Overview

Are you ready to make strategic business decisions that drive long-term profitability and sustainability? In this capstone course, you'll tackle a real-world business challenge faced by GAS GAS, an off-road motorcycle manufacturer. Leverage business analytics tools and frameworks you've acquired throughout the specialization to analyze the dilemma and propose a data-driven solution. You'll learn a six-step analysis methodology to dissect business problems, integrating considerations from accounting, finance, marketing, and organizational behavior. Develop critical decision-making skills applicable to business strategy and data analytics roles, and gain a comprehensive understanding of how your actions can positively impact a firm's future.

Syllabus

Course Overview: Introduction to Business Problem Analysis

Welcome! In this first session, I’ll introduce you to IESE’s six-step Analysis of Business Problems (ABP) methodology. This methodology is a very useful tool to help managers in their principal responsibility: making decisions. Because most business problems involve financial, technical and human issues, they are by nature complex. No matter how much thought you put into it, there is no “correct solution” and certainly no guarantee that your decision will yield the desired outcomes. Learning this six-step methodology is therefore a great help to many mangers as they take on their decision-making challenges, such as the one that GAS GAS faces.

Marketing Problem Analysis: GAS GAS Case Study

Now that you understand a bit of the history of GAS GAS, it’s time to analyze the situation from a marketing perspective. The decision to manufacture bikes for KTM will undoubtedly have an impact on consumers, branding, pricing and channels. Will that impact be positive or negative? Are the risks worth the long-term benefit? What should the CEO take into consideration when making a decision? By the end of the session you should have enough information to advise Ramon Puente about the relevant marketing issues.

Finance Problem Analysis: GAS GAS Case Study

In this session, we will evaluate GAS GAS’ history and current situation and discuss the potential financial effect of partnering with KTM. After looking at some of the concepts we discussed in Module 3 - need of funds for operations (NFO), working capital (WC), sustainable growth and more – the learner will be able to understand how the financial outlook will influence the ultimate decision.

Organizational Behavior Challenges: The GAS GAS Case

All business decisions have a direct impact on people. So that the board makes the best decision possible, it is important to examine whether they have the most effective tools at their disposal from an Organization Behavior perspective. Who are the people on the board and how well do they work together as a team? Whatever they decide will affect GAS GAS employees. This is a critical consideration for leadership to take into account as they weigh the financial and marketing issues you have already discussed.

Course Conclusion: Reviewing Business Problem Analysis

In this last step, you will synthesize everything you've learned and develop a well-rounded recommendation for Ramon Fuente to present to the board. Having already explored marketing, finance, and organizational behavior, it’s now time to analyze the pros and cons of each proposal and justify why yours stands out.