case study mba programs

MBA Case Studies From Top Business Schools

Where to Find Them

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Many business schools use the case method to teach MBA students how to analyze business problems and develop solutions from a leadership perspective. The case method involves presenting students with case studies , also known as cases, that document a real-life business situation or imagined business scenario.

Cases typically present a problem, issue, or challenge that must be addressed or solved for a business to prosper. For example, a case might present a problem like:

• ABC Company needs to increase sales substantially over the next several years to attract potential buyers.
• U-Rent-Stuff wants to expand but is not sure whether they want to own the locations or franchise them.
• Ralphie's BBQ, a two-person company that makes spices for BBQ products, needs to figure out how to increase production from 1,000 bottles a month to 10,000 bottles a month.

As a business student. you are asked to read the case, analyze the problems that are presented, evaluate underlying issues, and present solutions that address the problem that was presented. Your analysis should include a realistic solution as well as an explanation as to why this solution is the best fit for the problem and the organization's goal. Your reasoning should be supported with evidence that has been gathered through outside research. Finally, your analysis should include specific strategies for accomplishing the solution you have proposed. 

Where to Find MBA Case Studies

The following business schools publish either abstracts or full MBA case studies online. Some of these case studies are free. Others can be downloaded and purchased for a small fee. 

• Harvard Business School Cases - Harvard offers thousands of case studies on every business topic imaginable.
• Darden Business Case Studies - Thousands of MBA case studies from the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia.
• Stanford Case Studies - A searchable database of MBA case studies from Stanford's Graduate School of Business.
• Babson College Case Studies - A large collection of business case studies from the Babson faculty.
• IMD Case Studies - 50 years of case studies from the IMD faculty and research staff.

Using Case Studies

Familiarizing yourself with case studies is a good way to prepare for business school. This will help you familiarize yourself with various components of a case study and allow you to practice putting yourself in the role of a business owner or manager. As you are reading through cases, you should learn how to identify relevant facts and key problems. Be sure to take notes so that you have a list of items and potential solutions that can be researched when you are done reading the case. As you are developing your solutions, make a list of pros and cons for each solution, and above all, make sure the solutions are realistic.

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Case Study Method: 6 MBA programs that are good at it

What is the case study method?

The narrative format of the case-study method allows students to think like CXO on the multidimensional nature of the problem. The points and counterpoints put forward by peers widen the scope of the discussion. Professors ensure that the discussion remains relevant. Before the class, students are required to do additional research, make calculated assumptions, and analyze the 20-30 page long case studies that cover a broad range of contexts and sources, from financials, economic factors, media coverage, and interviews of business leaders. Even before the case study, the small study group will challenge the assumptions, further fine-tuning the argument.

Pioneering the method, Harvard Business School forms the upper tier, with 80% of its curriculum still based on the case method. Darden School of Business, INSEAD, Berkeley Haas, IESE, and Ivey are also in the same league of case-intensive curriculums.

Yale School of Management stands out for its unique spin on case studies by bringing real-world chaos into the study. By using RAW cases – with inconclusive data, market conditions, and trends, Yale MBA students had to make decisions with uncertainty, just like in real life. The high percentage of Consulting placements at Yale could be the direct impact of such a unique experiment.

Schools that are only focussing on Case Study Method as their primary teaching methodology has some disadvantages as we have pointed out in our analysis of Case Study Method vs Experiential Learning . With that caveat, let us look at schools that have pioneered and refined the Case Study Method.

1) Harvard MBA Program

At Harvard Business School, 500 cases are taught throughout the 2-year MBA program with 55% of them globally-oriented to encompass the most current and diverse business problems.

What Makes Harvard Cases Unique

• Depth and Range of the cases • Pre-Class Discussions • Engaging discussions from diverse backgrounds • Strong class (high achievers) and their corresponding perspective

Over 80% of the classes in HBS MBA is taught with his method. By the time a student passes out, he would have analyzed almost two thousand cases, covering hundreds of businesses.  The cases cover various aspects of a business:  Marketing, strategy, leadership, technology and negotiation. Most schools have followed the lead of HBS and have customized their MBA programs accordingly.

2) Darden MBA

Darden is reputed to have among the world’s best collection of multi-disciplinary cases. The school’s strength is in encouraging discussion and debate while reinforcing the learning of the case study where other perspectives come into play.

What Makes Darden Cases Unique

• Class discussions • Active and spontaneous learning • On-spot improvement and review of arguments • Iterative learning through student teams and class

Second, to Harvard Business School, 6 of the top 10 case studies sold in the world came from INSEAD .

Known as 'The Business School for the World', Insead has a collection of cases that is unmatched in the wide variety of countries and cultures it is based on. It focuses on a wide geographical area, covering countries as diverse as India, Kenya, Ukraine, Costa Rica and China. This helps students develop a global perspective about business strategies and decisions.

What Makes INSEAD Cases Unique

• Geographical diversity • 80 new case studies annually

4) Yale School of Management

Yale’s RAW case method has evolved a step further than Harvard’s case study method. Utilizing the merits of modern technology, the RAW case method encourages non-linear thinking. It enables students to select and synthesize information, gauging the depth of the research they wish to conduct.

What Makes Yale Cases Unique

• Real-time news and information • Non-linear learning • Synthesize information from a variety of channels • Co-taught by faculty from different disciplines

The case method is utilized in the curriculum on a regular basis, strengthening their student’s foundation in core management skills

What Makes IVEY Cases Unique

•  Regular practice of the case method •  Iterative learning through student teams and during class

IESE has the upper hand in tech-driven case studies and in presenting cases that could be adopted anywhere in the world regardless of the culture or geography

What Makes IESE Cases Unique

• Present serious dilemmas. • Universal appeal • General management focus

Although a much better methodology than lecture-based teaching, the Case Study method has the danger of generalization and accidentally incorporating implicit biases based on the author’s worldview. The discussions need to be rewarded for deeper questions that could tilt the balance against the primary assumptions of the case.

Uncertainty and Risks factored into the engagements like Yale’s Raw case approach should be a standard. Additionally, MBAs must be taught to question the origin and context of the information they are consuming.

Despite the weaknesses, an approach like the case-study method that brings the fear of cold calling and grades that are highly dependent on the answers in the class has no alternatives to build a fully engaged class.

Read: Experiential Learning, which would be the next biggest advancement in management education .

