USING A “LIVE” CASE VIA VIDEO TAPE A TOWN AND GOWN APPROACH Experiential Learning Enters the Eighties, Volume 7, 1980 98 USING A “LIVE” CASE VIA VIDEO TAPE A TOWN AND GOWN APPROACH Jerald R. Smith, University of Louisville ABSTRACT Although the ease study method of instruction is extremely popular in business courses, one frequently hears students complain that case study is not realistic, that cases seem “dead.” n an attempt to provide a more realistic situation and to make the case method more dynamic, an actual grievance case involving a local hospital was recorded on video-tape. The tape has been used in Principles of Management, Personnel Management, and Labor-Management Relations classes. Student interest and attention during the viewing of the tape is extremely high, and discussion of the issues after viewing is positively. With increased availability or video recording equipment, this method could add the needed ingredient that the case study method needs for greater student interest and involvement. INTRODUCTION The opportunity for this project occurred by sheer luck. While talking with a personnel manager of a local hospital, the subject cane up regarding the problem of training supervisors in the importance of following the principles of effective discipline and of following hospital regulations regarding disciplinary procedures. In many cases supervisors were either too lenient or too harsh on employees involved in a disciplinary action. The personnel manager felt that it supervisors would have to sit in on a grievance hearing, they would have more insight in dealing with corrective action. An actual case was chosen from the files of the hospital grievance committee. All names were changed in the transcript to prevent any legal problems. I then created a script that would retain all the pertinent points of the case and yet be such shorter than the original hearing (from three hours to about twenty- five minutes). PRODUCTION Although I have used business students to role play cases in the past, I felt the quality of the production was important enough to warrant a more professional acting job. The Drama Department at the University was contacted and was agreeable, even excited, to work on the project. After several rehearsals, the Personnel Manager of the hospital was invited to a “dress rehearsal" to view the play.” The main purpose of this visit was to insure that the important points regarding the case had not been omitted from the script and that the graduate drama students were not taking too much dramatic privilege in staging the case. After a few minor changes, the case was ready to role play for video-taping. At this point the Communications Department got into the act. Props, cameras, video recorders and other necessary gear was assembled. Actual taping time for the twenty-five minute production was about four hours. Numerous lines were re- taped, and various scenes were repeated in order to create the most realistic and believable production possible. Professors of business, communication, and drama huddled several times during the afternoon to make alterations and improvements to the script and action. Upon completion, the tape was carefully edited, a leader was attached, and title and credits added. A musical sound track was overlayed at the beginning and end of the tape. HOSPITAL USE The tape was first used as the focal point in a seminar on disciplinary action in the local hospital. The tape provided much discussion among the supervisors attending the seminar. A post-seminar questionnaire of those in attendance revealed the following information concerning the tape: 88% felt the acting was “excellent.” 52% thought the tape was the on-the-spot filmed account of an actual grievance proceeding. 92% responded that the errors of the supervisor involved in the case were ‘clearly” presented by the tape. 84% responded that the errors of the employee were ‘clearly’ presented by the tape. 72% were able to make suggestions concerning the conduct of the grievance hearing (i.e. , information the committee should have asked for but did not, etc.) CLASS USE The tape is used as the foundation of a two hour in- class experiential exercise in either Principles of Management or Personnel Management. The first half of the tape, that portion depicting the grievance hearing, is shown, and the students are asked to analyze what occurred, why, what errors were observed, and what decision they would make concerning the employee. After group and class discussion of these questions, the remainder of the tape is shown. This portion portrays the incident as seen through the eyes of each of the two main characters--the employee and his supervisor. A discussion is then held concerning perceptional differences and how it colors the decision process. Finally, the class is asked to role play how the supervisor should have handled the incident. Reports from classes using this form of experiential exercise have been good. Student’s also think the filming of the grievance hearing was done at the actual hearing and do not realize the participants are drama students. Experiential Learning Enters the Eighties, Volume 7, 1980 99 CONCLUSION By observing the reenactment of an actual grievance procedure, students are better able to experience the roles of the participants and subsequently really role play the incident the way it should have been handled. The exercise is definitely student-centered and has received high ratings for its realism and for its learning value. The success of this town and gown project was so positive that other like projects are being sought. REFERENCES [1] Bensinger, Charles, The Video Guide (Berkeley, CA: