Journal of Academic Writing

The European Association for the Teaching of Academic Writing has just published the inaugural edition of the Journal of Academic Writing   The journal, which is international and peer reviewed, focuses on researching and debating best practices in the teaching of academic writing.  It's interdisciplinary but there is much that will be of interest to case writers including this article by Liz Cain and Ian Pople on writing practices in Business Studies.
Interestingly, those writers interviewed in the study make no reference to case writing, which led me to think about the status accorded to case writing in comparison to other forms of academic writing.  Case writers conduct and convert research into written accounts just as in other forms of academic publication, so what leads to their work being under reported even in studies specific to their subject area, where one would expect recognition of the form to be almost universal?
This peer reviewed journal is a welcome contribution to the academic study of the value that good writing brings to education.  Our annual awards for case writers make a contribution, of course, but we must find a way of doing more.

Reports of the death of the case study have been greatly exaggerated (again)

The launch of Harvard Business School's FIELD programme has led, though not by HBS itself, to some thoughts that the days of the case study may be numbered.  In fact HBS is building on the strengths of the case method by beefing up the student learning experience through a blend of cases (including those researched and written at its increasing number of overseas research centres) and the FIELD programme's immersive experiential learning.

That this could be taken to mean the end of the case method is a misunderstanding of what the case method is about.  Working through a case is not a poor replica of real life, and is not intended to be.  It is a different form of experience - rather like how watching sports or opera or the report of an international trade negotiation on television is different from being there, never mind experiencing it as a player, performer or diplomat.   Different but, in many respects, better. On television I get better angles of view, expert analysis and commentary and a much clearer picture of what is going on and why one team loses or wins, or a performer moves us or a negotiation is lost - something that often the players themselves or, more often, the losing managers, don't always know themselves.

In the same way, a good case study provides the clarity and analytical rigour for which real life doesn't allow time.  HBS is recognising this by retaining the mix of case study and experiential.  Reminds me more of Executive education, than a New Orleans band marching us to the grave of the case method.  

Going 100% cases

The ecch accessibility programme supports developing schools in their adoption and use of the case method, which is why I found this interview with Professor Hilda Amalraj, Dean at IBS Hyderabad, such an interesting read.  It's an account of her experience of the school changing to 100% case-based teaching and it highlights the demands the case method makes of faculty, students and administrators and the benefits it offers in return.  Faculty require support and development in growing their case research, writing and teaching skills while the school administration may struggle to fund both the provision of professional development and the cost of accessing cases.  But the rewards are high.  Students experience real decision making in the classroom using cases with both local and international perspectives.  Faculty writing cases engage with local business as they research and then write the case.  Theory is aligned with teaching practice.  Business communities benefit by interacting with faculty and the case can be used as an opportunity for self-reflection.  I believe the act of writing and teaching cases can stimulate interaction between schools and their local business communities to tthe benefit of both.

The ecch accessibility programme can help with professional development and affordable access to cases, working closely with case development centres around the world to make it much easier for all of us to access local cases written by authors within developing schools, reflecting a real understanding of the cultural and economic contexts within which business operates.

Rihanna brings in the sheaves

Here is my stab at a case in 50 words (see yesterday's blog).

You head Northern Ireland tourist board.

Tourism @ 4.9% GDP = £529m+40,000 jobs.  Film @£112m over 4 years. Farmer’s faith disrupts Rihanna video .

Farmer is local alderman but global news makes country look backward to tourists.  Production companies concerned about disruption.  You are called to attend government committee.

?

Short cases or long cases?

I sometimes get involved in arguments over the merits of long cases versus short.  Some claim only long cases are capable of rendering the complexity of decision-making into the classroom.  Well, look at how complex and rich the best poetry is.  If a good working definition of poetry is 'the best words in the best order', then the same might apply to a case, regardless of length.

Participants at Start Writing Cases, 3-4 April 2012 at VU University Amsterdam are sure to ask the question 'how long is long enough?'  I wonder if the answer could be 50 words or less?  If anyone cares to accept the challenge of writing a case in 50 words or less, send it to me and we'll see where we get.  I'll have a go myself and post it in my next blog.