Winning MBA Essay Guide  = Harvard + Stanford + Wharton + Columbia + Booth + MIT + Kellogg + Darden + Yale + NYU Stern + Haas + Ross + Duke Fuqua + INSEAD + LBS + Tuck  Essay Tips and 245+ Sample Essays + Leadership Narratives + Editing Techniques + Storytelling Tips + Video Essay Scripts + Curriculum Analysis of each MBA program for the Why MBA Question

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• INSEAD MBA Essay Guide (19 Sample Essays) (New!)
• Darden MBA Essay Guide  (21 Sample Essays)   (New!)
• Yale SOM MBA Essay Guide (15 Sample Essays) (New!)
• Tuck MBA Essay Guide (15 Sample Essays) (New!)
• Haas MBA Essay Guide (18 Sample Essays) (New!)
• NYU Stern MBA Essay Guide (15 Sample Essays + 6 Examples - Visual Essay) (New!)
• LBS MBA Essay Guide (6 Sample Essays) (New!)
• MIT Sloan MBA Essay Guide (6 Sample Cover Letters + 3 Sample Video Statement Scripts + 3 Sample Optional Essays) (New!)
• Kellogg MBA Essay Guide (11 Sample Essays) (New!)
• Chicago Booth MBA Essay Guide (12 Sample Essays) (New!)
• Ross MBA Essay Guide (31 Sample Essays) (New!)
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Stanford MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) 

• Sample Why Stanford MBA Essay (Consulting)(396 words)     
• Sample Why Stanford MBA Essay (Tech Entrepreneur) (389 words)     
• Sample Why Stanford MBA: Career Switching (Finance to Green Energy Consulting) (388 Words)     
• Sample Why Stanford MBA: Career Switching (Private Equity to Operations) (384 Words)     
• Sample Why Stanford MBA: Career Switching (Industry and Function – Oil & Gas to Consulting in Operations) (389 Words)    
• Sample Why Stanford MBA: Career Switching (Design Engineer in Automobiles to Managing the Products of the Future) (391 Words)    
• Sample Why Stanford MBA: Career Switching (Accounting to Private Equity) (395 Words)     
• Sample Why Stanford MBA: Dual Degree (MBA and Public Policy) (380 Words)     
• Sample Why Stanford MBA: Dual Degree (Investment Banking to Venture Capital) (393 Words)     
• Sample Why Stanford MBA:  NASA Missions to Mitigating Risks of Global Flooding (393 Words)     
• Sample Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (613 Words)(Balance in Life)     
• Sample Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (645 Words)(Veterans PTSD and Healing)    
• Sample Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (649 Words)(Vulnerability and Learning)    
• Sample Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (642 Words)(Education and Investment)     
• Sample Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (602 Words)(Freedom and Commitment)     
• Sample Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (646 Words)(Savor Every Moment and Be Present)     
• Sample Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (632 Words)(Power of Restlessness)     
• Sample Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (619 Words)( The Slums, A Tragedy and the Search for a Systemic Solution)     
• Sample Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (640 Words)(Privilege to Serving the Most Vulnerable)     
• Sample Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (Generative AI, Bias, and Safety) (649 Words)     
• Sample Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (Truth from Interpreting Right, Left, and Centre Narratives) (648 Words)    
• Sample Stanford MBA Positive IMPACT Optional Essay (Flexible Hours for Working Mothers)(200 Words)    
• Sample Stanford MBA Positive IMPACT Optional Essay (Cross-Functional Collaboration to Mitigate a Toxic Culture) (192 Words)    
• Sample Stanford MBA Positive IMPACT Optional Essay (Introduced Analytics for monitoring performance) (200 Words)   

Download Stanford MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (24 Sample Essays)

Harvard MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – The Power of Community (Private Equity Applicant) (781 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Entrepreneurship as an Identity and supporting minority Entrepreneurs (664 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Following Passion and consciously challenging oneself (711 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Life Starts at No (618 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Establishing a Cooperative and Transforming Rural Telecom (695 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Small Business Values during COVID crisis (852 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Military and the search for IMPACT (826 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Numbers to Healthcare Entrepreneurship (820 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – The American Dream and Harvard’s Peers (662 Words)    
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay - Volunteering (Marketing in Volunteering) (Mental Health Awareness) (758 Words)    
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay - Stoic Disregard for Setbacks and value of Freedom (636 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Consulting vs. the Power of Data (535 Words)    
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Guilt of working in the Oil & Gas Industry (592 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Breaking Away from Family Business (607 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Trauma, Healing and Finding Authentic Self (843 Words)    
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Crypto As a Tool for Good (687 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Finding Creative Solution in Scarcity (834 Words)    
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Passion vs. Talent (882 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Starting Over Again (861 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Gaming for Good (840 Words)    

Download Harvard MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (20 Sample Essays)

Chicago Booth MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Booth Goals Essay #1: Oil & Gas to Consulting (474 Words)   
• Sample Booth Goals Essay #2: Social IMPACT to Marketing (469 Words)   
• Sample Booth Goals Essay #3: Accounting to Entrepreneurship (490 Words)   
• Sample Booth Goals Essay #4: Technology (Programming to Product Development) (493 Words)   
• Sample Booth Goals Essay #5: Media Sales to Consulting (Food and Beverages Industry) (522 Words)   
• Sample Booth Goals Essay #6: Economic Development to IMPACT investing (586 Words)   
• Sample Booth Tell Us who you are:Father’s Restaurant Business and Leadership (451 Words)
• Sample Booth Tell Us who you are: Teaching and Scientific Temperament as a Virtue (654 Words)   
• Sample Booth Tell Us who you are: Learning from Tragedy (610 Words)   
• Sample Booth Tell Us who you are: Risk Taking and Learning (Reimagining the Food Supply Chain)(628 Words)   
• Sample Booth Tell Us who you are: Nature or Nurture (Hunting and Conservationism) (497 Words)   
• Sample Booth Tell Us who you are: Single Parent and Entrepreneurship (631 Words)

Download Chicago Booth MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (12 Sample Essays)

Columbia MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Columbia Goals Essay 1: Enterprise Technology to Consumer Marketing (495 Words)
• Sample Columbia Goals Essay 2: Healthcare (Finance to Consulting) (499 Words)    
• Sample Columbia Goals Essay 3: FinTech (Product Manager to Strategy) (473 Words)    
• Sample Columbia Goals Essay 4: IMPACT Investing (Accounting to IMPACT Investing) (447 Words)    
• Sample Columbia Goals Essay 5: Digital Strategy – Media Technology (Journalism to Media Tech) (454 Words)    
• Sample Columbia Goals Essay 6: Scaling Boutique Investment Management Firm (492 Words)    
• Sample Columbia PPIL Essay: Onboarding a non-traditional Candidate (243 Words)    
• Sample Columbia PPIL Essay: Changing Biases in the Algorithm (244 Words)    
• Sample Columbia PPIL Essay: Improving Women’s Success Potential (Oil & Gas Industry) (245 Words)    
• Sample Columbia PPIL Essay: Recommending Unionization (Railway Project) (250 Words)    
• Sample Columbia PPIL Essay: Recommending Social Media Controls (Liberal Applicant with Conservative peers) (247 Words)    
• Sample Columbia Fit Essay: Value from NYC (246 Words)    
• Sample Columbia Fit Essay: Auto Manufacturer (Family Business – Value from EIR) (249 Words)    
• Sample Columbia Fit Essay: Unique Insights from Mentors (250 Words)    
• Sample Columbia Fit Essay: Strategic Direction for a Once in a lifetime Opportunity (249 Words)    
• Sample Columbia Fit Essay: Real Estate Development with ESG Goals and Columbia EIR’s Expertise (242 Words)    
• Sample Columbia MBA Leader I admire Essay #1 (Tech Entrepreneur) (286 Words)
• Sample Columbia MBA Leader I admire Essay #2 (Father) (275 Words)    
• Sample Columbia MBA Leader I admire Essay #3 (Mother) (279 Words)    
• Sample Columbia MBA Leader I admire Essay #4 (Math Teacher) (289 Words)    
• Sample Columbia MBA Leader I admire Essay #5 (Co-Founder) (285 Words)   

