Business Case Students Studies Approach Teaching Situation Traditional

Many business schools have adopted the "case study approach" for teaching "principles" (main ideas) of management, marketing, finance, and other business topics. A "case study" is a detailed analysis of some organization, project, system, or decision. It usually provides "extensive" (a lot of) background information, as well as "profiles" (descriptions) of "key players" (people who have an important role). Then it presents a situation, problem, or "dilemma" (a situation where someone must choose among two or three things).

Students are given copies of the case study and asked to imagine that they are the decision-maker facing the problem or situation. The students may need to work alone or in small teams to identify their preferred solution and then explain their "rationale" (logic; reasoning), usually through an oral presentation, in a "memo" (memorandum; a one-page report used in business), or in a report.

In most cases, the case studies approach is more challenging than traditional teaching "methodologies" (ways of doing something), because they are "interdisciplinary" (involving more than one field). A traditional finance class might give the students specific problems to solve, but those problems are related only to financial calculations, without the need to consider the impact of those decisions on marketing or "R&D" (research and development). In contrast, the case studies methodology might describe a situation that requires using financial knowledge and analytical skills, but the students also have to consider the impact of their decision on the entire organization over time.