Case method in strategic
management
Introduction:
Case studies are stories with an educational message. They have been
used as parables and cautionary tales for centuries. It develops students’ skills in group learning,
speaking, and critical thinking,
Following its success in the Harvard
Law School
the case method was adopted in 1910 by Harvard University
While the involvement in a real organization is the ideal way to
understand strategy, each of the cases is seen as providing “the data and
background for making a major decision” as well as an opportunity to understand
the realities of a particular organization.
Definition
Case studies can be used in many different ways; their use will be
shaped by the lecturer’s own view of the subject and the role of case in its
teaching, by the instructor’s style and the expectations, backgrounds and
abilities of students
“Case method” is applied to a range of teaching styles and objectives that can be
adopted within the use of case studies for teaching
Objectives of using case
method
A study conducted by David Jennings (1996) revealed the following
objectives of teachers who used case method as teaching pedagogy:
The same study also revealed that in order
of importance, the objectives were
(1) Strategic
analysis/strategic thinking.
(2) Illustrative.
(3) Integrative.
The remaining objectives, communication and interpersonal skills and
pedagogic expedience, are of secondary importance in the use of case.
Effectiveness
of case method
The study also looked at the effectiveness
of the use of case method in terms of achievement of participation of students
and achievement of objectives.
The results indicated that case method was
associated with high student participation.
The results on achievement of objectives
were as follows:
Problems
The main problems, obstacles and difficulties encountered in
obtaining and using cases are:
Demands on students’ time.
Scope for analysis.—may encourage a
particular situation
Resources.—expensive and time consuming
Relevance.—lack of cases on public
sector
Comparison with other
methods used in teaching strategic management:
Typically in strategic management, teachers use a combination of
methods. The use of multiple methods is associated with the fact that different
methods are associated with development of different skills. The most commonly
used methods are simulation (development of a proposal), and action learning
(project work).
In a study (David Jennings 2002), it was seen that case method and
simulation were rated as best and equal. The study revealed that case method
helped in identifying problems, seek and use information for problem solving,
gain top management perspective and add realism to learning.
Conclusion:
Since cases are stories representing reality with a view to communicate an
educational message, their use in teaching strategic management is seen as most
appropriate. However teachers tend to use a combination of methods as
supplements to use of case method. It is
a common fact that everybody does use stories to illustrate the significance of
a message being communicated and initiate discussion.
References:
- Jennings
, David( 2002) : strategic
management : an evaluation of the use of
three learning methods, the journal of management development ,
volume 21, no 9 , pp 655—665.
Annexure1:
Strengths and weakness of
some methods of teaching strategic management (Jennings
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