Case Studies and the “Ah? Ha!” Teachable Moment

Forrest StegelinAgricultural and Applied Economics

University of Georgia

Concrete FormalStudents require objects, events, or actions for logical reasoning.

Conservation, class inclusion, ordering, and reversibility are characteristic reasoning patterns.

Students are unaware of inconsistencies and mistakes in reasoning.

Students need clear, sequential directions for long and detailed projects.

Students can reason abstractly without reference to concrete objects, events, or actions.

Theoretical, propositional, hypothetical, and combinatorial reasoning patterns are characteristic.

Students are aware of inconsistencies and mistakes due to the use of mental checks and balances – reflective thought.

Students can establish their own plans for long and detailed projects if given aims and goals.

Comparison of Concrete and Formal Reasoning Patterns

Recognize the role(s) a case may play in developing interaction among students and instructor;

Define and articulate the characteristics of a strong case;

Apply the seven-step approach in analyzing a case plus writing a case report;

Communicate the teachable moments and learning benefits expected from completing a case analysis.

Objectives of the Practice Session:

Case studies have proven to be effective pedagogical tools for undergraduate, graduate, and continuing or public service education audiences in the curriculum areas that require problem-solving and decision-making skills, statistical analysis, and management sciences.

Applicable for a course that is decision- and action-oriented, integrated in both form and pedagogy within a curriculum, and managerially exciting.

Methodologies of decision and risk analysis, probability and statistics, competitive analysis, and management science are integrated with personal judgment, intuition, and common sense in a way that is meaningful

to student and executive learners alike.

Why a case study?

In the case method as a teaching strategy transfers responsibility for learning from teacher to student, whose role shifts from passive absorption toward active construction.

Through careful examination and discussion, students learn to identify actual problems and to articulate them so as to become aware of those aspects of a situation that contribute to the problem.

Along the way students develop the power to analyze and to master a tangled circumstance by identifying and delineating important factors – the ability to utilize ideas, to test them against facts, and to throw them into fresh combinations.

Students’ roles and responsibilities:

A variety of roles in a course – ◦ focused on understanding core tools and concepts, ◦ on applying methodology appropriately, ◦ on defining the limits of good practice, ◦ on inventing new methods and adapting existing ones

for the problem at hand.

Forms of cases – ◦ highly structured, focusing on a single issue, with

needed data laid out; ◦ appraisal cases where analysis is partly or wholly done; ◦ unstructured, with multiple issues and data challenges

(missing or incomplete data, choices among data, or data preparation needed).

Just what is a case?

Types of case study – ◦ illustrative case studies (primarily descriptive), ◦ exploratory case studies (pilot or condensed

studies performed before implementing a large scale investigation),

◦ cumulative case studies (serving to aggregate information), and

◦ critical instance case studies (examining a situation of unique interest – answering cause and effect questions).

Relevancy is key, that the resolution of the situation matters.

Issues of external validity, construct validity, and reliability need to also be carefully considered.

A strong case demonstrates a need to know something not currently known – involves practice of skills and requires some internalization of concepts and the articulation of the reasoning process.

What makes a strong case?

Case study approach is a comparatively flexible method of scientific research because it emphasizes exploration rather than prescription or prediction.

Case study approach gives research results a more human face.

Advantages to using the case study approach to problem-solving and decision-making are two-fold:

Inherent subjectivity whereby the approach relies on personal interpretation of data and inferences;

High investment in time and thinking; and

Ethical considerations, namely the personal integrity, sensitivity, and possible prejudices and/or biases of the investigators need to be taken into consideration.

Disadvantages of case studies are three-fold:

1. Read the case thoroughly;2. Define the central issue;3. Define the firm’s goals;4. Identify the constraints of the

problem;5. Identify all the relevant alternatives;6. Select the best alternative; and7. Develop an implementation plan.

An organized seven step approach to analyzing a case makes the entire process easier and increases learning benefits.

Should we harvest our Riesling grapes immediately, before the forecast rainstorm, or leave them on the vines despite the approaching storm?

Practice session case, Freemark Abbey Winery, uses subjective assessment from data and analytical distributions to address and answer a vintner and winery owner’s dilemma:

For this case, take 5 – 10 minutes to read the one-page case and take any notes or underscore any facts thought to be relevant to the problem.

1. Read the case thoroughly.

Different wines with different prices arise if harvest immediately, wait to see if rains and does rain, wait to see if rains and doesn’t rain so wait for maturity of grapes.

What should we do with the grapes (harvest or wait)?

2. Define the central issue.

Revenue = Price x Quantity

Which choice gives highest expected price?

3. Define the firm’s goals.

Harvest immediately:

Wait and see:

Wait and see:

4. Identify the constraints of the problem.

5. Identify all the relevant alternatives.

Harvest immediately:bottled wine (100%) - $2.85; bulk wine (100%) or bulk grapes (100%) - $1.00 equivalent bottle

Wait and see: storm – botrytised (mold) (40%) - $8.00 or weak and thin (concentration) (60%) - $2.00

Wait and see: no storm (wait for maturity) – sugars >25% (35%) [$3.50]; sugars 20-25% (35%) [$3.00]; sugars <20% (10%) [$2.50] or acidity <0.7% (20%) [$2.50]

Which choice gives highest expected average price?

6. Select the best alternative.

Consider the probabilities of each occurrence, with 100% total probabilities for each occurrence.

Multiply the expected wholesale price per bottle times the percentages of occurrence to get weighted average expected price.

7. Develop an implementation plan.

Calculate the expected weighted average price per 750 ml bottle for immediate harvesting versus the probable outcomes of the 50 – 50 chance of rain.

A possible and plausible solution:

Wholesale WeightedPrice PriceBottled (100%) 2.85 2.85Harvest Bulk Wine (100%)1.00 equiv. 1.00 equiv.Now Bulk Grapes (100%) 1.00 equiv. 1.00 equiv.Harvest Immediately $2.85

Botrytised (40%) 8.00 (30% ↓ yield) 1.60

Storm (50%)

Weak/Thin (60%) 2.00 .60100% wait & see; storms

>25% (35%) 3.50 .61Sugars 20-25% (35%) 3.00 .52Wait & See No Storm (50%) <20% (10%) 2.50 .12(wait for maturity) Acidity<0.7 (20%) 2.50 .25100% wait & see; maturity $3.20

Possible Scenario with Pricing

Thank you for your attention, interest, and participation. (Sorry, no samples.)