What is the Future of the Case Method in Management Education in India?

Abstract

This colloquium serves as a conceptual and experiential platform to stage the insights generated on the case method by the faculty who have taught and/or trained at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA). It comprises three sections titled Contexts (including Technology and Culture), Institutions, and Futures. The institutions comprise IIM, Ahmedabad, IIM, Bangalore, and IIM, Indore though the primary focus remains on the curricular and pedagogical innovations at IIMA. The insights on the future of the case method in India that emerged from the colloquium are the following: The availability of information and communication technologies in the emerging milieu is not a threat but an opportunity to reinvent the method; this, however, requires breaking from the ‘classical method’ in order to innovate. The changing demographics of the classroom necessitate a greater appreciation and sensitization to how cultural differences can affect the receptivity to the case method. The written analysis of cases (WAC) was and will continue to remain the site for introducing the case method to the incoming students of the Post-Graduate Programme (PGP) at IIMA. Communication skills can be taught effectively if a performative dimension is built into the case discussion through role plays. Many of the cases used in the IIMs reflect the ethos of a socialist, pre-liberal era of the Indian economy. There is a pressing need to develop cases that reflect the economic developments of recent times. The case method will continue to be the mainstay of the forthcoming PGPX (PGP for executives) at IIMA since the greater work experience of the participants will make it possible to combine ‘inductive and personalized’ forms of learning. An examination of the barriers to effective case teaching and writing at IIM, Bangalore reveals that a formal review process may help to increase the standard of cases and teaching notes. The institutionalization of the case method in a new IIM requires enormous efforts on the part of both individual faculty (with prior exposure to the method) and the institute as a whole. The learnings from the experiment at IIM, Indore are relevant to understanding what is at stake in the replication of the method in a new institution. The Socratic Method is not synonymous with the case method; it is not the instructor�s task to invoke the dialectical method in response to an ‘inner voice,’ but an attempt to facilitate the learning process. The method persists despite adverse conditions in many institutions. Questions of form remain more important than content in teaching through this method since it helps to negotiate the gap between ‘management reality’ and ‘methodical management.’ The method should move from a mere ‘post-mortem’ of a business situation to a dynamic orientation and facilitate active learning through the realization of the dictum that ‘the past is in the present as in the future.’ The case method will continue to structure the education of managers in the future despite changes in the nature of competition, the organizational environment, etc. However, it may be necessary to supplement the case method with field-based projects to generate the habit of decision-making; this will also make the learning contemporary for the participants.

Conceptualizing “classroom teaching-learning process” that engages students in Indian business school

“…Except for a few major institutes, most B-schools in India are Teachinglearning process in business school geographically biased in terms of teachers and students (Shirole, 2020). Many students belong to the middle class and believe their arduous work will lead to glory (Dixit et al, 2005;Jain, 2005;Shirole, 2020).…”

“…Many teachers visit as visiting teachers, receive hourly payment and teach at over one B-school. Most teachers are male and can be as young as 25 years old with a short-term orientation (Dixit et al, 2005;Jain, 2005;Yousaf et al, 2020).…”

“…The minimum number of credits for the award of an MBA degree should be 102 credits, equal to 1,020 h. AICTE established India's National Board of Accreditation (NBA) in 1994 to assess the qualitative competence of programs. AICTE approves the program offered by the institution from the diploma level to the postgraduate level in management, pharmacy and technology, engineering, architecture and related disciplines (Dixit et al, 2005;Jain, 2005;Puri, 2022). IJEM 36,7…”

“…However, in the last fifteen years, it has been commonly reported that students at Indian B-schools neither study assigned cases before the scheduled class nor give sufficient attention to class discussion. Under-preparation of students translates into poor-quality discussions and irrelevant ideas (Dixit et al, 2005). A high level of classroom absenteeism, a passive attitude toward learning, a lack of energy, and repeated requests for solutions to a problem or case are other frequently reported problems.…”

“…The question arises why established methods, which go back almost a hundred years and are known for student involvement, lose their effectiveness in the Indian context (Dixit et al, 2005). Literature reviews, observations and discussions with other teacher members and students revealed insights about the case method in Indian B-schools.…”