Management Teaching Through

Case Study Methods

Saket Jeswani
Sr.Asst.Professor
Department of Business Administration
Shri Shankarachrya Institute of Technology &
Management, Bhilai
 What is a case study?
 A written description of actual managerial problems, situations &
events.

 It provides factual information about an industry, an organisation, its

products, services & markets, its competitive position, financial,
structural and economic data.

 A case study is a particular method of qualitative research.

 It is a description of management problem or situation as viewed or

presented to a decision maker.

 A case presents facts, events & organizational circumstances

surrounding a particular managerial situation.

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  Rather than using large samples and following a rigid protocol to
examine a limited number of variables, case study methods involve an
in-depth, longitudinal examination of a single instance or event.

 It provides a systematic way of looking at events, collecting data,

analyzing information, and reporting the results.

 As a result the researcher may gain a sharpened understanding of why

the instance happened as it did, and what might become important to
look at more extensively in future research.

 A case study presents an account of what happened to a business or

industry over a number of years. It chronicles the events that
managers had to deal with, such as changes in the competitive
environment, and charts the managers' response, which usually
involved changing the business- or corporate-level strategy.

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  An important point to be emphasized here is that a case is not a
problem. A problem usually has a unique, correct solution. On the
other hand, a decision-maker faced with the situation described in a case
can choose between several alternative courses of action, and each of
these alternatives may be supported by logical argument. To put it
simply, there is no unique, correct answer in the case study method.
 The case method of analysis is a learning tool in which students and
Instructors participate in direct discussion of case studies, as opposed to
the lecture method, where the Instructor speaks and students listen and
take notes.
 In the case method, students teach themselves, with the Instructor
being an active guide, rather than just a talking head delivering content.
The focus is on students learning through their joint, co-operative
effort.

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 Objectives
 To increase the understanding of the students of what managers should
& should not do in guiding a business to success.

 To build the students skills in conducting strategic analysis in a variety

of situations of companies & industries.

 To provide the students, valuable practice in diagnosing strategic

issues, evaluating strategic alternatives with the help of SWOT analysis
& formulating practicable plans of action based on ground realities.

 To enhance the sense of business judgement.

 To provide the students an in-depth exposure to a variety of companies

& industries.

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 Importance
 The case study method involves teaching scientific theory and content in a
framework that students can relate to in their own world.

 Students develop analytical problem-solving skills and higher-order

thinking skills.

 Students practice oral and written communication skills.

 Uses collaborative/cooperative (rather than competitive) learning

strategies.

 The intellectual exercises carried out by a student engaged in case-study

analysis are similar to the activities of a research scientist.

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 Role of Teacher & Student
 The case study method usually involves three stages: individual preparation,
small group discussion, and large group or class discussion. While both the
instructor and the student start with the same information, their roles are
clearly different in each of these stages, as shown in table.

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 How to Analyze a Case Study
 Read the case to get familiar
 Read the case second time
 Study the case
 Identify the strategic issues
 Diagnose the key issues
 Analyze the strategic issues
 Generate the alternative solutions
 Evaluate the alternative solutions
 Rank the solutions
 Select the best solution
 Prepare the action plan
 Conclusion

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 ANALYZING A CASE STUDY
Generally, detailed analysis of a case study should include eight areas:

 The history, development, and growth of the company over time

 The identification of the company's internal strengths and weaknesses
 The nature of the external environment surrounding the company
 A SWOT analysis
 The kind of corporate-level strategy pursued by the company
 The nature of the company's business-level strategy
 The company's structure and control systems and how they match its
strategy

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 Structure of the Written Report
Different Instructors will require different formats for case reports, but they should all
have roughly the same general content. For this course, the report should have the
following sections in this order:
 Title page
 Table of contents
 Executive summary
 Problem (Issue) statement
 SWOT Analysis
 Brief analysis
 Alternatives Solutions
 Recommendations
 Action and Implementation Plan
 Exhibits

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THANKS