Writing a case study

To develop an individual case study, you may refer to how case studies are written from the homework document (“MIS Cases.pdf”) (Attached). You may also refer to case studies at the end of the textbook chapters. Alternatively, you may refer to how Harvard Business Cases are written, by searching for them using Google. Although most of them might be behind pay wall (i.e. paid), you may be able to find some for free.

A case is a description of a management situation1. For your class project you are required to write a library case, (not a field case) based on published material in the public domain. A case should not illustrate the correct or incorrect handling of a situation, nor is there an editorial bias that implies a particular conclusion. Ideally, cases offer students experience in dealing with complex, realistic situations, with emphasis on decision-making.

According to Kardos and Smith (1979), a good case has the following features:

1. It is taken from real life (true identities may be concealed). Although in our case, the focal business organization can be hypothetical.
2. It consists of many parts and each part usually ends with problems and points for discussion. There may not be a clear cut off point to the situation.
3. It includes enough information for the reader to treat problems and issues.
4. It is believable for the reader (the case contains the setting, personalities, sequence of events, problems and conflicts)

The structure of your case study report may include the following elements:

 

1. Introduction: Introduces the case, including the background
2. Aims: Describes the purpose of the study and the specific questions you are trying to answer.
3. Method: Explains how the study was carried out, e.g. what research methods did you use to collect data: interviews, observations, questionnaires, etc.? What were the circumstances of your data collection? In your case, the data collection will be either from published reports, articles or online resources.
4. Results: Describes what you found through your investigations, e.g. the main themes that came out from articles or reports.
5. Discussion: Explains the significance of the study and what can be learnt from it. Note that a case study is a study of a situation so you cannot generalize the results to all other situations. That means your discussion should focus on what can be learnt about that situation and the individuals involved.
6. References: Your list of references citing articles, reports or any online resources.

The following can be the subject or focus of your case study: an organization or a project, an event or a time-period, a person or a group. For example, your case can be historical case study examining the collapse of a company and analyze what went wrong. An example of a case study focusing on a person is a case on Mark Hurd and why he was ousted from his previous employer (HP). You will find numerous articles on Mark Hurd and HP. He later joined Oracle as Co-CEO.

Alternatively, your case may focus on a business situation such as the following:

• Profitability Optimization
• Pricing Optimization
• Industry Landscape & Competitor Dynamics
• New Product or Project
• Growth Plan/Strategy
• Market Entry or Expansion
• Merger/Acquisition/Joint Venture
• Start-Up/Early-Stage Venture

The case written by you will be regarded as a real-life situation, while the study is the analysis of the case.