FIU Becoming Accomplished Storytellers Case Study Discussion This is a written assignment (2 pages, double-spaced) to be submitted the last week of class.

FIU Becoming Accomplished Storytellers Case Study Discussion This is a written assignment (2 pages, double-spaced) to be submitted the last week of class. Students will need to read and follow the “How to Analyze Cases” which will be available on Canvas. There are few (if any) absolute “right” answers to case studies (although there are wrong answers!).

If you are able to demonstrate knowledge of the required concepts, consider all of the facts in the case, account for your opinions, and justify your answer, you are probably moving toward an excellent analysis. Nonetheless, while half of the grade for this assignment is given based on content, the other half is based on your writing. In this regard, please read the Guidelines for Written Work section also posted on Canvas. The cases available for analysis are listed in the back of the book.

You need to select a case from the book and cover the following points in 2 pages doubled space.
1) Define the basic issues in the case
2) Develop and elaborate your analysis of the key issues
3) Create your conclusions and formulate a set of recommendations to the issues in the case. 344
Appendix
How to Analyze Cases
Before discussing how to analyze a case, it may be useful to comment on how
not to prepare a case. We see two common failings in case preparation that often
go hand-in-hand. First, students often do not apply conceptual frameworks in a
rigorous and systematic manner. Second, many students do not devote sufficient time to reading, analyzing, and discussing a case before class. Many students succumb to the temptation to quickly read a case and latch on to the most
visible issues that present themselves. Thus, they come to class prepared to
make only a few superficial observations about a case. Often, they entirely miss
the deeper issues around why a firm is in the situation that it is in and how it
can better its performance. Applying the frameworks systematically may take
more time and effort in the beginning, but it will generally lead to deeper
insights about the cases and a more profound understanding of the concepts in
the chapters. As you gain experience in this systematic approach to analyzing
cases, many of you will find that your preparation time will decrease. This
appendix offers a framework that will assist you as you analyze cases. The
framework is important, but no framework can substitute for hard work. There
are no great shortcuts to analyzing cases, and there is no single right method for
preparing a case. The following approach, however, may help you develop
your ability to analyze cases.
1. Skim through the case very quickly. Pay particular attention to the exhibits.
The objective in this step is to gain familiarity with the broad facts of the case.
What apparent challenges or opportunities does the company face? What
information is provided? You may find it especially useful to focus on the first
and last few paragraphs of the case in this step.
2. Read the case more carefully and make notes, underline, etc. What appear to
be important facts? The conceptual frameworks in the chapters will be essential in helping you identify the key facts. Throughout the course, you will want
to address central questions such as the following:
• What is the firm’s performance?
• What is the firm’s mission? strategy? goals?
• What are the resources involved in the firm’s value chain? How do they
compare to competitors on cost and differentiation?
• Does the firm have a competitive advantage?
• Are the firm’s advantages and disadvantages temporary or sustainable?
• What is the value of the firm’s resources?
• Are the firm’s resources rare?
• Are the firm’s resources costly to imitate?
• Is the firm organized sufficiently to exploit its resources?
Depending on the case, you may also want to consider other frameworks and
questions, where appropriate. Each chapter provides concepts and frameworks that you may want to consider. For example:
• What are the five forces? How do they influence industry opportunities and
threats? (Chapter 2)
• What are the sources of cost differences in an industry? (Chapter 4)
• What are the bases and potential bases for product differentiation in an
industry? (Chapter 5)
Appendix
Each chapter suggests more specific questions and concepts than those above.
You will want to consider these concepts in detail. In some cases, the instructor
may offer direction about which concepts to apply to a given case. In other
instances, you may be left to use your judgment in choosing which concepts to
focus on in analyzing a case.
3. Define the basic Issues. lhis is perhaps the most important step and also the
stage of analysis that requires the most wisdom and judgment. Cases are rarely
like tidy problem sets where the issues or problems are explicitly stated and the
tools needed to address those issues are prescribed. Generally, you need to
determine what the key issues are. In doing this, it may help for you to begin by
asking: What are the fundamental issues in the case? Which concepts matter
most in providing insight into those issues? One trap to avoid in defining basic
issues is doing what some decision-making scholars label “plunging-in,” which
is drawing conclusions without first thinking about the crux of the issues
involved in a decision. 1 Many students have a tendency to seize the first issues
that are prominently mentioned in a case. As an antidote to this trap, you may
want to consider a case from the perspective of different conceptual frames.