And if you're interested in finding out more about 'Start Writing Cases', a practical and intensive workshop giving 12 inexperienced case writers the opportunity to take time out to work on an idea for a case, then visit  www.ecch.com/startwritingcases2012  for more.

Education, education, education

Last night's high profile launch of HBSP's new European office featured ex-Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell and Sir Michael Rake, chairman of BT in conversation with Adi Ignatius, editor of Harvard Business Review.  The two interviewees disagreed most about education - though neither challenged the conventional view that 'too many people study the wrong subjects'.  So, once again, our present predicament is the fault of arts and humanities graduates who can turn their hands to the business of making neither things nor money.  Personally?  I'm all for them.  If more investors had taken Eng Lit read The Alchemist or Volpone they might have been less inclined to believe rates too good to believe, and History graduates may have warned that dot.com had all the hallmarks of the South Sea Bubble.  Let's have more, not less, in the mix.   (and while we're at it - how about the case study as a work of literature?)

AOM and the impact of technology on case writing

I finally broke my duck and made it to AOM for the first time this year http://meeting.aomonline.org/2011/ and it was great.  San Antonio, Texas, had just celebrated passing it's 100th day of temperatures over 100 F.  But I have to tell you that the discussion in the case round table that I moderated was just as intense.  It was great to be in the company of so many enthusiastic exponents of case writing.  I hope we can play a part in providing a similar workshop at next year's event in Boston.  Thanks to Marilyn Taylor (Bloch School of Management, University of Missouri), Josh Daspit (University North Texas) and Mark Jenkins (Cranfield) for making such a successful bid to the Academy.  We had a full house of over 40 participants and a quality discussion.

High on the agenda was how to make use of new technologies without either distorting the case or sinking under the additional costs of producing video and other features.  The solution, we thought, is to keep it simple and not try to compete with the high-end production values of the film, tv or games people.
Why?
Because good quality audio is more important that video.  Users can accept and accommodate lower grade moving images if the sound quality is good.  Skyped interviews can be arranged quickly and conveniently and cheaply without the cost (in time and money) of high-grade location recording.

And because text with short imbedded clips (audio or video) may be better pedagogically and preferable to expensively integrated multimedia. It's easy to do, technically, and can be done by one person working alone.  There is also a strong argument that students get most of the information through the text and that teh dynamics of working the case in the classroom deliver the engagement and real time experience that we look for in multimedia.  The hard bit is in working through the pedagogical differences between structuring a rich-text document and the traditional written case.

Excellence in Practice

EFMD has recently announced the winners of its annual Excellence in Practice Awards (EIP). recognising outstanding learning and development partnerships and are judged by a panel of experienced learning and development professionals from both the providing and client sides of the sector.  This year's five category winners were:

Award for Organisational Development Category:

The Royal Bank of Scotland with INSEAD and Wharton School / University of Pennsylvania for 'The RBS Leadership Development Programme'

Award for Executive Development Category:

Microsoft and  Emerging World (formerly Adopt a Business) for Microsofts 'Innovation through Partnership: Creating a Global Leadership Program at Microsoft Benefitting Leaders, the Business and Society.'

Award for Talent Development Category:

Royal Philips Electronics and  Center for Creative Leadership and The Wharton School / University of Pennsylvania for 'Philips Octagon - A Partnership for Leadership and Excellence

Award for Professional Development Category:

ING and 'the world we work in' for 'Accelerating Professional Development and Strategy Execution: The ING Group High Impact Performance for Specialists'

Special Cases Award:Arcelor Mittal and TMA World for 'Global Push...Local Pull: Mobilising and Sustaining Enterprise-wide Training Globally at Arcelor Mittal'

All the winning cases can be viewed on the EFMD website together with details of how to submit a case to the 2012 awards.

EFMD case writing competition

ecch is supporting the 2011 EFMD Case Writing Competition by judging the "Best of the best" category winner. 

