{"id":13757,"date":"2023-03-01T00:50:45","date_gmt":"2023-03-01T08:50:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/?p=13757"},"modified":"2026-02-18T11:48:52","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T19:48:52","slug":"faculty-case-studies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/2023\/03\/01\/faculty-case-studies\/","title":{"rendered":"Faculty Case Studies Teach Business Concepts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Students
Case studies encourage class discussion in Business Administration 100.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Case Studies Teach Business Concepts in Real-World Scenarios<\/h2>\n\n\n
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\"Chris
Chris Cooney<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Most of the students are talking in Chris Cooney\u2019s<\/a> Business Administration 100 class, but there\u2019s no penalty for the free-flowing conversation. In fact, talking in class is encouraged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students are hashing over the Neighborhood Caf\u00e9\u2019s dilemma. In the business case study, the owner of a chain of Northwest caf\u00e9s lost one of her bread suppliers when the company declared bankruptcy. She\u2019s evaluating proposals from two bakeries interested in the contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe\u2019s got nine caf\u00e9s operating in the Seattle area, and her bread supplier there just went under,\u201d says Julianna Topper<\/a>, a marketing and advertising major.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis seems pretty urgent,\u201d notes her classmate, Logan Sparber. \u201cShe needs to make a decision soon\u2014probably this week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But which supplier should the caf\u00e9 owner pick? The company with the lowest bread prices might seem like the obvious choice. But the owner also wants to pick a firm that\u2019s viable in the long run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accounting and finance can help provide answers, says Cooney, a career track associate professor. Armed with income statements and balance sheets, the students learn calculations that will help them compare the suppliers\u2014not just on bread prices, but on company profit margins, debt levels, and liquidity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case teaching method<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Harvard Business School developed the case teaching method more than 100 years ago. Using real events or fictionalized narratives, case studies help students connect business concepts in the classroom to real-world scenarios\u2014like a caf\u00e9 owner forced to make a quick decision about a new supplier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are trying to help students slip into a business setting,\u201d says Jason Porter<\/a>, an associate professor of accounting. \u201cCase studies introduce them to some of the pressures and ambiguity that are part of normal business operations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my favorite way of teaching,\u201d adds Debbie Compeau<\/a>, senior associate dean for faculty affairs and research. During small group discussions, students gain an appreciation for different viewpoints. Often, there isn\u2019t a single right answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSometimes, students are forced to make a decision without having all of the information,\u201d Compeau says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Case writing academy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Last summer, the Carson College of Business put on a case-writing academy. Porter, Compeau, and Tom Tripp<\/a>, senior associate dean for academic affairs, led the effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their goal was two-fold: produce case studies to address specific teaching needs in the Carson College and issues relevant to Pacific Northwest industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eight faculty members participated. Among them was Hana Johnson<\/a>, who wrote the Neighborhood Caf\u00e9 case study. Like Cooney, she also teaches Business Administration 100, which introduces students to various business majors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith accounting and finance, it\u2019s helpful to see how the concepts are used in decision-making. Otherwise, it just feels like a math calculation,\u201d says Johnson, assistant professor in the Department of Management, Information Systems, and Entrepreneurship. \u201cCase studies help students understand how this information can play a critical role in analyzing a situation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plans are underway for a second case-writing academy this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students\u2019 reactions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Shawn Gegg<\/a> took Business Administration 100 last year during his first year at WSU. He enjoyed the class discussions so much he returned his sophomore year as a teaching assistant. The entire class is built around case studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was all so relatable,\u201d says Gegg, a business management major. \u201cNeighborhood Caf\u00e9 was a business anyone could run. People could picture themselves in the story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Case studies align with goals of The Next Carson Coug<\/a> undergraduate curriculum, which includes a focus on smaller classes and higher expectations for student participation in class. Students are expected to read the case study before class and come prepared to talk about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arriving at class prepared to discuss the case requires independent learning, says Topper, the marketing and advertising major. While she sometimes struggles with figuring out material on her own, Topper says the case method challenges students to be accountable for their learning and become better problem solvers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Neighborhood Caf\u00e9, she found herself empathizing with the business owner. \u201cI could picture myself in her shoes,\u201d Topper says. \u201cThe story helps the reader understand the problem and the urgency of finding a solution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the power of a really good case,\u201d Porter says. \u201cIt\u2019s a narrative you are into, and it helps you remember what you learned.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carson College faculty are writing case studies to teach business concepts to students. The cases are similar to story problems, requiring critical thinking skills and helping students understand business concepts in a real-world setting. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":[634],"featured_media":18202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[425,613],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13757"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/634"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13757"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18596,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13757\/revisions\/18596"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13757"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/author?post=13757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}