(CNN) -- Rather than using traditional lectures as the basis of executive education courses, growing numbers of business schools are running interactive sessions built on real-world case examples to instruct and inspire their students.
First used at Harvard Business School more than 90 years ago, the case technique involves close examination of actual problems faced by companies and the steps they took to overcome them.
Rather than simply being passive recipients of a lecturer's wisdom, students are encouraged to dissect the examples and discuss them in group sessions. Advocates say such an approach provides insight and practical knowledge that can be applied in the future.
Harvard Business School executive director of case development Michael Roberts says students are exposed to a large number of cases drawn from a wide variety of industry sectors.
Students first study a case alone before discussing it as part of a small group. Once opinions have been formulated, the small groups must defend their conclusions in larger sessions during which alternative approaches are aired and debated.
Most group sessions are conducted in a purpose-built room in which students face each other in a horseshoe configuration with the lecturer acting as a discussion moderator. It is common for MBA students to analyse and discuss around 14 different cases each week during their course.
"It's an approach that teaches them how to think, present their ideas, listen to others, defend their point of view, and use their judgment to make a decision, even if the information in the case is incomplete," says Roberts. "That, after all, is a reflection of real life in the business world."
Because the cases form a vital part of executive education courses, a considerable amount of time and effort is invested in creating them. School professors and research staff visit each selected company to conduct intensive interviews with senior staff and look at written records and background material.
Gathered information is then written in a narrative format and can include examples of company data and video footage of pertinent facilities or activities.
"One of the most recent electronic cases focuses on the shuttle Columbia disaster and puts the student into a particular role in a simulated environment that reflects a decision making process at NASA that went deadly wrong," Roberts told CNN.
Reverse engineering
He says case structure is essentially "reverse engineering based on the logic". Lecturers figure out the points they want students to debate and then set about constructing their cases to illicit that response.
Although structured, cases are designed to stimulate discussion and foster creative thinking. Students are encouraged to defend their conclusions and back them up with examples drawn from the materials provided.
"We believe that business is a mix of science and craft," says Roberts. "There are theories and principles but the application of those theories depends upon the specifics of the context in which they are applied.
"The case is the way to provide that context and give students practice in the application."
As well as using them in its own executive education courses, Harvard Business School has also developed a global business from selling cases to other schools. According to the school, more than 80 per cent of all cases in use around the world have been generated by Harvard.
"Some cases simply never work as well as the faculty had hoped, but others are simply classic because they capture timeless issues, such as how to give a subordinate negative performance feedback," says Roberts. As an example, the school has been using the 1957 film 'Twelve Angry men' -- which looks at the workings of a jury -- as a case study in influence techniques for more than 30 years.
Roberts says the success of the case method will ensure its remains a critical part of business education courses in schools around the globe well into the future.
First used at Harvard Business School more than 90 years ago, the case technique involves close examination of actual problems faced by companies and the steps they took to overcome them.
Rather than simply being passive recipients of a lecturer's wisdom, students are encouraged to dissect the examples and discuss them in group sessions. Advocates say such an approach provides insight and practical knowledge that can be applied in the future.
Harvard Business School executive director of case development Michael Roberts says students are exposed to a large number of cases drawn from a wide variety of industry sectors.
Students first study a case alone before discussing it as part of a small group. Once opinions have been formulated, the small groups must defend their conclusions in larger sessions during which alternative approaches are aired and debated.
Most group sessions are conducted in a purpose-built room in which students face each other in a horseshoe configuration with the lecturer acting as a discussion moderator. It is common for MBA students to analyse and discuss around 14 different cases each week during their course.
"It's an approach that teaches them how to think, present their ideas, listen to others, defend their point of view, and use their judgment to make a decision, even if the information in the case is incomplete," says Roberts. "That, after all, is a reflection of real life in the business world."
Because the cases form a vital part of executive education courses, a considerable amount of time and effort is invested in creating them. School professors and research staff visit each selected company to conduct intensive interviews with senior staff and look at written records and background material.
Gathered information is then written in a narrative format and can include examples of company data and video footage of pertinent facilities or activities.
"One of the most recent electronic cases focuses on the shuttle Columbia disaster and puts the student into a particular role in a simulated environment that reflects a decision making process at NASA that went deadly wrong," Roberts told CNN.
Reverse engineering
He says case structure is essentially "reverse engineering based on the logic". Lecturers figure out the points they want students to debate and then set about constructing their cases to illicit that response.
Although structured, cases are designed to stimulate discussion and foster creative thinking. Students are encouraged to defend their conclusions and back them up with examples drawn from the materials provided.
"We believe that business is a mix of science and craft," says Roberts. "There are theories and principles but the application of those theories depends upon the specifics of the context in which they are applied.
"The case is the way to provide that context and give students practice in the application."
As well as using them in its own executive education courses, Harvard Business School has also developed a global business from selling cases to other schools. According to the school, more than 80 per cent of all cases in use around the world have been generated by Harvard.
"Some cases simply never work as well as the faculty had hoped, but others are simply classic because they capture timeless issues, such as how to give a subordinate negative performance feedback," says Roberts. As an example, the school has been using the 1957 film 'Twelve Angry men' -- which looks at the workings of a jury -- as a case study in influence techniques for more than 30 years.
Roberts says the success of the case method will ensure its remains a critical part of business education courses in schools around the globe well into the future.
1 comment:
Thunderbird School of Global Management also offers executive education courses. They have classroom courses or online certificates. I know they have partnerships with other schools and might even have their executive education courses available at the school in Switzerland that Thunderbird partners with, and I'm sure they are offered at their main campus in Arizona. Either way enrolling in some type of executive education course is a smart move for yourself and your career.
Post a Comment