Page 337 - The Case Lab Book

THE ICE BREAKER BUSINESS CASE STUDY
‘FEAR MAY NOT BE THE KEY?’

James G. Gallagher and E. Fordyce,
EDINBURGH NAPIER UNIVERSITY AND MBAHELP4U
SCOTLAND, UK

ABSTRACT

Business case studies allow students to use theory in anger and to test the boundaries of their
knowledge. However, what was going on in the classroom especially with the introductory class,
sparked the recognition that case analysis can be a threatening prospect and one that the lecturer
should address. The use of the ice breaker case study whereby the lecturer takes responsibility
for solution generation is an attempt to demystify the case method. In order to aid this process this
paper has been reproduced and augmented in e-resource format at http://www.mbahelp4u.com. It
may be downloaded directly to tablet or IPad.

KEY WORDS: E-resource, e-resource case study, business case studies, chalkboard, complex
unstructured problems, ice breaker business case study

INTRODUCTION

'The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but in seeing with new eyes.'

Marcel Proust

In his book “The Name of the Rose” Umberto Eco [Eco,1982] wrote that the Bible was not meant to be
read rather, it was meant to be interpreted. A sentiment reinforced by Bauman [Bauman, 2005], when he
wrote

“…..we have 89,000+ laws on the book to apply the basic Ten Commandments”.

Case studies may be seen in a similar light. They are generally written to reflect real life situations and
like life, do not supply perfect information. Instead, they require the reader to read between the lines, make
assumptions after re-ordering and combining the information provided, and by drawing on experience
generate solutions. It is therefore, through this combination of stimuli, this marriage of theory, practice, and
experience that conclusions are generated. These conclusions provide the key to good case solution
generation for it is they that provide the underpinning and justification for the actions and resolutions
chosen.

So, ‘case studies are not meant to be read rather, they are meant to be interpreted.’

This manifested itself in the realisation that students are not passive recipients of knowledge. They do
not simply soak-up and absorb information and concepts. Nor does knowledge simply download directly
into their brains. They are sentient with a desire to use their accumulated knowledge and experience not