Tips and Tools

A Guide to Effective Case Writing

Havovi Joshi

• Publisher: WSPC
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9789813278455
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Management
• Index: Business

This book is an essential guide for anyone intending to write effective case studies for educational purposes. The practical tips provided in this book would apply to case writers at all levels — benefiting not only the novice, but also more experienced case writers who are looking to improve the quality of their case writing.

The book covers all of the fundamental components of a case study, and provides tips on how to manage the common challenges encountered at each stage of writing. It also guides the reader on what makes a good case study, and best practices to ensure quality control. The book would not be complete without some tried and tested advice for writing a strong teaching note to accompany the case. Beyond the writing itself, it also provides an overview of possible avenues for case publication.

Contents:

• Introduction
• Sourcing the Case, and Types of Cases
• Planning the Case
• Designing the Case
• Developing the Components of the Case: Introduction, Body and Exhibits
• Preparing the Teaching Note
• Getting Ready for Publication
• What are the Ingredients of a Great Case?
• Exhibits

Readership: Business school teachers and lecturers, education specialists and academics, education policy makers, and business school students.
Key Features:

• The author is well-known in this field
• Provides a strong combination of the theory as well as practice that goes toward writing an effective case study
• Provides several examples and practical suggestions to explain and clarify each step
• Details conventions and best practices being followed by the top case writing institutes

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Recognising the role of case studies in preparing students for their careers by developing a range of skills, as also varying the learning environment in the classroom, there is a high and growing support for case methodology across the world. This book is focused on providing a set of very practical tips and tools for novice case writers to commence on their case writing journey, and for experienced writers to further hone their skills.

What is a Case Study?

Before proceeding any further, it would help to remove any confusion on what a case study signifies in the context of this book. Oftentimes, a case study can be mistaken for a business case, which in fact is a business plan. Or it is misunderstood to be a research case study, which is typically a description of a business, or a legal issue, or a medical situation, that may include the writer’s analysis and solution to the issues raised. For the purpose of this book, a case study refers to cases that are being written and used as a pedagogical tool for classroom discussion.

Gary Thomas offers the following definition of a case study:

Case studies are analyses of persons, events, decisions, periods, projects, policies, institutions, or other systems that are studied holistically by one or more methods. The case that is the subject of the inquiry will be an instance of a class of phenomena that provides an analytical frame — an object — within which the study is conducted and which the case illuminates and explicates.¹

The Case Centre, the largest repository of business cases, states,

Case studies recount real life business or management situations that present participants with a dilemma or uncertain outcome. The case describes the scenario in the context of the events, people and factors that influence it and enables students to identify closely with those involved.²

To put it more simply, cases describe real-life situations, and typically put the participants in the shoes of the key decision maker, referred to as the protagonist, pushing them to discuss options for a dilemma faced by this protagonist, and propose possible solutions to the issue, having understood the benefits and problems of such an approach. It is to be noted that the case is not a piece of research, as it may deliberately falsify data to enhance the teaching value, or in some cases to disguise the company or protagonist. And one should not quote them for factual support or accuracy.

The initiative for writing a case typically originates either with a faculty and or an organisation. Faculty generally engage in the case writing process to develop a pedagogical instrument with specific learning objectives in mind. It is the need to teach particular concepts or principles that drives their case journey. As they seek to build the best teaching tool, the faculty may test the case in the classroom, and through the ensuing discussions, case studies are often further refined before publication.

Organisations may also initiate the development of case studies, often proprietary in nature. These cases hold considerable value to them because they are internally relevant and provide an outside perspective on their own issues. This facilitates better corporate training exercises and helps senior management learn from past experiences. Organisations also benefit from these studies as it captures internal institutional knowledge and experiences and helps to improve the organisational learning of these enterprises. For the sponsoring firm, there may be a great benefit in creating a common language and culture in the firm. If the case is used widely outside of the organisation, it can also help to inform prospective job candidates and vendors about the firm’s values and practices.

Why Case Studies?

For faculty that are trying to build their own case writing centres or just trying to develop their own collection of cases, we provide below some of the key reasons why we have found cases useful as a pedagogical tool. As the rationale for the uses of cases has been written upon extensively, we will not delve into this at much length here. However, there are undoubtedly very clear benefits to both students and faculty who use cases in their classroom.

A common cry of complaint often heard from students around the world is that the course material is outdated or irrelevant. This can be quite easily countered by developing cases that are set in an environment where the students are based, plan to work or regularly frequent. Teaching exercises that have a great contextual familiarity make it easier for students to relate to the decision that the protagonist has to make and understand the importance and relevance of the concepts the case is communicating. Indeed a case is the ultimate example of a concept. Teachers have always known that using examples is a key technique to motivate learning and enhance the utility of the material.