Download Columbia MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (21 Sample Essays)

Wharton MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 1: What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? (Consulting to Finance) (493 words)    
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 2: What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? (VC to Consulting (Healthcare))(477 Words)    
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 3: What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? (Business Development to Finance (Non-Profit in Energy))(495 Words)
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 4: What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? (Digital Marketing to Marketing Strategy) (498 Words)    
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 5: What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? General Management (Consulting – Building a Strong Management Fundamentals and International Perspective)(498 Words)    
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 6: What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? IMPACT Investing (Experience Outside Govt. Organizations)(490 Words)    
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 7: What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? (Incubation & Angel Investing to Venture Capital) (471 Words)    
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 8: What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? (Tech Entrepreneur to Product Manager with Strong Business Fundamentals) (497 Words)    
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 9: Math Tutoring and Experimental music’s value for the Wharton Community (388 Words)    
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 10: Non-Profit – Obesity Epidemic and Healthy Lifestyle at Wharton (398 Words)    
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 11: Non-Profit – Energy-Efficient Offices for Start-ups and value of Design Thinking in the Wharton Community (392 Words)
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 12: Non-Profit (Personalized Education for Low-Income Students) (397 Words)    
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 13: Process Innovation in Investment Banking (360 Words)    
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 14: Radical Solution for the Hispanic Community in Philadelphia (400 Words)    
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 15: Climate Change – Shaming to Inclusive Strategy with Empathy (392 Words)  

Download Wharton MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (15 Sample Essays)

MIT Sloan MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Cover Letter – Technology to Consulting (284 Words)
• Sample Cover Letter – Healthcare Entrepreneurship (297 Words)
• Sample Cover Letter – Consulting to Technology (298 Words)
• Sample Cover Letter – Wealth Management to FinTech (299 Words)
• Sample Cover Letter – Manufacturing to Consulting (Retail) (299 Words)
• Sample Cover Letter – Strategy to Consulting (297 Words)
• Sample Video Statement – Technology Consultant with the ambition to transform Education (161 Words)
• Sample Video Statement - Accounting Professional with a unique patent (142 Words)
• Sample Video Statement – Oil & Gas Professional with a passion for Flying and Exploration(152 Words)
• Sample MIT World Shaped Who You Are Essay – Homeschooling (248 Words)    
• Sample MIT World Shaped Who You Are Essay – War Trauma (242 Words)    
• Sample MIT World Shaped Who You Are Essay – Military Upbringing (242 Words)    

Download MIT MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (12 Sample Cover Letters and Essays)

Haas MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Haas What Makes you feel Alive (Start-up in Cryptocurrency) (291 Words)    
• Sample Haas What Makes you feel Alive (Design as a tool for Change) (296 Words)    
• Sample Haas What Makes you feel Alive (Flying and AI in Healthcare)(299 Words)    
• Sample Haas What Makes you Feel Alive (Learning, Failing and Prototyping)(289 Words)    
• Sample Haas What Makes you feel Alive (Affordable Education and Satellite Technology) (271 Words)    
• Sample Haas What Makes you feel Alive (Future-Proofing the Underprivileged) (Climate Change) (299 Words)    
• Sample Haas Career Goals Essay (Technology Consulting to Strategy) (284 Words)    
• Sample Haas Career Goals Essay (Product Management to Venture Capital in AI) (293 Words)    
• Sample Haas Career Goals Essay (Corporate Finance to Consulting) (292 Words)    
• Sample Berkeley Haas Embody Four Defining Principles Video Essay (Team Building – Technology) (Questioning Status Quo & Beyond Yourself) (277 Words)
• Sample Berkeley Haas Embody Four Defining Principles Video Essay (Student Always) (Adaptability, IMPACT Oriented and Intellectual Curiosity) (276 Words)    
• Sample Berkeley Haas Embody Four Defining Principles Video Essay (Beyond Yourself) (Adaptability, IMPACT Oriented and Intellectual Curiosity) (247 Words)    
• Sample Berkeley Haas Embody Four Defining Principles Video Essay (Confidence Without Attitude) (Adaptability, and IMPACT Oriented) (287 Words)    50
• Sample Berkeley Haas Embody Four Defining Principles Video Essay (Question the Status Quo) (Adaptability, Leveraging Power for Good and Impact-Oriented) (216 Words)    
• Sample Berkeley Haas Embody Four Defining Principles Video Essay (Beyond Yourself) (Adaptability and Leveraging Power for Good) (294 Words)
• Sample Haas MBA Essay on DEI  (Building Inclusive Teams to Address Domestic Violence Among Native Americans)  (300 Words)    
• Sample Haas MBA Essay on DEI  (Silicon Valley and Black Entrepreneurs) (295 Words)    
• Sample Haas MBA Essay on DEI (DEI in Design) (298 Words)   

Download Haas MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (18 Sample Essays)

Yale SOM MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Yale SOM Commitment MBA Essay: Business Development (Mobile Phone Start-Up)(474 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Commitment MBA Essay: Investment Banking  and Teaching (499 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Commitment MBA Essay: Consulting and Listening (413 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Commitment MBA Essay: Technology and Commitment to Learning (438 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Commitment MBA Essay: Marketing (489 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Commitment MBA Essay: Entrepreneurship (497 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Commitment MBA Essay: IMPACT Investing (479 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Commitment MBA Essay: Oil & Gas to Clean Energy (Consulting) (435 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Commitment MBA Essay: Angel Investing and Rural Entrepreneurship (490 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Community MBA Essay: Mental Health and Fitness Community(498 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Community MBA Essay: Neighborhood as a Community (496 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Community MBA Essay: Library as a Community Space (489 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Significant Challenge MBA Essay: Scarcity to Growth Mindset (486 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Significant Challenge MBA Essay: COVID-19 Vaccine Development (498 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Significant Challenge MBA Essay: Leadership in Startup to Leadership in Fortune 500  (496 Words)   

Download Yale MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (15 Sample Essays)

Ross MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)   Prompt 1: I want people to know that I    

• Sample MBA Essay: Finance Professional who was a former member of a rock band (89 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: Marketing Professional with a hidden talent to do Impression (80 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: Life Philosophy through the prism of an Entrepreneurial failure (88 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: Overcoming the Fear of Speaking in front of an Audience (97 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: Communicating Inconvenient Truth (99 Words)    

Prompt 2: I made a difference when I    

• Sample MBA Essay: Consulting for a Pharma Giant (Made a Difference) (97 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: Three-Level Sanitation Campaign (95 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: Water Conservation Kit (84 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay:  Book Donation and Its IMPACT (91 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay:  Parental Leave and Flexible Time (96 Words)    

Prompt 3: I was aware that I was different when    

• Sample MBA Essay: I am aware that I am different (Leadership and Culture) (91 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: I am aware that I am different (Technology Project and Last-minute change) (91 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: I am aware that I am different (Making Business metrics relevant to a Creative team) (83 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: I am aware that I am different (Feedback seeking) (81 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: I am aware that I am different (Challenging Established Way of Thinking) (100 Words)    

