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Case Study Briefing Notes

The case study approach to higher learning is a useful learning device that helps bridge the gap
between pure academic theory and practical experience. It is widely accepted as an effective
method of demonstrating the applicability of theory to actual situations.
The aim of cases is to prompt students to think for themselves about management and
organisational behaviour and effectiveness issues. In that perspective, students need to analyse
issues / problems and attempt to discover the underlying causes of these problems. If there
appears to be no problems in a particular case, then students must elaborate on the reasons for
the demonstrated effectiveness of the organisation being considered. Not all organisations do all
things badly. At times good practices may also be in evidence. The student needs to identify
these as well as point to that which is not working optimally.
The Case studies must be viewed as real situations. Most of the cases featured in courses are
reports of actual occurrences in organisations but with names, places and dates changed. Some
are adaptations of actual organisational situations.
Students must not rely on the tutor/instructor to provide the right answer. Instead they must realise
that there is rarely one correct solution to the case. Normally there is a range of possible courses
of action that could be adopted to alter the outcome of the situation.
Students must utilise their analytical skills to identify the issues and then having identified these
issues, locate theories in textbooks that are helpful in generating suggestions / solutions to the
problem(s) presented in the case study. It is important to try to avoid generating only a single
possible solution to the case. That is too simplistic.

Case studies typically include the following:

1.

A Brief Introduction/ Background

Provide a brief background/introduction on the case. For instance you could state what the case is
about, what type of organisation, how you are going to tackle this case analysis. Dont simply copy
material from the case study.

2.

Outline and Discussions of the Major Issues / Problems

Here, you will need to identify and outline the key issues. You will need to follow the tips on case
analysis (below) in performing this task.

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3.

Outline and Discussions of the Relevant Theories

Here, you are required to outline and discuss some of the relevant theories (exposed in this course) or
some of the literature suggestions (your readings) that may assist in understanding (or resolving) the
issues. It is important that you do not simply describe the theory/theories, but make a genuine attempt
to explain how the theory/theories help explain the situation(s) featured in the case. (it is also very
important that you properly reference the theories and/or suggestions from the literature). Referring
to the theory is akin to the Medical Doctor consulting past medical research prior to prescribing the
treatment or remedy. We would expect a Medical Doctor to be up to date before prescribing a
course of treatment and it is expected that Corporate Doctors would also be prescribing
knowledgably from the body of knowledge on say change management or leadership or motivation if
the issues identified in the analysis were about change management or leadership or motivation. In
making the recommendations it is expected that these will be based on management science, and
that these recommendations are plausible and if possible, synergistic. Synergistic in the sense that in
solving one issue other issues are also addressed to at least some degree if at all possible. Simple,
unsophisticated responses to complex organisational problems (such as fire so and so) are rarely
appropriate. Delve deeper. Go to root causes. Generate a series of related recommendations. If it
was the Medical Doctor the recommendation may well be stop smoking, eat regularly and with
cognisance of the five basic food groups, cut consumption of alcohol to a maximum of five nights a
week and no more than two standard drinks, get at least x hours of exercise four times a week and
sleep at least Y hours per night. In making these recommendations the Medical Doctor would be
referring to medical science studies and evidence to back up the course of action being proposed. In
corporate Doctor work, follow the same procedure.

4.

A set of Suggestions/Recommendations on how to address the issues

Upon completing your analysis, you then need to examine ways in which the issues may be resolved
or the situation may be improved. You will need to follow the tips given below.

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5.

References

You need to appropriately reference your work and follow the guidelines on referencing (including
Plagiarism Policy) shown in your course outline. While we could state we expect a minimum of 10
reference sources listed and actually used in writing the analysis, a more appropriate learning
method is to use references that relate to assisting you to demonstrate that you can find and
associate the appropriate references. This may mean that some case studies may have 10
references that should be quoted in your submission, others may have 7. Dont simply list reference
sources that you did not use.

6.

Appendices (if any/required)

Place here, any additional material relevant to the case (eg: material on the case, not featured in the
written case study appearing in the text).

7.

Format

Students should type their analysis using 1.5 or double spaced lines. Students must also ensure that
their submission complies with the University Policy on Plagiarism.

8.

Assessment Criteria

The points listed above advise the marking rubric that forms the basis for assessment and
subsequent feedback to each individual student for the case study analysis.

Here are some tips on how to undertake your case analysis:

a.
Read the case once broadly, obtaining an overview. You may then ask yourself, What is the
case about? What are the main issues? Write your first impressions. Do a basic search to check
whether the case is real or fictitious (name disguised). If it is a real case, check more recent
events, including mission, structures, strategy.
b.
Make notes of the issues identified and try your hand at creating a relationship diagram (do
a google on what relationship diagrams are). Take an A4 or A3 sized piece of paper and write
down the names of people or identifiable entities within the organisation. Do this over the whole
page. You might put the chief character in the middle of the page, describe them in terms of the
information provided (age, years with the company, role, characteristics) draw a circle around that
and then add other characters elsewhere on the page. Circle these also. The entire relationship
diagram starts to get interesting when you draw lines between the parties you have identified. You
can see who is related to who and in what way. You may for example, write on the joining line
between the circles proprietors son if that is the nature of the relationship between two identified
entities.
By doing this the connections between entities becomes clearer and when
recommendations are made the impact of the recommendations will be seen on all the related
parties and judgements can be made on how best to proceed to maximise the usefulness of the
recommendations. Try it. You have nothing to lose.
c.
Participate in discussions about the case and query ways in which the situation (in the case)
may be improved.

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d.
Read the case again more slowly, paying more attention to detail. Highlight the key points,
note the key organisational units and the key players. Also note the organisational setting
(structure) and any changes. In terms of the organisational setting; is the case about a small
business or a large multi-national corporation? Is the organisation involved in heavy industry or the
hospitality industry? What is the nature of the organisation structure? Has the organisational
structure changed? Why has it changed? What factors have prompted the change? Is the
organisation performance improving or worsening? Why?

e.
Conduct an analysis of the case study by moving from a general overview to specific details.
The analysis may reveal a mood of dissatisfaction, distrust and suspicion within the organisation,
for example. This mood might exist between employees in a single department, or across different
departments. There may be an issue of integration between departments (competition for scarce
resources across departments, for instance). There may be issues of bad communication between
management and employees throughout the organisation due to poor management. Your analysis
may also reveal a destructive force in the form of personality problems (leaders with bad
interpersonal skills) or a particular individual in a department; or simply an antagonistic employee,
or an autocratic leader.
f.
Read material from your textbook and from other recommended textbooks and readings.
Attempt to form an opinion on the nature of the issues raised in the case. For instance, is the case
about the appropriateness of the organisation structure? Is it about morale and motivation? Is it
about adaptation to environmental changes? Is it about leadership (or lack of it)? Is it about the
management of change? Is it about a combination of these and/or other issues?
g.
This should then prompt you to develop a series of suggestions as to how improvements
might be made. The development of a series of recommendations pertaining to the case study is
the ultimate objective of case analysis. Having decided what should be done, you should also
consider the specifics of implementation; consider who should take action, when actions should be
taken, and how these actions should occur. The recommendations must be realistic, achievable
and overtly responding to the identified issues.

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