<p>Some MBA program rely heavily on the case method of study. This is where students are given case examples of real world business problems where there may be many or no answers but the students are expected to figure out what to do. I think this is the best method of study and it produces the best business people. Unfortunately, the case method is emphasized by a minority of MBA programs. What do you think sakky? What does anyone else think?</p>
<p>Well, I don't know if I would necessarily characterize that other stuff as 'crap', nor do I think that the case method necessarily produces the best business people. I think that the case method is more useful in teaching some things, and is less useful in teaching others.</p>
<p>You said it yourself, only a minority of MBA programs deliver their education predominantly through cases. In fact, of the top B-schools, only HBS and Virginia use cases as the predominant method of education. All the other B-schools use cases, but not predominantly so, and I would not go so far as to say that their education is crap, nor does it necessarily produce the best business people. In particular, I would not be so bold as to say that what is taught at Wharton, Kellogg, Sloan, Stanford, Chicago, Columbia, or the like schools is crap or that the students they produce are no good.</p>
<p>Instead, I would adhere to the philosophy that case methods are good for teaching certain subjects, like strategy, but less useful in others, like finance. Furthermore, certain students learn well from cases, but other students do not. Cases are just another educational tool that is available for profs. They aren't magic. Using cases does not automatically make you better or worse. It's all in how the profs use the cases, and whether the students you matriculate learn well from a case format, as well as a variety of other things. For example, take Virginia vs. Wharton. Virginia uses lots of cases, and Wharton tends to use relatively few, yet I think that very few people would try to argue that Virginia is a better B-school than Wharton. I would imagine that not even Virginia graduates would try to argue that.</p>
<p>My school did not use primarily case method, but we did some of the cases as assignments in many classes.</p>
<p>As I understand it, case method schools do tons of these cases, very fast, all the time. In that environment students would have to become accustomed to assimilating complex information in a short period of time, learning to "cut to the chase" of matters, and making gut judgements about situations under conditions of uncertainty and incomplete and/or conflicting information. Learning to be able, and accustomed, to make the timely, tough decision, even though they recognize that they could be wrong.</p>
<p>They also have to defend these decisions in class, thereby developing their skills in oral argument.</p>
<p>I would expect graduates from this type of program to be somewhat weaker in technical aspects of the various MBA fields, since they sacrifice some time devoted to these in order to focus on the cases.</p>
<p>However their training is more clearly focused on assuming ultimate management roles.</p>
<p>I think training via case method is great for someone interested in management. If I knew then what I know now I would have sought this training.</p>
<p>I think case method is worse for teaching almost any subject, from a technical perspective. But in the long run it's better training to be a manager.</p>
<p>That's my opinion.</p>
<p>besides hbs and darden what other schools focus mainly on case study method?</p>
<p>In my opinion case method is good for some classes but not all. HBS and Darden are the two that uses it extensively (~100%). For example, I really don’t see how case method helps from accounting or statistics. All other elite business schools uses HBS cases, but just not as extensively.
I don’t think case method is for everyone. For example, Darden students get loaded with 20 or more cases a week. That’s a lot of material to read through, so they end up absorbing only a little information.
IMO, case method definitely has its pros, but it also has some cons. When used sparingly, it can be a very helpful teaching tool. But I don’t think 100% reliance on cases is good either.</p>