Tips for Case Writing by CMCD, BIMTECH

1. Prepared by
Center for Management Case Development
Birla Institute of Management Technology
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2.  A business case is a written or verbal value
proposition that is intended to educate a
decision maker and convince them to take
some kind of action. When written, the
document itself is sometimes referred to as a
business case.
 A case is a narration of an event that have
taken place sometimes in past for a firm or for
a person

3.  Written in past tense, a case must have
◦ A few learning outcomes
◦ Culmination of the content in dilemmatic situations
that can be solved in multiple ways
◦ Clear Identification and relevance of protagonist
around whom the case will revolve
◦ Correct Identification of hooks or issues to be
resolved
◦ First few paragraphs should be dramatic so that
the reader gets attracted
◦ Relation between the questions posed and the
content

4.  A teaching note is an instruction guide for the faculty
 Guides faculty about preparation needed by the
students and the faculty before the case is taken up
 Should contain suggested answers to the questions
posed in the case
 How to engage students?
 A Teaching note is evaluated on
◦ Quality of suggested solutions in the Teaching note
◦ Appropriateness of suggested ways to engage students
◦ Adequacy of time estimate for the case

5.  Distinction between
◦ Teaching cases
◦ Research cases
 Based on
◦ Target audience
◦ Content
◦ Approach
◦ Writing styles
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6.  Usually cases
◦ Describe particular situations
◦ In which people are engaged in complex issues
◦ Forced to take actions on a dilemma
 Teaching case
◦ Describes a situation
◦ Identifies key problems
◦ But does not suggest any solution
◦ Students must discuss in class and (with the help of the instructor)
arrive at several possible solutions
◦ Evaluate all alternatives and suggest the most suitable one
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7.  Research type of case
◦ Describes a problem situation
◦ Suggests a solution and the outcome of the solution
◦ Students review the situation
◦ Reason about how and why a solution succeeds or fails
◦ Students obtain a deeper understanding of all the relevant
factors in a particular problem situation
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8.  Teaching Cases differ from Research Cases in terms of
application
 Teaching case
oFacilitate teaching
oAdd to practical knowledge
 Research cases
oMethodology used to support research findings
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9. ▪ Teaching cases
 Highlight practical applications of theory and concept to real world situations
 Need not have a single outcome
 May reflect the ambiguity of the situation
 Encourage critical thinking & research
 Evaluate recommendations
▪ Research cases
 More academic
 Evidence based
 Focused on a research outcome
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10. ▪ Writing styles also differs
 Teaching cases meant for students
 Should have an interesting story line
 Should be able to involve students
 Students should be able to relate
 Research cases meant for academic peers
 More evidence based
 Should provide strong motivation for the academic peers to read
▪ Teaching cases are
 like “Spy thrillers”- mystery gradually unfolds
 not like news – every thing is narrated
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11. ▪ Every case - be it teaching or research - should have
 Few “focus issues” – not too obvious, but also not impossible to solve
 A protagonist – a central character
 A hook: an overriding issue that pulls various parts together (it
could be a managerial issue or decision that requires urgent
attention)
 A learning experience to engage real-world problem(s)
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12. ▪ Teaching cases
 Should not provide any analysis or lessons learned
 Analysis should be in the ‘Teaching Notes’
 Let students decide about the merits of any particular argument
based on their understanding of the facts provided in the case
 Should be decisional and analytical
▪ Overall, teaching cases
 Challenge students to ask ”How?” and “Why?”
 How issues are related to one another?
 Why things happened the way they did?
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13. ▪ Ideally should be written by case writer – no
one else
▪ Teaching notes should convey what the
student is to accomplish at the end of the case
▪ Is more relevant for a teaching case
▪ It is a document designed to give other
potential instructors valuable insights into the
case and the learning which can be derived
from it.
▪ It will also provide suggestions on how to
maximize the learning potential of the case
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14. ▪ Teaching notes may vary from the detailed and formal to the short
and informal
▪ The elements that should not be ignored or overlooked when
preparing a teaching note
 Summary of the case
 Teaching objectives and target audience
 Teaching approach and strategy
 Analysis
 Additional readings or references
 Feedback
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15. ▪ Summary of the case
 The teaching note should include a brief description of the case and its
context
▪ Teaching objectives and target audience
 It should describe, with examples, the key issues and intended learning
objectives
 Indicating the target group or class level for which the case was written
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16. ▪ Teaching approach and strategy
 It should suggest how the case may be used in class and ways in
which the class may be conducted
 It may offer ‘trigger’ questions for opening and advancing the case
discussion
 Suggestions for group work or student assignments
 How to consolidate the learning, etc
 Useful additional information could include suggestions for a
teaching plan
 It should also give some indication of the case’s demands on course
time-tabling
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17. ▪ Analysis
 The analysis should offer comprehensive answers to the list of questions and
should, at least, be as thorough as one would expect from the best student
 If the case includes quantitative data, it might suggest ways of utilizing the
data, and should ideally include the details of any spreadsheet analysis
 At the very least it should indicate the techniques to be used for analyzing the
data
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18. ▪ Additional readings or references
 Suggested additional readings should be listed if it is necessary (or helpful)
for students to read text or other material in conjunction with the case
 Specific readings can be assigned from these lists
▪ Feedback
 It should provide an indication of how the case worked with different student
groups
 where possible indicating the case’s suitability for written assessment or
examination, role-playing, or other forms of use
 Where known, it might also include the actual outcome of the case situation,
and some follow-up facts
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19. ▪ Main issues are
 How to engage the entire class of sixty or more
students?
 How to advance the discussion and hence learning?
 How to form groups of students? Their roles?
 How to manage time? Should the case be discussed
in continuous two hours sessions or there should be
break in between to facilitate discussions among the
student groups?
 Which questions to ask to
 Prepare students for in-class discussion
 Open the discussion
 Advance the discussion
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20. ▪ Different groups of students may be formed
 To prepare list of questions for in class discussion, to open discussion and to
advance discussion
 To carry out analysis and train all students on the use of analysis tools
 To suggest how to carry forward the learning
 Each group can be assigned the responsibility of critically evaluate the
presentation of another group and ask questions
▪ Faculty to strategize to conduct
 Preparatory session
 Actual discussion
 Post discussion follow-up & evaluation
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21.  Live case analysis is one of the experiential learning methods
 The case method is typically seen as extending and synthesizing
course content by providing specific application to real
organizational problems having many complex components and
issues
 Often case method exposes the participants to “unintended” and
“unanticipated” consequences
 It helps in developing “pattern recognition” and “critical thinking”
skills that are very important in decision making.
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22.  Case method is not well suited to areas where there are singular
correct answers
 Quality of instructor also influences the delivery and intended
learning outcomes severely
 Question is not whether case method is valid
 The problem is in the design of the specific case for a specific class
and the delivery skills in a highly interactive session
 A good Teaching Note can cover many of the negatives
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23.  Short cases – at a glance summary of complex problem and
suggested solution
 Longer formats will be required to drive home the benefits of
business decision
 Should come closer to cinema
 Choice of settings preferably out of the class
 Newer topics: CSR, Ethics, Social Entrepreneurship etc.
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24.  Case Centre, UK www.thecasecentre.org/
 Ivey www.iveycases.com/
 Emerald Emerging Market Case Studies
https://www.emeraldinsight.com/loi/eemcs
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25. Dr. A. K. Dey
ak.dey@bimtech.ac.in
9810387104
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