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The Case Study Assignments

The questions that I am most frequently asked about case analysis are: "What is it that you want?" and "I don't see any problem in the case, what is it that you want?" This page attempts to explain my answer and to provide what I hope is helpful information on the instructional purpose of cases and how students should engage cases to earn as high a grade as they can.

On these pages you can find information about:

The cases that are used in the course this semester.
A discussion of what a case is and why I use them.
Class discussion objectives.
How to write the case analysis.
How the case analysis is graded.
Managing your group.

The Cases for MGT499: (Other courses, please see your syllabus.)

What is a Case Study?

As with other professional studies, business administration is an applied discipline; and, business education trains practitioners. Ideally business schools would assign the student to a real business and mentor them through the problems they confront. A good internship might do this. But, there are real problems: businesses are "in the business" of making money, not in the business of letting students experiment with decisions that affect the "bottom line". So, the kinds of problems and decisions that the student is allowed to tackle in the best of an internship, however instructive, tend to be limited in scope and are not critically important to the business. In most professional training programs student exposure to "real life" problems is handled initially through a simulation. In the training of physicians, students first practice on models or cadavers, before they practice on humans. In the training of lawyers, students first practice argumentation in moot court before they defend or prosecute people. And, business students first practice on cases. 

The case study method is a teaching technique that exposes students to learning situations that approximate the complexities of business. Typically, a case provides a set of facts that describe a situation, real or hypothetical. How the case study is used in teaching, how it is written, and how the student engages the case differ across universities, text book authors, and professors. I closely follow the Harvard Business School method. I am trained in this and this is the most widely adopted case method. In my teaching the kinds of cases that I use and the degree of student engagement in the cases will differ by course. Lower level courses tend to use short, very specific kinds of cases in which the problem is transparent and the student must demonstrate problem solving ability using a theory or theories that have been taught in class. At the senior and graduate level the focus is on teaching students how to apply what they have learned. At the senior and masters degree level the case is complex, lengthy, and presents diverse data and information for analysis. The problem or problems may not be easy to define or the case may not be about a "problem" needing a solution, rather it might be about perspectives on an issue that the student must engage. At the senior and masters degree level, case analysis is about teaching business students to identify problems, issues, and opportunities, as well as about fitting solutions and developing the logic that supports both problem identification and proposed solution or actions.

Because at this level the cases are about "higher level learning", the student should not be concerned about the "right" answer. This statement perplexes many of my students because we are taught that problems have discrete solutions and the point of learning is to "learn" the correct answer. While there certainly are business problems with discrete answers, mostly business is about problem solving and about identifying a course of action where we really don't know the consequences of our decisions or actions. This is decision making under uncertainty where we are trying to anticipate how the market will react to the actions we enact. There may be several possible courses of actions or perspectives that are available. The case analysis requires the student to explain and defend a perspective or course of action. This requires a diagnosis or "sizing up" of the situation, rendering of a reasoned opinion as to which facts are relevant, and recommendation as to a course of action based on this reasoning and these facts. At the senior and masters level, the analysis will typically require the student to integrate skills and knowledge that has been acquired in other courses, as well as the course material that I teach. The cases, therefore, may contain financial or marketing data, for example, but the case is usually not just a financial or marketing case. The student must demonstrate an ability to work with the variety of information available.

Class Discussion of the Cases

Each case will be discussed in class, as scheduled in the syllabus. I grade this activity as the "Participation" component of the course grade. To participate you must be present, and you must be familiar with the case under discussion. I strongly recommend that a student read the case once for "overview" and at least one other time for understanding and for identification of key facts. Expect that you will be called upon during class discussion to contribute. If the class is large or the discussion particularly intense, I may not be able to call on every student for a particular case, but every student over the course will have opportunity to contribute.

The reason for class discussion is to use the case to illustrate concepts, approaches, or methods, and to contrast differing approaches and interpretations of events and facts. More than a teaching tool, cases are a learning tool. We learn by sharing and discussing ideas with one another. The class discussion is an attempt to engage students in business problem solving through active discussion. My discussion technique follows the Harvard case model. Typically I will open the discussion with a question posed to a student. I may follow-up with the student to develop what is offered, or I may pass to another student to help develop the case discussion. Students may volunteer by raising a hand, but my job is to try to engage as many students as possible to develop the case, so do not feel slighted if I fail to call on you when you volunteer an answer. I am not especially interested in developing a solution to the case. I am interested in dissecting the case to explore and discuss issues. Do not be disturbed if the class discussion fails to reach a conclusion, or if the conclusion we reach is different from your own. Your are invited to advance your own interpretation and conclusion.

Some students enjoy the "give and take" of this kind of "socratic" dialogue, and some students believe this is confrontational or invasive. The technique can be confrontational as students are expected to defend their positions with case facts which can be challenged. And, the method is invasive in that I am attempting to bring a student into the discussion, even when the student would prefer to be left alone. A critical construction of the case can resemble argumentation. But, this will not rise to personal affronts or violate the respect for each other as students attempting to collaboratively understand and reason through a business problem. Remember my job is to try to enhance your thinking and communication skills as a business practitioner, so the "give and take" situation of case discussion is an important aspect of your learning.

I may vary the discussion technique to assign a particular issue to a group or to give prior notice to a student of the type of question that I will be asking. Before beginning a case discussion I may ask if students prefer a small group discussion prior to class discussion. If we begin with small group discussion, students should form discussion groups with their team members. There is usually 10-15 minutes allocated to this. Because the time is short this format cannot be used to learn the case. The student must have read the case and is now expected to discuss the case with other students, sharing ideas or gaining insight into particularly difficult aspects of the case. It is usually not fruitful to focus on a consensus solution to the case. After the allocated time, the class will be convened and the case will be discussed.

If you strongly feel that you cannot participate in this kind of class discussion, I urge you to consider that you may especially need this kind of engagement. Much of what we do in business is interpret facts, render a reasoned explanation of how we see things, and defend (or sell) our perspective to others-- in my opinion you need these skills. The classroom is the safest place to practice them.