The business case method
In business, it is often not clear exactly what is the issue or decision that an organization faces, what are the alternatives, and what is the best course of action. The case method is used in business teaching to improve students’ ability to make good decisions in such situations. A business case “imitates or simulates” a real business situation (Ellet 2018).
Cases are used in medicine, where the case is a patient and the symptoms, in law, where the case is a legal situation or court case, and in business, where the case is a firm’s situation and challenges. Harvard Business School is particularly famous for its use of business case teaching, and Harvard MBA students allegedly read 500 cases during their studies.
A typical business case involves a significant business issue, enough information to make an informed decision, and no clearly correct answer (Ellet 2018). Cases often also have a nonlinear organization, meaning that the content is not always presented in the most logical way.
A framework for analysing a business case
To analyse a business case, a much-used decision making process is (versions of) the PACADI-framework (Ellet 2018, Weinstein et al. 2020). This framework consists of:
P – Problem definition. What is the main problem, issue or decision at hand?
A – Alternatives. What are the main solutions to solve the problem? We need at least two alternatives, but often there are more than two realistic alternatives.
C – Criteria. What are criteria that we will use to choose among alternatives? Return on investment/profits is a typical end goal in (for profit) business, but in the short run the criteria can be others (reputation, risk, sales, cost, market share etc etc). Other types of organizations can have other goals.
A – Analysis. Use the criteria decided on in step C and analyse each of the
alternatives identified in step A.
D – Decision. Make a decision.
I – Implementation. How should the organization implement the decision? Activities, resources etc.
The role of models and theories in case analysis
In a typical course at a business school, the goal is to learn specific models
theories, or tools. Often a chapter in a text book teaches a specific model, and then presents a situation where this model can be applied. In a case analysis, it is normally not clear which model or theory to use. Part of your job will therefore be to identify relevant models or tools and apply them to the
situation. This typically happens in the analysis-step in the framework above.
Learning from cases as a student
- Read the case. A typical case analysis starts with reading the case thoroughly (taking notes, underlining important points). Use the PACADI-framework when suitable. The case text often includes questions for discussion, try to answer these.
- Discuss the case with another student. After having read the case yourself, it is usually a good idea to discuss the case with fellow students.
- The class discussion is an important part of the case learning. Here, the point is to learn from each other. Other students will bring out new points and different opinions, and the class as a collective will hopefully take better decisions than each individual. The learning from a case thus depends strongly on the case discussion, and it is important that everybody contributes constructively. The instructor leads the discussion, but does not have the right answer.
Want to learn more about case learning?
- The HBS Case Method – MBA – Harvard Business School. Read about how
the case method is used at Harvard Business School - Take a Seat in the Harvard MBA Case Classroom – YouTube See how cases
are discussed at Harvard (10 min film)
References
Ellet, William (2018). The Case Study Handbook: A Student’s Guide. Revised edition.
Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Review Press, 2018.
Weinstein, Art, Herbert V. Brotspies, og John T. Gironda. 2020. «Do Your Students Know How to Analyze a Case—Really?» 2020. https://hbsp.harvard.edu/inspiring-minds/a-framework-for-using-cases-to-help-students-become-better-decision-makers.