Experimental learning based on the analysis of cases focuses less on students "knowing the right answers," and instead emphasizes critical analysis of 'real world' settings and situations....

Popularized first by Harvard Law School and later by the Harvard Business School, case teaching or case-based learning involves a set of pedagogical assumptions and techniques that instructors can use to guide discussion and analysis of a clinical study or real world situation that encourages students to actively interpret and apply their training. The general goal of the teaching method is student competence and confidence in critical analytical thought, argument, and persuasion. 

"In the real world, the solutions to complex problems cannot be found in textbooks. The case method acknowledges this fact by instilling the critical analytical skills necessary for students to apply their knowledge to real world situations and think for themselves," notes Lynn.... "A primary [learning] objective, assuming mastery of the knowledge base, is skill in drawing on that knowledge base in addressing the problems of the field." 

"Organizing and directing the thought process and behavior of learners can have far-reaching consequences for how they subsequently engage the world," he adds. "The case method prepares learners for a world that demands critical thinking skills and the ability to create convincing arguments, often with little time and incomplete information."

Our purpose in this class is to understand how accounting managers make decisions. To do this requires direct exposure to the decision-making process. Unfortunately, we cannot project ourselves into actual business situations. As a substitute, we can read descriptions of particular business situations and make decisions based upon the data we find there. By doing so, we simulate the functioning of a manager. Descriptions of business situations are frequently referred to as cases. 

A case is a statement of conditions, attitudes and practices existing at some particular time in a company's history. It usually describes a situation in which the company is facing, or has resolved, some challenging problem or problems. Cases are not written to illustrate good or bad management. They are written about interesting business situations that are particularly useful in illustrating a specific set of management issues. 

A case provides some, but usually not all, of the information that was available to executives at the time they had to resolve a challenging problem. It frequently includes data on alternative courses of action. Because it is an attempt to reconstitute a real life situation, a case is purposely written in a manner that requires the rearrangement of facts and interpretation of these facts, including the evaluation of opinions, behavior and intentions. Many of the facts available are relevant to the solution of the problem presented in the case, but some may be irrelevant. 

This arrangement of the descriptive material, on a somewhat unstructured basis, in itself, simulates experiences of the business executive. On first reading a case, you may well ask yourself, "What's all this about?" One of your first adjustments to the case method of instruction will be getting used to the manner in which case material is presented. It will be up to you to develop your analytical ability by reorganizing the particular problems involved. You will have to develop the alternative solutions, gather the appropriate data, evaluate them, and finally make a decision. 

To realize the maximum benefits when studying under the case method, you should recognize that: 
 

1. This method of learning calls for the maximum individual participation in class discussion. 
2. Effective classroom case discussion and analysis can be realized only if each participant has the "facts" of the case and  his or her analysis well in hand. One does not seek to uncover facts or make the analysis during the discussion, although modifications of both facts and analysis will evolve through the insights provided by the group's effort. 
3. Intelligent analysis calls for the recognition and identification of assumptions. 
4. Decisions have to be made without all the data one would desire, and this is an asset, not a liability, in case analysis. It reflects the condition management often faces. 
5. There may be several acceptable solutions to a problem in a case. Definitive answers are rarely, if ever, available. In our learning environment, as opposed to real business situations, the solution is not as significant as the basis on which it is derived. 
6. Though learning under the case method is a group process, this does not imply conformity to group opinion. 
7. The teacher is a discussion leader, not a lecturer or major contributor of facts and analysis. 
8. Learning by the case method, or any other educational approach, is in the final analysis an individual proposition, calling for a maximum of personal effort and responsibility. 
9. Each person will not necessarily speak every day. There is still ample opportunity to benefit from the classroom experience, by comparing your analysis with that being presented and discussed. 
10. You must accept a critical atmosphere and be willing to submit your conclusions to rebuttal. You must be willing to accept the risks of stating your conclusions and overcome the fear of making and admitting a mistake. 

Students go through a three-step study process. First, they study each case independently. Then they meet in small discussion groups to test their individual analysis against those of their peers. Finally, the entire class discusses the case, with the professor as catalyst and guide. The professor points out considerations the class has overlooked; elicits from participants the lessons of experience; pursues each line of investigation to its conclusion; and finally, summarizes the discussion and draws out the major lessons it has taught. 

Assigned readings and guest lecturers may be used to supplement and augment the use of cases. In addition, an important part of the learning process occurs during the informal exchange of insights and experience among students and faculty.