Bulletproof Your Business Case

No matter when or how you present your business case for review, there will be a sinister, uninvited stranger in the room. You can't bar him from the meeting. You can't prevent him from speaking to everyone present.

Solution Matrix (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Business Case

Business Case Critics: De-Clawing the Cat?

There are some things you don’t want to hear when your business case is under review.

Solution Matrix (2005). Articles>Business Communication>Business Case

Business Case Primer

The Business Case Primer explains how to prepare a business case to justify a proposed project. The process involves assessing needs, defining the business opportunity, planning the work effort, investigating alternatives to the opportunity and alternative ways to achieve the opportunity, evaluating each alternative, defining the project, preparing the report, and presenting the business case for approval. The primer shows how to conduct a financial analysis and includes a brief sample business case.

Kemp, Al. Impact Technical Publications (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Business Case

Case in Point: Cisco’s Model For Change Management

A few months ago, a company-wide team at Cisco Systems Inc. was challenged to come up with the best model for change management. Several team members had experience in change management through various disciplines, such as process management, HR consulting, communication, Six Sigma and IT. In the first meeting, the team recognized many factors that would affect how they moved forward: hundreds (maybe thousands) of models already existed, thousands of consultants had their favorite models and were eager to help, and employees were familiar with models from other companies.

Horn, Karen. Communication World Bulletin (2004). Articles>Business Communication>Management>Case Studies

Developing Internal Procedures Online: The HowWe Manuals Project at Suncorp  

The process of implementing on-line documentation for the first time is always a daunting task, particularly if the target company has had little exposure to PC based systems. This is the challenge we faced at SUNCORP. Many people doubted the value of having reference material on-line (particularly those in the IT areas). Just as many doubted whether it was possible to do at all. Throughout the project we came across many obstacles, some man made, others system made; however the end result shows our resolve and determination has paid off for the staff of SUNCORP.

Bell, Dean and Helen Smith. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Business Communication>Policies and Procedures>Case Studies

Does Time Equal Money in the Business Case?

The most frequently used calculation in business case analysis is the 'Time = Money' equation, where Benefits = (time saved) * (the cost of labor). Using this equation blindly, however, can result in seriously overstated benefits.

Solution Matrix (2005). Articles>Business Communication>Business Case

Edelman's Perfect (Blog) Storm

In early March, The New York Times ran a story with the headline "Wal-Mart enlists bloggers in PR campaign." While the story itself is of interest as an example of how some PR agencies increasingly see blogs as legitimate communication channels, it is of greater interest to look at what the Edelman PR agency did in this specific case acting on behalf of their client—what went right and, more important, what didn't.

Hobson, Neville. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Blogging>Case Studies

From Vista to Zune: Why Microsoft Can’t Sell to Consumers

Microsoft’s marketing of Windows Vista and the Zune have failed in large part due to the fact that Microsoft has not learned how to effectively sell consumer products. Consumers buy Windows and Office, but that’s because they have no choice, not because of the company’s marketing savvy. Microsoft only effectively markets its products to businesses, which represents a very different type of sales relationship.

RoughlyDrafted (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Marketing>Case Studies

How to Build a Business Case    

Learn how to convince your company to grant your purchase request through tips on building an effective business case.

Molisani, Jack and Bonni Graham. Intercom (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Business Case

Labor Costs can Make or Break the Case: Which Way Should This Manager Go?

When your business case deals with a project or program, labor costs may be the largest single cost category, by far. Labor costs can even loom large in in a major capital expenditure (CAPEX) business case, if the acquisition comes with a serious need for operating and maintenance support (as in many IT CAPEX requests, for instance). How well you handle the labor costs can make or break the case.

Solution Matrix (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Management>Business Case

Making Social Responsibility a Strategy for Business Perpetuation

With intense competition and demands from shareholders, customers and employees, companies need to find ways to stand out from the crowd. Many companies are looking to corporate social responsibility, as a way to do this—by both protecting and enhancing their reputations. Some CSR practitioners are driven by a belief in the company mission and vision, others by top executives, and others see it as public relations and marketing opportunity.

Vale Marques, Juliana. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations>Case Studies

ROI Doesn't Have to be a Four-Letter Word

If you know ahead of time where the risks are, you can manage them (or at least watch them) and avoid unpleasant surprises down the road.

Solution Matrix (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Business Case

ROI That Never Arrives: The Devil is in the Assumptions

ROI estimates in business fail primarily because managers give too much attention to the 'pay out' odds, and too little attention to measuring and managing 'probability' odds. A good risk and sensitivity analysis of the assumptions behind the predictions allows you to do both.

Solution Matrix (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Business Case

Six Rules for Transforming Your Brand: The Carter Holt Harvey Experience

Australasia's leading forest product company, Carter Holt Harvey (CHH), transformed itself in under three years from slumbering giant into a high-performing, innovative business leader based on values of performance, leadership and innovation - and won an IABC Gold Quill award in the process. Here's CHH's story in brief and rules learned along the way.

