Chartered Management Institute (CMI): Case study research

For public limited companies (PLCs), you will also find the annual report on their website that gives useful insights in the Executive summary and their financial activity in the accounts over a 12 month period. Many organisations such as government departments and agencies, the NHS, and charities also publish annual reports.

You may have to scrutinise the website to find this information. Look for sections called About us, What we do, News, Media or Investors pages. Some of this information may be accessed from links at the very end of the home page.

Make sure you are also viewing the correct website whether it is a company, government department or a charitable organisation. Remember some companies, for example, will also have an online shopping website independent of their corporate website.

▶️ Websites Video

UK PLC (Public Limited Company) or Ltd (limited) companies have to legally file annual accounts with Companies House, an agency of the UK Government. PLCs have to file detailed company accounts that include a written report from the CEO or chairman compared to the short financial accounts for a limited company.

As well as the company's website for PLCs, financial accounts can be found from the FAME (Financial Analysis Made Easy) database. This database holds financial information for most active and inactive UK public and limited companies taken from the accounts filed with Companies House, amongst other sources.

▶️ FAME Video

▶️  Business Market Research Collection Video

▶️ Business Source Complete Video

Company information and industry overviews can also be found in market research reports. These tend to be written on consumer goods and services and often focus on a narrow sector such as DIY retailing or snack foods. Reports titles also tend to be repeated on a regular basis so check the publication date for the latest report.

It is recommended to search all databases as coverage and content will vary.

Coventry University has a subscription to the Financial Times (FT) which is considered to be the leading UK finance and business newspaper. You will have to create an account with the FT on first accessing the site using your Coventry University email. 

All other UK newspapers can be found from the Lexis+ service. Limit your search to Broadsheet Newspapers to search for more authoritative articles. Broadsheet refers to the paper size newspapers such as the Guardian, The Times and Daily Telegraph were traditionally printed on.

▶️ Lexis+ Video

News articles can also be found on an organisation's website and from journal databases.

As you progress with your research, you may wish to review competitor or government websites associated with your case study organisation. You could also consider policy announcements, for example, that might be relevant to your case study should your organisation be a government agency or have a contractual arrangement with the UK Government.

You will find a list of useful websites on this guide and remember to consult the CMI website as well. There are also links to  national and international organisations that collate statistical information from the Statistics page.

Referencing a presentation will follow the same format as a written assignment. You are expected to include in-text citations on your slides and a complete reference list on the final page(s) of your presentation.

Coventry University uses either the APA (7th edition) referencing style or OSCOLA for law students only.

APA - Details how to reference articles and reports can be found on the APA Referencing Guide. In the Articles and Reports section, you will find tabs on how to reference journal articles, newspaper articles, and electronic, database and government reports. Information on referencing Websites can be found in the adjacent section.