Attached is the entire case book (If you simply control F in the case book and type “best buy”, you should get the full case.) as well as a kind of 2 part guide with steps that the professor told us to briefly follow. Below you will find the exact instructions for the paper:

The Case for the Midterm written assignment is “Best Buy in Crisis” (as revised in March 2014).  If you purchased a coursepack for this class, you can access the case by following the instructions that came with your coursepack.  It went “live” yesterday.  Because I have heard no complaints about this, I am assuming that the procedure is working.  If you have a problem, contact the book store.  If you did not purchase a new coursepack for this class, you will need to find another way to access the case.  You can buy the case direct from Harvard Business School Press on their website.  You can also use a friend’s copy of the case because it was used as the midterm for the Spring semester.  If you use a friend’s copy, be careful to use only the friend’s copy of the case, NOT the friend’s analysis.

Your assignment for the midterm is this:

It is shortly after the events in the case have taken place.  G. Mike Mikan, the CEO of Best Buy, contacts you.  He has heard from a mutual acquaintance that you are a very good advisor to CEO’s.  Mikan leaves you the following phone message:

“Things are pretty hectic here at Best Buy and I am under pressure to come up very quickly with some answers to our strategic issues.  I may want your help with this.  In order to see if you are the right person to help me, please send me your written answers to these two questions:

1.  What is the most important problem or problems that I need to deal with?  Why is this problem or these problems more important than other issues?

2.  What should I do about this problem/these problems?

I am very busy.  Do not send me more than five pages, including any illustrations or exhibits.”

This is an individual assignment.  Do not collaborate with anyone.  You can produce a very good answer using only the information in the case but feel free to use other sources and any concepts that have been discussed in the course.