As
we are getting geared up for the extremely complex and challenging
business environment, it calls for a system of learning that
helps students understand the intricacies of the subject.
Today's management graduates need expertise and skills that
will help them in meeting the professional challenges of the
future. And this will depend not only on the student's ability
to learn and understand business information, but also, to
a great extent, on the resources (study materials) and methods
of teaching they are exposed to.
Although
many business schools around the world including Harvard Business
School use case method of instruction as the ideal method,
the case method has not yet become an integral part of our
education system. The case method of teaching is one of the
most widely used and accepted means of bringing together both
theoretical concepts and practical situations. It is difficult
and to some extent not possible to take a class into an organization
and study the organizational behavior or the subject matter
of management, hence a written case study that provides a
real or a realistic situation is the best accessible alternative.
Interestingly,
the case method of instruction is not a latest innovation.
Indeed, it was created and introduced by Christopher C Langdell,
Dean of the Harvard Law School in 1870. Judgment and experience
are the most important managerial skills required to succeed
in today's business context and there is no other better way
to develop these skills than through the case method of instruction.
The case method approach of pedagogy provides more experience
into each hour of learning than any other forms of instructional
approach. In a nutshell, the case method offers a dual purpose
of both understanding a real life like situation and developing
the analytical skills of the students. The use of case studies
holds great promise as a pedagogical method for teaching management
studies in the future. |
