Definition: What is a case? - Pennsylvania State University



Case Preparation and Presentations GuidelinesIntroduction:You and your small group will work collaboratively to analyze a series of assigned questions related to various case studies. The final products of your group efforts will be to create and submit either a PowerPoint presentation or a business memo containing your analysis for each case study. At the instructor's discretion, he may post your submitted presentations to the appropriate "Discussion Forum" so you will each be able to view each other’s work.There will be occasions when you will be asked to comment on and provide feedback to one another through a full-class discussion as part of the online threaded discussion sessions. Specific information regarding the criteria and expectations for your presentations will be explained in the relevant weekly announcements. The assessment portion of the syllabus will outline the number of points attached to this assignment.Your responses to the case assignment questions should be organized into a PowerPoint presentation. The assignment details will be outlined in the different content modules that include Case Assignments. These assignment lessons will each contain an “Assignment Document”, which will outline the assignment’s specific goals, questions, and instructions on how to set up the PowerPoint Presentation for each individual case assignment. You should prepare the presentation in “Normal” view (the last button on the left of the PowerPoint window or VIEW/NORMAL command). This allows you to provide “Notes” on a slide when appropriate. PowerPoint slides, by necessity, must be brief. Therefore, use the Notes feature to justify or more fully explain the content of a slide. Do not leave the reader guessing on the meaning of a particular slide. You might think of the notes as containing material that you would actually say if you were verbally presenting your slides. On the other hand, do not write volumes in the notes section--be concise but clear on the meaning of each slide.? Please note--if you use information from some source, please cite it on the appropriate PowerPoint slide where it is used.The presentation should begin with a brief introduction giving some background on the case and stating the purpose and organization of the presentation (please, see each individual case assignment document for specific formatting instructions). The introduction should then be followed by your response to each of the assignment questions. Please note that there are multiple parts to most of the question sets. Be sure to address each part of each question set. Also, please be sure that you make it clear to the reader that you have addressed each part of each question. Where you are asked to make a choice or take a position in answering a question, be certain to present the argument or justification for your choice. In support of your position, it is often useful--even critical--to draw on the literature that you have read in the course. Also, that argument can be used to positively affirm a particular position as well as to indicate that alternatives are not worthy of support. In other words, sometimes you can support a position by effectively arguing against other alternatives.Expectations: What is expected of you in the case method?Source: Chris Miller based primarily on Learning From Cases, Maufette-Leenders, Erskine, and Leenders, 1997, developed and credited for the information below.?Active Participation: Case learning is a collaborative process. Collaboration requires proactive participation. You will be learning not only from your instructor, but also from your classmates. They, in turn, will also be learning from you.Preparation: Quality case analysis and reflection is essential to the process. You cannot actively participate unless you are prepared.Critical Thinking: Effective case analysis requires the ability to separate opinion from fact and to perform appropriate analysis and make recommendations in an environment with incomplete information and ambiguity (like the real world). Conclusions and recommendations must be based on appropriate analysis and supported by valid and internally consistent logic. Unsupported opinion is not acceptable.Professional Conduct: For learning to flourish, it is essential that it be anchored in a climate of genuine respect, trust, and openness. This implies respect for the opinions of all participants and contributing equitably to group analysis and exercises.Definition: What is a case? A case is a description of a situation, generally based on "real-life" circumstances, involving a decision, a challenge, an opportunity, a problem, or an issue faced by a person (or persons) in an organization. Cases allow students to step into the roles of the individuals in the case organization. In essence, cases are to management students what cadavers are to medical students, the opportunity to practice on the real thing harmlessly. You are given the opportunity to assess business circumstances and make decisions without the attendant real-life risk.Cases require collaborative discussion within small groups and are submitted by the group.Case Preparation GuidelinesCase preparation can be broken down into four primary steps:Individual PreparationSmall Group DeliberationFormal Case Preparation and SubmissionFull Class "Threaded Discussion" (post-submission on instructor provided discussion questions)Each of the above steps will be briefly discussed.Individual PreparationDo a quick read-through of the case using the following steps to obtain a broad perspective.Read the first and last paragraphs of the case. Who is the decision maker in the case? What are the major issue(s) contained in the case?Quickly check out the exhibits.Review the headings in the case.Skim the body of the case.Read the assignment questions.Read the case thoroughly.Make notes in the margins as they come to mind.Not all information in the case is equally important. Your quick review (described above) should help you determine what is most relevant to the problem(s) at hand.Analyze the case.Define the issue(s). Establish a priority with regard to importance and urgency.Analyze the case data with a focus on causes and effects.Develop alternative approaches for addressing the issue(s) of the case.Define and select alternative decision criteria--both quantitative and qualitative.Analyze and evaluate alternatives.Select the preferred alternative.Develop an action and implementation plan.Not all cases will fit neatly into the above steps. This list is still a good place to start. You should adjust them to suit the information and questions relating to each of the respective cases in the course.Small Group/Team DeliberationYou will be divided into small groups/teams for each of the cases in the course. You will work in these groups in the preparation and submission of the analysis (PowerPoint) cases. These small groups provide the first opportunity to discuss your thoughts about the case. The keys to effective group work are organization and each person fulfilling their assigned responsibilities on time. It is recommended that as a group you set intermediate deadlines for completing the group assignment. These intermediate deadlines should include times when the group "meets" (not necessarily at a given time, i.e. could be over a period of time via threaded discussion) to discuss the assignment questions. Prior to the first of these meetings, each member of the group should complete their own independent analysis of the case. The goal of the discussion process is to share thoughts and perspectives with other members of your group. Some guidelines are listed below that are intended to facilitate the small group learning process:Each individual must be fully prepared.Each member must participate actively in the small group discussion.It's not necessary to have a group leader managing the discussion process. However, having a facilitator to keep the group on track and make sure that everyone has an opportunity to express their thoughts can be very helpful.Establish and stick to a time limit.Achieving consensus is desirable, but not essential. If you are finding it difficult to achieve consensus regarding the case, members of a group may develop more than one presentation to submit and post. The goal, however, remains to achieve consensus if possible.Treat all members of your group and their ideas with respect!Try and set "in stone" a particular time and date that members will commit to meet during the entire semester.The following are a few additional (or emphasized) suggestions on the process for working in groups:I believe most groups have identified someone as the administrator for each case assignment. The administrator's responsibility is largely to keep the group on-task and on-schedule.All team members must commit to supporting their team administrator. This includes frequent participation, substantive contributions, and timely submissions.While each person in the team may take prime responsibility for a particular case study question, the content of the response to each case question is to be a collaborative effort of the group. Therefore, it is advised that each person develop some type of written input to each case question that they submit to the group. This approach obviously must be done sufficiently early in the two-week period to allow others to review and respond. If questions arise on an individual member's contribution, I may ask for this written input.Note: Each group member will be given an opportunity to grade the other members in their respective groups with regard to participation and contribution as part of the student peer evaluation process. The assessment portion of the syllabus will outline the number of points attached to the peer evaluations.Formal Case Preparation and SubmissionCases will require groups to collectively answer specific questions posed in relation to the case. Case questions will primarily be decision/action oriented. Students may also be asked to choose a position regarding a case-related issue or statement and defend it. Other questions may relate to assigned readings in relation to the case. Case analyses and answers to questions posed regarding the case will be submitted utilizing either PowerPoint slides or a business memo. The instructor will inform the class which approach will be used for different cases. For PowerPoint presentations, the slide NOTES feature can be used to amplify/explain key slide points. Group case submissions may be posted online for full class exploration. ................
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