Case Study Writing: publication
opportunities and guidelines
Elizabeth M. Ineson
EuroCHRIE, Manchester, October, 2015
The Focus
 international
 related to hospitality, tourism or events’ management
 developed based on specialist knowledge and
real-life experiences
 offer students/management trainees opportunities to
consider and to respond to realistic scenarios of
varying complexity
Developing case studies
[for publication in Volume 7, 2016]
 Focus? Field? Topic? Learning outcomes?
 Level? For whom?
 Information retrieval? Experience?
 Revealed or non-revealed? Time?
 Format? Instructions? Feedback?
Information Retrieval
 workplace
 student and employee experiences
 student placements
 own, relatives’ or friends’ experiences
 critical incidents; observations or involvement
 visits to industry; interviews; focus groups
Groups: working mode?

Team organisation?
 Chairperson? Leader?
 Knowledge and experience?
 List?
 Debate versus action?
Solving Case Studies
 ‘How?’ and ‘Why?’
 customer care and fair and correct treatment of
employees
 cross-disciplinary/inter-departmental issues; team
work? team roles?
 research?
Case Study Research
 more comprehensive than conducting
 research on one specific topic
 in addressing more advanced cases, students and
management trainees should be encouraged to:



collect relevant data from a variety of sources
consider this information, employing divergent
thinking to brainstorm the case
employ convergent, potentially valid decisionmaking in order to devise and justify the
solution(s)
Non-revealed Case Studies
 distributed to individuals ‘on the spot’, i.e. everyone
has access to an electronic or hard copy
 responses may be prepared by individuals or
debated by groups who develop a joint solution
 focus on at least one area/department, for example
in an hotel based case study: Food and Beverage;
Wines; Housekeeping; Marketing; Human
Resources; etc
Revealed Case Studies
 more complex and inter/cross-disciplinary,
encouraging consideration of broader
managerial, international and cultural
perspectives
 usually require research, secondary data
collection, calculations, preparation of
budgets et al. and written responses
May be used for open book examinations/
assessments if not in public domain
Case Study 1: Missing Luggage (Non-revealed)
A tourist group from Germany was accommodated in the Hotel Classica in Riga
for one night and they had to leave at 7 o’clock in the morning. To ensure a
quick check out and luggage pick up procedure, a receptionist asked all
tourists to place their luggage in the corridor in front of their room doors
before breakfast. The luggage would be collected by the bellboy and placed in
the bus. After breakfast the guests went to their rooms, took their hand
luggage, made sure that they had not left anything and went to the bus. The
procedure was, as always, well organised and one group of tourists
complimented the hotel staff on a job well done.
Five hours later the Classica hotel received a desperate telephone call from a
hotel in Vilnius where the group had just arrived. The message was that one of
the guests from the Classica room 507 had complained about missing luggage.
Following this call, a serious investigation began in the hotel, but no luggage
was found and everybody was puzzled about this situation.
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Case Study 1: Missing Luggage (Non-revealed)
 What do you think happened to the missing luggage?
Some hours later a receptionist received a telephone call from room 506.
A Finnish guest informed her that he has a large suitcase in his room but it did
not belong to him. During a conversation with the Finnish guest he recollected
that he had returned from a party in the early hours of the morning a bit tipsy.
He saw a suitcase near his door, was surprised and thought: “What is a
suitcase was doing outside my room?” so he took it inside and went to bed.
The missing luggage was immediately transported to Vilnius.
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Case Study 1: Missing Luggage (Non-revealed)
 Work individually and then discuss with neighbour
(5+5 mins)
 Why did the problem of the missing luggage occur?
 How should the luggage collection procedures for groups be
organised to avoid such a situation in future?
 What security improvements should be made in the future?
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Case Study 1: Missing Luggage (Non-revealed)

Work individually and then discuss with neighbour
(5+5 mins)

Why did the problem of the missing luggage occur?

How should the luggage collection procedures for groups
be organised to avoid such a situation in future?

What security improvements should be made in the
future?
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Points for discussion:
 Procedures for, and responsibilities of, the bellboy
and the receptionist
 Luggage control for departing groups
 Future practice
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Case study 2: Wings of Heaven (Revealed)
Activities
Critically evaluate Wing’s approach to developing
Wings of Heaven, strategically and from a marketing
perspective.
Identify the challenges that face him now.
Suggest ways forward for him, with reasons.
Recommended Reading and Points for Discussion
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Format:
A4 paper; Font: Garamond; Margins: Top and
bottom 1", Left 1.6", Right 0.5"; Spacing 1.5"
For example:
 Title (16 font bold)
 By Your name (12 font bold)
 Insert text (12 font) with any tables/diagrams inserted at
appropriate position in text
 Question(s) for students (12 font bold italics)
 Points for discussion (12 font bold) (Will be in separate section at
the end of the book)
 You may also include further information to assist with the
discussion/problem solving.
Format for Case Study

non-revealed cases pose at least one question for consideration
followed by a series of points for discussion to initiate and/or follow
debate further information may be added

revealed cases involve one or more follow-up activities, for example:
debate; information collection; further projects; letter writing;
report writing; and making presentations

may suggest whether suitable for individual and/or group
participation

encourage practical problem-solving approach to achieve learning
outcomes; variable levels of difficulty; different types of questions
and activities such as researching, collecting and processing
information and brain-storming e.ineson@mmu.ac.uk
Format for Case Study
Thank you for listening
Any questions?