The case method is a
teaching approach that uses decision-forcing cases to put students in the role of people who were faced with difficult decisions at some point in the past. It developed during the course of the twentieth-century from its origins in the
casebook method of teaching law pioneered by Harvard legal scholar
Christopher C. Langdell
Christopher Columbus Langdell (May 22, 1826 – July 6, 1906) was an American jurist and legal academic who was Dean of Harvard Law School from 1870 to 1895.
Dean Langdell's legacy lies in the educational and administrative reforms he made to Har ...
. In sharp contrast to many other teaching methods, the case method requires that instructors refrain from providing their own opinions about the decisions in question. Rather, the chief task of instructors who use the case method is asking students to devise, describe, and defend solutions to the problems presented by each case.
Comparison with the casebook method of teaching law
The case method evolved from the
casebook method, a mode of teaching based on
Socratic principles pioneered at
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.
Each class ...
by
Christopher C. Langdell
Christopher Columbus Langdell (May 22, 1826 – July 6, 1906) was an American jurist and legal academic who was Dean of Harvard Law School from 1870 to 1895.
Dean Langdell's legacy lies in the educational and administrative reforms he made to Har ...
. Like the casebook method the case method calls upon students to take on the role of an actual person faced with a difficult problem.
Decision-forcing cases
A decision-forcing case is a kind of
decision game. Like any other kinds of decision games, a decision-forcing case puts students in a role of person faced with a problem (often called the "protagonist") and asks them to devise, defend, discuss, and refine solutions to that problem. However, in sharp contrast to decision games that contain fictional elements, decision-forcing cases are based entirely upon reliable descriptions of real events.
A decision-forcing case is also a kind of case study. That is, it is an examination of an incident that took place at some time in the past. However, in contrast to a retrospective case study, which provides a complete description of the events in question, a decision-forcing case is based upon an "interrupted narrative." This is an account that stops whenever the protagonist finds himself faced with an important decision. In other words, while retrospective case studies ask students to analyze past decisions with the aid of hindsight, decision-forcing cases ask students to engage problems prospectively.
Criticisms of decision-forcing cases
In recent years, following corporate scandals and the global financial crisis, the case method has been criticized for contributing to a narrow, instrumental, amoral, managerial perspective on business where making decisions which maximise profit is all that matters, ignoring the social responsibilities of organisations. It is argued that the case method puts too much emphasis on taking action and not enough on thoughtful reflection to see things from different perspectives. It has been suggested that different approaches to case writing, that do not put students in the ‘shoes’ of a manager, be encouraged to address these concerns.
Role play
Every decision-forcing case has a protagonist, the historical person who was faced with the problem or problem that students are asked to solve. Thus, in engaging these problems, students necessarily engage in some degree of role play.
Some case teachers, such as those of the Marine Corps University, place a great deal of emphasis on role play, to the point of addressing each student with the name and titles of the protagonist of the case. (A student playing the role of a king, for example, is asked "Your Majesty, what are your orders?") Other case teachers, such as those at the Harvard Business School, place less emphasis on role play, asking students "what would you do if you were the protagonist of the case."
Historical solution
After discussing student solutions to the problem at the heart of a decision-forcing case, a case teacher will often provide a description of the historical solution, that is, the decision made by the protagonist of the case. Also known as "the rest of the story", "the epilogue", or (particularly at Harvard University) "the 'B' case", the description of the historical solution can take the form of a printed article, a video, a slide presentation, a short lecture, or even an appearance by the protagonist.
Whatever the form of the description of the historical solution, the case teacher must take care to avoid giving the impression that the historical solution is the "right answer." Rather, he should point out that the historical solution to the problem serves primarily to provide students with a baseline to which they can compare their own solutions.
Some case teachers will refrain from providing the historical solution to students. One reason for not providing the historical solution is to encourage students to do their own research about the outcome of the case. Another is to encourage students to think about the decision after the end of the class discussion. "Analytic and problem-solving learning," writes Kirsten Lundgren of Columbia University, "can be all the more powerful when the 'what happened' is left unanswered.
