A GUIDE TO
DEVELOPING A CASE STUDY
IN OPERATIONS
MANAGEMENT
The preliminary work associated with identifying an organization, defining the key issue(s) to be addressed in the case, gaining access to research materials, and securing permission for release of proprietary information is critical to writing a good case. Your approach to these topics should be thoughtful and reflective as you assess the merits of each.
Identifying an organization. The case study research method is appropriate for use in analyzing operations of any organization. The firm may be public or privately held. It may be a for-profit or not-for-profit organization. It may be structured as a corporation, partnership, or proprietorship. It may provide goods or services, or a combination of both. The main thing to consider when choosing a firm for case study research is that the business must have something to contribute to our understanding of how business is conducted. That “something” may be a problem the business is experiencing, an innovative approach in the way it does business, the implementation of something new, or some other phenomenon that is worth the analysis that is necessary to make the case valuable to readers.
Gaining Access to Research Materials. Data used for analysis in a research project may be gained directly from its source (primary data) through interviews, observation, questionnaires, and/or source documents or it may be gained through analysis of secondary data such as company reports, press releases, industry analyses, media reports, or any other materials in the public domain. In assessing which types of data may be available for use in a research report, you should consider the amount of access you will have to the organization, its records, and its people. As a rule, primary data tends to make for a more interesting and insightful project. However, many very good case studies have been performed using only secondary data.
You should assess your ability to meet with the people who are closest to the phenomenon that you are studying. Usually, multiple views of the issues, through the eyes of those involved, make for a well-rounded case. However, a case may also be developed from a particular individual’s (i.e. the CEO’s) viewpoint. In preparing your proposal for case research, you should contact those individuals whom you believe to be closest to the issue and find out if they are willing to work with you.
You should spend some time in the library in general research of the organization. In order to tell a good story and put the focus of the research in context, you must develop substantial supporting material. Typically, publicly held, larger corporations yield a greater amount of public domain information than their smaller, privately held counterparts. The absence of ample secondary data on an organization means that more primary data must be mined.
A Guide To Developing A Case Study In Operations Management, p.2
Securing Release of Proprietary Information. Proprietary information is just that… proprietary! If you gain access to company information that you would not be privy to otherwise, you are obliged to get a release from an authorized individual that allows you to make the information public. It is best to have this release in writing. It is customary to allow your organization contacts to read the case prior to its release. It is possible (but doubtful) that I would allow you to write a case that was not authorized for public release. In such a case, I would read and grade the case, then destroy it. Even this policy is somewhat dubious (as I may be considered in the “public” by some within the organization) and I would only agree to this under unusual circumstances where I had written permission to examine proprietary records.
The Case Study Proposal. You should write up a short (1-2 page) proposal for case study. The proposal should name the organization and phenomenon you intend to study. It should also identify how you believe the subject pertains to operations management, which theories/principles/applications you believe may be appropriate to the subject, the contact people you have, and a general discussion of potential sources of data. This proposal should make a case for why the research study should be undertaken and what your expectation is for its contribution to our understanding of operations management.
A GUIDE TO
DEVELOPING A CASE STUDY
IN OPERATIONS
MANAGEMENT
Once the preliminary work associated with your case has been done and you have an accepted proposal, the next phase of the project is to gain an understanding of the factors surrounding the phenomenon of interest. To do this, it is necessary to develop background information on the organization, identify factors contributing to the problem, determine what (if anything) has been tried to solve the problem, and identify the desired results from a solution to the problem.
Because you are telling a story, the more information you can develop to put your case in context, the better. Most cases have information included in them that is not needed to identify or solve the problem. Remember, a case study starts with a good story.
You may want to include background information on the key players (employees, suppliers, distributors, or competitors, etc.) in your case. The choice of what to include is yours, but whatever your include, err on the side of too much rather than too little. A reader only knows what you tell him or her. Therefore, you should always pay attention to both quantity and quality of information.
Identification of factors contributing to the problem. Real-world problems are often complex and subtle. Your treatment of the factors surrounding (or contributing to) a problem should represent this complexity and subtlety. It is not necessary for you to develop a neon sign in your case pointing directly to the key problem or issue faced by the organization. Instead, present contributing factors as they are found – with little fanfare and in no particular order. Don’t confuse subtlety with incompleteness, however. The factors contributing to a problem or issue are the readers’ cues in analysis. Therefore, all factors should be completely articulated.
Prior Efforts Toward Problem Resolution. Often, a case study will include what someone has done in a failed effort to solve a problem. In fact, the failure may be the phenomenon of interest! Other times, it is simply an indication of just what a difficult problem exists. Your choice in including failed efforts or not should be justified based upon what the reader may learn from the failure.
Desired Results. Desired results from a problem solution may be explicitly stated or may be implied. In either case, it is important that the reader is able to determine what should be, once a solution is implemented.
Where Do I End My Case? Depending on what kind of case you are writing, it is important to end the story at an appropriate point. If your case will require the reader to make a decision from various alternatives, for example, then you will probably want to end the case at the point where the decision must be made. On the hand, if you want the reader to analyze the decisions made in a case, you should include what decisions were made, why they were made, and the results of the decisions – an excellent point to end this kind of case.
A GUIDE TO
DEVELOPING A CASE STUDY
IN OPERATIONS
MANAGEMENT
The research note for a case serves many functions. There are at least four primary users of the note: teachers, the writer, researchers, and readers who wish to evaluate the quality of the writer’s case research process. The process of writing a case research note should be an integral part of the case research process. After all, it’s the research portion of the case. The research note is where the author is able to show mastery of the subject matter.
The following outline may help you as you prepare your analysis:
I. Objectives of the case
II. Topical coverage
A. Course (i.e. operations management)
B. Level (undergrad, MBA, doctoral, etc.)
C. Requisite knowledge needed
III. Case summary
IV. Key issues – List
V. Theoretical linkages (if not fully covered in Key Issues)
VI. Discussion questions
VII. Suggested responses
VIII. Bibliography or “For Further Reading” suggestions
IX. Epilogue (if appropriate)
Each of these items will be discussed in class.