The Case Study Handbook

The guide all MBAs and exec ed students need.

If you're enrolled in an MBA or executive education program, you've probably encountered a powerful learning tool: the business case. But if you're like many people, you may find interpreting and writing about cases mystifying and time-consuming. In The Case Study Handbook, Revised Edition, William Ellet presents a potent new approach for efficiently analyzing, discussing, and writing about cases. Early chapters show how to classify cases according to the analytical task they require (making a decision, performing an evaluation, or diagnosing a problem) and quickly establish a base of knowledge about a case. Strategies and templates, in addition to several sample Harvard Business School cases, help you apply the author's framework. Later in the book, Ellet shows how to write persuasive case-analytical essays based on the process laid out earlier. Examples of effective writing further reinforce the methods. The book also includes a chapter on how to talk about cases more effectively in class. Any current or prospective MBA or executive education student needs this guide.

About the Author

William Ellet has worked with Harvard MBA students on writing for over 23 years. He taught a second-year course on writing, the writing portion of the school's pre-MBA program, for 15 years and has given many presentations on reading and writing about cases in the MBA and Executive Education programs. He teaches a required Management Communication course at Brandeis University's International Business School, facilitates case teaching seminars for Harvard Business Publishing, and helps universities in Latin America introduce case teaching to their faculties. He is also a lecturer in the University of Miami Executive Education Athletes and Artists program, in which most of the students are National Football League players.