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GLOBAL
The use of case studies in higher education is quite common. While they have their merits as an educational tool in undergraduate studies, their value is highly limited for graduate studies where students are looking for real-world skills to apply in their work.
When we look at many of the stated outcomes for graduate business programmes, such as an MBA, many universities state that they provide problem-solving skills for the workplace. A critical mind might ask: How do universities prove that they provide these? And how do they measure how much they have improved such skills?
Countless business programmes use case studies to help students develop the analytical skills they might need for any given situation. Unfortunately, businesses today need leaders with much more than just theoretical analytical skills. There are four major problems with the reliance on case studies in higher education, outlined below.
The real world is very different
When students review a case study, they analyse a problem given to them, in writing, by someone else. In the real world, no one is going to give you a problem that has been written down in words.
To find a solution to a problem, individuals need to think about a problem from the point of view of their own personal experience, from talking to various stakeholders, connecting the systems that influence an outcome and recognising that context can change the dynamic issues they are confronting. None of this exists in current studies based on case studies.
With globalisation, the complexity of problems business leaders will face calls for them to understand the perspective of multiple stakeholder groups. It is a leader’s responsibility to see the full picture of any given situation and not only the surface issue.
This requires them to understand the process of identifying key stakeholder groups as well as how to engage with these groups to understand what the nature of the problem is. All of this requires specific leadership and process creation skills.
When facing a real-world problem, wise leaders perceive the problem from multiple perspectives. Case studies, no matter how well written, do not provide the context in which students can gain such skills.
Theory is often too theoretical
When students conduct the analysis of their case study, they only read what is written down. Further questions concerning the case study are limited to what the professor may be able to theorise or glean from the case study’s notes.
When students analyse and create solutions based on academic concepts or theories, a professor provides feedback. The effectiveness of the students’ solutions remains unknown. Many professors have their own biases about what a solution should look like, regardless of the current real-world possibilities. Many university professors have only a limited amount of practical experience gleaned through consultancy work.
For example, a marketing class might give a cruise company as a case study. If a student submits a creative solution that has not been used in the past, they are likely to receive a C on the case analysis. However, had they submitted the solution based on what the professor had taught, they would receive an A. The professor’s bias is very clear.
Far too often, student creativity is stifled within this traditional hierarchy. Students have no ability to see how their ideas may or may not function in the real world. Case studies uphold a closed and theoretical system of learning.
Consideration of context is limited
A written case study is very different to the context of a real-world problem. In a more globalised world, context varies substantially from one organisation to another.
Unique organisational cultures, individuals, groups and national cultures, as well as distinct political climates, can differ from the kind of case study that students study. These tend to be fairly dated and, often, to apply to a different context than the one students encounter in the real world.
Students in developing nations, in particular, often analyse a case study that was written about a company in the United States or the United Kingdom, which offers them very limited insights for their own context.
The real world requires leaders to consider the unique situation in which they find themselves, which includes the cultural preferences of the people involved, the particular economic conditions and the political environment both within the organisation and external to the organisation.
Implementation of solutions is not an option
The best ideas, if not implemented, are worthless. The traditional case study in a business class cannot develop the skills associated with implementation. What good is any solution if it cannot be implemented? As people graduate from universities, their lack of implementation skills leads them towards a common management practice of driving decisions downward with significant resistance and cost.
By not knowing how to implement a solution to a problem, great ideas remain on paper only. Some of the best consulting companies leave their clients with great ideas, but if these are not successfully implemented, they are worthless.
It is critical that we are aware of the above problems with the case study method of learning. It is important to use a much more integrated process of learning, rather than isolated case studies, a process which encourages students to engage with local businesses to identify real life issues from the perspective of multiple stakeholders.
Students need professors who have recent industry experience who can help them to co-create solutions and provide implementation strategies for local businesses. In this way they learn to create metrics that help them to understand the impact of the various parts of the solution and adapt to environmental changes. This enables them to develop the full range of skills needed to be effective leaders in local and global organisations.
Higher education should be an integrated system of learning well beyond the textbook, case studies and professors. Universities can design curricula that engage with the real world to find and solve existing problems in organisations where the students will work.
If you’re enrolled in or thinking of enrolling in any graduate level business course, ask the university how they assure that the learning outcomes are useful in the real world. This will help you make a better-informed decision on where to spend your time and money. Don’t waste your time stuck analysing case studies that have no relevance for you.
Ted Sun is chief innovations officer at the Transcontinental Institution of Higher Education, Malta. Dr Lloyd Williams teaches organisational psychology, organisational change, leadership development, culture development, systems integration and organisation and intrapersonal congruence at the Transcontinental Institution of Higher Education, Malta.
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