How to Excel in the Fox MBA Classroom

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How to Excel in the Fox MBA Classroom

• MBA Essentials

Arvind Parkhe Professor of International Business
and Global Strategy
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Agenda for Todays Session

• General culture and expectations
• The use of Case Analyses at the Fox School
• What are cases?
• Why do we use them?
• The frustrations and challenges you will
  experience.
• How to get the most from a case analysis some
  hints on how to prepare for a case discussion.
• The in-class experience
• The Ellen Moore Case

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The Use of Case Studies at the Fox School

• What are case studies?
• Real business situations faced by real managers
  in real companies.
• Complex problems with no obvious right answer.
• You take the position of the decision-maker in
  the case.
• Written primarily by case-writers at Harvard
  Business School

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Why Do We Use Cases?

• We live in a world of big and complex problems
• How do you know when to exit a market?
• How do you know whether to expand plant capacity?
• How do you respond when your product injures
  someone?
• How do you price a new product in highly
  competitive markets?
• How do you value an acquisition target?
• How do you take a company public?
• How do you increase sales while at the same time
  reducing costs?
• How do you negotiate a contract with a labor
  union?
• How do you know which markets are most likely to
  grow over the next decade and which ones are
  likely to decline?

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Why Do We Use Cases?

• To help you develop frameworks of analysis
• How to break a problem into smaller questions
• How to handle large amounts of data And make
  decisions when you have limited data
• Develop your skills in inference making and logic

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Why Do We Use Cases?

• Develop your skills in writing succinctly,
  clearly and persuasively
• Develop your impromptu public speaking skills
• Develop your skills in taking qualified risks
• Develop your skills at applying important
  concepts in a variety of different situations
• This is where much integrative learning takes
  place

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Why Do We Use Cases?

• Lectures are fine for conveying information but
  wisdom cannot be told
• What is the difference between understanding
  and knowing something?

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KNOWLEDGE Remembering information.
COMPREHENSION Understanding information.
APPLICATION Using what is already learned in new situations.
ANALYSIS Understanding all the parts.
SYNTHESIS Putting the parts together into something new.
EVALUATION Judging the value.
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• KNOWLEDGE
• Name Outline List
• Describe Select Label
• Define Match State
• COMPREHENSION
• Match Extend Locate
• Generalize Identify Write
• Give examples Research Explain
• APPLICATION
• Sketch Change Draw
• Compute Record Operate
• Solve Apply Use
• ANALYSIS
• Compare Classify Dissect
• Survey Advertise Categorize
• Separate Analyze Diagram
• Select Divide Describe
• SYNTHESIS
• Create Invent Produce

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Some Frustrations You Can ExpectAnd a few
Suggestions on How To Handle Them

• Too much information/not enough information
• Suggestions
• Clearly define the decision problem
• Clearly define specific questions you need to
  answer in order to solve the primary problem
• Get comfortable drawing inferences from limited
  data
• After a class discussion that was enjoyable and
  interesting, but what did I get out of it?
• Suggestion
• After class, write down three or four major
  general learnings from the case

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Some Frustrations You Can ExpectAnd a few
Suggestions on How To Handle Them

• I dont care about (or dont like) that
  industry I will never work in that industry,
  why should I care about this case?
• Remember
• You are not studying an industry context. Keep
  in mind, you are focusing on learning how to
  solve general problems that transcend industry
  boundaries
• This case takes place in 1982, its out of
  date.
• Recognize
• Major business problems/decisions are timeless
• The cases your professors select are usually the
  best available to demonstrate how to solve a
  particular problem

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Some Frustrations You Can ExpectAnd a few
Suggestions on How To Handle Them

• Oh no! The ideas discussed in class do not look
  like the ones in my case write-up I have
  failed!
• Remember
• The purpose of class discussion is often to go
  beyond your written analyses into new areas
• Sowhat is the right answer? What do you mean
  theres no one right answer?
• Remember
• There is sound judgment. In many cases, sound
  judgment can lead different people to different
  answers.

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Some Frustrations You Can ExpectAnd a few
Suggestions on How To Handle Them

• If there is no right answer, how can the
  professor grade my work?
• Remember
• There is good logic/reasoning and poor
  logic/reasoning
• The soundness and how thoroughly you cover key
  issues is the focus of evaluation

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Some Frustrations You Can ExpectAnd a few
Suggestions on How To Handle Them

• What did the company end up doing?
• Remember
• It really does not matterit may not have been
  the best course of action anyway
• You are not here to study outcomes you are
  here to learn a process of decision making
• How do I know which financial analyses to do?
• Remember
• Focus on the questions you are trying to answer
• Put yourself in the shoes of the decision maker
  in the case
• I would talk more in class, but Im nervous.
• Remember
• Trust usthe classroom is a reasonably safe
  environmentwe will not embarrass you

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Learning From Case Discussions A Few Hints on
How to Prepare

• Read the case quickly at first
• Take a few rough notes
• Focus on gaining a sense of the general decision
  problem
• Step back and break-down the problem... what are
  the sub-questions you need to answer?
• Go back and read the case carefully build your
  fact base
• Organize case facts on paper according to each
  sub-question you are trying to answer

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Learning From Case Discussions A Few Hints on
How to Prepare

• Identify alternative actions that could be taken
  to address the central problem
• For each alternative, write down the positive
  points and negative points
• Consider what it would take to overcome the
  negatives
• Include financial analyses whenever possible
• Propose the alternative you think is best and
  note what factors led you to make that decision

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The In-Class Experience

• You own the discussion
• The role of the professor is to manage the
  discussion and keep student comments organized
• Always listen carefully
• Do not carry on a dialogue strictly with the
  professorrespond to the statements made by your
  classmates
• Constructive conflict and debate will often occur
• The ideal case discussion involves a lot of
  interaction between students
• Cold calls and warm calls
• How to overcome shyness/fear