Prompt 1: I am out of my comfort zone when    

• Sample MBA Essay: Out of my comfort zone(extra-curricular) (85 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: Out of my comfort zone (Daily Science Show) (100 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: Simplifying Operations for Manufacturing (extra-curricular) (88 Words)    

Prompt 2: I was humbled when    

• Sample MBA Essay: Losing client (96 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: Misreading Market Conditions (88 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: Strategic Planning vs. Tactical Dominance in Chess (93 Words)    

Prompt 3: I was challenged when    

• Sample MBA Essay: I was challenged when (Change in Scope) (100 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: I was challenged when (Team Failed) (98 Words)    

Pick One Thing from your Resume and Tell us More

• Sample Essay – Pick One Thing from your resume and tell us more (Consulting for Small Business During COVID) (100 Words)
• Sample Essay – Pick One Thing from your resume and tell us more (Negotiating Design Changes – Cross-functional and Global communication) (100 Words)    
• Sample Essay – Pick One Thing from your resume and tell us more (Entrepreneurship) (100 Words)    
• Sample Essay – Pick One Thing from your resume and tell us more (Event Organization – During COVID) (99 Words)    
• Sample Essay – Pick One Thing from your resume and tell us more (First Job – Career Switcher BA in English to Investment Management) (100 Words)

Short-Term Goals Essay

• Sample Essay – Short-term Goals and why the goal is the right choice for you (Private Investment as a Tool for Change) (150 Words)    
• Sample Essay – Short-term Goals and why the goal is the right choice for you (Education to Consulting) (150 Words)    
• Sample Essay – Short-term Goals and why the goal is the right choice for you (Software Development to Sales to Marketing) (148 Words)  

  Download Ross MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (31 Sample Essays)

  Darden MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Darden MBA Essay – About you Not in Resume (100 Words) (Near Death Experience)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay – About you Not in Resume  (100 Words) (Passion and Networking)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay – About you Not in Resume (100 Words) (Persistence)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay – About you Not in Resume (95 Words) (Climate Change – A Uniting theme)
• Sample Darden MBA Essay – About you Not in Resume (96 Words) (Science Fiction)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay – Inclusive Leadership (Revamping Recruitment Process) (298 Words)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay – Inclusive Leadership (Obesity and Hunger) (Rural America) (272 Words)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay – Inclusive Leadership (Decoding Vaccine Hesitation) (298 Words)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay – Inclusive Leadership (Team Diversity)(297 Words)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay – Inclusive Leadership (Interpreting a foreign culture) (258 Words)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay – Leadership (First Leadership Lesson) (289 Words)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay: Short-term Post-MBA career goal and align long-term vision (197 words) (Technology to Consulting and Boutique Consulting)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay: Short-term Post-MBA career goal and align long-term vision (200 words)  (Product Management and CEO)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay: Short-term Post-MBA career goal and align long-term vision (200 words) (Investment Banking to Private Equity)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay: Short-term Post-MBA career goal and align long-term vision (199 words)  (Strategy Consulting – Change in Industry)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay: Short-term Post-MBA career goal and align long-term vision (197 words) (Operations to Corporate Finance)    
• Sample Essay – Where you want to go with Darden (47 Words) (Uganda)    
• Sample Essay – Where you want to go with Darden (49 Words) (Sweden)    
• Sample Essay – Where you want to go with Darden (48 Words) (China)    
• Sample Essay – Where you want to go with Darden (49 Words) (Israel)    
• Sample Essay – Where you want to go with Darden (50 Words) (Germany)    

  Download Darden MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (21 Sample Essays)

Duke Fuqua MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Duke Fuqua Post-MBA Career Goals (90 Words) (Product Marketing for FinTech start-up)    
• Sample Duke Fuqua Post-MBA Career Goals (98 Words)(Financial Consulting to Management Consulting)    
• Sample Duke Fuqua Post-MBA Career Goals (100 Words) (IB to Entrepreneurship)    
• Sample Duke Fuqua Post-MBA Career Goals (95 Words) (ML to Marketing)  
• Sample Duke Fuqua Post-MBA Career Goals (100 Words) (Healthcare to Retail)   
• 25 Random Things: Chinese Female Engineer     
• 25 Random Things: Indian Product Manager with Strong Community Engagement
• Sample Duke Fuqua Essay: The Fuqua community and you (Consulting) (Max 1 Page) (279 Words)    
• Sample Duke Fuqua Essay: The Fuqua community and you (Max 1 Page) (Education Club) (295 Words)    
• Sample Duke Fuqua Essay: The Fuqua community and you (Performance-Based Micropayments) (Max 1 Page) (256 Words)    
• Sample Duke Fuqua Essay: The Fuqua community and you (Transforming Grant Making for a Family Foundation) (Max 1 Page) (300 Words)    
• Sample Duke Fuqua Essay: The Fuqua community and you (Addressing Bias in Patient Experience) (Max 1 Page) (299 Words)  

  Download Duke Fuqua MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (12 Sample Essays)

NYU Stern MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample NYU Stern Essay: Short-Term Career Goals (150 Words) (Finance)    
• Sample NYU Stern Essay: Short-Term Career Goals (146 Words) (Consulting)    
• Sample NYU Stern Essay: Short-term Career Goals (148 Words)(Product Management)    
• Sample NYU Stern Essay: Short-Term Career Goals (149 Words)(Marketing Consulting – Fortune 500 New Media Companies)    
• Sample NYU Stern Essay: Short-Term Career Goals (150 Words)(Retail Family Business to Luxury)    
• Sample NYU Stern Change Essay: Dare It (Finance Candidate – Immigrant Family) (350 Words)    
• Sample NYU Stern Change Essay: Dare It (Communication Gap Around Mandate to Return to Office – Investment Banker) (347 Words)  
• Sample NYU Stern Change Essay: Dream It (Consultant – Understanding long-term Goal and Personal Fears) (334 Words)    
• Sample NYU Stern Change Essay: Dream It (EdTech Non-Profit Serving Cincinnati) (349 Words)    
• Sample NYU Stern Change Essay: Drive It (Entrepreneurial Thinking – Fortune 500 Company)(340 Words)    
• Sample NYU Stern Change Essay: Drive It (Sports Injury to Media Startup)(348 Words)    
• Sample NYU Stern Change Essay: Empower It (Healthy Eating for SNAP beneficiaries)(347 Words)    
• Sample NYU Stern Change Essay: Empower It (FinTech and Behavioral Metrics in Non-Profit)(346 Words)
• Sample NYU Stern Change Essay: Manifest It (Helping Junior Bankers Manage Mental & Physical Health) (338 Words)    
• Sample NYU Stern Change Essay: Manifest It (Addressing Homelessness Among Teenagers in Baltimore) (346 Words)  

Download NYU Stern MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (15 Sample Essays + 6 Visual Essay Examples)

