How to Write a Case Study

Introduction

Case study papers cut across numerous academic disciplines. Admittedly, a student in
any field can write a case study, meaning that these types of papers are fundamental in the
learning process. Case studies involve discussing a particular real-life event and connecting it
with theoretical concepts. To write a case study, the student first reads and understands the issues
of concern. Next, the student addresses these issues in an academic context to come up with
recommendations. Case studies are common in health sciences and business. In nursing, for
example, case studies form a basic learning step where students discuss a clinical case and offer
recommendations on the best care plans. In business, case studies may come in the form of
business trends. In this article, I will discuss the reasons behind the decline in global Coca-Cola
Company’s sales from 2015 to 2020.

General Information about the Assignment

Professors issue this kind of assignment to allow students to conduct research, critically
think about the issue at hand, and ultimately design solutions that will help eliminate the
problem. Therefore, students must understand the question as well as the case study. If the
question is to identify the problems leading to a specific problem, the student should interrogate
the case against best practice standards and identify the gap that requires filling. However, this
depends on the field of the case study. Like in other assignments, the student must take note of
the paper length, page margins, formatting, number of sources, and the general layout of the
work.

Writing a Case Study in Business: The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is perhaps the most researched business organization in the
academic world. This company has a global reach, and its products are popular across all
population segments. Due to this fame, the company attracts the attention of scholars and
business commentators. The company has been in existence for more than a century, making it
one of the oldest global corporations in the world. Throughout history, the company has
reinvented itself to keep pace with the changing social, economic, and political environment. A
brainchild of a pharmacist, the company has enjoyed exemplary leadership from renowned

corporate leaders who have helped its global expansion as well as product diversification. Any
change in sales, therefore, attracts the attention of interested people who desire to understand the
forces behind the change.
When The Coca-Cola Company recorded a steady decline in global sales from 2015 to
2020, different people took concern in this matter trying to understand the forces behind this
drift. Writing a case study paper on The Coca-Cola Company, therefore, begins with studying
the market trends over the specified period. The information is available on many platforms,
although stock exchange websites provide the best trends for analysis. The student must consult
different websites to see if there is any remarkable change in reporting. In most cases, the student
will find that the sources give a similar picture of the sale changes. After acknowledging the
presence of the change, the student will discuss the possible causes of this change with emphasis
on political, economic, and social forces.
Here, the student relies both on their knowledge about the company as well as the
documented evidence from a variety of sources. This means that writing a case study for a
company that one is aware of offers the best chance to writing a good paper. Students can find a
wealth of information from scholarly databases usually on the Internet. The Coca-Cola Company
produces goods that have been associated with lifestyle diseases in both children and adults. It
follows, therefore, that social factors are the major contributors to the trend in sales. The student
can perform a background study of obesity and its relationship with the decline in these sales. It
is also important to connect the social factors with the economic and political factors. This way,
the student grasps an all-around picture of the problem, a factor that helps them make appropriate
recommendations.
The recommendation section tests the student’s critical thinking ability. The
recommendations should be specific, realistic, and achievable. The student should indicate the
problem that each solution addresses, and the people responsible for implementing the
suggestion. The suggestion must balance the consumer needs and the interests of the company.
For example, recommending halting the production of a specific commodity is not a plausible
suggestion. Instead, the student must explain how adjusting the formula will help solve a specific
problem.

Conclusion

Case studies engage students both in research and critical thinking. Regardless of the
field, the student must understand the case study and respond to the questions appropriately. In
business, The Coca-Cola Company captures the attention of students and scholars willing to
understand the market dynamics of this global company. From 2015 to 2020, the company
recorded relatively lower sales in the market. Writing a case study paper about the causes of this
change begins with researching the company and the progress it had made before this period. To
identify the problem, the student researches the social, political, and economic factors most
likely attributed to this change. The student then shapes recommendations based on these factors.
The recommendations must meet the needs of the consumers as well as the company. Most
importantly, the recommendations must be realistic, cost-effective, and achievable.