IS 8950

1. IS 8950 Case based teaching: Advantages and limitations

2. Agenda • Why case methodology • How to prepare for a case • Issues definition • Discussing cases • How to present a case

3. Limitations of a Case • Cases describe actual business situations • Cases deal with problems managers encounter daily • Cases are not actual business situations • Information access: • Student: information comes to students in neatly written forms • Managers: accumulate facts and opinions through meetings, memos, conversations, reports, and the public press

4. Limitations of a Case (continued) • Information scope: • Student: designed to fit a particular unit of class time and focus on a certain category of problems (e.g. marketing, production, or finance) • Managers: have to deal with real situations omitted in cases including people and/or organizational issues. • Time scope: • Student: cases are snapshot taken at a point in time • Managers: business problems are often seen as a continuum calling for some action today, and more action tomorrow • Accountability: • Students: are called on to make decision on the cases but don’t have the responsibility for implementing them. • Managers: are responsible for implementing their decisions.

5. Cases are not actual business situations • Packaged information • Fit a unit of class time • Focus on a certain category of problems • A snapshot taken at a point in time • Decisions without the responsibility to implement

6. Advantages of a Case in the Classroom • Cases cut across a range of companies, industries, and situations, • Cases provide an exposure • Cases help to sharpen analytical skills. • Cases provide a focal point for an exchange of experiences • Case discussions provide a vehicle for reassessing observations, experiences, and rules-of-thumb

7. Advantages of a Case in the Classroom (Continued) • Useful for developing sets of principles and concepts • A series of cases on a particular subject helps to highlight concepts • Concepts can be applied in practice • Renew the sense of fun and excitement of manager’s role • Sense the challenge of a manager

8. How to prepare for a case • Go through the case fast • Asking yourself, • “What is the case about?” • “What types of information is given?” • Focus on exhibits and first/last few paragraphs • Read the case very carefully • Underlining key facts • Put yourself in the position of the manager • Develop a sense of involvement in his/her problems

9. How to prepare for a case (Continued) • Define what you believe to be the basic issues • Identify the relevant areas for analyzing these issues • Note each relevant area separately • Go back through the case • jot down the facts that are relevant for each of your areas of analysis

10. How to prepare for a case (Continued) • Study the factual information • Weigh the qualitative evidence • Weigh the quantitative evidence • Note your conclusions for each analytical area • Review your conclusions • Formulate a set of recommendations • Direct recommendations at the issues you’ve identified. • Develop rigorous analytical thinking • Arguably the most important benefit of case method • Develop frameworks

11. Defining Issues • Resolve the immediate (explicit) issues • Deal with aspects of the business raised by the immediate problem • Example: “What should be our advertising strategy?” • The fundamental problem may be, “What should be our target market segment?” • “How do we develop an overall strategy for reaching it?”

12. Defining Issues (continued) • Good problem definition • Names the immediate issues • Defines issues in a way that calls for action-oriented answers • Puts issues in a proper context, (i.e. broader issues) • Deals with the problems from the perspective of an individual manager • Recognize the manager’s responsibilities and scope of authority • Recognize the limitations of the manager’s position

13. Defining Issues (continued) • A good answer has these qualities: • It deals explicitly with the specific problems posed in the case and within the context of the broader issues • It is well supported by sound analysis and arguments • It recognizes the pros and cons of taking any recommended course of action • It includes ideas for implementation

14. Discussions • Come prepared for discussion • present your arguments • carefully listen to the comments made by others • The purpose of the discussion • Is not to develop a consensus; • Is not to develop a group position; • It is to help each member refine, adjust, and fill out his or her own thinking; • It is not necessary, or even desirable, that you agree.

15. Discussions (continued) • Immerse yourself in the case • People learn the most from those things in which they are most deeply involved • Prepare for discussions • Little can be learned from even the best cases without solid preparation • Team norming • Take time to discuss the rules for your team

16. Presenting a Case • Content • Present the key issues • address the issue not the person • Process • listen first, listen well • Observe time limit • take notes

17. Presenting a Case (continued) • Express, support, and defend your conclusions and recommendations • The presenter controls the format during his/her time • Instructor and other students will prod you to explore fully the ideas you’ve developed • Another person will critic the presenters ideas • When critiquing a case start by highlighting the positive aspects of the presentation • Instructor will summarize the discussion and draw out the useful lessons and observations

18. Case 1: A Tale of Two Airlines • Assignment questions for case 1: • What assumptions did Professor McPherson make about information technology support at the London-based airlines? Do you believe those are realistic assumptions in the technology environment of the mid-1990s? • What factors do you suppose lead to the difference between Professor McPherson's expectations and the reality? What alternate approaches could have been taken to resolve the situation? • What were the differences between the Atlanta-based airline's approach and that of the London airline? Did the Atlanta-based airline have any special advantages in approaching the problem? • What advice would you give the London-based airline's management?