The deadline for submission is September 17^th, 2011.  Submit your case by visiting the EFMD Case Writing Competition Page

The competition has fourteen categories:

EUROPEAN CATEGORIES

•                Corporate Social Responsibility: Sponsored by IE Business School, ES

•                Entrepreneurship: Sponsored by E.M. Lyon, FR

•                Finance and Banking: Sponsored by Toulouse Business School – Groupe ESC Toulouse, FR

•                Supply Chain Management: Sponsored by BEM Bordeaux - ISLI Global Supply Chain Management, FR

SPECIAL CATEGORIES

•                NEW Latin American Business Cases: Sponsored by Universidad Externado de Colombia, CO

•                NEW MENA Business Cases: Sponsored by HEC Paris in Qatar, QA

•                Responsible Leadership: Sponsored by University of San Diego, School of Business, US

•                Family Business Sponsored by The Family Business Network International, CH and International Family Enterprise Research Academy, CY

•                Sponsorship Opportunity Emerging Chinese Global Competitors

•                Euro-Mediterranean Managerial Practices and Issues: Sponsored by Euromed Management, FR

•                Public Sector Innovations: Sponsored by Sprott School of Business, Carleton University, CA

•                African Business Cases: Sponsored by China Europe International Business School, (CEIBS), CN

•                Indian Management Issues and Opportunities: Sponsored by Emerald Group Publishing Ltd, UK

•                Sponsorship Opportunity Inclusive Business Models

Also for the first time in 2011 and in collaboration with ecch, the competition has a “best of the best” award where an overall winner will be selected.

For more information and to submit your case, please visit: http://www.efmd.org/case

The 2010 winning cases are available at: Case Winners 

ecch case award presentation

While attending AOM in San Antonio, I had the pleasure of presenting Michael Jarrett (INSEAD) with the ecch Case Award for the Human Resource Management/Organisational Behaviour category.  The winning case  Richard Murphy and the Biscuit Company (A) was co-authored with Kyle Ingram (London School of Economics) whilst both authors were at London Business School.


The temperature at AOM was incredibly hot, even for Texas.  As you can see from the photo, Michael had the sense to dress for the weather while I did not.

  

AOM

Off to AOm early tomorrow morning and looking forward to moderating an early Saturday morning professional development workshop on case work.  It's already oversubscribed so should be interesting!

The pleasure of conferences is making new friends and meeting old ones.  Come and say hello at the ecch booth or at the workshop.

Technology and learning

The use of social media by participants in the recent disturbances in the UK has highlighted how difficult is to to predict how new technologies may be applied or which groups will adopt them.

Nicole Ames of Boston University School of Management has challenged her students to build a social media cloud marketing plan for IBM - who provided materials to kick start the project.  Five student teams analysed Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, search engine optimisation and mobile marketing to recommend strategic approaches for IBM.  Interestingly, they went off-brief to comment on the IBM web site - another example of users taking control of the agenda in unexpected ways.

While Nicole Ames and her students are having fun with the media, other schools are experimenting with the hardware.  Many schools are now pre-loading content, including case studies. on to tablet devices.  So far the iPad is coming out ahead of Kindle in student satisfaction surveys.  These are necessary early steps but more interesting stuff is yet to come as schools move beyond providing access to content and start to explore the pedagogic possibilities of instant interaction within and without the classroom, within and without the student body.

All experience of technological roll-out suggests that while schools may have an agenda for how the devices should be used, students will speedily begin to adapt use to their own purposes.  Social media, unlike the more traditional push media like print, empowers users and challenges existing structural hierarchies.  Such as, for example, the traditional role of the teacher.

While the attributes of the case method approach should play well in the new environments, traditional lecturing will be more challenged.

Attributes of excellence

..is the title of a very interesting read in the latest (July/August) edition of BizEd.  Jerry Trapnell of AACSB and W. Randy Boxx of the Harry F. Byrd Jr School of Business, Shenandoah University, take a look at the attributes of business schools pursuing accreditation.
Many of the key attributes are supported or supplied by writing and teaching with cases:

• a high level of engagement with internal and external stakeholders (case research and writing engages with business  and case teaching with students)
• excellent teaching and strong student learning (case teaching challenges the best teachers and delivers an engaged, better classroom experience to students)
• high quality research (case writing engages with research activity and delivers...)
• a relevant curriculum (...teaching cases that align teaching and research)  
• a global perspective   (ecch distributes cases from around the world written by faculty engaging with their local business, economic and social cultures)
• current trends and technology  (cases deliver rapid up to date business experience into the classroom)
• emotional grounding  (has anyone ever engaged with a case in the classroom and not been better grounded emotionally as a result?)