Kellogg MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Essay 1: Demonstrated Leadership, the challenges you faced and Skills Used (Marketing) (425 Words)    
• Sample Essay 2: Demonstrated Leadership, the challenges you faced and Skills Used (Technology) (450 Words)    
• Sample Essay 3: Demonstrated Leadership, the challenges you faced and Skills Used (Non-Profit) (441 Words)    
• Sample Essay 4: Demonstrated Leadership, the challenges you faced and Skills Used (Product Manager) (437 Words)    
• Sample Essay 5: Demonstrated Leadership, the challenges you faced and Skills Used (Addressing IMPLICIT Biases IN VC Community) (447 Words)    
• Sample Essay 6: Demonstrated Leadership, the challenges you faced and what you learned (Leadership in Digitization) (447 Words)
• Sample Essay #1: Diverse Leaders. Enrich Kellogg Community Essay? (Inclusive Hiring) (440 Words)    
• Sample Essay #2: Diverse Leaders. Enrich Kellogg Community Essay? (Courage and Changing a Corrupt Culture) (440 Words)    
• Sample Essay #3: Diverse Leaders. Enrich Kellogg Community Essay? (Empathetic Intervention and Consulting) (440 Words)    
• Sample Essay #4: Diverse Leaders. Enrich Kellogg Community Essay? (Creative Leadership and Technology) (440 Words)    
• Sample Essay #5: Diverse Leaders. Enrich Kellogg Community Essay? (Open Mindedness - Team Management and Sales Call) (440 Words)    

Download Kellogg MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (11 Sample Essays)

Tuck MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Why Tuck MBA Essay One: Oil & Gas to Sustainability (288 Words)    
• Sample Why Tuck MBA Essay Two: Marketing to Branding (284 Words)    
• Sample Why Tuck MBA Essay Three: Investment Banking to Consulting (263 Words)    
• Sample Why Tuck MBA Essay Four: VC to Consulting (291 Words)    
• Sample Why Tuck MBA Essay Five: Technology to Research to General Management (281 Words)    
• Sample Tuck Who you are Essay One: YouTube Channel and Creative Video Editing (287 Words)    
• Sample Tuck Who you are Essay Two: Early Education and Storytelling (297 Words)    
• Sample Tuck Who you are Essay Three: Music as a Healer (294 Words)    
• Sample Tuck Who you are Essay Four: Breaking AI’s Filter Bubble (289 Words)    
• Sample Tuck Who you are Essay Five: Transforming Culture to Empower Women Professionals (295 Words)    
• Sample Tuck Meaningfully contributed sense of inclusion - YouTube Competitor (291 Words)   
• Sample Tuck Meaningfully contributed sense of inclusion - Ethical Mistake (Second chance) (299 Words)    
• Sample Tuck Meaningfully contributed sense of inclusion - Deal Novice in Billion $ Transaction (293 Words)    
• S ample Tuck Meaningfully contributed sense of inclusion - Xenophobia (279 Words)   
• Sample Tuck Meaningfully contributed sense of inclusion - Overcoming personal Challenges of a teammate as a Manager (282 Words)   

Download Tuck MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (15 Sample Essays)

INSEAD MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Essay 1: Summarize Current job Nature of work Major Responsibilities (200 Words)    
• Sample Essay 2: Next Position if Remain in Same Company (198 Words)
• Sample Essay 3: Description of your Career since Graduating University (183 Words)    
• Sample Essay 4: Short-Term and Long-Term Career Aspiration (Technology to Consulting) (200 Words)    
• Sample Essay 5: Candid Description, Strengths & Weaknesses (Marketing Lead) (500 Words)    
• Sample Essay 6: Candid Description, Strengths & Weaknesses (Consulting to Product Development) (491 Words)    
• Sample Essay 7: Achievements and Failures (399 Words) (Technology Consultant)    
• Sample Essay 8: Achievement and Failure (397 Words) (International Relations) (Negotiations)    
• Sample Essay 9: Achievement and Failure (395 Words) (Woman and Non-Traditional background in IB)    
• Sample Essay 10: Achievement and Failure (394 Words) (VC)    
• Sample Essay 11: Extra-Curricular and How enriched you are (274 Words) (Hiking and Vlogging)    
• Sample Essay 12: Extra-Curricular and How enriched you are (296 Words) (Improv Acting)    
• Sample Essay 13: Extra-Curricular and How enriched you are (292 Words) (NASA and Scientific Thinking)    
• Sample Essay 14: Extra-Curricular and How enriched you are (299 Words) (M&A and Orchestra)    
• Sample INSEAD Video Essay 15 – What do you know about INSEAD MBA (183 Words)    
• Sample INSEAD Video Essay 16 – Response to Team’s Underperformance (176 Words)    
• Sample INSEAD Video Essay 17 – Work well with a person with differing opinion (169 Words)    
• Sample INSEAD Video Essay 18 – Success for me in a Career (158 Words)    
• Sample INSEAD Video Essay 19 – Unethical Leadership (194 Words)     

Download INSEAD MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (19 Sample Essays)

Cambridge MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Cambridge MBA Essay 1: Goals (467 Words) (Technology to Finance)   
• Sample Cambridge MBA Essay 2: Goals (499 Words) (Sales to Consulting)   
• Sample Cambridge MBA Essay 3: Goals (429 Words) (Technology)   
• Sample Cambridge MBA Essay – Difficult Decision – Learn and Changed as a Result(188 words) (Marketing)   
• Sample Cambridge MBA Essay - Difficult Decision – Looking Beyond Data (199 words) (Reducing Open Defecation and the complexity of cultural beliefs)   
• Sample Cambridge MBA Essay - Difficult Decision – Choosing Crypto over Investment Banking (199 words)   
• Sample Cambridge MBA Essay – Teamwork and lessons learned (195 words) (Leading a Dysfunctional team)   
• Sample Cambridge MBA Essay – Teamwork and lessons learned (199 words) (Exposure to International Culture)   
• Sample Cambridge MBA Essay – Teamwork and lessons learned (197 words) (Not Recognizing Strategic Objective)   
• Sample Cambridge MBA Essay – Advice to 18-year old Self (196 words) (Avoid Alcohol)
• Sample Cambridge MBA Essay – Advice to 18-year old Self (187 words) (Creative Career to Banking)   
• Sample Cambridge MBA Essay – Advice to 18-year old Self (200 words) (Friends and Purpose)

Download Cambridge MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (12 Sample Essays)

  London Business School MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample LBS MBA Essay: Post-MBA Goals  (489 Words)(Technology to Consulting)
• Sample LBS MBA Essay: Post-MBA Goals (493 Words)(Hospitality to Consulting)
• Sample LBS MBA Essay: Post-MBA Goals  (500 Words)(Government/Non-Profit to Technology)
• Sample LBS MBA Essay: Post-MBA Goals  (495 Words)(Medical Doctor to Investment Banking)
• Sample LBS MBA Essay: Post-MBA Goals  (458 Words)(Wealth Management to Product Management)
• Sample LBS MBA Essay: Post-MBA Goals  (488 Words)(Risk Management to Operations)

Download LBS MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (6 Sample Essays)

What is the Case Study Method?

Overview Dropdown up

Overview dropdown down, celebrating 100 years of the case method at hbs.

The 2021-2022 academic year marks the 100-year anniversary of the introduction of the case method at Harvard Business School. Today, the HBS case method is employed in the HBS MBA program, in Executive Education programs, and in dozens of other business schools around the world. As Dean Srikant Datar's says, the case method has withstood the test of time.