Additionally, case studies are a means to apply conceptual ideas, theoretical constructs and abstract models to practical, real-world business scenarios. Cases place students in real-life situations, forcing them to identify with the protagonist and to think on their feet and come up with practical solutions to a plausible problem.

When a case study is being discussed in the classroom, students are engaged — they are not given a chance to sit back. They are forced to come up with viable options and decisions, which requires problem solving skills and often, out-of-the-box thinking. The use of cases in the classroom turns students into active learners rather than passive receivers, helping them develop critical thinking and decision-making skills. It also ensures that the students are indeed involved in the class, as opposed to the instructor-centric lecture that may or may not be received well by the students.

Case discussions naturally enhance dialogue and debate and encourage participation in the classroom, which enhances the interpersonal skills of students or corporate trainees. A comment or recommendation by a peer needs to be heard, introspected upon, and possibly opposed by a counter argument. Using cases, students learn to collaborate and improve their communication skills. Watching and listening to others’ solutions can be one of the most eye opening experiences for students. They often learn new ways to think, as others are able to organise and solve quicker, more effectively, or better than they do. Alternatively, watching others struggle or miscomprehend seemingly simple concepts helps students to be better communicators as they realise the spread of competencies.

For the faculty, the classroom experience changes when teaching with cases. It becomes a far more interactive session, and enables the teaching process to move up a natural progression curve from lecturing to facilitating (which is where the case studies come in), and on to coaching.

Having written their own case, the faculty is intimately familiar with the company and the case study. They ‘own’ the case and the learning material that goes with it, which increases their knowledge and self-confidence in teaching the case. Moreover, the classroom participants usually hold the faculty member in greater esteem. They consider the faculty member to be a case expert and might feel free to ask more questions.

Developing case studies also helps the faculty build and maintain contact with the practitioner world. Finally, developing industry- or institution-specific material can also contribute to the faculty’s research.

Besides academia, cases have a wider appeal/advantage for practitioner communities for a variety of reasons, such as enhancing one’s consulting practice, or being used as training tools in organisations.

A Case and a ‘Great’ Case

The difference between writing a case and a ‘great’ case can be explained using the acronym: S-T-O-R-E-Y! The goal of a great case is ensuring that it includes the following:

Summary

Allows for a solid summary of insights and learnings. This is typically the introduction of the case.

Theories

Enables the instructor to teach the theories or concepts of the day. This would be the teaching objectives for which the case is being written.

Orients

A good case should set up for future learnings, and/or offer opportunities to tie to past concepts.

Relevant: to the students (and the faculty!)

The case provides students a peek into the challenges and decisions made in the ‘real world’. It must, therefore, be relevant to what the faculty plans to teach in that session.

Engages

The case should be such that it keeps the student’s attention from wandering. It should be a good, exciting and engaging story.

Yields

And finally, reading the case and the ensuing case discussion should offer insights into practice, and provide an opportunity for the students to see how challenges should or should not be handled.

Each of these elements will be covered in later sections of the book.

The Two Cardinal Questions

There are two key points we reiterate ever so frequently in all our case writing workshops — what we refer to as the two most critical questions to keep in mind while starting to write a case. The first is, “What do you plan to teach through the case?” and the second, “Who is your audience?”

The Teaching Objective: “Before you start, know what you want to teach.”

Ultimately, cases are about education, about bringing the real world into the classroom. We shall discuss more on this point in the next chapter, where we argue for the cases that should and should not be written. But in brief, a good story which does not have a clear teaching objective is NOT a good case!

“Begin with the end in mind” is one of ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’, mentioned in Stephen Covey’s bestseller — this advice also holds true for the case you intend to write! You should know what you intend to teach even before you begin to write the opening sentence of your case study. In fact, developing teaching goals is the starting point for every case study, and choosing the organisation as a setting is a vehicle for the concept(s) you want to teach. The teaching objective should not be an afterthought, or an idea that comes later, but instead must be the thread that runs through the entire case study.

Focusing on the teaching objectives helps to organise your thoughts about the company and convey the facts and vignettes that are essential to stimulating the readers’ learning journey. This will also help you avoid the pitfall of writing a meandering story with many exciting details but ultimately an ineffective teaching case. Media is replete with interesting business stories that inevitably catch our attention. While some could be a great lead for developing a teaching case, it is advisable to vet each story through the lens of teaching objectives.

Knowing the Audience: “Who are they? What is it they are looking for?”

The second question — knowing your audience — is about pegging your case at the rig...