Case Study Analysis

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Case Study Assignment

Each student should select an academic based case study for which he/she will complete a case study analysis. A case

study is an in-depth investigative methodology that is conducted to provide a holistic analysis of an individual, group,

organization or institution. The case study that you select must relate in some measure to multicultural education.

According to some scholars, case studies provide descriptions of realistic contextual situations wherein educators can

explore decision-making in the face of socio-cultural, environmental, political, ethical and economic contexts. In

addition, it will probably be beneficial to revisit chapters in the text pertaining to the development and analysis of a case

study.

Case studies generally explore dynamic complex issues, which lead to multiple possibilities and proposed resolutions.

Therefore, case studies are excellent evaluative resources for critical thinking assignments. The overarching goal of this

assignment is to afford each of you an opportunity to critically think about salient socio-cultural issues that influence

educational processes, policies and pedagogical contexts. My expectation is that this assignment will result in

expanding/enhancing students’ insight into the social, political and economic complexities that will shape their

pedagogical development, classroom management, and policy engagement.

As stated previously, each student is responsible for conducting research that will result in the selection of a case study

related to a relevant socio-cultural educational issue. Each student should conduct an extensive analysis of the case study

that will be written in APA format; the following is additional information that will assist you in completing the case

study analysis assignment. This information is adapted from: Pearson Online

(http://wps.prenhall.com/bp_laudon_mis_10/62/15948/4082759.cw/index.html) &

(http://www.bell.uts.edu.au/awg/case_studies/analysing) respectively.

1. How to Analyze a Case Study A case study analysis must not merely summarize the case. It should identify key issues and problems, outline and assess alternative courses of action, and draw appropriate conclusions. The case study

analysis can be broken down into the following steps: 1. Identify the most important facts surrounding the case. 2. Identify

the key issue or issues. 3. Specify alternative courses of action. 4. Evaluate each course of action. 5. Recommend the best

course of action. Let’s look at what each step involves.

1. Identify the most important facts surrounding the case. Read the case several times to become familiar with the

information it contains. Pay attention to the information in any accompanying exhibits, tables, or figures. Many case

scenarios, as in real life, present a great deal of detailed information. Some of these facts are more relevant that others for

problem identification. One can assume the facts and figures in the case are true, but statements, judgments, or decisions

made by individuals should be questioned. Underline and then list the most important facts and figures that would help

you define the central problem or issue. If key facts and numbers are not available, you can make assumptions, but these

assumptions should be reasonable given the situation. The “correctness” of your conclusions may depend on the

assumptions you make.

2. Identify the key issue or issues. Use the facts provided by the case to identify the key issue or issues facing the

company you are studying. Many cases present multiple issues or problems. Identify the most important and separate

them from more trivial issues. State the major problem or challenge facing the company. You should be able to describe

the problem or challenge in one or two sentences. You should be able to explain how this problem affects the strategy or

performance of the organization.

You will need to explain why the problem occurred. Does the problem or challenge facing the company come from a

changing environment, new opportunities, a declining market share, or inefficient internal or external business processes?

In the case of information systems-related problems, you need to pay special attention to the role of technology as well as

the behavior of the organization and its management.

Information system problems in the business world typically present a combination of management, technology, and

organizational issues. When identifying the key issue or problem, ask what kind of problem it is: Is it a management

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problem, a technology problem, an organizational problem, or a combination of these? What management, organizational

and technology factors contributed to the problem?

To determine if a problem stems from management factors, consider whether managers are exerting

appropriate leadership over the organization and monitoring organizational performance. Consider also the nature

of management decision-making: Do managers have sufficient information for performing this role, or do they

fail to take advantage of the information that is available?

To determine if a problem stems from technology factors, examine any issues arising from the organization’s

information technology infrastructure: its hardware, software, networks and telecommunications infrastructure,

and the management of data in databases or traditional files. Consider also the whether the appropriate

management and organizational assets are in place to use this technology effectively.

To determine the role of organizational factors, examine any issues arising from the organization’s structure,

culture, business processes, work groups, divisions among interest groups, relationships with other organizations,

as well as the impact of changes in the organization’s external environment-changes in government regulations,

economic conditions, or the actions of competitors, customers, and suppliers.

