Using case studies in managment education: the student perspective

Abstract

U Us si in ng g c ca as se e s st tu ud di ie es s i in n m ma an na ag ge em me en nt t e ed du uc ca at ti io on n: : t th he e s st tu ud de en nt t p pe er rs sp pe ec ct ti iv ve e Ross Brennan and S. Jaseem Ahmad, Middlesex University Business School AbstractCase studies are widely used in management education. Most of the literature discussing the case study method has reflected the perspective of the teacher, implying a teacher-centred view of the case study as a learning strategy. Little is known about the student perspective on case studies. If we are to use the case study method as a component of a student-centred learning experience, then we must know how students perceive case studies, and understand the differences in attitude towards case studies that are found between different groups within the student body. This paper reports on a study of 288 final-year undergraduate students at two UK higher education institutions and is designed to uncover their views about the case study method. All of the respondents were currently enrolled on a strategic marketing or strategic management module on which case studies were used as a key component of the teaching and learning strategy. In general, students believed case studies to be useful as a method of acquiring skills and knowledge. The inherent ambiguity of the complex case study, grounded in business realities, can cause anxiety among some students. There is evidence of marked differences in attitude towards case studies between students with different entry qualifications and with different ethnic backgrounds. Older students are found to have more favourable attitudes to case studies than younger students. These findings have practical implications for the effective use of the case study method. Lecturers using this approach need to be aware of the likely differences of attitude towards case studies of students in their class, and consider these when designing appropriate teaching and learning strategies.

Refreshment by the case: Use of multimedia in case study assessment

“…To increase engagement and interest, academics have focused on providing more stimulating and student-orientated case material with some success (O'Cinneide, 2006). However, in their study of the student experience of case use, Brennan & Ahmad (2005) found a substantial minority (30%) of their sample of Marketing and Management students had less than favourable attitudes towards pedagogy based on text based case studies. Our own teaching experiences in the increasingly common "massified" higher educational context concur with this finding.…”

“…Many authors (Kreber, 2001;Rippin, Booth, Bowie & Jordan, 2002;Brennan & Ahmad, 2005) have outlined the history of using case studies in business and management education over the last century. In fields such as Business and Management, it is often the primary mode of instruction (Alexander, O'Neill, Snyder & Townsend, 1986).…”

“…Gurd (2001) and Brennan & Ahmad (2005) argue that to capitalise on the experiential potential of the case is difficult and costly, making the approach less suitable for large undergraduate courses. Interestingly, Gurd notes earlier in his paper that "the shift to on-line education raises new issues for the way cases are taught", (Gurd, 2001:p1) but does not expand on the potential of such technology to alleviate the resource concerns he later highlights.…”

The Strategy and Tactics of Cases in Marketing Education

“…Whilst reservations have been expressed, generally speaking students on marketing and strategy courses, when you ask them, tend towards the opinion that the use of case studies helps them to learn valuable analytical and communications skills, and to bring the real world of business into the classroom. There is some evidence that there are important differences between different categories of student in terms of attitudes towards case studies-for example, between students with different types of entry qualifications, between more and less mature students, and between students from different ethnic backgrounds (Brennan & Ahmad 2005). But in general case studies are a learning approach that is fairly well-liked by students, and one which they think is effective.…”

Casos de ensino no Brasil: análise bibliométrica e orientações para autores

“…Tinha sido uma longa semana, e parecia que seria um longo final de semana também, porque precisava preparar a reunião que teria na segunda-feira sobre os níveis mundiais de estoques da impressora Deskjet". O estudante precisa estar bastante envolvido com a história apresentada para que de fato participe da discussão (Christensen, 1991;Levin, 1995), haja vista que, para que o método do caso seja efetivo, a participação dos alunos é fundamental (Bontis et al, 2009;Brennan & Ahmad, 2005;Siciliano & Mcaleer, 1997). Esse envolvimento só é obtido se o caso retratar problemas do dia a dia dos alunos (Corey, 1998), e se houver identificação com o protagonista do caso, aquele que deve tomar as decisões (Franke, 2011;Sebenius, 2011).…”