CHAPTER TWO

the case difficulty cube and the three stage learning process Your lea rning is far more enjoyable if you are convinced th a t wha t yo u arc learning and how yo u a re lea rning it make sense. Therefore, hvo frameworks are developed here to help yo u learn with cases: (1) an in s ight into th e educational challenge presented in a case and how that challenge is translated into a Case Difficulty Cube; (2) an overview of th e three stage learning process that forms the core of this te xt. Participants in a case learnin g experi e nce are alw ays constrained by time. It takes time to rea d, ana lyze, and discu ss each case. Your goal is lea rning how to prepiu e cases qui ckl y and well. To reach thi s goa l yo u need to: (1) have a bette r understanding of w here to spend time on each case; and (2) develop a process for tac kling cases that helps you achieve consistently s uperior results. THE EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGE OF A CASE AND THE CASE DIFFICULTY CUBE The diffi culty or the educa tion al challenge of a case can be viewed as ha ving at least three major dimensions: an aly tica l, conceptu a l and p resenta tion . Each dimension has three degrees of d iffic ulty. In Exhibit 2-1 the ana ly tica l dimen sion is the A axi s, the con ce ptual dimension the C axis and the presentation dimension th e P axis.

Chapter 2

12

Exhibit 2-1 THE THREE DIMENSIONS OF CASE DIFFICULTY

c p c

o (J)

c

Q)

E

o

cu

:=l .......

Q. Q)

()

c o

o

----------------------------------·A Analytical Dimension

The Analytical Dimension The analytical dimen sion of a case raises the questi on , "What is the case reader 's tas k w ith resp ect to the key d ecision or issue of the case?" Th e analytical tas k de pends on how the d ecisio n is presented in the case . The case m ay be written wi th the issue sta ted , plus the alternatives con sid ered , the decision crite ria used and the final decisio n taken . For exa mple, "Susan Lee, the finance m anager of Excels ior Inc., w as seeking addition al fund s for an exp an sion p rojec t and , after considering debt and equity options, decided tha t borrow ing the m oney was the best

The Case Difficulty Cube a nd the Three Stage Learning Process

13

d ecision. " The participant's task becomes to assess whethe r the decision ta ken was, indeed , appropriate and the process followed correc t, whether further alternatives I1li g ht ha ve been considered (lnd wh(lt future consequences could be. This kind of ca se has an a n,ll y tical difficulty d egree of one. In other word s, th e participa nt's ta s k is about as easy as it can get on the ana ly ti Gll dimen s io n. By th e way, these cases tend to be dull. Mos t parti cipants in the ca se learning process recogni ze tha t by th e tim e they ge t a cha nce to stud y a ca se, the situation d escribed in th e case h as probably been d ec id ed in real life. Nevertheless, there is a diffe ren ce betw een rea li z ing this and being told so in the ca se. It is a bit diffi cult to work assiduou s ly on these one degree of difficulty cases when you ha ve alread y been gi ve n th e final d ec is io n actu all y ta ken. A case m ay be w ritte n about exac tl y th e S,lll1 e iss ue, eith e r with or without som e a lte rnati ves p rov ided , but excluding th e final decis ion taken. Thi s ty pe of case is the second degree o f a nalytical diffi culty, the o ne most co mmonl y e nco untered in cases. Using th e exampl e o f Ms. Lee, above, th e case would be presented (lS follo ws : "Ms. Lee, th e fin a nce m anager at Excelsior In c., was seekin g additi onal funds for a n expan sion project a nd wanted to dete rmine whe th e r d ebt or equity financin g would be th e best way to secure new ca pital. " The pa rticipant's t,ls k is n ow to a na lyze th e s itu a ti on, gen e ra te addition a l a lte rnativ es, ev aluate all alte rn (l ti \'es aga in s t specified d ec is ion crite ri a, make a decision , ,lnd d evelop a n ac tion and implem enta ti o n pl a n. A case mo ves to th e third d egree of anal y ti ca l diffi culty when even th e d ecision th a t need s to be made is no t identifi ed . There is o nl y