How to Write a Management Case Study

Case studies are used at college level as to demonstrate the validity and applicability of a given theory or conception. They also allow for accurate examination and doing original research. Because business studies put huge emphasis on practice rather than theory, case studies prove to be an inevitable part of the process of studying.

How to write a management case study – essential tips

1. What is a case study?

A case study is a piece of research focused on a given situation or process. It can be used in all academic fields except natural sciences. Psychologists, sociologists, business students, and many others write case studies from their first year at college.

The main aim of writing a management case study is to show certain regularities, as well as to demonstrate one’s own skills to conduct an accurate analysis. By knowing how the things work business students will be able to make autonomous and independent decisions in the right way. Another important fact is the opportunity to get to know a business company from within, to make yourself aware of all of the company’s difficulties and strategies for overcoming them.

In what follows you will get yourself familiar with some useful instructions related to the problem of writing a management case study.

2. Preparation

You should prepare yourself earlier for doing such an analysis. Do not hope that you can do such a case study at the last possible moment. First you need to make yourself oriented in the task - you can ask your instructor, colleagues or other graduates. Then choose a business company which you can get familiar with very easily; for example, if your friend, or relative, or someone you know personally runs the company, or is involved in its activities. Choose a company based in the same region you are living. Such a research may take several weeks, or even more (in case that you want to trace its activities in the long-run).

3. Define your topic and scope

Your case study should prove or repudiate a given regularity, principle or theory. It can also give an answer to some important questions. The topic can be, for instance, the relation between the remuneration and the employees’ motivation. You can start from a given hypothesis about this relation, and then try to observe if your hypothesis will be proved true.

4. Local research

This is the most important phase of the process of writing a management case study. You should prepare a schedule of all activities you will observe. This requires a well-elaborated methodology. Remember that the activities you observe or examine should be relevant to your topic. Otherwise you will waste a lot of time for nothing.

Be careful: while conducting your observation, you should adhere to academic and professional ethics. You must inform the manager(s) of the company about everything you will be doing. Do not do anything without their permission!

5. Make a summary

Having finished your observation, you have to make a summary of the data collected during your research. In all cases, you will see very curious regularities not expected by you before conducting the research. Take them into consideration.

Your initial hypothesis will probably need some modification according to the new data. Hence, you must clearly show the difference between both formulations of the hypothesis.

The things you need to do when the initial draft of the paper is finished is to revise it as to be grammatically correct, and also to attach any additional information which you think is necessary. From an ethical standpoint, you should inform the business company you have observed that your research is finished. Do not publish any photos, videos, statistics, and personal data without permission.