Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/61389
"Many classic cases teach timeless lessons; but if they're from the '80s or the '70s, students aren't always tolerant of them. They want to know about things that are happening right now." –Lisa Joy People can download all the abstracts that might apply." The Internet has also provided an easy way for case providers to personalize the cases by presenting information on the authors. "We've started introducing short video clips of the author on our database," says Gray. "You can come to the Web site and hear the professor who wrote the case talk for three or four minutes." This brings the case vividly to life and connects the author who wrote the piece more directly to the professor who will be teaching from it. Timeliness and Relevance No matter how the cases are accessed or what format they're in, today's versions are apt to be current, global, and highly relevant. Students are less interested in outdated cases that might offer excellent lessons but deal with old or obsolete companies, say providers. They'd rather read about compa- nies in the news this week. For instance, a case about Enron— including live clips of the top executives—was the lead item for months on Darden Publishing's Web site. "Students are used to having immediate access to research and knowledge," says Joy of Harvard. Students like to go online to find additional information to support their analysis of a particular case, and that's harder to do if the story isn't a The Case for Cases While both media and topics have changed in today's case studies, one thing remains the same: the passion with which devotees of the case study method view this educational tool. "A case is about a real business situation faced by man- agers and is authenticated by a release from the company," says Shirley Tan of Asia Business Case Centre. "It's not hypo- thetical. It allows students to step into the real situation, under- stand the complexity of the context, and make a decision." Says Paul Beamish of the Ivey School, "Case studies give students a great opportunity to learn about individual indus- tries, individual countries, and individual organizations by studying the kinds of problems they'll often encounter in their careers. Professors use case studies to teach students how to devise rules for decision making that will allow them to tackle problems in a methodical and comprehensive fashion." In addition, the case method allows students a chance to test ideas—and learn from mistakes—in a safe environment, says Kathie Amato of Darden Business Publishing. She also believes that students who learn t hrough the case study 34 BizEd JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2004 recent one. "Many classic cases teach timeless lessons; but if they're from the '80s or the '70s, students aren't always tol- erant of them. They want to know about things that are hap- pening right now." Even when the business press isn't ruled by one particular teaching negotiations have been popular in recently written case studies. Then again, certain topics like general manage- ment, strategy, and organizational behavior have an "ever- green" quality to them and are in demand no matter what the business climate. Even when today's cases are focused on current business story, the waxing and waning popularity of specific business trends will influence what kinds of cases will be written and requested at any given time. Ten or 15 years ago, the European Case Clearinghouse was receiving a number of cases dealing with just-in-time management, says Gray. Now, cases on globalization, corporate governance, and ethics are arriving. Other case providers say that topics like leadership and trends, they tend to be shorter than cases were in the past. "While people still want cases with complexity, depth, and richness, they want them to be more focused," says Amato. "While the cases are fully integrated, they're more self- method increase their ability to think through decisions once they're in the corporate world, especially when they're faced with morally ambiguous situations. "Because they've had to make decisions and discuss why they made these decisions, it's so much easier when they're out in the world faced with an ethical dilemma," she says. She describes a case she studied as a student, in which a company had to decide whether to recall a flawed product at a huge loss or continue to sell it at a profit. When students expressed horror at the very idea of selling a product with defects, the professor made the analogy that they were walk- ing down a yellow-brick road. Says Amato, "He told us, 'Every time you make an unethi- cal decision, even if it's on a very minor matter, one of your yellow bricks turns red. Over time, all your bricks shift, and suddenly you're not on a yellow-brick road any more, you're on a red-brick road. The change happens one decision at a time.' If his comments hadn't come at the end of an hourlong debate, I don't think they would have had the same impact. I would have felt I was being preached to. As it was, the case discussion was very compelling—almost a life-changing experience."