Complex cases
A classic decision-forcing case asks students to solve a single problem faced by a single protagonist at a particular time. There are, however, decision-forcing cases in which students play the role of a single protagonist who is faced with a series of problems, two or more protagonists dealing with the same problem, or two or more protagonists dealing with two or more related problems.
Decision-forcing staff rides
A decision-forcing case conducted in the place where the historical decisions at the heart of the case were made is called a "decision-forcing staff ride." Also known as an "on-site decision-forcing case", a decision-forcing staff ride should not be confused with the two very different exercises that are also known as "
staff rides": retrospective battlefield tours of the type practiced by the United States Army in the twentieth century and the on-site contingency planning exercises (Stabs Reisen, literally "staff journeys") introduced by
Gerhard von Scharnhorst in 1801 and made famous by
the elder Hellmuth von Moltke in the middle years of the nineteenth century.
To avoid confusion between "decision-forcing staff rides" and staff rides of other sorts, the Case Method Project at the
Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia, adopted the term "Russell Ride" to describe the decision-forcing staff rides that it conducts. The term is an homage to Major General
John Henry Russell Jr.
John Henry Russell Jr. (November 14, 1872 – March 6, 1947) was a major general and 16th Commandant of the Marine Corps.
His only child was Brooke Astor, a noted philanthropist, who lived to be 105.
Early life
Russell was born on Novemb ...
,USMC, the 16th
Commandant
Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...
of the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through ...
and an avid supporter of the applicatory method of instruction.
Sandwich metaphors
Decision-forcing cases are sometimes described with a system of metaphors that compares them to various types of sandwiches. In this system, pieces of bread serve as a metaphor for narrative elements (i.e. the start, continuation, or end of an account) and filling of the sandwich serves as a metaphor for a problem that students are asked to solve.
A decision-forcing case in which one protagonist is faced with two problems is thus a "triple-decker case." (The bottom piece of bread is the background to the first problem, the second piece of bread is both the historical solution to the first problem and the background to the second problem, and the third piece of bread is the historical solution to the second problem.) Similarly, a decision-forcing case for which the historical solution is not provided (and is thus a case with but one narrative element) is an
"open-face" or
"smørrebrød" case.
A decision-forcing case in which students are asked to play the role of a decision-maker who is faced with a series of decisions in a relatively short period of time is sometimes called a
"White Castle",
"slider" case. or "day in the life" case.
Case materials
Case materials are any materials that are used to inform the decisions made by students in the course of a decision-forcing case. Commonly used case materials include articles that were composed for the explicit purpose of informing case discussion, secondary works initially produced for other purposes, historical documents, artifacts, video programs, and audio programs.
Case materials are made available to students at a variety times in the course of a decision-forcing case. Materials that provide background are distributed at, or before, the beginning of the class meeting. Materials that describe the solution arrived at by the protagonist and the results of that solution are passed out at, or after, the end of the class meeting. (These are called "the B-case", "the rest of the story", or "the reveal.") Materials that provide information that became available to the protagonist in the course of solving the problem are given to students in the course of a class meeting. (These are often referred to as "handouts.")
Case materials may be either "refined" or "raw." Refined case materials are secondary works that were composed expressly for use as part of decision-forcing cases. (Most of the case materials that are available from case clearing houses and academic publishers are of the refined variety.) Raw case materials are those that were initially produced for reasons other than the informing of a case discussion. These include newspaper articles, video and audio news reports, historical documents, memoirs, interviews, and artifacts.
Published case materials
A number of organizations, to include case clearing houses, academic publishers, and professional schools, publish case materials. These organizations include:
*
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA ...
*
Stanford Graduate School of Business
The Stanford Graduate School of Business (also known as Stanford GSB) is the Postgraduate education, graduate business school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California. For several years it ...
*
Columbia Business School
Columbia Business School (CBS) is the business school of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1916, Columbia Business School is one of six Ivy League business schools and is one of the oldest busin ...
