THE ROLE OF STUDENTS IN “THE CASE METHOD” Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 8, 1981 68 THE ROLE OF STUDENTS IN “THE CASE METHOD” David N. Currie, Rollins College ABSTRACT Modern textbooks and practitioners of the case method have not fully explained the responsibilities of the student under the case method. This failure has led to confusion about the value of the case method and its alleged shortcomings. The author presents a five- point program to help students understand their role in the case method. ROLE OF THE INSTRUCTOR Several recent articles have pointed out that the case method, rather than being a single approach, actually encompasses a spectrum of approaches. The role of the instructor in this spectrum can range from lecturing to virtual abstention, depending on the instructor’s view of the case method and the material being taught. Dooley and Skinner have categorized instructors’ roles with entertaining yet descriptive sobriquets -- facilitator, coach, quarterback, demonstrator, etc. (2) Whichever technique the instructor chooses under the case method, he still imparts his particular value system upon students and actually may reduce the value of the case method by preventing student independence. Argyris points out that students attempt to master the instructor (in an effort to attain better grades) rather than the topic. As a consequence, students rarely took risks by exploring alternative principles or value systems since these rarely were rewarded by the instructor. (1) ROLE OF THE STUDENT If it is true that the particular teaching technique and value system of the instructor are crucial in the case method, then Students should be made aware of their role in interacting with the instructor and questioning that particular value system. A search through textbooks reveals that we may not be apprising students of their responsibilities under the case method. While many authors instruct students in making an effective presentation, few authors explain what is expected of students relative to the instructor, what the role of the instructor is likely to be, and more importantly that students must continually question the values implicit in the case and the instructor. This double loop learning (where students detect errors in analysis and question the underlying basis for that analysis may be the real value of the case approach. Textbooks vary in their treatment of this subject; the variation is seldom across disciplines, but within disciplines. In finance few textbooks explain case techniques at all. Case methodology is taught more often in management and marketing, although the treatment here usually is a short course in effective oral or written communication and the value of the scientific method. Few indeed are the texts which explain the student’s huge responsibility under “the case method.” FIVE POINT PROGRAM I suggest the following five point program for informing students of their responsibilities in the case method: 1. Explain the value of the case method, either in learning principlies, applying principlies to actual situations, conceptualizing problems or developing judgmental skills. 2. Explain methods of effective oral or written presentation. This topic is treated very well by most texts. 3. Explain the role of students relative to one another and relative to the instructor. Particular roles may change according to the educational objectives or teaching techniques of the instructor, but “the case method” as developed at Harvard involved maximal participant interaction together with minimal dependence on the instructor. (4) 4. Explain that there are no correct or incorrect answers to problems, only alternative courses of action based upon each person’s value system and conception of the problem. 5. Perhaps most importantly, explain that students should continually evaluate problems in light of alternative value systems. Anyone who has taught a business discipline for more than a few years recognizes that ethical and sociological forces are dynamic and that managers must adjust continually to a changing business environment. New analytical techniques are developed at a rapid pace, so managers who are unwilling or unable to take the risk of a fresh approach to an old problem may be doing themselves and society a disservice. (3) REFERENCES (1) Argyris, Chris, “Same Limitations of the Case Method: Experiences in a Management Development Program,” Academy of Management Review, Vol. 5, No. 2 (April 1980), pp. 291-298. (2) Dooley, Arch R. and Wickham Skinner, “Casing Casemethod Methods,” Academy of Management Review, Vol. 2, No. 2 (April 1977), pp. 277-295. (3) Kiechel, Walter, III, “Harvard Business School Restudies Itself,” Fortune, Vol. 99, No. 12 (June 18, 1979), pp. 49-58. (4) McNair, Malcolm P., The Case Method at the Harvard Business School, New York: McGraw-Hill Book Cc., Inc., 1954. Table of Contents Volume 8, 1981 The Promotion: Human Sexuality in Organization The Simulation of Chaos Leadership Development in a Simulated Urban/Suburban (U/S) Environment Tomed: A Computer Game Emphasizing Social Responsibility/or/why the Pop-Top Can? Integrated Brain Activity and the Manager's Job: Utilizing the Troika Model What does R2 Have to do with a Product Management Course? An Analysis of the Effects of Jungian Problem-Solving Style Dimensions on Marketing Decisions Bargaining Behavior in Personal Selling and Buying Exchanges Extending the Simulation Product Life Cycle A Generalized Algorithm for Designing and Developing Business Simulations