Marshall School of Business
University of Southern California
A202-01
Rev. 8/20/02
The Case Method of Instruction:
Suggestions for Students
All teaching methods are aimed at producing learning. Learning occurs when someones skills,
knowledge, or beliefs change, more than temporarily, because of an encountered situation.
Most students are intimately familiar with the lecture method of instruction because it is the
primary, if not the sole, formal teaching method to which they have been exposed. Lecturing
imparts knowledge through a deductive reasoning process, which begins with a formal
statement of a conceptual structure or theory and then illustrates the structure with examples and
problems. Lectures, supported with readings, visual aids, exercises, and problems sets, are the
most efficient way to begin transmitting knowledge about specific facts, rules, and structured
techniques.
In management-related education, however, the value of lecturing has some sharp limitations
because facts, rules, and techniques are a relatively minor part of what budding managers and
The Case Method
The case method of teaching stimulates learning through the analysis of actual events. The
primary distinguishing feature of the case method is that students play an active, rather than a
passive, role in the learning process and, particularly, the classroom. The method develops a
subject inductively by actively involving students in discussions of large numbers of cases in
planned combinations.
P
rofessor Kenneth A. Merchant prepared this note to facilitate students’ adaptation to case courses. Professors Sam Hariharan an
d
S. Mark Young provided useful suggestions.
Merchant & Van der Stede, Management Control Systems, 3rd edition, Instructors Manual
Cases which provide descriptions of actual (or sometimes hypothetical) administrative
situations are obviously one key ingredient for case learning. Business cases come in multiple
forms. Most of the cases that are taught inductively1 are either diagnostic or decision cases (or
combinations of the two forms). Diagnostic (or evaluative) cases provide descriptions of
successes or failures that managers have had so that students can develop their skills of
identifying causal links between systemic features and outcomes. Some of these cases
describing managerial successes can be called anatomy cases; those describing failures can be
viewed as pathology cases. Often, a course is organized through the use of a series of
diagnostic cases that help students understand when a particular management choice or style is
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Case Method
Management educators are increasingly recognizing that more active methods of learning must
necessarily be a part of a broad gauge approach to management education and development. For
example, in 1990, in their first position statement, the Accounting Education Change
Commission, a group endeavoring to improve accounting education, stated:
Most accounting instructors have interpreted this statement as a call for greater use of the case
method of instruction.2
Proponents believe the case method has some powerful advantages over less active methods of
learning, including:
1. Development of effective thinking processes. The calls for greater use of the case method
are based on the belief that management is a skill that is more than the assimilation and
application of a set of structured techniques. Business people must make decisions
regarding problems and opportunities arising out of new situations in a continuously
2. Customized learning. Cases require students to construct their own individual
interpretations of the realities to which they have been exposed and their own workable
3. Knowledge retention. Since case learning is experience-based and anchored in reality, it
4. Development of skills of managing time and coping with ambiguity. Cases help students
5. Development of communication skills. Case classes help develop the important skills of
oral communication and persuasion, listening, and relating to others.
6. Broadening of perspective. Students are exposed to a variety of real business situations, in
7. Higher student motivation level. Many students find cases more interesting to prepare for
than abstract readings, and they find the case discussion classes more interesting to attend
1. The case method is inefficient for some forms of learning (as discussed above). Some
students reaction to early case discussions is: Why dont you just tell us what we need to
2. The case method can be frustrating at times because what is learned is often personal,
3. The case method usually requires greater effort (for both students and instructors). Only
the individual will know when they are done. Students usually find themselves changing
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4. The case method is threatening to some students. They find it difficult to think and
participate in class, preferring instead to retain their old classroom habit of passive note
taking.
Suggestions for Student Preparation and Participation
Students have two primary duties in a case class: preparation and participation. To some extent,
the style of case preparation is individualistic because the case problems are at most only semi-
structured, and problem definition and evaluation skills can vary significantly across
individuals. Nonetheless, here are some case preparation suggestions that many students find
useful:
1. In preparing a case of more than a couple of pages, students should read the first few
paragraphs, and then quickly scan the rest of the case (including the exhibits). This
2. Then, students should read the entire case carefully, underlining the material that is
3. If assignment questions are given, students should try to answer them. The questions may
ask for analyses, solutions, and/or action plans or may require finding or defining the
problem. Students usually have to go back through the case to find the data needed to
support their work. But often the information provided in the case is incomplete, and the
4. In the first three steps, students best results will come if they have worked by themselves.
The next step is for them to discuss the case with other students. These discussions will
lead, almost invariably, to a broader perspective than that which any student could achieve
individually. It may also uncover errors and will often lead to an improved set of
assumptions, or at least a better understanding of the assumptions made.
With rare exceptions, the entire time spent preparing even a long, complicated case should not
exceed 3 hours. Some diligent students may work much longer on a case, but this is rarely
necessary, and it is often harmful. Spending excessive time on a case often causes the students
to lose sight of the big picture (to get lost in the trees and lose sight of the forest). Further,
Merchant & Van der Stede, Management Control Systems, 3rd edition, Instructors Manual
these students are depriving themselves of the opportunity to develop their skills for rapid
analysis and synthesis, skills that are critical in most fast-moving management jobs.
The classroom is a place for students to articulate a point of view, which includes analyses,
conclusions, and recommendations, and to defend it. Good class participation involves a
Instructor Roles
The primary role of case instructors is to create an atmosphere conducive to learning. They
direct the flow of discussion and record and organize the groups discussion as it emerges. They
may also take a more interventionist role in the classroom by, for example, refocusing the
discussion on a major issue that has not yet been well discussed, pointing out some of the more
subtle issues, encouraging recognition of assumptions underlying a students analysis, or
playing devils advocate when no other participant seems so inclined.
Sometimes the instructor will choose to summarize the case discussion, or even give a
lecturette on materials related to the case. When this happens, the conceptual learning that can
be so dull in a lecture classroom comes to life, as it is now informed by experience.
Students should expect their instructors to:
2. Come prepared with a teaching plan and a set of leading questions;
4. Encourage all students to participate;
5. Exercise some control of the discussion. This will ensure coverage of the learning
6. Promote professional conduct, which includes, for example, the elimination of noisy side
conversations and the disrespectful treatment of students whose participation efforts are
Merchant & Van der Stede, Management Control Systems, 3rd edition, Instructors Manual
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They should generally not expect their instructor to:
1. Be the focus of discussion. Instructor comments will generally be brief, nonjudgmental,
nondirective, and often in the form of questions designed to keep the exchange of ideas
2. Present definitive opinions or answers (unless only one answer is correct and the class was
unable to derive that answer). The problem with revealing instructor comments is that
Conclusion
As students become familiar with the case method, they see that the learning depends much
more on interchanges between students (and sometimes the instructor) than it does upon
individual study or subsequent enlightenment from the instructor. Preparation of a case, by
itself, may not provide students with much learning, but it is a prerequisite for effective learning
in the classroom.