4. Develop and elaborate your analysis of the key issues. As with all of the steps,
there is no substitute for painstaking work in this stage. You need to take the
key issues you have defined in Step 3, examine the facts that you have noted in
Step 2, and assess what are the key facts. What does quantitative analysis
reveal? Here it is not just ratio analysis that we are concerned with. Just as
body temperature, blood pressure, and pulse rate may reveal something about
a person’s health but little about the causes of a sickness, ratio analysis typically tells us more about the health of a company than the causes of its performance. You should assemble facts and analysis to support your point of
view. Opinions unsupported by factual evidence and analysis are generally
not persuasive. lhis stage of the analysis involves organizing the facts in the
case. You will want to develop specific hypotheses about what factors relate to
success in a particular setting. Often, you will find it helpful to draw diagrams
to clarify your thinking.
5. Draw conclusions and formulate a set of recommendations. You may be
uncomfortable drawing conclusions and making recommendations because you
do not have complete information. This is an eternal dilemma for managers.
Managers who wait for complete information to do something, however, usually act too late. Nevertheless, you should strive to do the most complete analysis that you can under reasonable time constraints. Recommendations should
also flow naturally from your analysis. Too often, students formulate their recommendations in an ad hoc way. In formulating recommendations, you should
be clear about priorities and the sequence of actions that you recommend.
6. Prepare for class discussion. Students who diligently work through the first
five steps and rigorously examine a case should be well prepared for class
discussion. You may find it helpful to make some notes and bring them to
class. Over the years, we have observed that many of the students who are low
contributors to class discussions bring few or no notes to class. Once in class, a
case discussion usually begins with a provocative question from the instructor.
J.E. Russo and P. J. H. Schoemaker (1989). Decision Traps: Tm Ten Barriers to Brilliant Decision-Making
and How to Overcome Them. New York: Fireside.
1
345
346
Appendix
Many instructors will “cold call”-direct a question to a specific student who
has not been forewarned. Students who have thoroughly analyzed and discussed the case before coming to class will be much better prepared for these
surprise calls. They will also be better prepared to contribute to the analysis,
argument, and persuasion that will take place in the class discussion. Discussions can move rapidly. You will hear new insights from fellow students.
Preparation helps you to absorb, learn, and contribute to the insights that
emerge from class discussion.
Summary
Students who embark in the case method soon learn that analyzing cases is a
complex process. Having a clear conceptual approach such as the VRIO framework does not eliminate the complexity. This systematic approach, however,
does allow the analyst to manage the complexity of real-world business situations. In the end, though, neither cases nor real-world businesses conclude their
analyses with tidy solutions that resolve all the uncertainties and ambiguities a
business faces. However, the case method coupled with a good theory such as
the VRIO approach and hard work do make it more likely that you will generate valuable insights into the strategic challenges of firms and develop the
strategic skills needed to lead a firm.
Page 274
CASES
CASE 36
PIXAR*
After delaying the release of The Good Dinosaur, leaving Pixar without an offering during 2014, everyone at
Pixar was looking forward to the release of two films during 2015. Inside Out, about the emotions that live
inside the mind of a young girl, was due out in June. It was to be followed in November by The Good
Dinosaur, about a world in which dinosaurs never became extinct. Assuming that both films would perform
well, Pixar could have a memorable year. “We put our hearts into these films,” said John Lasseter, the
company’s chief creative officer.1
Since Pixar launched Toy Story in 1995, it had released 14 films, each of which debuted at the top of the
box office charts (see Exhibit 1). Its films also received critical acclaim, with nine nominations and seven wins
for Best Animated Film. This was far more awards than any other studio had received since the category was
added in 2001. However, despite the commercial success of Cars 2 and Monsters University, these recent films
did not generate the rave reviews that had been accorded to all of Pixar’s earlier offerings. This led many
industry observers to question whether Pixar had lost some of its creativity since it became part of the Walt
Disney Company.
