How to Deal with a Case Study

Lecture Knowledge Management June 2004 How to Deal with a Case Study Yale Braunstein June 2004 How to deal with a Case Study 1 Lecture Knowledge Management Agenda June 2004 1. Why Case Studies? I. Agenda 1. Why Case Studies? 2. How to deal with them? 3. The report 2. How to deal with them? 3. The report How to deal with a Case Study 2 Lecture Knowledge Management Case Studies and Practice - Interesting, real world situations with insights into the studies of management - Decision making - may become easier - better quality of decisions - faster decision making - Working in teams How to deal with a Case Study 3 June 2004 I. Agenda 1. Why Case Studies? 2. How to deal with them? 3. The report Lecture Knowledge Management Case Studies Solutions - Different from normal homework design - Often more than one answer - depends on assumptions and problem definition June 2004 I. Agenda 1. Why Case Studies? 2. How to deal with them? 3. The report - Time is well spent - confidence in a decision-making position - parallels to real-world situations How to deal with a Case Study 4 Lecture Knowledge Management Attacking the Case - Problems with quantity of information - first too much/later not enough - Solution: - seek additional information - make assumptions - Decide which questions to ask - Instructor will be more interested in the analyses and process than in absolute correctness How to deal with a Case Study 5 June 2004 I. Agenda 1. Why Case Studies? 2. How to deal with them? 3. The report Lecture Knowledge Management Steps of Problem Analyses Read the case thoroughly Define the central issue Define the firms goals Identify the constraints to the problem - Identify all the relevant alternatives - Select the best alternative - Develop an implementation plan How to deal with a Case Study 6 June 2004 I. Agenda 1. Why Case Studies? 2. How to deal with them? 3. The report Lecture Knowledge Management More on the Question of Focus  Is there one issue or many issues?  June 2004 The answer may not be simple or obvious  Often it makes sense to organize the I. Agenda 1. Why Case Studies? 2. How to deal with them? 3. The report problem statement in a hierarchical way  A single over-riding issue  Additional issues, but usually subsidiary to the main issue  Triage ( Auswahl ) – Deal with most important areas first How to deal with a Case Study 7 Lecture Knowledge Management The Report Written or oral Describes the solution of the case Express yourself clearly Explain the analyses and logic Separate "facts" from opinion Lay out a plan for implementating the decision June 2004 I. Agenda 1. Why Case Studies? 2. How to deal with them? 3. The report How to deal with a Case Study 8 Lecture Knowledge Management Written Reports - Short, well-organized report is better than a long, unorganized one - Do not include trivial matters - Typical sections: - executive summary - problem statement - alternatives - conclusion - implementation How to deal with a Case Study 9 June 2004 I. Agenda 1. Why Case Studies? 2. How to deal with them? 3. The report Lecture Knowledge Management Oral Reports - State what has occurred – what is the case about? - Describe the context - changes in firm, industry, market - Typical contents: - description of the case situation - problem statement - analyses of the key alternatives - conclusion - implementation - Be able to comment on other ideas How to deal with a Case Study 10 June 2004 I. Agenda 1. Why Case Studies? 2. How to deal with them? 3. The report