CASE WRITING IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY: AN INDONESIAN EXAMPLE Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 22,1995 223 CASE WRITING IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY: AN INDONESIAN EXAMPLE Robert W. Hornaday, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte ABSTRACT This paper describes an English-language case-writing project in Indonesia that produced twelve business cases in twelve months. The account provides guidelines that may be useful for those wishing to write English-language cases in other developing countries. INTRODUCTION Graduate business education is big business. Around the world, MBA programs have blossomed [The Official Guide..., 1992]. Most of the top-quality programs use English as the language of instruction. The emerging economies of Southeast Asia have been especially fertile ground for management education. Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand all have MBA programs taught in English. Indonesia, the largest country in the region and the fourth largest in the world, is moving rapidly to develop graduate management programs. THE MAGISTER MANAJEMEN PROGRAM In 1989, the Ministry of Education authorized Magister Manajemen (Master of Management or MM) programs at Indonesia’s two largest public universities--the University of Indonesia (UI) in Jakarta and at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta. These are really MBA programs by another name [Benang Kusut Sekolah MBA, 1993]. The UGM program is administered by the Dean of Graduate Studies, while the UI program is part of the Economics Faculty. Both use English as the language of instruction. New MM programs were subsequently authorized at major public universities in Bandung, Surabaya, and Bogor. English In the MM Classroom The case method of teaching is of great importance when teaching students using English as a second language. Not only do they derive experiential benefits, the case method is an important way for them to improve their language skills. They read cases in English, discuss them with their teammates in English, prepare case presentations in English, present the cases in English, then participate in a class discussion using English. At first, the strategic management course at Gadjah Mada used cases from a five-year-old American text book. All of the cases dealt with American firms. From the first class session with the author, it was apparent that students lacked the requisite general knowledge and historical context to make the cases meaningful. Few had even heard of Sears Roebuck, K-Mart, or Firestone Rubber. The only American companies they recognized were multinationals like Caterpillar, Goodyear, or automobile companies that had a presence in Indonesia. In short, the students, even those with good English skills did not have the knowledge and experience assumed by American case writers. Much of the case discussion was spent explaining social and political issues that would have been apparent to American students. Students got little benefit from what was supposed to be an experiential exercise designed for them to make strategic management recommendations based upon the case materials. Lack of Case Materials Because Indonesia’s economy has only recently become market-based, there is no large body of case material written in Bahasa Indonesia, let alone English. Some of the private MBA institutes in Indonesia rely heavily upon English- language cases written by American writers to polish material gathered by local staff. But these cases are for internal use and not publicly available. Unfortunately, Indonesian graduate management programs tend to guard their case materials, using them as competitive tools to attract students. CASE WRITING MEHODOLOGY The Director of the Magister Manajemen Program at Gadjah Mada decided that the only way to obtain English-language cases dealing with Indonesian firms was to write them on- site. Accordingly, he established a case-writing project with the goal of producing 12 English-language cases in 12 months. Selection of Subject Firms The MM staff selected 20 firms as possible case projects. Of these, 14 were publicly traded companies to be approached as “cold calls.” The remaining Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 22,1995 224 five were organizations with which the team had personal contact through MM faculty members or students. Information Acquisition The first effort to obtain information failed. Letters sent to the 20 public firms requesting copies of prospectuses and annual reports yielded not one response. As it happened, the Principal Director of the Jakarta Stock Exchange, Hasan Zein Mahmud, was coming to Yogyakarta to speak to the MM students. One-MM faculty member, a personal friend of Hasan, suggested that he might