In our recent assignment, we were asked to complete a live case study of a sports apparel company called LuluLemon. As part of our method to  recommend the CEO of the company whether she should expand LuluLemon geographically or increase their product line, we were introduced to two tools; the issue sorting tool, and the fishbone diagram.

The fishbone diagram looks like this:

The box at the very right of the diagram is where the event goes, and the diagram branches off to show how different causes lead to the event.Each cause then branches off into smaller sections that show factors that may influence these causes.

The issue sorting too looks like this:

This diagram allows us to see what the importance and urgency of things. The grid is divided into four sections, each one showing something important or unimportant, and urgent or not urgent. This diagram is commonly used by managers to analyze developments in the external environment.

We were asked to complete each of these diagrams in our groups in class. Our fishbone diagram was centered around a fictional issue of LuluLemon’s decrease in profit and margin. These are some of the causes we came up with:

• The economic crisis that the world faces right now
• The increase in the prices of material and manufacturing
• The increasing competition from other corporations, such as Nike and Under Armor
• The lawsuits that LLL has to file against those who infringe their patent rights

Personally, I thought that these diagrams were an excellent way of organizing our ideas into a comprehensible form. The issue sorting tool (priority matrix) was especially appealing to me, since I was introduced to this during my studies in High School. Instead of applying the diagram for business purposes, we used it for task management, but it was an effective tool nonetheless. For our future assignments where we are asked to conduct case studies, I will make sure to utilize these tools to their full extent.