How to case study

Howtocasestudy?CaseStudy•1.WhyCaseStudies?•2.Howtodealwiththem?•3.ThereportCaseStudiesandPractice•Interesting,realworldsituationswithinsightsintothestudiesofmanagement•Decisionmaking–maybecomeeasier–betterqualityofdecisions–fasterdecisionmaking•WorkinginteamsCaseStudiesSolutions•Differentfromnormalhomeworkdesign•Oftenmorethanoneanswer–dependsonassumptionsandproblemdefinition•Timeiswellspent–confidenceinadecision-makingposition–parallelstoreal-worldsituations•moreinterestedintheanalysesandprocessthaninabsolutecorrectnessNormative-levelanalysis:whatculturaldifferencesmadetheinvolvedpartiesbehaveinthisway?Whatnormativeculturalattributescausedthecross-culturalclash?Behavioral-levelanalysis:whatbehaviorscausedtheclash?Givingbehavioral-levelsuggestions:whatshouldhavebeendonetoavoidtheclash?Whatmightbedonetosavethesituation?Method1:3StepApproach•Situation:•LihasreturnedtoChinaafterayearintheStates.Hemarrieshischildhoodsweetheart,whohasnevertraveledandspeaksverylittleEnglish.Li'sbestfriendintheStates,Bob,comestovisitChinaforthefirsttimeandisintroducedtoWangLan,thenewwifeofhisbestfriend.•Gee,it'sgreattomeetyou,saysBob,LitalkedaboutyouallthetimebackinHouston!,andkissesWangLanheartilyonbothcheeks.WangLanisshocked.•Question:WhydidBobandWangLanbehavesofromtheculturalperspective?Whatbehaviorscausedthemisunderstandinginthecase?WhatcorrectivebehaviorsdoyousuggesttoBobandWangLantoavoidmiscommunication?DemoofCaseAnalysis•Apooranswer•Inthiscase,BobwastooboldandWangLanwastooshy.–Thisanalysisdoesnottake3-stepapproach!–Thisanalysisdoesnottakeacross-culturalapproach!DemoofCaseAnalysis•Abetteranswer•1.Normativelevel:Bobcomesfromanindividualisticculturewhichfeaturesclosebodycontactinpersonalrelationship.WangLancomesfromacollectivisticculturewhichdoesnotfeatureopendisplayofpersonalfeelingsthroughbodycontact.•DemoofCaseAnalysis•2.Behaviorallevel:Inthecase,BobtreatedWangLanasaclosefriendandgreetedherinatypicalwesternwaywithheartykissesonhercheekstodisplaytheclosefriendship.However,withlittleknowledgeofwesterngreetingetiquette,WangLanwasshockedsinceBob'srudebehaviorwasnotinlinewiththeChinesewaysofexpressingclosefriendship.InChineseculture,aheartyhandshakewillservethepurpose.ItisthecontrastofBob'sopenexpressionofclosenessthroughclosebodycontactandWangLan'sindirectnessinexpressingherfeelingsthatcausedmiscommunication.•3.Suggestionlevel:Toavoidmiscommunication,BobandWangLanneedtolearnmoreabouteachother'scultureandadjusttheirbehaviorsaccordingly.BobshouldaskWangLanifhecouldkisshertoexpresshisfriendshiporhecouldshakehandswithWangLaninstead.WangLanneedstounderstandthatthekisseswerewellmeantanddoesnothavetofeelembarrassedorshocked.Shecouldactmoreactivelybyextendingherhandoutfirstforahandshakeratherthanbehavepassively.Method2:StepsofProblemAnalyses•Readthecasethoroughly•Definethecentralissue•Definethefirmsgoals•Identifytheconstraintstotheproblem•Identifyalltherelevantalternatives•Selectthebestalternative•DevelopanimplementationplanMoreontheQuestionofFocus•Isthereoneissueormanyissues?–Theanswermaynotbesimpleorobvious•Oftenitmakessensetoorganizetheproblemstatementinahierarchicalway–Asingleover-ridingissue–Additionalissues,butusuallysubsidiarytothemainissue–Triage•DealwithmostimportantareasfirstTheReport•Writtenororal•Describesthesolutionofthecase•Expressyourselfclearly•Explaintheanalysesandlogic•Separatefactsfromopinion•LayoutaplanforimplementatingthedecisionWrittenReports•Short,well-organizedreportisbetterthanalong,unorganizedone•Donotincludetrivialmatters•Typicalsections:–executivesummary–problemstatement–Culturalreasons–alternatives–conclusion–implementationOralReports•Statewhathasoccurred–whatisthecaseabout?•Describethecontext–changesinfirm,industry,market•Typicalcontents:–descriptionofthecasesituation–problemstatement–Culturalreasons–analysesofthekeyalternatives–conclusion–implementation•Beabletocommentonotherideas