have copies of the annual reports on file at the Jakarta Stock Exchange. Hasan not only had copies, but brought a trunk-full of annual reports from Jakarta in his car. Annual reports provided the basic information to get started on the cases. To flesh out the histories of the selected firms, two undergraduate assistants combed through periodical literature and newspapers. Their work was made much easier by the relative newness of the business press in Indonesia. They only had to go through three years of material and were able to assemble a substantial number of relevant articles. The next source of information was the university library system. Gadjah Mada is the largest university in Indonesia and has extensive library facilities. One of the major assets of the library is its collection of student papers. It stores not only graduate theses and dissertations, but also undergraduate senior papers (called skrips!). The research assistants were able to unearth some valuable industry information from these documents. The search was not without difficulties. Each college of the university maintains its own library. The researchers needed an authorization letter for each one before they were allowed entrance. Approaching the Subject Firms At this stage the public companies had no idea that they were the subject of the case writing effort. To finish the cases and obtain authorization for use, the case writer needed personal contact with top level executives from the subject firms. After translation into English, information from the annual reports, periodical literature, and the library search provided enough information to complete a first draft case for 1 6 of the public firms. These drafts contained financial data, charts and tables. Each case was sent to the appropriate CEO along with a letter explaining that the MM Program planned to use the case. The letter requested assistance in correcting errors and an interview with the CEO or his representative. Sending the first draft to the CEO of each firm demonstrated determination to use the case and showed that considerable work had already been done. It turned out that in several instances information taken from journals and newspapers was incorrect--in some cases dead wrong. The CEOs were anxious to correct these errors. Responses to the letters far exceeded our expectations. Only one firm refused to cooperate. Each CEO or his representative arranged at least two on-site interviews each of the public firms. Of the five firms with which MM had a personal link, CEOs agreed to interviews before writing the first draft thus avoiding many initial errors and false trails. Finishing the Cases The CEOs reviewed the final case drafts and signed authorizations. MM students tested six of the cases in the classroom before receiving final authorization. Of the 20 public firms selected, only seven cases were completed. One firm refused to cooperate, two were dropped because other institutions were writing cases on them, and time constraints eliminated the other four. RESULTS Although the selection process did not specify what types of problems should be addressed in the cases, the final twelve cases included a good mix of subjects. The completed cases included: two on international competition, one turn-around, one privatization, one entrepreneurship situation, one manufacturing problem, one centered on cultural differences between CEOs, one corporate governance problem, and two rapid growth situations. Two industry notes dealt with important Indonesian industries. Use of these twelve cases in the MM classroom produced a marked improvement in student understanding. Case writing by UGM faculty members is now a continuous activity. The casebook itself is being used in many Indonesian graduate business programs. A copy of the complete paper is available from the author upon request. Table of Contents Volume 22, 1995 Simulation Performance, Learning and Struggle Are Good Simulation Performers Consistently Good? Cognitive and Behavioral Consistency in a Computer-Based Marketing-Simulation-Game Environment: An Empirical Investigation of the Decision-Making Process Chalk & Cheese: Executive Short-Course vs. Academic Simulations Revisiting Personality Bias in Total Enterprise Simulations Are Good Strategies Consistently Good? Investigating the Use of a Computer Simulation as an Effective Pedagogical Tool for the Application of a Strategic Model The Problem of determining an Individualized Simulation's Validity as an Assessment Tool A Simulation Based Analysis of the Value of Information in the Hrebiniak Joyce Typology of Adaptation Relative to Porter's Generic Strategies The Impact of Sales and Income Growth on Profitability and Market Measures in Actual and Simulated Industries A Comparison of a Stand Alone Version of a Simulation