*
IESE Business School
*
INSEAD
INSEAD, a contraction of "Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires" () is a non-profit business school that maintains campuses in Europe ( Fontainebleau, France), Asia (Singapore), the Middle East ( Abu Dhabi, UAE), and North America (Sa ...
ICFAI Business School Hyderabadref name=":2" />
*
Ivey Business School
Ivey Business School is a constituent unit of the University of Western Ontario, located in London, Ontario, Canada. Ivey offers full-time undergraduate (HBA), MBA, MSc, MFE and PhD programs and also maintains two teaching facilities in Toronto ...
*
Indian School of Business
The Indian School of Business (ISB) is a private business school established in India in 2001. It has two parallel campuses in India, in Hyderabad (Telangana) and Mohali (Punjab). It offers certificates in various post-graduate management pro ...
*
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
*
Darden School of Business
The Darden School of Business is the graduate business school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Darden School offers MBA, PhD, and Executive Education programs. The school was founded ...
at the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with College admission ...
*
Nagoya University of Commerce & Business
*
Asian Institute of Management
The Asian Institute of Management (AIM) is an international management school and research institution. It is one of the few business schools in Asia to be internationally accredited with the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Busine ...
* Asian Case Research Centre at the
University of Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public university, public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest Higher education in Hong Kong, tertia ...
* Globalens at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
The Case Centre
The Case Centre
The Case Centre, headquartered in Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedford, United Kingdom, and with its US office at Babson College, Wellesley, Massachusetts, is the independent home of the case method, with more than 500 member organisations ...
(formerly the European Case Clearing House), headquartered in
Cranfield University,
Cranfield,
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, and with its US office at
Babson College
Babson College is a private business school in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Established in 1919, its central focus is on entrepreneurship education. It was founded by Roger W. Babson as an all-male business institute, but became coeducational ...
,
Wellesley,
, is the independent home of the case method.
It is a membership-based organization with more than 500 members worldwide, not-for-profit organisation and registered charity founded in 1973.
The Case Centre is the world’s largest and most diverse repository of case studies used in Management Education, with cases from the world’s top case publishing schools, including, Harvard Business School, ICFAI Business School Hyderabad, INSEAD, IMD, Ivey Business School, Darden School of Business, London Business School, etc. Its stated aim is to promote the case method by sharing knowledge, skills, and expertise in this area among teachers and students, and for this it engages in various activities like conducting case method workshops, offering case scholarships, publishing a journal,
and organizing a global case method awards.
The Case Centre Awards(known as the European Awards from 1991 and 2010) recognises outstanding case writers and teachers worldwide.
These prestigious awards, popularly known as the case method community's annual '
Oscars
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
',
or the “business education Oscars, celebrate worldwide excellence in case writing and teaching.
The narrative fallacy
The presentation of a decision-forcing case necessarily takes the form of a story in which the protagonist is faced with a difficult problem. This can lead to "the narrative fallacy", a mistake that leads both case teachers and the developers of case materials to ignore information that, while important to the decision that students will be asked to make, complicates the telling of the story. This, in turn, can create a situation in which, rather than engaging the problem at the heart of the case, students "parse the case materials." That is, they make decisions on the basis of the literary structure of the case materials rather than the underlying reality.
Techniques for avoiding the narrative fallacy include the avoidance of standard formats for case materials; awareness of tropes and clichés; the use of case materials originally created for purposes other than case teaching; and the deliberate inclusion of "distractors" – information that is misleading, irrelevant, or at odds with other information presented in the case.
Purpose of the case method
The case method gives students the ability to quickly make sense of a complex problem, rapidly arrive at a reasonable solution, and communicate that solution to others in a succinct and effective manner. In the course of doing this, the case method also accomplishes a number of other things, each of which is valuable in its own right. By exciting the interest of students, the case method fosters interest in professional matters. By placing such things in a lively context, the case method facilitates the learning of facts, nomenclature, conventions, techniques, and procedures. By providing both a forum for discussion and concrete topics to discuss, the case method encourages professional dialogue. By providing challenging practice in the art of decision-making, the case method refines professional judgement. By asking difficult questions, the case method empowers students to reflect upon the peculiar demands of their profession.
