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[email protected], tel. 800-988-0886, or www.hbr.org/bulksales. Copyright 2018 William Ellet All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior permission of the publisher. Requests for permission should be directed to
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CONTENTS
Cover Title Page Copyright Introduction 1. What Is the Case Method? What’s in It for You? PART I
ANALYZING CASES 2. What Is a Case? 3. The Skills You Need to Read and Analyze a Case 4. How to Analyze Decision Scenario Cases 5. How to Analyze Evaluation Scenario Cases 6. How to Analyze Problem-Diagnosis Scenario Cases PART II
DISCUSSING CASES 7. How to Prepare and Discuss Cases PART III
WRITING ABOUT CASES 8. How to Write Case-Based Essays 9. How to Write Decision Scenario Essays 10. How to Write Evaluation Scenario Essays 11. Writing about Problem-Diagnosis Scenarios PART IV
CASES FOR ANALYSIS AND WRITING General Motors: Packard Electric Division Malaysia in the 1990s (A) Allentown Materials Corporation: The Electronic Products Division (Abridged) PART V
STUDY GUIDES FOR CASE ANALYSIS AND WRITING Study Guide for Decision Scenario Cases Study Guide for Evaluation Scenario Cases Study Guide for Problem-Diagnosis Scenario Cases Acknowledgments Index About the Author
INTRODUCTION Are you a student who is new to the case method? Are you a student who feels that you aren’t learning as much as you want from the case method? If you belong in either of these categories, this book was written for you. The first edition of The Case Study Handbook emerged from my sixteen years of work with business school students. This new version follows over a decade more of working with students and refining the ideas in the first edition. The initial motivation for the book was frustration. I had been trying to help Harvard Business School MBAs write better case-based examinations. I gave them what I considered to be good advice about writing, such as using a logical essay structure and being concise. There was nothing wrong with the advice—I’m still giving it to this day—but it didn’t have the positive impact I expected on the quality of students’ exam essays. Eventually, I realized that I didn’t fully understand what the students were having trouble with. First, my advice started in the wrong place. I assumed that students knew how to analyze cases to provide the content needed for their exam essays. Actually, many weren’t sure how to do that. Their uncertainty compromised the depth and quality of their thinking about cases. Second, case examinations usually ask students to take a position on the central issue of a case. Although many students had no problem taking a position, they weren’t certain wha