with the Traditional Competitive Version Computer-Assisted Gaming of International Business Analyzing Simulations with Computer-Based Programs and Applying the Experience to a Real-World Business A Preliminary Investigation of the Use of a Bankruptcy Indicator in a Simulation Environment Graduates' Views on the Use of Computer Simulation Games Versus Cases as Pedagogical Tools An Analytical Advertising Model Approach to the Determination of Market Demand Dealing with the Complexity Paradox in Business Simulation Games A Prototyping Approach for Incorporating Large Data Bases into Media Planning Simulations: An Example Using Magazine Media Through the Looking Glass, Inc: Superior-Subordinate Personality Type and the Leniency effect Evaluating the Effectiveness of Role Playing Simulation and Other Methods in Teaching Managerial Skills Student and Teacher Perceptions of a Management Simulation Course Performance Evaluation: The Effect on the Propensity to Create Budgetary Slack Management Team Formation for Large Scale Simulations Comparative Static Analysis with the Complete PPA Package: A Strategic Market Planning Tool Consistency in Intent: Learning Objectives at the 1994 Intercollegiate Business Policy Competition A New Twist on an Old Game: The Business Strategy Game: A Global Industry Simulation 3ed Evaluation of Performance in Management Simulation: A Management Coefficients Model Building SimuWorlds: Strategic Management Games of the Future Bulls and Bears: A Stock Market Simulation A Systems Thinking Paradigm and Think Computer Simulation Model of Broadcast and Cable Television Industry Competition Jacket Factory The Sales Management Simulation The Marketing Management Simulation A Demonstration of Promodel Demonstrating A New, Cross-Functional Business Simulation: Vision+ A Cost Chain For The Business Strategy Game Simulation Special Session On Experiential Teaching Compensation Dilemmas: An Exercise In Ethical Decision-Making Organizational Storytelling: Telling Tales In The Business Classroom Evaluating Experiential Training: Case Study And Recommendations The Internship Portfolio: An Innovative Tool For Experiential Learning, Critical Thinking, And Communication An Ethnographic Analysis Of The Pedagogical Impact Of Cooperative Communicating Consumer Behavior: A Long-Term Integrated Exercise Using Personal Consumption Journals And Consumer Analysis Papers An Experiential Paradigm For Teaching Business Problem Solving Developing Leadership Skills The Spss® Student Assistant: The Integration of A Statistical Analysis Program Into A Marketing Research Textbook Negotiating With Your Students Using TQM Principles To Transform Accounting Systems Into An Experiential Exercise Enhancing The Effectiveness Of Outdoor-Based Experiential Training Using Virtual Reality Concepts Case Writing In A Developing Country: An Indonesian Example Experiential Learning Using Focus Groups How Real Should Experiential Pedagogy Be? A Viewpoint From Our Students Reengineering The Internship: A New Approach To Experiential Learning Utilizing The Cosmopolitan/Local And Marginal Man Constructs To Measure Students' Propensity For Creativity Developing Experiential Processes For Teaching Quantitative Techniques For Business Team Learning Roles: A Cooperative Learning Technique Creating the Ultimate Small Business Student Experience: Melding Score/Ace with SBI The Development of Trust in Work Teams: The Impact of Touch Some Outcomes of Experiential Learning: How the Cultural Dynamics of Different Countries are reflected in Workplace Norms & Values Incorporation of Job Analysis Results in Various Forms of Selection Interviews Chudesno, Inc.: An Evaluation of an Experiential Training and Development Simulation An Exercise for Exploring the Relationship between Jungian Psychological Types and Organizational Dynamics Partnership: A Radical Approach to Experiential Learning Partnership: A Nice Idea, But How Do I Get Started? Recognizing Discrimination at Work Using Critical Incident Skills Questions to Help Students Become More Successful at Job Interviewing The Video Project Introduction to Psychological Type Theory Come On Down Understanding Facilitation for Development and Continuous Learning: A Micro-Workshop Leadership and Empowerment: An Experiential Exercise in Decision Making Experiential Exercises and Pedagogy Track Workshop: Selecting a Manager for Maquiladora, Inc. Experiential Training In Multi-Cultural Corporate Settings The Role of Facilitation as an Aid to Complete Learning An Experiential Exercise to Illustrate Difference in Information Processing Behaviors and Styles How to Deliver Accessible Survey Results Age Diversity in the Workplace- Family Feud Style Nafta Standoff: A Cross-Cultural negotiating Role-Play Three Strikes and You're Out!: A Downsizing Experiential Exercise