PIM CASES in MANAGEMENT

An Iconic Publication Boosting up Higher-level Management Studies

Published by
The Postgraduate Institute of Management
Reviewed by K. A. I. Kalyanaratne
Senior Manager, Publications, PIM

The Lecture System – The Common Pedagogic Approach

It is no secret that those entering the seats of higher learning and more importantly, business and management institutes, have been educated in a lecture system. It has been or rather it is being practised as the commonest pedagogic approach. In a phase where modern management was in a state of evolution, it was but natural that emphasis was more on theories, systems and concepts. Therefore, to teach these the best approach was by way of lectures, and it was considered as the most efficient way to teach/impart knowledge. The lecture-system, no doubt, is an efficient way for a specialist to impart knowledge to a large gathering instantaneously. Combining with textbooks this learning-teaching model has the prowess to impart a large amount of knowledge/information in a limited span of time. The textbook(s) used are also in a way lectures in a printed form.

Limitations of the Lecture Model

Although the lecture model is capable of transferring information, quickly, in large doses, to a larger crowd, it is accepted as having limitations vis-à-vis the more complex and complicated organizational structures, wherein raw application of theories, systems and concepts would not provide solutions to the issues. A further limitation of the lecture model is that it doesn’t provide an impetus for listeners to ponder on the content and apply it. For example lectures on organizational behaviour aren’t truly meaningful until / unless the learners can apply the contents to issues to better understand the prevailing organizational complexities. In short, business schools and seats of higher learning would soon become redundant if they do not attune themselves to problem-solving and realities of practical issues.

Receiving Knowledge versus Creating Knowledge

The biggest drawback in the lecture system is that it doesn’t encourage listeners to think about the content and apply it. For example, lectures on organizational behaviour would not seem truly meaningful until the student/learner can apply (suitably) what he has learnt to better understand, and also solve issues. The acid test of any concepts, theory, hypothesis and practice is its ability to apply. They need to be provided with practising-opportunities. Sans such opportunities, subject-content learnt will remain for ever as mere knowledge confined to books/documents. The most a learner can do in such circumstances is to ‘regurgitate’ (vomit/ reproduce) or to repeat what has been learnt or to recall information. The lecture approach, more often, do not provide students with an opportunity for rigorous practice. Further, in the lecture method the learners receive knowledge from a specialist. In the case method the learners make/create the knowledge with the guidance provide by a specialist or through discussion. Case study approach thus encourages creating or making knowledge through logical thinking, debating and looking at issues from different perspectives. Moreover, a case study would invariably be looked at, and analyzed differently by different people. Herein lies the value of resorting to case studies in management education. Once, a person gets an overall view of an issue/ situation the solutions / conclusions he would arrive at, would invariably be well-rounded and rational. In fact, they will not be hasty conclusions. Case studies facilitate applying andragogic model of adult learning. They thus becomes andragogical explorations.

In the knowledge-economy people are expected to think and act on their own. In such a scenario skilled and knowledgeable individuals expect managements to explain, clarify and persuade, and not instructing and issuing orders. The case study approach paves the way and sets in motion such a system of management in organizations.

Approaches Followed in Writing of Case Studies:

The following approaches have been followed by higher seats of learning in the writing of case studies:

1. Purely fictitious cases, presented in the guise of true cases, with a view to ensuring student interest and devoutness./ believability and credibility.

2. Cases depicting true happenings being narrated with pseudonyms/ fictitious names of people and places.

3. Cases depicting true happenings, with true names of people and places, based on true studies undertaken on the ground situation. So it is a narration of the actual situation or presenting actuality in a condensed form.

The PIM, in making this invaluable contribution ‘PIM Cases in Management’ has followed this arduous and genuine route. Contemporariness is a hallmark of its adaptability and usability.

Adoption of ‘Omniscient Narration’ Style

The other aspect is that case studies need to be written as omniscient narrations, so that they are not interpretations or views of the writer. In short, they are unbiased narrations whose objective is to reveal the truth as how it has occurred or how it reflects on the ground.

Case studies belonging to this approach would, for certain, be accepted as genuine, and therefore, treated as more convincing. Here the attachment of the student is much more, as he feels that what he reads and studies are genuine, as a narration that he had undertaken to present. This genre of case studies are, therefore, more acceptable and considered as praiseworthy. However, case studies in this genre, needs to be handled with extreme caution, and with the express approval of the parties concerned.

The PIM, in making this invaluable contribution ‘PIM Cases in Management’ has followed this arduous and genuine route. Further, these cases while representing reality in brevity, bring experience into close proximity.

The cases need to mirror the real world, as the readers expect them to reflect the actual happening based on actuality. Faith and acceptance of the case is central to any case study if it is to bring out the expected outcome(s). Simply stated, cases should involve certain well-defined situations. It is then that students would read cases more devoutly and devotedly, and think and write about them more cogently/convincingly.

PIM Cases in Management’ in a Nutshell The following provides in a nutshell the 10 cases that have gone into the PIM case study publication.

The need for a case study publication for use in higher management studies, and more importantly targeting students following the MBA and allied courses of study, had been felt as urgent, for a long time. Every reputed institute of management studies, for that matter, has compiled and published cases in management mainly for internal consumption.

The links between analysis, discussion and writing are a primary advantage of the case study method. However, it needs to be clear that a case study is not a substitute for the theories, frameworks, processes, and quantitative methods taught in a business course in the classroom. In short, case studies encourage and facilitate the application of such classroom inputs, and to weigh how far and how effectively results have been obtained in the respective ground-situations narrated in the cases.

‘PIM’s Cases in Management’ are usually between 20 and 30 pages long, and are written from an industry or company perspective, rather than from the perspective of an individual decision maker. In addition to training, these case studies are useful if you require information on industries, or on companies and their strategies.

Further, each of the 10 cases carries a ‘Prologue’ which sets the background to the case and emphasizes the more important managerial facets it attempts at highlighting, as well as an ‘Epilogue’ which provides clues for further investigation of the issues that are highlighted.

“PIM Cases in Management – A Team Effort

As Prof. Ajantha S. Dharmasiri, Director, PIM, says in the ‘Preface’ to the publication that ‘These carefully selected cases, are primarily prepared by our committed “learning partners” as their final projects, which are ably supervised by the PIM’s Research Centre’. The cases were further refined and reinforced with additional material with a view to providing a rich platform towards reflective reading, ease of comprehension, rigorous investigation, resound analysis and resourceful application.’ The Faculty who finally authored and fine-tuned the final ‘Product’ were Prof. Ajantha S. Dharmasiri, Dr. A. K. L. Jayawardana, Dr. Samantha Rathnayake and Dr. Ravi Bamunusinghe.

Note:

‘PIM Cases in Management’ could be purchased from the PIM by individuals or organizations wishing to make use of cases for their management studies, and those wishing to write

case narrations.