Stuart, Dellwyn. Communication World Bulletin (2003). Articles>Business Communication>Marketing>Case Studies

Stories that Sell: Writing Case History Articles  

Grab readers. Make them want to read about your product. No, not by writing sparkling prose in a brochure or flier, but by showing your product or service solving a problem -- as told by a real user. A unique blend of journalism and promotion, "case history" articles offer benefits for everyone. The user gets to look like an important expert. Your company or client gets its product or service shown in a good light. And the publication where the case history is published gets an article that will appeal to its readers.

Bronakowski, Cathryn, Peter Dossing, Barbara Spaeth and Sam Sutherland. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Business Communication>Marketing>Case Studies

Use Case Classics

A use case is a detailed description of a user's interaction with a system. That's it. It's pretty simple; somewhat general, rather vague. That's the way it should be. A use case really amounts to nothing more than plain old 'documentation.' It can be applied to a business process, a complex software system, your morning routine, a wedding ceremony, or a historical event. The only requirements are an 'actor' and an object to be acted upon.

Kass, Andrew. BA Collective (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Case Studies

What You Need to Know About TCO (Total Cost of Ownership)

Is someone not telling the truth? Or, has Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) simply become a meaningless concept? And what, if anything, do customers and vendors need to know about TCO?

Solution Matrix (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Business Case>ROI

Why Do Business Cases Fail? What Can You Do About It?

A business case may predict excellent results yet still fail to 'make the case.' We see project managers, IT directors, sales people, and others who have just had the painful experience: they predicted great cash flow, high ROI, and short payback - and still got a thumbs down from top management.

Solution Matrix (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Rhetoric>Business Case

Fifteen Companies That Really Get Corporate Blogging

Below is a list of 15 companies that really get corporate blogging and produce blogs that are informative, fascinating, and a joy to read even for people who aren’t die-hard fans of the company.

Catone, Josh. SitePoint (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Blogging>Case Studies

Staging a Team Performance    

Drawing on insights from Goffman's dramaturgical approach to interaction, this article demonstrates how meetings are team performances routinely concerned with sustaining or challenging interpretations of power relations. The data for this article were collected at a British embassy, relying on participant observation, audio recordings of weekly gatherings of Heads of Section, and interviews with the people that attended the meeting. The analysis focuses on the double role behavior of the Ambassador as the director and central player of a team performance and the conflicting ideologies these shifting roles entail.

Van Praet, Ellen. JBC (2009). Articles>Business Communication>Collaboration>Case Studies

UBL and the Colombian Connection

This session provides a realistic tour of the process of implementing and customizing UBL, through the study of our implementation of UBL for the ministries of agriculture and commerce of the Republic of Colombia. Both through general tools (xmlroff as modified by Fabio to support UBL pdf output) and through custom made, open source software, XML-based technologies are effectively bridging the gap of B2B commerce between the United States and the rest of the world. UBL Capture, Presentation, Storage, Transfer software custom made by UBL voting member Fabio Arciniegas is demonstrated and dissected within the context of a real life example of implementation for the colombian government.

Arciniegas, Fabio. IDEAlliance (2004). (Spanish) Articles>Business Communication>XML>Case Studies

Return on Investment (ROI) on XBRL

Our initial effort at tagging and furnishing an XBRL document to the SEC consumed approximately 80 hours of an employee’s time. But to adequately evaluate this commitment, it is necessary to understand the scope and context of the effort. The hours included not only the time to tag the underlying document, but also the time to learn how to use the tagging tool, understand the requirements for filing under the SEC’s VFP, create tags that did not exist in the standard taxonomy, and to build a process that would allow the ongoing tagging and filing of documents. Our current effort to tag and file an 8-K earnings release is down to approximately four hours now that the learning curve has been eliminated.

Stantial, John. XBRL.us (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Case Studies>XBRL

Students Advise Fortune 500 Company: Designing a Problem-Based Learning Community    

This article describes the process of planning and implementing a problem-based learning community. Business and communication students from a large university in the Western United States competed in teams to solve an authentic business problem posed by a Fortune 500 company. The company's willingness to adopt some of their recommendations testified to the professional quality of their final product. This experience gave students an opportunity to apply communication concepts to a business problem. They learned how to make vital connections between theory and practice and between shared knowledge and shared knowing. In the process, students grew personally and professionally.

Brzovic, Kathy and S. Irene Matz. Business Communication Quarterly (2009). Articles>Education>Business Communication>Case Studies

Incorporating Reflective Practice Into Team Simulation Projects for Improved Learning Outcomes    

The use of simulation games in business courses is a popular method for providing undergraduate students with experiences similar to those they might encounter in the business world. As such, in 2003 we were pleased to find a classroom simulation tool that combined the decision-making and team experiences of a senior management group with a fun, realistic, and competitive plot: We selected the Business Strategy Game, an online simulation for use with the textbook Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage. We then enhanced the student experience by blending the simulation game with reflective writing tools that help students recognize how team experiences and decisions ripple though an enterprise.

Wills, Katherine V. and Thomas A. Clerkin. Business Communication Quarterly (2009). Articles>Education>Business Communication>Case Studies