|
Case Study - Sample Templates
It indicates the importance and significance
attached to case studies. Apart from Management, the medicine and other courses
also club case studies as the part of the academic curriculum. In this context,
it is essential to
explain the meaning and definition of a case study.
What is a Case Study?
Case study is the study of a particular situation or case or a problem in a
given scenario thoroughly after weighing the pros and cons, taking a practically
feasible decision in the best interests for effective implementation.
Case
studies are essential for MBAs so that the students can step into the shoes of
the given case study, understand the implications and the complications involved
and can have the feeling that of a trouble shooter.
Case
study is a simulation of a management situation that helps the management
graduates to react in a real situation and helps them by providing right
direction towards right decision making and problem solving.
How to write a Case Study
The technical students like engineering graduates have both theory and
laboratory activities. The faculty teaches the theory in the class room and then
takes them to laboratory to try and test what was taught in the class. The
students will be in a position to correlate the theoretical concepts and aspects
with that of the practical experiments in the laboratory. As a result, the gap
between learning and doing is minimized and also students can grasp, understand
and memorize quickly. And while doing practical experiments in the laboratory
they may have a few doubts and the same can be clarified, verified and
authenticated.
The case studies are also just like laboratory activities. Since for management
education the students can not be taken to industry for each and every
theoretical concept the case studies will prove handy for them. When the
management concepts are explained then the case studies of the companies are
explained so that students in the class room can feel like in a simulated
situation and they will be able to understand the concepts effectively and
efficiently.
Importance of Case Studies
People, in general, love to listen stories, examples, case studies and
anecdotes. No teaching will be complete without the same. And teaching for
management graduates is no exception.
Case studies will arouse the interest amongst the students. Every class should
have at least one case study to make the teaching process interesting and
entertaining. The students, for a while, get into the shoes of the key player in
the case study and think and act like him.
There are institutions which are specializing in case studies alone and they
have acquired prominence globally. ICFAI has number of case studies under its
reservoir and its case studies are accepted and adopted all over the world
especially USA, Canada, UK and other European countries.
There is specialization
in every discipline in these days. IBSCDC which is the acronym for Icfai
Business School Case Development Centre was set up in 2003 and it has developed
over 2000 world class case studies.
Its case studies have been featured in more
than 30 international textbooks on Management. It has sold more than 1, 30,000
copies to various global B-schools and universities. It is the second largest
producer of case studies in the world and the biggest producer of case studies
in Asia.
Under the visionary leadership of Dr. Nagendra V Chowdary, Dean of
IBSCDC, who has passion for excellence, it is set to conquer the globe with
innovative case studies. IBSCDC believes in quality research and catering
quality case studies. It coined a new tool Structured Assignment for the first
time in the world. Now days, the world looks at the innovative tools and
techniques. Innovation is the key to survival in this cut throat competitive
world.
Essential
elements for case study
A few characteristics and qualifications are
essential for preparing case studies. The person should have passion to become
the creator of case studies. He needs to involve and immerse himself in the case
scenario thoroughly so as to have the feel of the real situation. Then only the
best can be expected.
The author should have flair for writing the
case studies. He should be a voracious reader of various books from the
discipline in which he is preparing. For instance, the writer of the case
studies of HR should have read various books related to Human Resources
functional area in order to do justification. Having industrial experience in
the same discipline will help to create effective case studies.
Imagination works out to some extent but having
worked in the same field will bring out the best as the author knows the
practical problems.
Lot of patience is essential to create the stuff. Ability to analyze the
problems and prospects of the case and logical correlation of various activities
in a given situation will prove to be highly beneficial. To put it in a nut
shell, the author should have analytical bent of mind, problems solving skills
and decision making skills for preparing case studies.
How to prepare a case study?
Case study is a description of an actual
administrative solution involving a decision to be made or a problem to be
solved. It can be a real situation that actually happened just as described, or
portions have been disguised for reasons of privacy.
Usually the case study can be brief or extensive running from 2 to 30 pages. As
such there is no specific rule that the content should be limited or extended up
to certain levels. Read the entire text thoroughly once and jot down the key
points and concepts and also the important issues involved in it in a separate
sheet.
Look for 4 Ws in the case such as
- what is the problem?
- where is the
problem?
- when the problem started? And
- why the problem occurred?
Relate and
correlate all the factors and forces together to have better quick grasp about
the case. Also read between the lines keenly. Apply your common sense and make
comparative study of the situation. Observe closely if any statistical data is
given.
Look at the cause and effect relation with in the case study. At times
the causes are hidden and it requires extraordinary ability to unearth the
hidden causes. It needs probing temperament and correlate the same with the
effects. This will help to get at the root of the problem for generating bags of
solutions.
During this process, the visualization technique is highly useful in
order to correlate various things mentally. If time permits read and reread the
text more times for getting at the crux of the case. Repeat the process till you
get perfection.
Create number of multiple solutions to a given problem. Choose the best that
suits the present position and adopt. It requires intuition and gut feeling to
shortlist the best logical, analytical and appropriate decision. Do not repeat
what is already stated in the case.
During the case study analysis and preparation
the academician with industrial exposure can deliver better results than mere
academician without any industrial experience.
The academicians always look at the case purely
from their vast theoretical perspective as they are not exposed to industry. Of
course, they honed their skills based on reading plenty of case studies. But
that will not be sufficient to create effective case studies.
On the other hand, the academician who hailed
from industrial or from corporate background look at the case from multiple
perspectives. They might have faced the same scenario as stated in the case
study in their practical life. Therefore, they have ready made and tailor made
answers and more solutions to each problem. Case study analysis requires
critical and creative thinking. It also requires empathy i.e. stepping into the
shoes of a situation and generating multiple solutions.
Case Study - Sample Templates
Conclusion
Case Study is the heart of the management curriculum.
Creating case study is a
skill not a talent. If the case study writer has creative mind, passion, nose
for writing, eye for detail, analytical bent of mind, problem solving skills,
decision making skills and the ability to see the big picture and the capability
to think out of the box, the best and the most memorable case studies can be
crafted.
Prof. M. S. Rao, is an Academic Guide in ICFAI University,
India. His blog is at:
http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Learn How to Write Case Studies
|