Disney had acquired Pixar in 2006 for the hefty sum of $7.4 billon. The deal was finalized Page 275
by the late Steve Jobs, Apple Computer’s chief executive, who also served as the head of the
computer animation firm. Disney CEO Bob Iger had worked hard to eventually acquire Pixar, whose track
record made it one of the world’s most successful animation companies. Both Jobs and Iger were aware,
however, that they had to try to protect Pixar’s creative culture while they also tried to carry some of it over to
Disney’s animation efforts.
EXHIBIT 1
Pixar Films
872
Source: IMDB, Variety.
In fact, it was these pressures to maintain its past success that led Pixar to delay the release of The Good
Dinosaur. The firm pulled the film away from its director as it began to search for new ways to rework the
story. Pixar had done this before, and the firm insisted that rethinking an animated film was not uncommon,
especially when working with fresh, untested ideas. Given that animated films could take up to three years to
complete, story changes could occur in the middle of production. This could require that someone else take
the lead in order to complete the film.
Ed Catmull, president of Pixar, reiterated his firm’s commitment to take whatever steps might be necessary
to put out the best possible film. “Nobody ever remembers the fact that you slipped a film, but they will
remember a bad film,” he said.2 Catmull’s remarks indicated that Pixar was dedicated to having its lengthy
process of playfully crafting a film replace the standard production line approach that had been pursued by
Disney. This contrast in culture was best reflected in the Oscars that the employees at Pixar displayed proudly
but which had been painstakingly dressed in Barbie doll clothing.
Pushing for Computer Animated Films
The roots of Pixar stretched back to 1975 with the founding of a vocational school in Old Westbury, New
York, called the New York Institute of Technology. It was there that Edwin E. Catmull, a straitlaced
Mormon from Salt Lake City who loved animation but couldn’t draw, teamed up with the people who would
later form the core of Pixar. “It was artists and technologists from the very start,” recalled Alvy Ray Smith,
who worked with Catmull during those years. “It was like a fairy tale.”3
By 1979, Catmull and his team decided to join forces with famous Hollywood director George W. Lucas,
Jr. They were hopeful that doing so would allow them to pursue their dream of making animated films. As
part of Lucas’s filmmaking facility in San Rafael, California, Catmull’s group of aspiring animators was able to
make substantial progress in the art of computer animation. But the unit was not able to generate any profits,
and Lucas was not willing to let it grow beyond using computer animation for special effects.
Catmull finally turned, in 1985, to Jobs, who had just been ousted from Apple. Jobs was reluctant to invest
in a firm that wanted to make full-length feature films using computer animation. But a year later, Jobs did
decide to buy Catmull’s unit for just $10 million, which was one-third of Lucas’s asking price. While the
newly named Pixar Animation Studios tried to push the boundaries of computer animation over the next five
years, Jobs ended up having to invest an additional $50 million—more than 25 percent of his total wealth at
the time. “There were times that we all despaired, but fortunately not all at the same time,” said Jobs.4
Still, Catmull’s team continued to make substantial breakthroughs in the development of computergenerated full-length feature films (see Exhibit 2). In 1991, Disney ended up giving Pixar a three-film
contract that started with Toy Story. When the movie was finally released in 1995, its success surprised
everyone in the film industry. Rather than the nice little film Disney had expected, Toy Story became the
sensation of 1995. It rose to the rank of third-highest-grossing animated film of all time, earning $362 million
in worldwide box office revenues.
Within days, Jobs decided to take Pixar public. When the shares, priced at $22, shot past $33, Jobs called
his best friend, Oracle CEO Lawrence J. Ellison, to tell him he had company in the billionaires’ club. With
Pixar’s sudden success, Jobs returned to strike a new deal with Disney. Early in 1996, at a lunch with Walt
Disney chief Michael D. Eisner, Jobs made his demands: an equal share of the profits, equal billing on
merchandise and on-screen credits, and guarantees that Disney would market Pixar films as it did its own.
Boosting the Creative Component
With the success of Toy Story, Jobs realized that he had hit something big. He had obviously tapped into his
Silicon Valley roots and turned to computers to forge a unique style of creative moviemaking. In each of its
subsequent films, Pixar continued to develop computer animation that allowed for more lifelike backgrounds,
texture, and movement than ever before. For example, since real leaves are translucent, Pixar’s engineers
developed special software algorithms that both reflected and absorbed light, creating luminous scenes among
jungles of clover.
