Case Decision Memo example that follows was written by students in this class and was chosen as an example based on their strength in each area of the grading rubric, which is appears in the syllabus and at the end of this document.
TO: Mike Keefe
FROM: Team 9
RE: Keep and Strengthen Harley Posse Ride
Background: Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.) is a members-only division of Harley Davidson, Inc. Membership is automatic with the purchase of a bike, with renewal rates of 75%. One of the biggest benefits of H.O.G. membership is participation in the rallies and the Posse Ride. This ride is open to a limited number of riders, as well as some senior managers of Harley Davidson. The Posse Ride just finished its second year, and Harley needs to decide to keep the ride going or end it.
Recommendation #1: Harley should keep the Posse Ride
One of the main factors that sets Harley apart from other bike companies is the camaraderie of the biker community. When a person buys a Harley, they are buying more than a motorcycle: they are joining a community and making a key statement about who you are and how you see yourself. As one Posse Rider put it, “[Harley] is a mystique, a lifestyle as opposed to a brand.”
Financially, the Posse Ride is a clear winner. While the destination rallies can cost millions of dollars to put on, the Ride is about $100,000. Thus, if 400 riders participate, any registration fees over $250 are pure profit.
Beyond the financial considerations, the Posse Ride is valuable as a reflection of the Harley brand’s core equity. As Exhibit 4 shows, the brand has a rugged, ‘cowboy’ image and the Posse Ride really leans into that with its oath and other rituals. The brand as a whole ladders up to being a ‘Harley person,’ making it a core part of a rider’s identity. The Posse Ride reinforces that. As Exhibit 5 shows, all of the attributes of the ride end up reinforcing that sense of identity and accomplishment. If H.O.G. membership signals one as a highly engaged Harley owner, the Posse Ride makes one like “Harley royalty.” The ride has an aspirational quality that showcases the best of Harley, and that all customers can dream about themselves joining someday. It’s like “Hell’s Angels” for respectable Harley owners.
Recommendation #2: Operate the Ride more efficiently
While the ride is successful, with a few changes, the ride could be even better. Looking at Exhibit 2, we can see that ride was a success in that measures of ride recommendation and H.O.G. engagement were up. However, there were distinct decreases in responses about how responsive Harley is to riders’ needs and sensibilities. This is likely due to the organizational hiccups that occurred.
To keep the integrity of the ride, the cap on participants is important. Keeping the rider limit at 400 helps riders to realize they are part of a select tribe of people. It also keeps the intimacy of the group. This allows individuals on the ride to get to know each other well, without being overwhelmed by the size of the group.
Next, Harley needs to fix the more direct problems that were encountered on this ride. The two biggest issues were with the t-shirts and the long wait times at the end of the event. According to the survey results, riders believe Harley genuinely understands their riders. If this is the case, Harley’s leadership should recognize the t-shirts are a status symbol and therefore, they need to be a top priority on the ride. To eliminate wait times and reduce the weight riders have to carry, t-shirts from every dealership and the overall ride can be purchased as a package and shipped to each participant after the ride.
At the end of the program, the riders had to wait in another line to get their certificates for the ride. By the end of the ride, the last thing riders wanted to do was stand around and wait for a certificate. This could be a simple fix handled with Harley mailing the certificates instead of having the riders get them on the final evening.
Recommendation #3: H.O.G. maximization
Beyond the Posse Ride, the overall H.O.G. experience is crucial to creating a core of loyal Harley customers and meeting their needs. As Exhibit 3 shows, Harley customer have a number of ‘jobs to be done,’ from the practical, like roadside assistance, to the personal, particularly being part of a more reputable group of riders. It is important to understand the customer and the listed jobs to be done to continue to create events that maximize the H.O.G.’s value.
For the company, the benefits of H.O.G. are clear: Approximately one-third of H.O.G.’s half a million members are ‘active’ and bring clear value to the company. Compared to ‘inactive’ riders, ‘active’ H.O.G. members spend additional $850, driving a total of $141.7 million, annually.
Beyond the clear financial value, management really gets to learn about their customers. During the events staff are busy engaging and speaking with customers rather than many of their typical responsibilities. Like Joe Dowd says, “I’m so close to the customer, I am the customer” (pg 20).
The consumer profiles give insights into why certain demographics are showing up for the events and can be applied to creating future events, maximizing H.O.G.’s potential for expanding the core of loyal customers. We know the median salary is $55,570, the consumers still in the workforce, with lower salaries, may not be able to take weeks off to ride across the country on a Posse Ride. Taking these consumer insights, H.O.G. can be maximized in different ways, such as developing a tiered series of Posse Rides. The highest tier being a cross country ride, lower tiers can include weekend rides to include lower salary riders, as well as increased amount of shorter rides to be accessible more often rather than the highest tier cross country trip. In particular, we should put on couples’ and female-only rides, because presently only 13% of H.O.G. members are female.
APPENDIX
Strengths
Strong Brand Name
Core Product
Brand History
Customer Loyalty
Made in the US
Product Quality
Weaknesses
Declining product sales and share
Core customer aging out of the market
Product not fresh
Limited financial resources
CEO turnover
Staff moral
Non-US market share
Political affiliation
High Price Point
Opportunities
Growth outside US (Asia)
Growing US market
Growing “made in the US” consumer interest
Environmentally friendly vs. car
Elec bike market
Threats
Competitors from Asia
Lower Prices
Trade issues
Political affiliation
Exhibit 1
Exhibit 2: Mean Survey Responses Pre- and Post-Posse Ride DECREASE IN
CUSTOMER CARE
*Notice that the chat above has been edited to highlight important information (red and green boxes), in support of the recommendation.
Exhibit 3: Jobs to Be Done
Exhibit 4: Customer Based Brand Equity Pyramid
Exhibit 5: Hierarchical Values Map