Operationalizing a Test of a Model of the Use of Simulation Games and Experiential Exercises Pygmalion and Perception: An Experiential Exercise Behavioral Consequences of Reward Regarding Employee Absenteeism in an Industrial Setting: An Operant Conditioning Approach The Simlab Program: The Use of Experimental Simulation and Process Analysis for the Development of Management and Organizations Designs for Research on Simulation-Games, Cases, and Other Experiential Exercises The Role of Students in The Case Method Weaknesses in Research Design Critical Variables in Research on the Educational Value of Management Games Research Questions for Cases Research on the Learning Effectiveness of Business Simulation Games - A Review of the State of the Science The Effects of Valuation Techniques on Holding Cost During Inflationary Periods: A Simulation Exercise The Operations Simulation - A Study in Game Development Applying Guided Design to the Production/Operations Management Course: A Progress Report and Evaluation Terminal Data Entry and Retrieval Systems Simulations and Microprocessors Microcomputers and Related Technology for Simulation Gaming Microcomputers - A New Technology for Innovations in Business Simulations Microprocessor Controlled Interactive Video Simulation Business Game Design: From Theory to Practice The Success of a Computerized Simulation in Microeconomic Pedagogy The Test Preview Game: Applying the Game Show Format Providing a Real World View of the Personal Function: A Simulation Finding an Effective Means of Teaching Managerial Behavioral Skills: Two Different Experiential Teaching Methods Compared A Management Development Program Based on the Experiential Learning Model Participant Type Differences in Response to Experiential Methods: An Informal Look Preparing Student Groups to Participate in Experiential Group Projects: An Organizational Development Approach An Instrument for the Assessment of Learning Dimensions: A Progress Report of the Learning Dimension Scale (LDS) An Empirical Analysis Relating the Learning Style Inventory to Memory and Logical Ability Teaching Styles in Simulation Experiential Learning Versus Traditional Teaching Styles Student Perceptions of Effective Teaching Behaviors Problems in Evaluation of Experiential Learning in Management Education Students' Perceptions of Learning by Simulation A Relative Evaluation of Experiential and Simulation Learning in Terms of Perceptions of Effected Changes in Students Overview of Computer Based Business Games in Business Policy Classes Behavioral Decision Theory and Business Policy Giving Accounting Students Writing Experience as Job Preparation Getting to First Base with MBO: An exercise for Writing and Evaluating Objectives Dimensions of Conflict in Experiential Learning Consumer Alienation and Perceived Relevance of the Business Simulation Using the Self-Reference Criterion to Simulate Culture in Internationalized Business Course Experiential Learning in a Cross Cultural Setting- The Practice of Simulation Approach to Business Education in Japanese Universities Student' Perceptions of the Use of a Computerized Simulation in Teaching Management Information Systems Using the Case Study Approach to Develop a Microcomputer Bases, Fully Integrated, Data Base Driven, Management Information System The Case Study as a Tool for Organizational Change: Applying the Steel Ax to the Designers of Management Information Systems Toward a Theory of Teaching Business Policy A Case Study in the Use of Experiential Learning (A Management Game Simulation) to Enhance Student Understanding of Strategy Evaluation and Policy Formulation Suggestions for Integration of the Business Administration Core Publishing Opportunities and Requirements for Business Simulation and Experiential Learning Materials How do we Apply Experiential Learning Intercollegiate Case Competitions for M.B.A. Students: Initiation and Implementation Teaching Business Policy and Strategy Using the Incident Process The Learning Co-Op Approach to the Core Policy Course Meeting the Managerial Skill Shortage - Is Academia Up to It? An Empirical Analysis of Experiential Learning Reinforcement International Experiential Learning: Experience is the Best Teacher Encouraging Student Participation During International Academic Programs European Summer Study Program: Can you, Should you, What Does it Take? Travel Seminars in Europe: How can I Direct One? International Experiential Learning: Student Evaluation ABSEL: Empirical Findings on the State of the Association Sensitivity of Performance Scores in Business Simulations Improving the Learning of a Business Simulation Game by Increasing the Process Content Student Participation in Deciding Performance Criteria for Grading in an OB Course: An Exercise and a Case Study Markup for Profit: A Simulated Self-Administered Experience in Retail Pricing The Investment Decision Game: An Experiential Learning Approach to Stock Market Decisions Through Gaming CHIPS: A Marketing Channels management Game External Validation: An Experimental Approach to Determining the Worth of Simulation Games Teaching Performance Appraisal Skills: An Experiential Approach In Support of Experiential learning: Results of a Follow-Up Survey The Introductory Management Course: Taking Theory Application One Step Further Decision Efficiency and Effectiveness in a Business Simulation The Implications of Cognitive Processing Variables and the Complex Decision Simulating the Simulation for Enhanced Player Rationality Simulation/Experiential Learning Audit