In spite of the significance of these advancements in computer animation, Jobs was well aware that
successful feature films would require a strong creative spark. He understood that it would be the marriage of
technology and creativity that would allow Pixar to rise above most of its competition. To achieve that, Jobs
fostered a campus-like environment within the newly formed outfit similar to the freewheeling, charged
atmosphere in the early days of his beloved Apple, to which he returned as acting CEO. “It’s not simply the
873
technology that makes Pixar,” said Dick Cook, former president of Walt Disney studios.5
Even though Jobs played a crucial supportive role, it was Catmull who was mainly responsible for ensuring
that the firm’s technological achievements helped to pump up the firm’s creative efforts. He was the keeper of
the company’s unique innovative culture, which blended Silicon Valley techies, Hollywood production
honchos, and artsy animation experts. In the pursuit of Catmull’s vision, this eclectic group transformed their
office cubicles into tiki huts, circus tents, and cardboard castles with bookshelves stuffed with toys and desks
adorned with colorful iMac computers.
One of Catmull’s biggest achievements was the creation of what was called the Pixar Page 276
Braintrust (see Exhibit 3). This creative group of employees, which included directors, met on a
regular basis to assess each movie that the firm was developing and offer their ideas for improvement. It was
this emphasis on creativity that kept Pixar on the cutting edge. Each of its films was innovative in many
respects and made the best possible use of computer animation. “They’re absolute geniuses,” gushed Jules
Roman, cofounder and CEO of rival Tippett Studio. “They’re the people who created computer animation
really.”6
EXHIBIT 2
Milestones
Source: Pixar.
EXHIBIT 3
Sample of Roles
874
Source: Pixar.
Catmull was also working hard to build upon this pursuit of creative innovation by creating Page 277
programs to develop the employees. Employees were encouraged to devote up to four hours a
week, every week, to further their education at Pixar University. The in-house training program offered 110
different courses covering subjects such as live improvisation, creative writing, painting, drawing, sculpting,
and cinematography. For many years, the school’s dean was Randall E. Nelson, a former juggler, who had
been known to perform his act using chain saws so students in animation classes had something compelling to
draw.
Becoming Accomplished Storytellers
A considerable part of the creative energy went into story development. Jobs understood that a film would
work only if its story could move the hearts and minds of families around the world. His goal was to develop
Pixar into an animated movie studio that was known for the quality of its storytelling above everything else.
“We want to create some great stories and characters that endure with each generation,” Jobs stated.7
For story development, Pixar relied heavily on 43-year-old John Lasseter, who went by the title of vice
president of the creative. Known for his collection of 358 Hawaiian shirts and his irrepressible playfulness
with toys, Lasseter was the key to the appeal of all of Pixar’s films. Lasseter was very passionate about
developing great stories and then harnessing computers to tell these stories. Most of Pixar’s employees
believed it was this passion that allowed the studio to ensure that each of its films was a commercial hit. In
fact, Lasseter was regarded as the Walt Disney of the 21st century.
When it was time to start a project, Lasseter would isolate a group of eight or so writers and direct them to
forget about the constraints of technology. The group members would bounce ideas off each other, taking
collective responsibility for developing a story. While many studios tried to rush from script to production,
Lasseter took up to two years just to work out all the details. Once the script was developed, artists created
storyboards that connected the various characters to the developing plot. “No amount of great animation is
going to save a bad story,” he said. “That’s why we go so far to make it right.”8
Only after the basic story had been set did Lasseter begin to think about what he would need from Pixar’s
technologists. And it was always more than the computer animators expected. Lasseter, for example,
demanded that the crowds of ants in A Bug’s Life not be a single mass of look-alike faces. To solve the
problem, computer expert William T. Reeves developed software that randomly applied physical and
emotional characteristics to each ant. In another instance, writers brought a model of a butterfly named Gypsy
to researchers, asking them to write code so that when she rubs her antennae, viewers could see the hairs press
down and pop back up.
At any stage during the process, Lasseter might go back to potential problems that he saw with the story.
In A Bug’s Life, for example, the story was totally revamped after more than a year of work had been
completed. Originally, it was about a troupe of circus bugs run by P.T. Flea that tries to rescue a colony of
ants from marauding grasshoppers. But because of a flaw in the story—why would the circus bugs risk their
lives to save stranger ants?—codirector Andrew Stanton recast the story to be…
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