Case Discussion Preparation Details Expand All Collapse All

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How Cases Unfold In the Classroom

How cases unfold in the classroom dropdown up, how cases unfold in the classroom dropdown down, preparation guidelines expand all collapse all, read the professor's assignment or discussion questions read the professor's assignment or discussion questions dropdown down, read the first few paragraphs and then skim the case read the first few paragraphs and then skim the case dropdown down, reread the case, underline text, and make margin notes reread the case, underline text, and make margin notes dropdown down, note the key problems on a pad of paper and go through the case again note the key problems on a pad of paper and go through the case again dropdown down, how to prepare for case discussions dropdown up, how to prepare for case discussions dropdown down, read the professor's assignment or discussion questions, read the first few paragraphs and then skim the case, reread the case, underline text, and make margin notes, note the key problems on a pad of paper and go through the case again, case study best practices expand all collapse all, prepare prepare dropdown down, discuss discuss dropdown down, participate participate dropdown down, relate relate dropdown down, apply apply dropdown down, note note dropdown down, understand understand dropdown down, case study best practices dropdown up, case study best practices dropdown down, participate, what can i expect on the first day dropdown down.

Most programs begin with registration, followed by an opening session and a dinner. If your travel plans necessitate late arrival, please be sure to notify us so that alternate registration arrangements can be made for you. Please note the following about registration:

HBS campus programs – Registration takes place in the Chao Center.

India programs – Registration takes place outside the classroom.

Other off-campus programs – Registration takes place in the designated facility.

What happens in class if nobody talks? Dropdown down

Professors are here to push everyone to learn, but not to embarrass anyone. If the class is quiet, they'll often ask a participant with experience in the industry in which the case is set to speak first. This is done well in advance so that person can come to class prepared to share. Trust the process. The more open you are, the more willing you’ll be to engage, and the more alive the classroom will become.

Does everyone take part in "role-playing"? Dropdown down

Professors often encourage participants to take opposing sides and then debate the issues, often taking the perspective of the case protagonists or key decision makers in the case.

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5 Benefits of Learning Through the Case Study Method

• 28 Nov 2023

While several factors make HBS Online unique —including a global Community and real-world outcomes —active learning through the case study method rises to the top.

In a 2023 City Square Associates survey, 74 percent of HBS Online learners who also took a course from another provider said HBS Online’s case method and real-world examples were better by comparison.

Here’s a primer on the case method, five benefits you could gain, and how to experience it for yourself.

Access your free e-book today.

What Is the Harvard Business School Case Study Method?

The case study method , or case method , is a learning technique in which you’re presented with a real-world business challenge and asked how you’d solve it. After working through it yourself and with peers, you’re told how the scenario played out.

HBS pioneered the case method in 1922. Shortly before, in 1921, the first case was written.

“How do you go into an ambiguous situation and get to the bottom of it?” says HBS Professor Jan Rivkin, former senior associate dean and chair of HBS's master of business administration (MBA) program, in a video about the case method . “That skill—the skill of figuring out a course of inquiry to choose a course of action—that skill is as relevant today as it was in 1921.”

Originally developed for the in-person MBA classroom, HBS Online adapted the case method into an engaging, interactive online learning experience in 2014.

In HBS Online courses , you learn about each case from the business professional who experienced it. After reviewing their videos, you’re prompted to take their perspective and explain how you’d handle their situation.

You then get to read peers’ responses, “star” them, and comment to further the discussion. Afterward, you learn how the professional handled it and their key takeaways.

HBS Online’s adaptation of the case method incorporates the famed HBS “cold call,” in which you’re called on at random to make a decision without time to prepare.

“Learning came to life!” said Sheneka Balogun , chief administration officer and chief of staff at LeMoyne-Owen College, of her experience taking the Credential of Readiness (CORe) program . “The videos from the professors, the interactive cold calls where you were randomly selected to participate, and the case studies that enhanced and often captured the essence of objectives and learning goals were all embedded in each module. This made learning fun, engaging, and student-friendly.”

If you’re considering taking a course that leverages the case study method, here are five benefits you could experience.

5 Benefits of Learning Through Case Studies

1. take new perspectives.

The case method prompts you to consider a scenario from another person’s perspective. To work through the situation and come up with a solution, you must consider their circumstances, limitations, risk tolerance, stakeholders, resources, and potential consequences to assess how to respond.

Taking on new perspectives not only can help you navigate your own challenges but also others’. Putting yourself in someone else’s situation to understand their motivations and needs can go a long way when collaborating with stakeholders.

2. Hone Your Decision-Making Skills

Another skill you can build is the ability to make decisions effectively . The case study method forces you to use limited information to decide how to handle a problem—just like in the real world.

Throughout your career, you’ll need to make difficult decisions with incomplete or imperfect information—and sometimes, you won’t feel qualified to do so. Learning through the case method allows you to practice this skill in a low-stakes environment. When facing a real challenge, you’ll be better prepared to think quickly, collaborate with others, and present and defend your solution.

3. Become More Open-Minded

As you collaborate with peers on responses, it becomes clear that not everyone solves problems the same way. Exposing yourself to various approaches and perspectives can help you become a more open-minded professional.

When you’re part of a diverse group of learners from around the world, your experiences, cultures, and backgrounds contribute to a range of opinions on each case.

On the HBS Online course platform, you’re prompted to view and comment on others’ responses, and discussion is encouraged. This practice of considering others’ perspectives can make you more receptive in your career.

“You’d be surprised at how much you can learn from your peers,” said Ratnaditya Jonnalagadda , a software engineer who took CORe.

In addition to interacting with peers in the course platform, Jonnalagadda was part of the HBS Online Community , where he networked with other professionals and continued discussions sparked by course content.

“You get to understand your peers better, and students share examples of businesses implementing a concept from a module you just learned,” Jonnalagadda said. “It’s a very good way to cement the concepts in one's mind.”

4. Enhance Your Curiosity

One byproduct of taking on different perspectives is that it enables you to picture yourself in various roles, industries, and business functions.

“Each case offers an opportunity for students to see what resonates with them, what excites them, what bores them, which role they could imagine inhabiting in their careers,” says former HBS Dean Nitin Nohria in the Harvard Business Review . “Cases stimulate curiosity about the range of opportunities in the world and the many ways that students can make a difference as leaders.”

Through the case method, you can “try on” roles you may not have considered and feel more prepared to change or advance your career .

5. Build Your Self-Confidence

Finally, learning through the case study method can build your confidence. Each time you assume a business leader’s perspective, aim to solve a new challenge, and express and defend your opinions and decisions to peers, you prepare to do the same in your career.

According to a 2022 City Square Associates survey , 84 percent of HBS Online learners report feeling more confident making business decisions after taking a course.

“Self-confidence is difficult to teach or coach, but the case study method seems to instill it in people,” Nohria says in the Harvard Business Review . “There may well be other ways of learning these meta-skills, such as the repeated experience gained through practice or guidance from a gifted coach. However, under the direction of a masterful teacher, the case method can engage students and help them develop powerful meta-skills like no other form of teaching.”