Video-Info Publications, 1977). [2] Kybett, Harry, The Complete Handbook of Video-Cassette Recorders (Blue Ridge Summit, PA: G/L Tab Books, 1977). [3] Murray, Michael, The Video Book: A Basic Guide to Portable TV Production (New York: Taplinger, 1975). [4] Robinson, Richard, The Video Primer: Equipment, Production, and Concepts (New York; Links, 1974). [5] The Video Handbook (New York: Media Horizons, 1972). [6] Zettl, Herbert, Television Production Handbook, 2nd ed. (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co., Inc., 1968). Table of Contents Volume 7, 1980 Symbol Recognition and Correlation for Evaluating Decision Making in Computer Aided Business Simulations Polanal: An Experiential Approach to Decision Support The Use of Time Contracts in Formal Education Indexing Simulation Model Response for Gaming Flexibility Moving Toward A Theory of the Use of Simulation Games and Experiential Exercises Use of Simulation Administration to Achieve Pedagogical Objectives Experiential Learning on the Job - A Business Internship Program Toward the Ultimate Experiential Exercise A Learning Through Managing Program Workshop Using Experiential Materials in Industry Training Sponsored Experiential Learning - An Opportunity Problems and Pitfalls of Externally Sponsored Field Research Projects Viewed form an Experiential Learning Perspective A Modular Approach to Experiential Learning: Classroom & Consulting Using Simulation & Experiential Learning In Industrial Settings Terminations: An Experiential Review Agenda Items -- Board of Supervisors' Meeting - Town of Jori The Objective-Setting Interview in MBO: An Experiential Approach The All-Star World Series Team Exercise: an Experiential Learning Exercise Dealing with Various Organizational Behavior Issues Progress Report on global, A Rich Multinational Gaming Environment Computer Simulation: A Tool to Teach Queuing Theory New Technology for Business Games Technological Frontiers in Computer Simulations for Business Education Simulating the Product Life Cycle on Interactive Terminals On Compensatory Demand Functions in Marketing Simulations The Use of Games at Different Levels in a Single Marketing Course to Increase Game Participation Sun Airlines: A Heterogeneous Consumer demand exercise Incorporating a Group Selection Test An Organization Development Approach to Teaching Organization Behavior CBID: Cognitive, Behavioral, and Interpersonal Development - A Skill Development/Social Learning Approach to Management Development Using a Live Case Via Video Tape A Town and gown Approach Development of Student Generated Cases Using Computerized Text Editing and Database Technology Interdisciplinary Approached to Problems in Utilizing Experiential Techniques To Use or Not To Use Experiential Techniques, That's is the Question Forming Participant Teams in Simulation Gaming The Problems of Motivating Students and Clients in Live-Case Projects Problems of Teaching Leadership Skills Through Experiential Techniques Conflict Style Measurement: Antecedent to Change - A Proposal for an Experiential Exercise Demonstration Fundamentals of Simulation for Newcomers An M.B.A. Orientation Simulation for Managing Time and the Areas of One's Life SimNet Workshop: The International Simulation Network Demonstrates Three New Business Games The Use of a Simulation Model in the Planning and Evaluation of Commercial Bank Operations Probability Assessment and Performance in Business Game Simulations WageSim: A Wage and Salary Administration Simulation Grading as a Teaching and Feedback Mechanism: Modifying Student's Self-Perceptions of Performance Can Business Games Effectively Teach Business Concepts? Development of Multiple Value Orientations in Conflict Resolution Behavior: An Experiential Teaching Paradigm in Labor-Management Relations Course Designing a Competency-Based Peer Assessment Scale for the Evaluation fo Teaching in Higher Education A Method for Evaluating Information for the Equipment Replacement Decision: An Application of Monte Carlo Simulation Simulation: A Method of Appraising Communication Networks in Managerial Decision Making An Evaluation of In-Class Student Involvement Evaluation of the SBI Program from an Experiential Viewpoint: Focus on the Student Differential Predictors of Academic Performance for White and Non-White Samples The Manager's Dilemma: An Unobtrusive Measure of the managerial Sex-Role Stereotype Are Computer Simulations Sexist? The Effect of Group Size on Attitudes Toward the Simulation Associations Between Individual Cognitive Processing Variables and Business Game Performance and Play Students' Perceptions on Managerial Functions After Exposure to Either the Case Method or a Simulation What Business Students Learn from Finance Simulations Attitude Toward Experiential Exercises, The Student-Teacher Relationship, Student Psychological Types, and Performance An Example of How to Design a Research-Based and Classroom-Effective Organizational behavior Exercise Some Issues in Game Design Untested Hypotheses: An Approach to Experiential Learning Evaluation of Simulation Games: A Critical Look at Past Efforts and Future Needs Is Self-Perception Predictable? - Some Laboratory Results An Exercise in Conflict-Handling Behavior The Relationship Between Group Size and the Learning Curve Effect in a Gaming Environment Learning About Organizational Management Through Organizational Management: Closing the Gap Strategies, Managerial Approaches, and Decision Making in a General Management Simulation A Comparison and Evaluation of Similar and Dissimilar Group Scenarios Generated Using Manual Simulation Games Weaknesses of Research Methods in Experiential and Simulation Studies