Successful Case Analysis and Discussion

Successful Case Analysis

and Discussion

The ability to read and learn from cases is an important skill for any business leader. Cases provide examples of good and bad business decisions along with enough of the story for you to learn from the challenges and approaches in them. They also provide an opportunity to test your business judgment and decision-making ability in the context of real business problems.

As is typical of problems within an organization, a case rarely provides facts and information you would like to have before making a decision. Therefore, you must be able to think critically and uncover the assumptions underlying the case information.

You must also learn to be comfortable with ambiguity in the information as well as in the "answers." In fact, one of the most valuable lessons to learn from case analysis and discussion is that there is no one "right" answer. A good case is open to many interpretations and the case problems to many possible resolutions.

Since case analysis and discussion are standard approaches to learning in the business school classroom, this appendix is intended to help you approach both with some of the traditional techniques needed to succeed in the case classroom and to obtain the most out of the case experience. The discussion here contains hints on how to do the following:

* Perform a successful case analysis.

* Contribute to a case discussion.

* Organize a case analysis report.

* Stay within the ethical boundaries of case discussions.

* Get the most out of the learning experience that case discussions provide.

Performing a Successful Case Analysis

To prepare for a case discussion, you should approach the case analysis as follows:

1. Skim the case quickly.

2. Write out what you see as the central problem(s) in the case.

3. Read the case through more carefully, highlighting key issues and facts to support the central problem.

4. List the possible solutions to the case problem.

5. Select a solution and develop your defense.

6. Outline how you would implement the solution.

When reading the case, you should focus on exploring the problems and pulling out the issues and the facts instead of focusing on specific courses of action. You might find it helpful to think about approaching a case as you would the analysis of a short story. Try looking for the conflicts and sources of tension, outline the plot of the story, and examine the motives of the characters involved.

Contributing to the Case Discussion

In the case classroom, you will want to sit where you are visible, if possible, which usually means sitting in the middle of the room at the case discussion leader's eye level. You want to avoid the far right or left unless you are unprepared and want to lower the risk of the discussion leader's calling on you, although you should not show up to any case discussion unprepared. Doing so wastes your time, your colleagues' time, and the discussion leader's time.

To benefit from the case experience, you must be prepared to contribute positively to the discussion, whether in the classroom or with your team. You should not assume a combative pose, although you can and should challenge ideas. Instead of attacking people, challenge the ideas and look for ways to work toward building on their point of view or ideas. What most discussion leaders want to see is an active exchange among class members, not simply a routine Q&A between the discussion leader and the class.

Most case discussions will begin with the discussion leader's asking for someone to summarize the case. This type of contribution provides a chance for you to speak up early in the discussion, before the rapid exchange that soon erupts once the discussion gets started. If you are new to the case discussion or perhaps hesitant to jump in, you may want to take advantage of this opening opportunity to speak. The following are usually considered legitimate contributions to a case discussion:

1. Summary of the case.

2. Your solution.

3. An alternate solution to one suggested by a classmate.

4. An explanation