Grading the Case Analysis

The objective for students to analyze cases is to gain experience in decision-making: identifying the key issues and relevant facts, utilizing appropriate methodologies and theories, and, most of all, developing an ability to offer a well reasoned understanding and resolution of business problems. The kinds of problems encountered are typically not highly structured and multiple solutions may be defended. So, the grading is not about "the correct answer". The grading is your professor's judgment of your problem-solving abilities as you demonstrate them in the case analysis. To some this will sound like "subjective" grading. There are constraints on grading that mitigate this "subjectivity":

1. I selected the case because of its content and focus which identify an area I want the student exposed to: there is a learning objective.
2. I have my own analysis of the case - a guideline or "road map" of what a thorough analysis "looks like". You will gain insight into my analysis during the case discussions.
3. I affix a grade to a paper only after reading all (or most) of the cases submitted - there is a comparative evaluation of papers across students to assess a relative grade.
4. I also use a structure in my grading to give greatest emphasis to your analysis, reasoning, use of case facts, and ability to "put it altogether". So, students may have similar conclusions to their cases, but the case grade will differ because of level of analysis, ability to develop the case, use of case facts, and/or intelligibility of what is written is different.

Depending upon the number of cases submitted, grading may take 2 weeks. After a grade is earned, students are welcome to discuss their performance with me to improve future analyses. I will not discuss cases prior to in-class discussion of a case-- PLEASE DON'T ASK ME