Page 12 - CL How to Read a Case Study
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Business case study approach to analysis:
the first was and is the Harvard approach, developed at the
Harvard Business School and then subsequently adopted by
most of the major business schools throughout the world.
This approach was based on a systematic study of the firm,
in the context of the five main functional areas of
management:
- finance,
- marketing,
- production,
- personnel and
- general management (business management).
Developing from this approach were cases, which had
‘decision points’, which were clearly identifiable. Generally,
they tended to be based on cases taken from the
manufacturing sector.
The second approach was the European approach, and it
consisted of a more eclectic, unstructured study of the
processes taking place within the organisation. This was
done by employing a checklist of questions, such as:
• What are the facts of the case?
• What problem(s) are evident in the case?
• How can these problems be defined?
