A Different Case

Updated on: Monday, November 02, 2009

Richard Ivey School of Business, Canada, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hyderabad-based Indian School of Business (ISB) to
conduct workshops on case development. Ivey is the second largest producer of business case studies in the world. “The distinguishing feature of our business case studies is that they are not merely cases that illustrate or substantiate theory. Instead, they directly refer to specific business issues in the real world. Usually, case studies are structured to aid in-depth analysis. However, it is imperative to understand that case studies cannot stop at analysis. They need to facilitate a process of informed decision-making as well. Our business case studies accommodate this critical facet,” said Carol Stephenson, dean, Richard Ivey School of Business, Canada.

According to Stephenson, the workshops in ISB have been especially envisaged to introduce this fresh perspective in terms of case study writing in India.

Explaining how this approach would be beneficial in the context of India, she said, “In India, as well as other developing countries, there is a need to build an information pool as far as contemporary management practices are concerned. This is largely because the economies of developing countries are continuously subject to fresh business challenges. However, since business environments have matured relatively later in these countries there is not much of existing literature or documented material that is relevant in the context of existing business challenges.”

She further added that their approach in terms of case study writing enables cross enterprise thinking which is crucial for effective decision-making particularly in positions of leadership.

“While building case studies we encourage people to take a pragmatic view of issues so that they can take comprehensive decisions that accommodate multiple objectives or (at times) conflicting demands,” she said.

Ivey has academic partnerships (of similar nature) with many Asian countries. Talking about their specific interest in terms of forging partnerships with Asian countries, she said, “Asian countries like China and India are going to play a key role in terms of defining the new order of world economy. Moreover, since business and trade are fast transcending geographical boundaries, countries world over are realising the need for co-operation in terms of developing both manpower as well as other resources. We hope that our case study development workshops will work out as a mutually beneficial equation and will help address business challenges that are pertinent to both countries.”

As per the MoU with ISB, Ivey will undertake training of faculty in terms of case study development. “Facilitating faculty exchange programmes is also on the anvil,” she informed, adding, “Our long-term vision is to foster many more such partnerships with educational institutions and corporate firms. We have inaugurated our India alumni chapter last week that will act as an advisory body and play a turnkey role in terms of identifying partnership opportunities,” she summed up.

Timesofindia

A Different Case

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