DailyPost 553
ARE BUSINESS CASE STUDIES A BUSINESS?
Connecting the dots between practise & theory of management are the business case studies. The move is the direction of Experiential Learning, though currently limited to somebody else’s learning. The learning also gets narrated by an academician & may have some distinct biases. Undeniably, iconic business case studies have been taught beyond time & space doing yeomen service to the student. To an extent some 150 odd case studies might have decided the whole direction of management thought.
Academic world has inbuilt immense credibility, with no outside validation These business case studies are created in this environment, through the prescribed academic reviews, gets published in academic journals & becomes the gospel truth. The academics – research – journals ecosystem is well known. While few institutions & individuals have excelled in churning out outstanding business cases studies, some in the form of books as well, others have found it as a cosy club.
Classic case studies facilitates students understanding of business. Business case studies are getting onto to the template mode, commercially funded& quite a few times to prove a point or celebrate the success of a business behemoth. Same applies to iconic business leaders. The trials & tribulations barely find the due mention & a fairy tale story is made out, with few facts, figures and dates, as if DPR was being put into execution.
Business successes like Jamnagar Refinery remain outside the Business Case Study radar, while Dabbawallahs have come home to stay. There is immense business success in lots of business establishments even in small towns, for generations, don’t find a mention in business folklore. If real business academics & henceforth entrepreneurship has to take roots, authentic learning oriented case studies have to be created; researched in all its dimensions.
BUSINESS CASE STUDY HAS TO REINVENT ITSELF TO BE AN EFFECTIVE LEARNING TOOL.
Sanjay Sahay