Case Study Approach to Learning

COMPARING AND CONTRASTING WITH THE APPROACHES OF OTHER UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOLS: A DEPTH REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

This research provides a depth review of the literature relevant to the case study approach to learning. The principal focus of this literature review is on the Harvard University Business School method of case study. Criticism of the Harvard University Business School case study method also is reviewed. Lastly, the responses of the Harvard University Business School to this criticism, together with a comparison of the Harvard University approach to teaching business with the approaches of other major university business schools, is reviewed.

The Harvard University Business School Method of Case Study

Each year in the United States, approximately "75,000 people earn MBAs from business schools in the United States" (Linder and Smith, 1992, p. 16). About 500 of those persons graduate from the Harvard University Business School, and several thousand of those persons learn about business through the case study method. In many instances, other university business schools use Harvard University Business School case studies in their own program. The case study method generally and the Harvard University Business School case study method specifically, however, are increasingly being criticized and falling out of favor (Linder and Smith, 1992, pp. 16, 1

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ward face, the function of the middle manager was perceived in two ways. First, the middle manager was the "linking pin" between senior management and the lower levels of the organization. Secondly, the middle manager was perceived as a "buffer" between senior management and the lower levels of the organization. The "linking pin" concept is more difficult to dismiss than is the concept of the middle manager as simply a transmitter of information (the upward face). While senior management in American organizations often express the idea that they are conversant with the needs and aspirations of the workers in these organizations, a great deal of skepticism on this point exists in more disinterested quarters. This divergence of opinion also affects the concept of the middle manager as a buffer. While senior management may see no need for a buffer, others may well see a very great need for such a role. 3. The sideways face. In the sideways face, the function of the middle manager is perceived in the context of diffusing conflict between the functional areas of an organizational structure. As is true for the downward face of the middle manager, the sideways face is not as easily dismissed as is the upward face. The pr
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Approximate Word count = 6838
Approximate Pages = 27 (250 words per page)

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