Case Method:A Pedagogical Tool

in Management Education

IIM Kozhikode
 Outline of Presentation
What is case method?
Why case method?
Preparation
In class
Outside class

Good of case method

Pitfalls of case method
History of development of Case Method:
Harvard Law School roots:
A.W.Shaw of HBS used cases in 1871

Commonly called Case History

Used in Social Science, Medicine, Psychology, Architecture, Law

In management a case describes actual situation in Organizations

Tells how current situation has developed

 What is a business case?

Business case is a record of a business issue

which actually has been faced by business
executives together with surrounding facts,
opinions and prejudices upon which executive
decision had to depend.
 Why cases in Business
Education?
Management Student exposed only to
lecture method faces what an interesting
Limerick captures:
A student of business with tact

Absorbed many answers he lack

But acquiring a job

He said with a sob

How does one fit answer to fact?

 Cases in Business Education
Cases have broad range of issues that
requires prioritization of issues
requires multiple skills and tools
has no one solution
Management students should learn to face
complex, ambiguous situations & learn to
cope with them
 Related advantages of Case
Education
Cases help develop communication and
social skills :
Individual cannot think of everything that
fellow students can think of
They need to cooperate with others
There is often no best answer
The teacher often does not have the best answer
There is a need for independent thinking
 Related advantages of Case Education

Case helps bring forth application skills:

Data based logical arguments
Nature of frustration due to lack of data
Limits of logical decisions - role of
experience, gut feel, informed guess
Cases help bring out value position of
individuals e.g. view on kickbacks, bribes
 Types of cases
Originally oral narrative of situation, provides
relevant data
Written form is most common
Videos, films, multimedia
May need to be reduced to written notes

Unit of analysis can be:

general macro economy, country level, industry
level, firm level, within firm group level or
individual level
 Types of cases
Real or actual description
With identity revealed or disguised
Using real or synthetic data
OR

Fictional
To highlight future possible situation
 Learning through Cases
Each case is unique
Cases can therefore only have common
approaches
Each industry/business is unique and needs
to be understood
Need to read and reread cases to grasp the
major issues and their linkages
 Steps in case preparation
Read and reread to
Grasp facts
Identify issues requiring decision
Keep asking What is the problem?
What points require attention?
What has caused the situation?

Reflect to get issues deeper than apparent

Problem identification
 Steps in case preparation
Once problem identified:
Many alternative courses of action
Each course of action considered separately to
understand implications

To prioritize among existing alternatives

Break main problem into sub-problems and sub-
questions

Often realistic assumptions required.

 Steps in case preparation
Action recommendations need to be based on
substantial analysis/ significant evidence after
balancing for and against arguments involving
What stand as a decision maker would you like to
take
Use of significant concepts
Knowledge of managerial implications of
decisions taken
Critical Stage in Case Preparation
Critical stage of case preparation as like
Medicine is the Diagnosis of the
problem/identification of problem -
everything else depends on this
Comes through not more text reading but
through handling more and varied cases
 PREPARATION TECHNIQUES
Small group learning:(Before case class & Outside class)
Group of students with diverse background and
experience look at same case.
Helps get different points of view
Group Dynamics
Often lack of participation to score points in Class
Participation (CP)
Dysfunctional for small group learning
 PREPARATION TECHNIQUES
In class :
defend decision and viewpoint before peers
Develop communication skills
Participation essential for case learning
Get to know others view
Gain confidence in ones judgment BUT humility and openness
to accept other/ superior alternative
Realize how far logic can go and where judgment/gut feel takes
over
 PREPARATION TECHNIQUES

After Class:
reflect on the case
Link learning from one class to another and from one
module to another
Helps build continuity in learning and achieve learning
objective

Integration of Learning
 In SUMMARY
When Handling Case:
In any argument, always look for and question:
Basic assumption: Are they necessary & if so are
they sufficient
Value base of the arguments
Factual data: Validity and source
Appropriateness of techniques and tools applied
Interpretation of qualitative data
Major linkages in the arguments
Self Actualization and Learning Process
 Role of Teacher
Does not teach / lecture
Does not say right or wrong
Just facilitates the discussion
sets ball rolling
gives direction for discussion to be more
productive than sterile
summarizes points of value

can adopt Socrates way of questioning :

Devils Advocate Role
 Pros and Cons of Case Method
Pros of Case Method:
Self actualized learning process: Independent process
Develops communication skills
Develops ability to deal with unstructured problems
Teaches to manage group dynamics and defend point of
view
Cons/Pitfalls of Case Method:
Too much of linear thinking may lead to
Difficulty in identifying problem and
Earlier given problem and asked to apply technique
 New Era Issues

Distant Education
video conferencing as tools to replace class room
teaching
Size of class problems

Impact of the net

Ready made case material available on net
Pitfalls of data mining versus data analysis for
alternative generation
Happy Learning Through Cases
&
Thank You