EuroCHRIECase Panel Presentation R.M. O’HALLORAN

SCHOOL OF HOSPITALITY LEADERSHIP

EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY

Framing what a case should be?

“Case studies reflect the reality of managerial decision-making in the real world, in that students must make decisions based on insufficient information. Cases reflect the ambiguity and complexity that accompany most management issues” (Uhl, 2008).

Case studies are a teaching technique that allows students to learn important strategic problem-solving and decision-making skills (Connolly and McGing, 2006) that are highly valued in the hospitality industry.

Case Reviews

A good case is a story but more……

What kind of a case is it?

Is there a business problem or challenge?

Usefulness and the Parameters of a Case

“Cases compel students to: distinguish pertinent from peripheral information, identify the problem(s) at hand and define its context and parameters, identify a set of possible solutions, formulate strategies and recommendations for action, make decisions, and confront obstacles to implementation” (Golich et al., 2000).

Does the case(s) being reviewed allow students to accomplish these tasks? Identify Facts

Generate alternatives

Make a decision

Problem / Issue Identified Case or situational analysis requires the identification of key decision

making facts. There may be huge amounts of information but not all of it will be useful for the situation presented.

Identify what the problem is in the scenario presented. Differentiate between a symptom and a problem. For example, is employee absenteeism a problem or a symptom of a bigger issue?

Alternative Solutions Learners using cases need to generate plausible and realistic

outcomes for situations.

Or do nothing and hope the problem will go away. Decision-making requires a balance of information and the ability to evaluate data for its importance.

Reflective Judgment

Educational Goal for Case Studies

Ill Structured Problems Cannot be described with a high degree of completeness.

Cannot be solved with a high degree of certainty.

Experts often disagree about the best solution.

Examples: Determining the long-term impact of recession on the hotel industry.

Judging the ethical correctness of an operating decision.

Learn to construct and defend reasonable solutions.

What will the case user need to do?

Identify the contentIdentify the level of learning of the

students’: year, class, experience Identify the learning objectives of the

lessonDoes the case provide a framework?

Is the case analysis written or oral?

Case Framework for Students:As reviewer is this a good teaching tool?

Read the case thoroughly

Identify the relevant content

Not all content of a case will be integral to the ultimate outcomes and decision making process

Identify the problem: what is the problem and students may need faculty assistance in differentiating between symptoms and real and/or bigger problems

Differentiate between symptoms and problems : What kind of case is it? Is it marketing, human resources, financial, etc…?

Identify the relevant facts of the case

Differentiate between useable and unusable facts

What are the decision-making facts?

What assumptions, if any, are you as the reader making?

Does the case require the reader to make any assumptions? Can they assume the company, organization, boss or decision maker actually wants to solve the problems, has the tools to solve the problem?

There should also be some discussion of decision making limitations. A quick solution for a student could be to spend large amounts of money or to delegate the decision. Are these realistic given the parameters of the case?

Generate plausible alternatives for the case

Students need to generate plausible and realistic outcome for the situation presented in the case. One alternative is to do nothing and hope the problem will go away. This is usually not the solution a faculty member is looking for from a student and/or group of students.

Example: Do nothing! Spend a lot of money to fix the problems. Neither of these is typically an acceptable solution.

Make a decision based on your alternatives !

Case Rubric: Possible Pts. Your Score

     

Statement of facts 30  

• Identify facts related to the issues of the case.    

Identification of Issue/Problem 30  

• Is there one issue and or problem; why is this the problem and not a symptom of a bigger issue?

   

Alternatives Generated 30  

     

Analysis 50  

     

Organization 30  

     

Decision 30  

     

Justification 50  

     

Total 250  

Review Requirements for Case Studies

Read the Case

Assess Content and flow of information

Details Free of grammatical, spelling and/or punctuation errors.

Include author(s) details in the file of your case study (see below example for details).

Format Specifications:

Set the page margins to 2,54 cm (up and down) and 3,17 (left and right).

Indent the first sentence of each paragraph with 1/2 inch and align text left.

Single spaced within each paragraph but double spaced between paragraphs. Do not number the pages but make sure the pages are in the correct order. Pages will be numbered by the editors.

Use “Times New Roman” font size 10.

References

Teaching notes

Other …….