THE HARVARD UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL METHOD OF CASE STUDY: EXAMINATION AND CRITICISM, AND
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, 19 20). The Harvard University Business School case study method is examined in this section preparatory to considering criticisms of the method in the following section.
The case study method employed at the Harvard University School presents students with situations that are characterized as real life occurrences at actual firms (McNair, 1954, p. 12). A criticism that is examined in the following section of this research is that at a point some 30 years following th...