OB 6301 Fall 2022 Tuesday

Group Case Memos and Discussion – Info

Each team will submit 8 Case Memos (out of 9) and participate in the discussion of the cases
during our time together. You are expected to use the case questions (listed at the end of each
case) as a starting point and use chapter material to discuss these questions and any other issues
that you think are relevant to the case.

Preparation:
 I understand that some of you might not be familiar with case analysis. Even though these
cases are very short, it is important that you have a good understanding of the purpose of
cases and how to go about analyzing them. Please make sure you watch the videos listed
below BEFORE you start working on your case:
https://appliedabstractions.com/2016/06/19/cases-how-to-prepare-for-and-learn-from-them-2/
(copy and paste this link into your browser).

These 5 clips by Espen Andersen and Hanno Roberts of the Norwegian Business School are
excellent and will help you get more out of the cases.

Submission:
 Case Memo: One of your team members needs to submit your group case memo by 10
am on the day when we will discuss it in class. Succinctly address all end-of-case
questions. You will have 1 to 1 ½ page of focused content (double-spaced, font size 12).

Note: Be careful not to mix up “Symptoms” and “Causes” of any problems in the
cases. “Symptoms” are those things that indicate that there is a problem in the
organization. They are usually those found on the Dependent Variable side of the OB
Model (issues with performance, turnover, absenteeism, etc.). “Causes” are those things
that help you explain why we have problems (symptoms). Causes are usually found on
the “Independent Variable” side of the OB Model. If the case asks you to identify
“Causes” of the symptoms, you will need to mainly refer to OB concepts from the
chapter to which the case is assigned. However, for most cases, you will also be able to
identify causes of the problems by incorporating OB concepts from previous chapters.

An example to illustrate the difference between symptoms and causes: Let’s say someone
you know is sick. What might be the symptoms? It could be fever, coughing, chills,
 headaches, etc. (these are symptoms). What could be the causes? It could be a flu virus,
or even Covid 19. The virus here is the cause.

During our discussion of the cases in class:

I will call on specific teams to contribute their ideas. For example, I might start with asking for
input about the symptoms that are present in the case and that indicate that there is an issue (this
is the first question in a number of the cases). I’ll then, for example, will ask someone from
Team 3 to start us off. I’ll then might ask for input from other teams. It is up to you to decide
who will speak for your team for each of the cases. However, make sure that you rotate this
role.

Group Case Memos (these cases are at the end of the

chapters): Complete 8 out of 9
These cases are at the end of the chapter.
1 Ch 3: HY Dairies, Inc. 9/27
2 Ch 4: Diana’s Disappointment 10/4
3 Ch 5: Cincinnati Super Subs 10/11
4 Ch 6: Yakkatech, Inc. 10/25
5 Ch 8: Conifer Corp. 11/1
6 Ch 10: Resonus Corporation 11/29
7 Ch 12: A Window On Life 11/29
8 Ch 14: Hilton’s Transformation 12/6
9 Ch 15: Transact Insurance Corporation 12/6

Peer Evaluation:
Submit by 12/6 (Submission Link in eLearning). See the form below.

Peer Evaluation Sheet

Course:______________

Team #: ____________
Name (Last/First):______________________________________________

Team Member Name Score (1-5)* Reasons

Self

 1 (extremely unsatisfactory) – 2 (very unsatisfactory) – 3 (unsatisfactory) – 3.5 (neither

satisfactory nor unsatisfactory) – 4 (satisfactory) – 4.5 (very satisfactory) – 5 (extremely
satisfactory)
 If 1, then the person gets 0.2
 If 2, then the person gets 0.4
 If 3, then the person gets 0.6
 If 3.5, then the person gets 0.7
 If 4, then the person gets 0.8
 If 4.5, then the person gets 0.9
 If 5, then the person gets 1

Then this participation score will be multiplied with the score one gets from the team
facilitation project. For example, if a student gets 12 out of 16 points for the Group Case
Memos and 4 from the peer evaluation, then the actual grade is 12 * 0.8 = 9.6 (out of 16),
not 12 (out of 16).

Be objective in evaluating other members in your team and specify reasons.

If one turns in a blank peer evaluation sheet with only the name on it, then everybody
in the team gets 5 (1.0).