The Case Analysis allows a student or a student’s team (if
the instructor chooses to make either or both assessments a team project) to
work hard to express themselves as clearly and fully as they are capable of
doing. The exercises call on a student to develop good practical thinking that
shows their understanding of how business people should think and discuss
decisions before proceeding with a business decision.
The student(s) may choose any Case from any of the assigned
chapters (examples are: Dayan v. McDonald’s Corp. on p. 9; Gaskin v.
Stumm Handel on p. 18, etc)
In the Case Analysis, the student(s) should not consider
themselves a judge or an advocate but rather a counselor trying to help their
client avoid getting into a dispute. In the Case Analysis, the student(s)
should be developing PREVENTIVE solutions. (lateral thinking skills)
In the Case Analysis, the student must:
1. identify the “client” (tell the
instructor which of the two parties in the Case they would help.)
2. provide background to problem. Summarize the
facts set out in the Case
3. identify the “client’s” “problem”. Tell
the instructor what the party in the Case did that led to a disagreement that
was so large the parties needed to go to court for judgment of the
disagreement.
4. develop 4 “alternative courses of action” which
would have helped the client not get into the “problem”. (The
idea of the Case Analysis is to learn from the mistakes of others!) Our
“client” is not bound by what happened in the “real” case. In fact, we want to
prevent what happened in the “real” case. We are “pretending”. We are thinking
about “what if”. We are going back in time and helping a client who doesn’t
realize that if they don’t think carefully, they will end up in a disagreement.
We are trying to give advice that will prevent that “problem” from arising.
The student(s) must find 4 preventive alternatives. If the student(s) are not
able to think of 4 preventive alternatives for the problem, they should look
for another Case to work on. Picking the right Case to discuss is a very
important part of the assignment. Describe each of the alternatives fully. The
Case Analysis should show us that if we think early enough in the process, we
may avoid problems that lead parties to litigation. The student(s) should use
their business experience and what they’re learning from our textbook to create
ideas. Alternatives should be based on the facts of the Case and should not be
“generic”. For example, it is always a good idea (and so, “generic”) to
“discuss/negotiate the problem with the other side” or to “hire a lawyer”. Those
are not valid alternatives for these assignments. They will not earn credit.
5. evaluate each of the 4 alternatives. In the
evaluations, the focus should be on how each of these alternatives work in
helping the client AVOID getting into the same type of problem that led the
parties to court. In the evaluation, the student(s) should weigh the
advantages and disadvantages of each alternative, comparing and contrasting
each to the others. As business people they know very well that there is no
such thing as a “perfect” solution. Every idea has “good” points and “bad”
points. Again, some evaluations apply to most ideas. For example, “time” and
“cost” are always considerations. It is OK to include time and cost but they
cannot be the only points in the evaluation. Finally, the student(s) should
take the assignments seriously. They should not provide mechanical
presentations. They should provide more than one advantage and one disadvantage
for each alternative. Business decisions are complex. They should act as
if their job depended on the ideas they develop.
6: Draw Conclusions, Make Recommendations/Decisions.
Students should select the alternative or alternatives they would
recommend and fully explain/justify the logic behind the choice. Include
specifics about the implementation of the recommendation: who should do what,
when, and how.
Source:
Myers, T. & Myers, G. (1982). Managing by communication: An organizational
approach. New York: McGraw Hill.
Argentina—Safeguard Measures on Imports of FootwearReport of
the Appellate Body, WT/DS121/AB/R (1999) World Trade Organization pg 286-287 from textbook pdf attachment
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