Competitions

CAT Prep

Upskill

Placements

MBA Co'26

RTI Response

Rankings

Score Vs. %ile

Salaries

Campus Tour

Making A Case For The Case Study Method - Pasam Shruti, IIM Indore

Oct 2, 2016 | 3 minutes |

Join InsideIIM GOLD

Webinars & Workshops

Compare B-Schools

Free CAT Course

Take Free Mock Tests

Upskill With AltUni

CAT Study Planner

Final 18 Days to CAT 2024 Test-28

Participants: 15

Final 19 Days to CAT 2024 Test-26

Participants: 155

Final 20 Days to CAT 2024 Test-26

Participants: 183

Final 21 Days to CAT 2024 Test-25

Participants: 147

Final 22 Days to CAT 2024 Test-24

Participants: 167

Final 23 Days to CAT 2024 Test-23

Participants: 105

Final 24 Days to CAT 2024 Test-22

Participants: 157

Final 25 Days to CAT 2024 Test-21

Participants: 146

Final 26 Days to CAT 2024 Test-20

Participants: 197

Final 27 Days to CAT 2024 Test-19

Participants: 171

Final 28 Days to CAT 2024 Test-18

Participants: 169

Final 29 Days to CAT 2024 Test-17

Participants: 176

Final 30 Days to CAT 2024 Test-16

Participants: 195

Final 31 Days to CAT 2024 Test-15

Participants: 185

Final 32 Days to CAT 2024 Test-14

Participants: 195

Final 33 Days to CAT 2024 Test-13

Participants: 196

Final 34 Days to CAT 2024 Test-12

Participants: 228

CAT 2017 VARC SLOT- 2

Participants: 313

CAT 2017 DILR SLOT- 2

Participants: 156

CAT 2017 VARC SLOT- 1

Participants: 301

CAT 2017 DILR SLOT- 1

Participants: 106

CAT 2017 QUANT SLOT 1

Participants: 152

CAT 2017 QUANT SLOT 2

Participants: 69

CAT 2018 QUANT SLOT 2

Participants: 67

CAT 2018 QUANT SLOT 1

Participants: 108

CAT 2018 DILR SLOT- 2

Participants: 58

CAT 2018 DILR SLOT- 1

Participants: 84

CAT 2018 VARC SLOT- 2

Participants: 203

CAT 2018 VARC SLOT- 1

Participants: 298

Final 35 Days to CAT 2024 Test-11

Participants: 157

If you ask a B-School student to name some differences between grad school & a B-school, the method of teaching is going to be right at the top of the list for most of us. When I asked my friends what they thought about the case method of teaching, I heard a good few answers. But one explanation seemed to make a lot more sense than the others. It went something like, "When I was back in school and my math teacher used to teach us mathematics, she always taught us the formulae first & then we solved the example problems. This is how I learnt the concept first & then learnt its application. But when I came to B-School, I am taught the concepts through a real-life situation or a 'Case'."  This is by far the simplest explanation someone gave me about how they found things different in a B-School. The case method of teaching comes to us from the mecca of all B-Schools, the Harvard Business School. If one were to go on the Harvard Business Publishing page, case method teaching is a course by itself. They say, "Case method teaching immerses students into realistic business situations. Cases provide the reality of managerial decision making — which includes incomplete information, time constraints, and conflicting goals — as students learn how to analyze business situations." While cases seem like stories on the outside & an elaborate explanation of the historical account of the situation, they also are a good exhibit of the number of loose ends any problem has. The number of factors that can directly or indirectly impact a decision is clearly captured. To me, the best part of solving a case is the fact that there is no one right answer. And that the nuances that affect any scenario are multi-fold and that they will come to play, in one or the other form. On more occasions than not, we have to do a what-if analysis of the various ramifications each business decision could have. This has taught me the importance of pre-empting any issues arising out of a recommendation. Overall, it helps me in seeing a more holistic picture as against the issue in isolation; the various constraints actually shrinking the already small pool of answers into fewer. Whatever be the case, the case method seems to be winning; with more and more courses & instructors taking up this method of teaching.    

-----

About the Author: I am a PGP -II student at IIM Indore, prior to which I did my B.Tech in Information Technology from NITK Surathkal. I worked with SAP Labs India for 3 years as a CRM Consultant. I am currently the Head-IT, Placement Preparation Committee & the President for the Toastmasters-IIM Indore chapter.