LEARNING & TEACHING WITH
CASES: BEST PRACTICES
Donald C. Menzel
Workshop Leader
ASPA National Conference
March 4, 2012
Approach
• Overview/background
• Identifying best practices with respect to
• Constructing cases
• Identifying cases
• Learning with cases
• Teaching with cases
• Take aways
• Identify and prioritize cases that contain a realistic ethical dilemma
• Develop cases that can be used to teach and learn ethics
• Distinguish between cases that emphasize decision making and
those that emphasize ethics management
Using Cases to Teach Public
Administration in the U.S.
• Varies considerably among and within educational
institutions and governmental training programs
• Nor is there widespread agreement over the “best” types
of cases
• Textbooks are replete with cases
Arguments against case based instruction
• Lack of generalizability
• Cannot contribute to building a science of
administration
• Primary framework is rational choice—reason
emphasized over emotion
• Focus heavily on strategic decisions at the top of
the organization
• Manager is portrayed as an analyst who is
detached from daily operations and free of
unwanted interruptions
Arguments for case based instruction
• Chunk of reality – context is significant
• Holistic thinking
• Deeper understanding
• Learn from others
• Application of knowledge to practical situations
• Develops students’ ability to use their imagination
Objectives—what do you want to achieve
with cases?
• Acquire information about rules, codes, laws
• Develop decision making skills to resolve ethical
dilemmas
• Develop management skills to promote an ethical culture
Short structured cases
• Focuses on vignettes
• Usually run from 1-10 pages
• Student knows what kind of answer is sought but
does not have a formula for producing it
• Used in economics, marketing, finance, and
human resources, public administration
Long structured cases
• Present “wicked” problems for which there are no clear
solutions and no guidelines for knowing when the end has
been reached.
• Usually run from 10-50 pages
• Used in business policy and strategic management
• Harvard business school & The Electronic Hallway project
at the Evans School of Public Affairs, U. of Washington
Factual vs Fictional
Learning with cases
• Bringing abstract concepts down to earth
• Trust, integrity, ethics, public interest
• Bring context to bear on a situation
• Crucial to an in-depth understanding of a difficult ethical situation
• Learn by discovery
• Emphasis is on trial and error, self-analysis, active learning when in
a group setting
• Engagement with ideas and other learners
• Fosters ability to “connect the dots”
• Develops a holistic understanding of the subject area
Teaching with cases -- challenges
• Experience/training to use the case method
• Central to case method is an analytical approach that emphasizes
identifying and sorting out the pieces and putting them back
together, involves both inductive and deductive reasoning
• Time management
• Instructor style – confusing set of roles
• Guide, facilitator, nurturer, coach – devil’s advocate
• Art of a case method instructor is to ask the right question at the
right time, provide feedback on answers, and sustain a discussion
that opens up meanings of the case
• Case selection
• Complexity
• Multiple answers
Teaching with cases -- challenges
• Learner participation
• Role of case leader
• Avoid authority figure
• Do not allow body language to take on the leadership role
• Using both lectures and cases
• Common practice
• Instructors typically employ a mix of tools and methods
• Should case material be used before or after lectures
• Depends on what you want to accomplish
• Online teaching with cases
Teaching with cases -- challenges
• Normative frameworks
• Virtue ethics
• Utilitarianism
• Duty/principles
• Ethical reasoning – process that accents the dynamics
and interplay between alternatives, competing and
complementary values, and commonsense to resolve an
issue
Key ethical reasoning questions for
teaching decision making skills
1. I there an ethical issue? (perception and sensitivity)
2. What is the ethical issue (definition)
3. What might be done to resolve the situation
(alternatives)
4. Does the preferred course of action satisfy the
needs/preferences of the primary stakeholders?
(decision/dynamics)
5. Is the action itself ethical? (judgment)
When the chief asks you to lie
Chuck is the Captain of one of the city's fire stations. The fire station is in
serious need of repairs as a critical portion of the station has settled, causing
it to become unusable. A tropical storm has blown across the city causing
heavy damage and flooding. The area in and around the city has been
declared a disaster area and both state and federal disaster officials are
assessing damage for emergency relief. The Fire Chief has advised
federal/state officials that the damage to the station was caused by the
storm. Prior to relief officials arriving to assess the damage at the station, the
Fire Chief calls Chuck to advise him of their impending arrival and tells Chuck
to inform the relief officials that the damage is a result of the storm.
While not stated, annual evaluations are due next month and the Chief is
known to use the evaluations to reward loyalty and punish those who do not
follow his wishes. Due to a previous illness in the family, Chuck is very
dependent upon his annual evaluation to keep up with inflation.
Should Chuck lie for the Chief? Should Chuck complain to the Chief that he is
being put in a position that he cannot agree with? Should Chuck pass the lie
onto another staff member by asking him or her to deceive the assessment
team?
What would you do?
Imagine that you are the county sheriff in a large urban, high growth county where you
have served as a popular elected county sheriff for 20 years. To your dismay, you are
informed that one of your sergeant's who has served the county for many years is
charged with 129 counts of falsification of official documents, 144 counts of failure to
follow standard operating procedures, and conduct unbecoming a member of the
sheriff's office--charges made by your internal affairs investigators. The deputy, as it
turns out, coordinates all the work at the port authority and is in a position to log offduty assignments for himself at the port that far exceed regular work week hours. The
investigators charge that the sergeant knowingly cooked the books and over-rode
computer programs to prevent others from knowing what he did.
What would you do with the sergeant? Put a letter of reprimand in his personnel file,
ban him from working any off-duty assignments, suspend him, reduce him in rank, fire
him? The sergeant's supervisor wants him suspended for 30 days and reduced to the
rank of deputy. The disciplinary review board wants him fired. You are about to retire
and don't need to worry about being re-elected any more. The allegations against the
sergeant have been published in the local newspaper. What would you do?
BUILDING A CASE
Fight, Parry, or Resign—what is the “right” thing to do?
Case Fact Sheet
LEARNING & TEACHING WITH
CASES: BEST PRACTICES
Donald C. Menzel
Workshop Leader
ASPA National Conference
March 4, 2012