Frameworks.

Frameworks are compression. They help a tired team ask complete questions. They become harmful when a team force-fits a famous 2×2 onto a Hong Kong railway, a Japan skincare brand, or a people decision at a bank. The Case Competition teaches frameworks as optional instruments under an issue tree.

Use a framework only after the question is written.

If the governing question is “Should the average fare rise?”, a profitability tree and a crowding/capacity lens are relevant. Brand archetypes are not. If the question is “How should SK-II globalise from Japan?”, customer, company, and context (3Cs) plus a capability-to-win test are relevant. A generic SWOT dump is not a recommendation.

A small working set.

• Issue tree / MECE split. The master tool. Every other framework is a suggested first split.
• Profit bridge. Price, volume, mix, variable cost, fixed cost. Use when money is the constraint.
• 3Cs and 4Ps. Use for commercial go-to-market, not for culture or ethics cases.
• Where to play / how to win. Use for scope choices: which segment, which city, which product.
• Capability and cost to serve. Use when the company could theoretically win but cannot operate the plan.
• Stakeholder map. Use for public service, crisis, and people cases. Who can stop the plan?

How students should show a framework.

Do not paste a textbook diagram. Write the branches in the language of the case. Put a claim on each branch. If a branch has no evidence, say what you would need. Judges can tell the difference between a tool that organised work and a poster that filled a slide.

SWOT appears in the original tools page because it is a familiar scan. Treat it as a capture grid in the first twenty minutes, then promote the useful cells into an issue tree. Do not present SWOT as the final answer.

Practise by building two different first splits for the same archive case. If both trees lead to the same recommendation, you are ready to draft slides. If they do not, the team has not yet found the binding constraint.

Teaching drill (not a past official prompt): “Should the average fare rise?” Profit bridge and crowding/capacity can be first splits. Brand archetypes cannot. If both trees still recommend the same action, you may draft slides. If they disagree, you have not found the constraint.

Continue with issue trees, tools, and training.