In his classic essay on the case method ("Because Wisdom Can't Be Told"), Charles I. Gragg of the Harvard Business School argued that "the case system, properly used, initiates students into the ways of independent thought and responsible judgement."
Incompatible objectives
While the case method can be used to accomplish a wide variety of goals, certain objectives are at odds with its nature as an exercise in professional judgement. These incompatible objectives include attempts to use decision-forcing cases to:
* provide an example to be emulated
* paint a particular person as a hero or a villain
* encourage (or discourage) a particular type of behavior
* illustrate a pre-existing theory
Thomas W. Shreeve, who uses the case method to teach people in the field of military intelligence, argues that "Cases are not meant to illustrate either the effective or the ineffective handling of administrative, operational, logistic, ethical, or other problems, and the characters in cases should not be portrayed either as paragons of virtue or as archvillains. The instructor/casewriter must be careful not to tell the students what to think—they are not empty vessels waiting to be filled with wisdom. With this method of teaching, a major share of the responsibility for thinking critically about the issues under discussion is shifted to the students, where it belongs."
Disclaimers
Case materials are often emblazoned with a disclaimer that warns both teachers and students to avoid the didactic, hortatory, and "best practices" fallacies. Here are some examples of such disclaimers:
''
This case is intended to serve as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either the effective or ineffective handling of a situation.
''
This decision-forcing case is an exercise designed to foster empathy, creativity, a bias for action, and other martial virtues. As such, it makes no argument for the effectiveness of any particular course of action, technique, procedure, or convention.
''
''
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA ...
*
IESE Business School
*
Columbia Business School
Columbia Business School (CBS) is the business school of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1916, Columbia Business School is one of six Ivy League business schools and is one of the oldest busin ...
*
INCAE Business SchoolICFAI Business School Hyderabadref name=":2">
*
The Acton School of Business
*
Asian Institute of Management
The Asian Institute of Management (AIM) is an international management school and research institution. It is one of the few business schools in Asia to be internationally accredited with the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Busine ...
*
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
*
Richard Ivey School of Business
*
John F. Kennedy School of Government at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
* NUCB Business School at the
Nagoya University of Commerce & Business
*
Darden School of Business
The Darden School of Business is the graduate business school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Darden School offers MBA, PhD, and Executive Education programs. The school was founded ...
at the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with College admission ...
*
Columbia School of Journalism
*
Mailman School of Public Health,
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...
*
School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
The School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University (SIPA) is the international affairs and public policy school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university located in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, New York City. It ...
*
Yale School of Management
*
Marine Corps University
*
Cranfield School of Management
*
School of Advertising & Public Relations, University of Texas
*
Suleman Dawood School of Business at the
Lahore University of Management Sciences
*
Institute of Business Administration, Karachi
The Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi; (انسٹيٹيوٹ آف بزنس ايڈمنسٹريشن) is a public university in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
Academics
Admission
*
*
*
Admission to IBA KARACHI is based on En ...
*
Michael G. Foster School of Business
*
Institute for Financial Management and Research
*
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) is a professional membership organisation that promotes, develops and supports chartered accountants and students around the world. As of July 2022, it has over 198,000 members ...
University of Fujairah- MBA Program
* INALDE Business School in Bogota, Colombia
See also
*
Business schools
*
Case competition
*
Case study
A case study is an in-depth, detailed examination of a particular case (or cases) within a real-world context. For example, case studies in medicine may focus on an individual patient or ailment; case studies in business
Business is the pract ...
*
Casebook method (used by law schools)
*
Decision game
*
European Case Clearing House
*
Experiential learning
Experiential learning (ExL) is the process of learning through experience, and is more narrowly defined as "learning through reflection on doing". Hands-on learning can be a form of experiential learning, but does not necessarily involve students ...
*
Harvard Business Publishing
*
Teaching method
A teaching method comprises the principles and methods used by teachers to enable student learning. These strategies are determined partly on subject matter to be taught and partly by the nature of the learner. For a particular teaching method t ...
References
Literature
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Case method
Learning methods
Management education
Military education and training