THE CONFLICTING CASE

OF THE MBA CASE STUDY

Nigel A. Caplan (nacaplan@udel.edu)

University of Delaware, USA

Assistant Professor

English Language Institute

http://nigelteacher.wordpress.com

TESOL 2014

Needs analysis: Context and Culture

• Intensive, pre-matriculation English program

• Conditionally admitted students

• Almost all international MBA students come through us

Why don’t the Chinese

speak in class?

Needs Analysis: Data

• Syllabi of MBA classes

• Online questionnaires for MBA faculty and international

students

• Observation of an MBA class

• Focus groups and interviews with MBA faculty

• Focus groups with international MBA students

• “Think-aloud” (verbal protocol) sessions with 4 MBA

faculty

Genre System in the UD MBA Reflection

Intrapersonal Discussion board post Quiz

Assessment Exam In-class (MCQ, TF, short answer, essay, mixed format) Take home (essay, short answer, case write-up)

Professor-Student Paper

Assignment Research paper Case write up Homework/problem sets Written Report Presentation slides/handouts Group Case analysis Lead case discussion Oral Report (e.g. marketing report) Article presentation Participation Class Case discussion Online (e.g. discussion board) Case write-up Pseudo Simulation Professional Resume Authentic Report/presentation to client

Harvard Case-Study Pedagogy

Forman and Rymer, 1999

Method: Verbal Protocol

• 4 professors

• 1 good, 1 weak paper;

• “Please walk me through the paper, telling me what

makes it a strong/weak case-study analysis. Since I don’t

know the assignment or the paper, please tell me

everything you notice as you look at it again in terms of

evaluating it.”

Results: Genre Structure

Stage Description & Function

Set Up Identify and introduce the key players, the

dilemma, and opportunities (but not a summary of

the case)

Diagnosis Analysis (not description) of the problem in terms of

“root causes”

Recommendation Alternative solutions plus the writer’s chosen

solution with justification, sometimes accompanied

by a specific action plan

Reflection What did you learn from the case? How does it

connect to the theories in the course?

Set up ^ Diagnosis ^ [Recommendation]n (^Reflection)

Faculty Expectations

• The set-up should not summarize the case

• Key words, facts, characters, and statistics from

the case should be referenced (sourcing)

• Evidence must be presented

• Format and style conventions must be followed

• Professors’ expectations may be idiosyncratic

“Conflicting Demands” (Flower, 1994)

• Language

• Student role vs. Consultant role (sometimes)

• Conflicting motives

Types of Thinking

• “You can get a really good grade if you

have one really good idea that’s not

intuitively obvious.” (faculty interview)

• “the mindset” of a good student who

“knows how it fits together” (faculty interview)

Business Understanding?

What Faculty Say What they (might) really mean?

Critical thinking!

Insight!

Perceptiveness!

Creativity!

Sourcing

Justification

Tolerating ambiguity

Pedagogical Implications

• Case study as a problem-solution genre

• Teach the genre – “teaching/learning cycle”

• Teach problem-solving strategies (e.g. highlighting

summary, commentary, supporting detail)

• Use evaluative criteria for rubrics and self-regulation

(Olson & Land, 2007; Rothery, 1996; MacArthur & Philippakos, 2013; Swales & Feak, 2012,)

Conclusion: MBA as Activity System

Tools (Oral and written genres)

Subjects Object Object(s)/ Outcomes (professor, Motive(s) students) ( passing grade? MBA diploma? Business knowledge?

Rules/Norms Community Division of Labor

Research Implications

• Activity Theory as a nexus of cognitive and sociocultural

(genre) approaches to literacy

• Retrospective think-aloud protocols to establish evaluative

criteria

• “Triangulation” of needs analysis (Long, 2005): culture,

cognition, genres, expectations, and activities

Nigel A. Caplan University of Delaware

nacaplan@udel.edu

http://nigelteacher.wordpress.com/tesol2014

Do you teach (post-)graduate students?

Join the Graduate Educators’ Roundtable discussion list!

gradroundtable-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Selected References Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), R. Nice (Trans.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241–258). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Caplan, N.A. (in press). Genres and conflicts in MBA writing assignments. In T.Smith et al. (Eds.), Graduate Writing Across the Disciplines: Identifying, Teaching, and Supporting. Parlor Press/WAC Clearinghouse.

Engeström, Y. (1987). Learning by expanding: An activity theoretical approach to developmental research. Helsinki: Orienta-Konsultit Oy. Retrieved from http://lchc.ucsd.edu/MCA/Paper/Engestrom/expanding/toc.htm

Ferretti, R. P., MacArthur, C. D., & Okolo, C. M. (2005). Misconceptions about history: Reflections on teaching for historical understanding in an inclusive fifth-grade classroom. In T. E. Scruggs & M. A. Mastropieri (Eds.), Advances in Learning and Behavioral Disabilities (Vol. 18, pp. 261–299). Bingley, UK: Emerald Group.

Flower, L. (1994). The construction of negotiated meaning: A social cognitive theory of writing. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.

Forman, J., & Rymer, J. (1999a). Defining the genre of the “case write-up.” Journal of Business Communication, 36(2), 103 –133. doi:10.1177/002194369903600201

Forman, J., & Rymer, J. (1999b). The genre system of the Harvard case method. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 13(4), 373–400. doi:10.1177/105065199901300401

Johns, A. M. (2011). The future of genre in L2 writing: Fundamental, but contested, instructional decisions. Journal of Second Language Writing, 20(1), 56–68.

• MacArthur, C. A., & Philippakos, Z. A. (2013). Self-regulated strategy instruction in developmental writing: A design research project. Community College Review, 41(2), 176–195. doi:10.1177/0091552113484580

• Nathan, P. (2013). Academic writing in the business school: The genre of the business case report. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 12(1), 57–68. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2012.11.003

• Olson, C. B., & Land, R. (2007). A cognitive strategies approach to reading and writing instruction for English language learners in secondary school. Research in the Teaching of English, 41(3), 269–303.

• Rose, D., & Martin, J. R. (2012). Learning to write, reading to learn: Genre, knowledge and pedagogy in the Sydney School. London: Equinox.

• Rothery, J. (1996). Making changes: Developing an educational linguistics. In R. Hasan & G. Williams (Eds.), Literacy in society (pp. 86–123). Harlow, England: Longman.

• Swales, J. M., & Feak, C. B. (2012). Academic writing for graduate students: Essential tasks and skills (3rd ed.). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.

• Wineburg, S. S. (2001). Historical thinking and other unnatural acts: Charting the future of teaching the past. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.