How to Experience the Case Study Method

If the case method seems like a good fit for your learning style, experience it for yourself by taking an HBS Online course. Offerings span seven subject areas, including:

• Business essentials
• Leadership and management
• Entrepreneurship and innovation
• Finance and accounting
• Business in society

No matter which course or credential program you choose, you’ll examine case studies from real business professionals, work through their challenges alongside peers, and gain valuable insights to apply to your career.

Are you interested in discovering how HBS Online can help advance your career? Explore our course catalog and download our free guide —complete with interactive workbook sections—to determine if online learning is right for you and which course to take.

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What the Case Study Method Really Teaches

• Nitin Nohria

Seven meta-skills that stick even if the cases fade from memory.

It’s been 100 years since Harvard Business School began using the case study method. Beyond teaching specific subject matter, the case study method excels in instilling meta-skills in students. This article explains the importance of seven such skills: preparation, discernment, bias recognition, judgement, collaboration, curiosity, and self-confidence.

During my decade as dean of Harvard Business School, I spent hundreds of hours talking with our alumni. To enliven these conversations, I relied on a favorite question: “What was the most important thing you learned from your time in our MBA program?”

• Nitin Nohria is the George F. Baker Professor of Business Administration, Distinguished University Service Professor, and former dean of Harvard Business School.

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A century of MBA case studies: exacting examples from business life

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Andrew Jack

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

In 1921, Harvard Business School produced its first, single-page mimeographed case study for students (view here and bottom) , about the practical dilemmas faced by managers at the General Shoe Company. Intended to prompt class discussions, the case method has since been adopted by schools around the world as a core part of teaching.

Today, Harvard , Ivey Business School in Canada and The Case Centre are leaders among 50 producers and distributors of thousands of cases, of which millions of copies are sold annually. They are written by a growing number of institutions, in formats including video, describing challenges on an ever broader range of issues, geographies and protagonists.

Below is an abstract of one of Harvard’s most recent cases, on the African media company EbonyLife.

One unusually quiet morning in Lagos, Nigeria in December 2020, Mosunmola “Mo” Abudu, founder and chief executive of EbonyLife Media and one of Africa’s biggest names in the business, brought her laptop to work on the rooftop patio of EbonyLife Place, the company’s flagship lifestyle and entertainment resort.

Founded by Abudu in 2012 with a mission to bring high-quality African stories to the world, EbonyLife was the company behind many of Nigeria’s biggest movies and television shows. It began with a linear TV channel on the Africa-wide direct broadcast satellite service DStv. By 2020, it had produced more than 5,000 hours of TV content and Nigeria’s top-three highest grossing movies.

With a desire for greater control over production and following the end of its relationship with DStv, EbonyLife launched EbonyLife ON (EL ON), an on-demand streaming service. However, it struggled to grow the number of EL ON subscribers.

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Find out which schools are in our ranking of MBA degrees . Learn how the table was compiled and read the rest of our coverage at  www.ft.com/mba .

Abudu started to think about whether she should continue fighting to grow EL ON. Should EbonyLife focus instead on co-production deals with international media distributors such as Netflix, Sony and AMC? Abudu, who had been in the media business for nearly 20 years, needed to make this significant decision for EbonyLife.

Her interest in the media and entertainment industry emerged from a desire to correct harmful stereotypes about Africa. Born in London to Nigerian parents, she grew up in the UK and Nigeria. Drawn to African stories, she wanted to address the fact that there was so much the world did not know about Africa. “I think somewhere deeply buried in my subconscious was a need to tell Africa’s story,” she says.

Growing up in the UK, she routinely encountered misconceptions about Africa and was surprised by how they persisted when she was an adult. “The same questions I was being asked in England [40 years ago],” she says, “are the same questions my children were being asked when they went to school in England.” Questions like, “Do you guys live in trees?”

In July 2020, following its exit from DStv, EbonyLife publicly announced EL ON, with plans to make the platform its main distribution channel. While EbonyLife had already created extensive programming, “a lot of that content was consumed on a daily basis and had a very minimal shelf life”, Abudu explains.

She began to explore the new opportunity of co-productions with global partners that would eventually be distributed through Nigerian TV channels. She signed a multi-title co-production deal with Netflix to make several movies and TV series. Partnering with such companies reduced the upfront financial risks of production. But it was difficult to assess the size of the global audience “ Nollywood ” (Nigeria’s Hollywood) films gained because of the reluctance of the international platforms to share viewership data. Also, Nollywood producers could not interact directly with these viewers. As a result, it was difficult for them to learn who had viewed the content and what aspects of the stories the audience had enjoyed, and then use this insight to plan their future productions.

Beyond producing content, EbonyLife sought to build its own media and entertainment ecosystem. It helped grow the pipeline of local talent through a creative academy that enabled students to attend classes free of charge, funded by the Lagos state government. Abudu also believed EbonyLife could grow further by investing more in its audience’s experiences. In December 2019 in Lagos, she opened the multi-purpose resort EbonyLife Place, which included two restaurants, a boutique hotel, five movie theatres, meeting rooms and a larger multipurpose function hall.

A year later, Abudu was at EbonyLife Place to plan for its relaunch after the lifting of pandemic restrictions. However, she faced other pressing concerns. She reflected on her options around how EbonyLife would distribute its content. Was it too early to make judgments about EL ON? What changes should EbonyLife make to EL ON? Equally, she considered the alternative: could she realistically build a sustainable media business just on international partnerships with streaming services? Was there a scenario in which she could keep EL ON operational while pursuing these international partnerships? After two decades in the industry, pivots were no longer quick or painless. Abudu wondered which option she should pursue. 

The above is an adapted abstract of Harvard Business School’s teaching case study EbonyLife Media, written by Andy Wu, Feng Zhu, Wale Lawal and Pippa Tubman Armerding

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Case Teaching Seminar

Register now for our Teaching with Cases Seminar at Harvard Business School, held June 21 - 22 . Learn how to lead case discussions like a pro and earn a certificate from Harvard Business Publishing.

Fundamentals of Case Teaching

Our new, self-paced, online course guides you through the fundamentals for leading successful case discussions at any course level.

Case Companion: Build Students’ Confidence in Case Analysis

Case Companion is an engaging and interactive introduction to case study analysis that is ideal for undergraduates or any student new to learning with cases.

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Supplements: Inside the Case

Teaching tips and insights from case authors.

Guide: Teaching Cases Online

A guide for experienced educators who are new to online case teaching.

Educator Training: Selecting Cases to Use in Your Classes

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Educator Training: Teaching with Cases

Key strategies and practical advice for engaging students using the case method.

Frequently Asked Questions

What support can I offer my students around analyzing cases and preparing for discussion?

Case discussions can be a big departure from the norm for students who are used to lecture-based classes. The Case Analysis Coach is an interactive tutorial on reading and analyzing a case study. The Case Study Handbook covers key skills students need to read, understand, discuss and write about cases. The Case Study Handbook is also available as individual chapters to help your students focus on specific skills.

How can I transfer my in-person case teaching plan to an online environment?