You will have to decide which of these factors-or a combination of factors-- is most important in explaining why the

problem occurred.

3. Specify alternative courses of action. List the courses of action the company can take to solve its problem or meet the

challenge it faces. For information system-related problems, do these alternatives require a new information system or the

modification of an existing system? Are new technologies, business processes, organizational structures, or management

behavior required? What changes to organizational processes would be required by each alternative? What management

policy would be required to implement each alternative? Remember, there is a difference between what an organization

“should do” and what that organization actually “can do.” Some solutions are too expensive or operationally difficult to

implement, and you should avoid solutions that are beyond the organization’s resources. Identify the constraints that will

limit the solutions available. Is each alternative executable given these constraints?

4. Evaluate each course of action. Evaluate each alternative using the facts and issues you identified earlier, given the

conditions and information available. Identify the costs and benefits of each alternative. Ask yourself “What would be the

likely outcome of this course of action? State the risks as well as the rewards associated with each course of action. Is

your recommendation feasible from a technical, operational, and financial standpoint? Be sure to state any assumptions on

which you have based your decision.

5. Recommend the best course of action. State your choice for the best course of action and provide a detailed

explanation of why you made this selection. You may also want to provide an explanation of why other alternatives were

not selected. Your final recommendation should flow logically from the rest of your case analysis and should clearly

specify what assumptions were used to shape your conclusion. There is often no single “right” answer, and each option is

likely to have risks as well as rewards.

2. Steps in Analyzing Case Studies It is very important that cases are comprehensively rather than superficially analyzed. Therefore, the following general

approach is recommended:

1. Gain an Overview of the Case. Read through the case quickly to gain a general familiarity with the major events and

characters and to note what appears to be the central problem or problems.

2. Establish What has Happened. Go over the case in greater detail, trying to establish a clear picture of what has

happened. Try to establish the who, what, where and when of the situation. If particular knowledge or theories etc. are to

be applied to the case, these theories, etc. may well be useful in indicating what is important information to look for. For

example, a theory of leadership may indicate what are important situational factors to assess, or a model of the

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management process may suggest what important functions need to be carried out. This analysis of what has happened

should also clarify the major problem or problems in the case.

3. Determine the Causes. Address the question of why it happened. It is generally best to consider a variety of possible

causes to see how well they are supported by the facts of the case, and how well they explain everything that has

happened. Students should guard against adopting stereotypes as causes. For example, saying that all older workers or all

female employees always act in a certain way is unlikely to be justifiable. The theories, research, and other knowledge

learned in the subject being studied are more likely to be useful than stereotypes and other simplifications. Given the

complexities of the real world and the limited information available in most case studies, it may not be possible to

establish a single cause for most of the events and resulting problems. In many cases, several causal factors appear to

interact to produce the end results.

4. Develop Possible Solutions. Having considered what happened and why, you should now develop a number of

possible solutions to the problem or problems. If particular knowledge or theories have proven to be useful in answering

the questions of what happened and why, these same concepts are likely to be most useful in terms of generating possible

solutions. Different solutions may need to be considered, depending upon whether the aim is to have prevented what has

already happened, to salvage the present situation, or to avoid similar problems in the future. Unless you are asked to

focus on only one of these approaches, all should be considered.

5. Evaluate these Solutions. You should then more thoroughly consider each possible solution, detailing exactly what

would need to be done to implement it. Thus, how could the product be more efficiently marketed or worker motivation

increased? Again, the concepts learned in the subject being studied are likely to be very useful here. As a part of this

process, you should note any constraints or impediments that are likely to make it difficult or impossible to implement any

of the possible solutions, be these technological constraints, personal limitations, or a lack of resources.

6. Formulate Recommendations. Finally, you should now be in a position to recommend exactly what should be done in

respect to the problem or problems identified. This preferred solution may be one of those considered previously, or some

combination of particular solutions that is most likely to work, given the circumstances. In making this final

recommendation, a broad view of the situation should be taken. A preferred solution, for example, should not create more

problems in other work sections than it solves in the work section being studied. In some cases it may be best to try

relatively simple and inexpensive solutions first, with a contingency plan to try more elaborate solutions if the first ones

fail.