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contained. They can be taught in a class period. A teacher can start pulling more and more cases for assignments on a daily basis and add some interactive teaching." "I think the shorter cases are very much a response to the needs of executive education," says Gray of ECCH. "Executives, particularly senior executives, find it unaccept- able to have to read massive amounts of materials. So the whole emphasis is on producing high-quality material that's much shorter in length and more easily usable by people in executive courses—though of course these cases are also usable by people in the MBA and undergraduate programs." Classroom Prep While the case study can be an exhilarating experience for stu- dents, it can be intimidating for teachers—particularly those teaching cases for the first time. "One of the things that frightens new case teachers is, you don't know what's going to be said," says Joy. "You get to class and you don't know what curve ball is going to be thrown. Not only do you have to manage the discussion, but you have to lead it in a way that's going to be productive." However, professors needn't let their unfamiliarity with to spend a lot of time with the case study you intend to teach so you know it absolutely inside out," says Gray. "You have to be able to handle it better than the best student you'll be teaching. Professors say that when they're picking up a case for the first time, they might spend upwards of 20 hours in preparation, going through the analysis and working it through, seeing what alternative methods of analysis present themselves in case a student ends up going down that road. You want to be able to respond rather than saying, 'Well, I never thought of that.'" two-day workshops that introduce professors to teaching and writing cases. ECCH is also producing a DVD on the topic. Parts of the DVD were filmed at sessions of the International Teachers Program held at the Stern School of Business and The Copenhagen Business School. In addition, Gray suggests sitting in on a veteran teacher's case study class, if possible, to watch how he handles the discussion. And, as always, individual preparation is key. "You do need the process stop them from integrating case studies into their classrooms. All sorts of resources are available to help teach- ers become more comfortable with the case study format. First, many cases are accompanied by teaching notes—the author's description of how the case should be used, what questions might be appropriate, and what kind of analysis might be expected. "There's also usually a what-happened section," says professors to the joys and hazards of teaching with cases. Gray recommends Teaching andWriting Case Studies, A Practical Guide (Second Edition), written by John Heath and published through ECCH. He also notes that ECCH runs one- and Beamish. "What happened is what that particular company did. It may or may not have been correct. We try not to fall into the trap of saying, 'Just because the company made this decision, it was the right decision.' Clearly, it isn't always." Books, articles, and workshops are available that introduce A Case for the Future While case studies have experienced a great deal of change already, some providers think more is in store. Primarily, the effect of digital media is likely to be profound in the coming years. "I think we're just at the beginning of the impact that multimedia presentations are having on cases," says Amato. "I think we're going to see huge, geometric growth where we're pulling all sorts of media into the case to make it a rich, even more active learning experience." Beamish expects to see cases used in more institutions worldwide. He recounts a tale of a visit made to Ivey 15 years ago by a group of Chinese professors who had never wit- nessed the case study teaching method before. "They thought it was very interesting but that it would never work in China," he relates. "Fifteen years later, those same people are on a state education committee that has required 25 per- cent of classes in China's business schools to be taught by the case method." As a result, many of Ivey's cases have been translated into Chinese—and Ivey cases are also available in French, Spanish, and Korean. "I think the internationaliza- tion of management education really bodes well for the case method," he says. Widespread availability, up-to-the-minute relevance, and easy access are combining to make the early 21st century a golden era for the case study method. As new delivery methods make case studies even more engaging for stu- dents, these reliable teaching tools are becoming even more dynamic and compelling methods for conveying the basic precepts of business. ■ z BizEd JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2004 35