Consider yourself a consultant who has been engaged by Flayton Electronics to provide a report with recommendations in response to a recent incident.  Your target audience is the senior management team at the Flayton Electronics.  Write your report and recommendations from your perspective as a consultant.  Your report should follow the format specified below. 

The case study may be purchased here for $4.25.  This case study will be due in Week 3.  

The format of your case study report must be:

• Cover Page – this should be a standard cover page similar to what you would use for a research paper
• Cover Letter – there is no strict format for the cover letter only that write your cover letter as a consultant engaged by Flayton Electronics.  It should be fairly short and not a deep review of the case.  It should be addressed to the senior management team at Flayton Electronics.  A consultant would typically thank the client for the opportunity to work on the project and refer to the report to follow.     
• Executive Summary – the best way to approach an executive summary is to write it as if the reader was only going to read this portion of your report.  Keep it short, highlight the problem, and your recommendations.  An executive summary is typically only a 2-3 paragraphs.  You can be longer but again, think about what you would say about your report and your recommendations to one who was only going to read this section.  Also keep in mind that this individual needs to be convinced that you have made good recommendations.  Therefore your summary is part of selling your services to the client.  
• Client Company Background – provide a brief description of the business (Flayton Electronics).  Your client knows this already but they need to know that you have done your homework and know what their business is all about.  This will convince them that you know the context and impact of the problem they have encountered.  This does not need to be more than a few paragraphs. 
• Problem statement – identify and discuss the fundamental, underlying problem.  Was this a failure of technology?  Policy? People?  Some combination of these and other factors?  Many issues can cascade from the core problem.  Therefore, it is very important to identify the root case.  Be as specific as possible.  This is important because your recommendations should then address the underlying problem directly.    
• Discussion of Alternatives – this will be the longest section of your report.  In this section you will be describing and analyzing the solutions that you have considered.  There are always multiple was to solve a problem.  The option of doing nothing, while always available, is usually not a good choice.  You should identify at least 3 options/solutions that you considered for your client.  In your discussion share the pros and cons of each possible solution.  Identify potential costs for each alternative.  This may require some research on your part.  For instance, if you have considered adding equipment, provide an estimate for the cost of this equipment.  The same goes for personnel, consulting fees, training, etc.  I am looking for ball park numbers here but your numbers should be reasonable and based on research.  Remember, your audience is made up of leaders who are running a business and they need to know how much your solution is going to cost.  Cost avoidance and revenue generation can be part of your discussion.  Your discussion can be technical but your client ultimately needs to understand your alternatives and the financial impact to their business.  
• Recommendation – keep in mind that there is not necessarily a “right” answer to any case.  Therefore, your recommendation needs to be solid and convincing.  In this section you identify which of your alternatives you are recommending to your client with an emphasis on “why”.  You’ve already described this alternative earlier and don’t need to spend a great deal of time describing the details again.  Instead explain why your recommendation is their best course of action?  Is your recommendation driven by cost, urgency, time to implement, etc.?  Give them reasons why you have selected the course of action you are recommending.         
• Next Steps – identify immediate next steps for your client.  You don’t need to provide a full project plan, only some initial steps that your client should take in the next 30 days or sooner.  This can be a fairly short section.   

Be sure to: 

• Double Space your report
• Use Times New Roman 12 point
• Pay attention to Spelling/Grammar/Punctuation
• Use Page Numbers