THE CONFLICTING CASE OF THE MBA CASE STUDY

Transcription

1 THE CONFLICTING CASE OF THE MBA CASE STUDY Nigel A. Caplan University of Delaware, USA Assistant Professor English Language Institute TESOL 2014

2 Needs analysis: Context and Culture Intensive, pre-matriculation English program Conditionally admitted students Almost all international MBA students come through us Why don t the Chinese speak in class?

3 Needs Analysis: Data Syllabi of MBA classes Online questionnaires for MBA faculty and international students Observation of an MBA class Focus groups and interviews with MBA faculty Focus groups with international MBA students Think-aloud (verbal protocol) sessions with 4 MBA faculty

4 Genre System in the UD MBA Reflection Intrapersonal Discussion board post Professor-Student Quiz Assessment Exam In-class (MCQ, TF, short answer, essay, mixed format) Take home (essay, short answer, case write-up) Assignment Paper Research paper Case write up Homework/problem sets Group Written Oral Report Presentation slides/handouts Case analysis Lead case discussion Report (e.g. marketing report) Article presentation Class Participation Case discussion Online (e.g. discussion board) Professional Pseudo Authentic Case write-up Simulation Resume Report/presentation to client

5 Harvard Case-Study Pedagogy Forman and Rymer, 1999

6 Method: Verbal Protocol 4 professors 1 good, 1 weak paper; Please walk me through the paper, telling me what makes it a strong/weak case-study analysis. Since I don t know the assignment or the paper, please tell me everything you notice as you look at it again in terms of evaluating it.

7 Results: Genre Structure Set up ^ Diagnosis ^ [Recommendation] n (^Reflection) Stage Description & Function Set Up Identify and introduce the key players, the dilemma, and opportunities (but not a summary of the case) Diagnosis Analysis (not description) of the problem in terms of root causes Recommendation Alternative solutions plus the writer s chosen solution with justification, sometimes accompanied by a specific action plan Reflection What did you learn from the case? How does it connect to the theories in the course?

8 Faculty Expectations The set-up should not summarize the case Key words, facts, characters, and statistics from the case should be referenced (sourcing) Evidence must be presented Format and style conventions must be followed Professors expectations may be idiosyncratic

9 Conflicting Demands (Flower, 1994) Language Student role vs. Consultant role (sometimes) Conflicting motives

10 Types of Thinking You can get a really good grade if you have one really good idea that s not intuitively obvious. (faculty interview) the mindset of a good student who knows how it fits together (faculty interview)

11 Business Understanding? What Faculty Say Critical thinking! Insight! Perceptiveness! Creativity! What they (might) really mean? Sourcing Justification Tolerating ambiguity

12 Pedagogical Implications Case study as a problem-solution genre Teach the genre teaching/learning cycle Teach problem-solving strategies (e.g. highlighting summary, commentary, supporting detail) Use evaluative criteria for rubrics and self-regulation (Olson & Land, 2007; Rothery, 1996; MacArthur & Philippakos, 2013; Swales & Feak, 2012,)

13 Conclusion: MBA as Activity System Tools (Oral and written genres) Subjects Object Object(s)/ Outcomes (professor, Motive(s) students) ( passing grade? MBA diploma? Business knowledge? Rules/Norms Community Division of Labor

14 Research Implications Activity Theory as a nexus of cognitive and sociocultural (genre) approaches to literacy Retrospective think-aloud protocols to establish evaluative criteria Triangulation of needs analysis (Long, 2005): culture, cognition, genres, expectations, and activities

15 Do you teach (post-)graduate students? Join the Graduate Educators Roundtable discussion list! Nigel A. Caplan University of Delaware

16 Selected References Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), R. Nice (Trans.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp ). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Caplan, N.A. (in press). Genres and conflicts in MBA writing assignments. In T.Smith et al. (Eds.), Graduate Writing Across the Disciplines: Identifying, Teaching, and Supporting. Parlor Press/WAC Clearinghouse. Engeström, Y. (1987). Learning by expanding: An activity theoretical approach to developmental research. Helsinki: Orienta-Konsultit Oy. Retrieved from Ferretti, R. P., MacArthur, C. D., & Okolo, C. M. (2005). Misconceptions about history: Reflections on teaching for historical understanding in an inclusive fifth-grade classroom. In T. E. Scruggs & M. A. Mastropieri (Eds.), Advances in Learning and Behavioral Disabilities (Vol. 18, pp ). Bingley, UK: Emerald Group. Flower, L. (1994). The construction of negotiated meaning: A social cognitive theory of writing. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. Forman, J., & Rymer, J. (1999a). Defining the genre of the case write-up. Journal of Business Communication, 36(2), doi: / Forman, J., & Rymer, J. (1999b). The genre system of the Harvard case method. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 13(4), doi: / Johns, A. M. (2011). The future of genre in L2 writing: Fundamental, but contested, instructional decisions. Journal of Second Language Writing, 20(1),

17 MacArthur, C. A., & Philippakos, Z. A. (2013). Self-regulated strategy instruction in developmental writing: A design research project. Community College Review, 41(2), doi: / Nathan, P. (2013). Academic writing in the business school: The genre of the business case report. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 12(1), doi: /j.jeap Olson, C. B., & Land, R. (2007). A cognitive strategies approach to reading and writing instruction for English language learners in secondary school. Research in the Teaching of English, 41(3), Rose, D., & Martin, J. R. (2012). Learning to write, reading to learn: Genre, knowledge and pedagogy in the Sydney School. London: Equinox. Rothery, J. (1996). Making changes: Developing an educational linguistics. In R. Hasan & G. Williams (Eds.), Literacy in society (pp ). Harlow, England: Longman. Swales, J. M., & Feak, C. B. (2012). Academic writing for graduate students: Essential tasks and skills (3rd ed.). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Wineburg, S. S. (2001). Historical thinking and other unnatural acts: Charting the future of teaching the past. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.