Case: Ben & Jerrys: Preserving Mission & Brand Within Unilever

Write a 1-page senior executive-level memo

Sample A-Level Case Memo Southwest AirlinesExecutive Issue

The central decision facing Southwest Airlines is whether its low-cost, high-frequency operating model can remain sustainable in an increasingly competitive and cost-pressured airline industry.

Analysis

Southwests competitive advantage is rooted in tightly aligned activities: standardized aircraft, point-to-point routing, high aircraft utilization, and a culture reinforcing cost discipline. Financially, this system supports lower operating costs and faster turnaround times relative to competitors.

Strategic Alternatives

1. Maintain current low-cost focus.

2. Introduce limited premium services.

3. Expand aggressively into international routes.

Recommendation

Southwest should maintain its focused low-cost strategy while selectively investing in operational resilience rather than diluting its activity system with premium offerings.

Risks and Ethics

The primary risk is erosion of cultural discipline during expansion. Ethical considerations include labor relations and customer transparency regarding service limitations.

This course uses the Harvard Case Method, which requires active preparation, rigorous analysis, and executive-level judgment. Each case places you in the role of a senior leader confronted with complex, ambiguous strategic decisions. Your responsibility is not to summarize what happened, but to analyze the situation, diagnose the core issues, and recommend defensible courses of action.

1. Case Summary & Key Issues (Required Starting Point)

Each case analysis must begin with a concise but substantive case summary that: Identifies the central decision problem(s) facing leadership Highlights the key strategic, ethical, operational, or organizational issues Distinguishes symptoms from root causes Clearly frames the decision context (who is deciding, what is at stake, and why now) This section should demonstrate that you understand the case holistically before moving into deeper analysis.

2. Analytical Rigor & Strategic Reasoning

Following the summary, your analysis should: Apply relevant strategic frameworks and course concepts where appropriate Evaluate alternative courses of action, including tradeoffs and risks Demonstrate executive judgment under uncertainty

Address both short-term implications and long-term strategic consequences There is no single correct answer. What matters is the quality of your reasoning and the strength of your evidence.

3. Evidence-Based Arguments

All recommendations must be defended with credible academic or practitioner sources, including: Peer-reviewed journal articles Academic books Reputable business publications (e.g., Harvard Business Review) Sources should be integrated thoughtfully into your argument rather than appended as afterthoughts. Unsupported opinions do not meet MBA-level expectations.

4. Length & Format

Length is not the primary criterion for evaluation. Instead, submissions must be thorough, logically structured, and professionally written. Executive-level communication is expected: precise, direct, and persuasive.

5. Class Presentation & Engagement

Students must be fully prepared to present and defend their analysis in class. This includes: Clearly articulating recommendations Responding to challenges and counterarguments Engaging constructively in discussion as both presenters and peers

Cold-calling may be used. Preparation is not optional.

6. Professional Standard

Your case analyses should reflect the level of work expected from MBA graduates, consulting teams, and senior managers making high-stakes decisions. Surface-level or incomplete preparation undermines both your learning and the learning of others.

Review the due in module eight. Select a country to research in support of your career position as the International Business Management Adviser to the Chief Executive Officer of a company of your choosing. The company can be an organization where you work or a company that you might want to work for in the future. Selecting the same country and organization for each assignment contributes to greater efficiencies in completing the final project since you can apply the assignment topics to the final project for the course. The assignments throughout the course contribute to supporting your completion of the final project.

For this assignment, you have the option of selecting the same developed country that you selected previously or selecting a new country (other than the United States). (A list of developing and developed economies in 2019 can be found at the

.)

This assignment includes your assessment of the selected countrys local market and economy from a broad perspective. Address the following topics in your paper:

• Provide a profile of the countrys economic growth rates and financial systems.
• Assess the countrys economic system; has the country requested any IMF assistance recently or in the past? How did this IMF assistance affect the local economy?
• Identify one strategic action from an international collaboration perspective between the organization you selected, and an organization present in the country you selected. Explain the benefit(s) that could be gained from this collaboration.
• Evaluate the countrys financial system and financial growth. Does this country have a strong potential for economic growth and development? Include a rationale for your analysis.