Page 8 - Why I Like Case Studies

which had brought in a turnaround manager to revamp its

floundering fortunes.

Diagram 2 shows the broad steps influencing how this case

was viewed.

STEP 1

Initially, the Dunlop turnaround story appeared to provide

an interesting scenario, one that clearly allowed the

application of theory and use of diagnostic tools (Diagram 3:

Background). The problem was that as a lecturer, there was
a tendency to view the case formulaically. That is, it was an

interesting story fitting in with the course material for

Strategic Management and allowing diagnostic tools to be

used. However, having decided to write-up the story as a

case study it rapidly became apparent that what was

reported in the press appeared to be drawn from one or

two sources and then repeated to varying depths by other

sources. In addition, much of what was reported in the

press came from company announcements which tended to

paint a rose-tinted picture of the situation from.

So, when this was distilled it seemed to point to a number of

issues:

1: The Dunlop turnaround, although a good story and

apparently ticking all the teaching boxes of theory and

application, was nevertheless a snapshot of what was

unfolding at the time of writing. However, events were

unfolding that changed the locus of attention.