The case method can be used in an online environment without sacrificing its benefits. We have compiled a few resources to help you create transformative online learning experiences with the case method. Learn how HBS brought the case method online in this podcast , gather some quick guidance from the article " How to Teach Any Case Online ", review the Teaching Cases Online Guide for a deep dive, and check out our Teaching Online Resources Page for more insights and inspiration.

After 35 years as an academic, I have come to the conclusion that there is a magic in the way Harvard cases are written. Cases go from specific to general, to show students that business situations are amenable to hard headed analysis that then generalize to larger theoretical insights. The students love it! Akshay Rao Professor, General Mills Chair in Marketing at the University of Minnesota

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Consider Instructional Styles When Choosing an MBA Program

Understanding how you will be taught is an important factor when deciding which business school to attend.

Instructional Styles and MBA Programs

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A variety of teaching approaches can be found across business schools and often among individual instructors in a particular program.

The way MBA professors teach – whether through case studies, experiential lessons or lectures – can have a huge impact on a B-school student's experience.

Frank Rothaermel, a professor in the Scheller College of Business at the Georgia Institute of Technology , says students should seek a school that fits their personality and needs. “The individual fit is super important," he says. "I think students should look for an environment of excellence, collaboration, inclusivity and that accepts students for who and what they are.”

Part of fit is understanding how you will be taught at a particular business school , experts say. Caryn Beck-Dudley, president and CEO of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business – the largest accreditor of business schools globally with 1,300 member schools – suggests prospective students ask about teaching styles at each school where they apply.

“If you really like hands-on (learning) and you like to work in teams, you don’t want to go to a school where there’s no classes that do that or just one class does that," she says. "On the other hand, if that’s not a skill you are interested in then you might want to choose someplace else.”

Instructors making the effort to know students individually is key, Rothaermel says. “I know where they came from, what they do and what their aspirations are. You must be flexible and learn as you go along.”

Dalvin Dunn, who earned an MBA at Texas Woman's University in 2020, says he liked being exposed to various teaching styles in the program.

“We would upload videos every week to talk about how we felt about the lecture for the week, the takeaways, what we were lacking, and how we were doing mentally outside of being a student," he recalls. "That all plays into business in a sense. Those are things that stuck with me.”

Teaching Styles of B-School Instructors

Harvard Business School in Massachusetts "would be an exception to that, where everybody teaches the case method ," Beck-Dudley says. "But in most schools, individual faculty teach the style they want to teach – the way they think the students learn. Some professors use interesting simulations where you practice being like a businessperson. You make decisions kind of like gaming, but you can apply the concepts.”

Some instructors prefer to lecture, which “we don’t see as much anymore simply because there are new ways of teaching," Beck-Dudley says. "There's some interesting tutorial work being done, where each individual student is tutored by the faculty member. Students do their work in the speed at which it takes them to learn it.”

Dunn says his MBA instructors were strong teachers with relevant work experience, which enhanced his learning.

“They had the credentials in academia, research and practice,” says Dunn, and when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, "they transitioned to hybrid classes ... but they also kept the more difficult courses – like financial accounting - in person. It was important to tailor the lecture to the student. They even had us voice our opinions and took our suggestions into consideration.”

When it comes to teaching style, "any decent professor must be versatile and audience-dependent," says Rothaermel, a Sloan Industry Studies Fellow and the Russell B. and Nancy H. McDonough Chair in Business at Georgia Tech. "There’s no one tool that fits all needs."

Rothaermel, who has taught at various business schools for 25 years, says he has been using "fully immersive team-based projects" for two decades, since "before it became fashionable."

For these projects, a company sponsors a problem. Students work throughout the semester to solve it "and conclude with an analysis based on the strategist framework they’ve learned," he explains. "These turn out to be mini recruiting events where the company’s representatives come, the students present and there is open Q&A for all the MBA students, then the sponsors have 10 minutes to make corrections."

He describes his classes as having less lecturing, more discussion and more use of the Socratic method, an ancient technique that centers around dialogue fueled by the instructor's probing questions.

“Over the last 10 to 15 years, I’ve moved to a flipped classroom where I require the basics to be done at home and the students are ready to dive into the content when they get to class," Rothaermel says. "I focus not on what to think but how to think. I rarely ever reveal what I think.”

Beck-Dudley adds that choosing the right business school goes beyond matching your personality to a teaching style – it's about all the factors that contribute to a good fit.

“You want to be in a school you feel comfortable in, the teaching methods are there and the coursework matches what you want," she says. "Students should look at themselves, select a program and do a deeper dive on their research about what that school offers. Know what their placement rates are, what their employment rates are, what type of alumni networking they have available so that students get to meet other people in their area. That’s very important in business.”

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This listing contains abstracts and ordering information for case studies written and published by faculty at Stanford GSB.

Publicly available cases in this collection are distributed by Harvard Business Publishing and The Case Centre .

Stanford case studies with diverse protagonists, along with case studies that build “equity fluency” by focusing on DEI-related issues and opportunities are listed in the Case Compendium developed by the Center for Equity, Gender and Leadership at the Berkeley Haas School of Business.

Uber in 2024: From Industry Disruption to Creating Value For All Stakeholders

Dara Khosrowshahi became the CEO of Uber in August 2017, following internal turbulence and serious headwinds related to the company’s governance and reputation. Five short years later, Uber was clearly back on course, building on the success of its…

CEO Crisis in Napa: Laila Tarraf

Intersections in paradise: economics and sustainability in palau, 2024, udemy: the founding story, adobe in 2023: transforming marketing through digital experience.

Adobe, founded in 1982, set out to develop software that would enable high-fidelity digital printing and publishing. A decade later, Adobe PDF quickly became the industry standard for preserving and sharing digital document formatting, fonts, images, and…

GoodLeap, spearheaded by Hayes Barnard, emerges as a pioneering financing platform offering comprehensive solutions for sustainable living, including solar loans, home purchasing, refinancing, and improvement loans. Barnard, with a robust background at…

Seconds to Save Lives with Viz.ai

Ajaib: building a high-growth southeast asian fintech venture, eyes on the prize: eyewa’s mena journey, hijra: building an islamic challenger bank.

Dima Djani founded Hijra in late 2018 to provide digitally-enabled financial services to businesses and consumers who followed Islamic finance principles. Islamic finance prohibited the use of usury (interest), mandated that all transactions been linked…

Polpharma Group: Transformation Through Innovation

When Markus Sieger was appointed CEO of Polpharma Group in 2016, he found himself at the helm of a company that would be deemed successful by virtually any metric. Polpharma Group included Poland’s leading pharmaceutical company and leading drug…

Stanford Health Care

• Dean Jonathan Levin

This Managing Growing Enterprises (MGE) case presents a multifaceted examination of leadership challenges in the academic sector, encompassing issues of faculty negotiation, student-faculty relations, crisis management, and institutional response to…

ClearMetal, a supply chain software-as-a-service startup, exemplifies the challenges of innovating in the global container shipping industry. Under CEO Adam Compain, the company developed a solution to reduce the costly repositioning of empty shipping…

Board Dynamics at Defy, Inc.: When is the Right Time to Raise the Next Round?

Defy, Inc. developed individual safety software solutions for highly automated aircraft operation through its FlySafe modular platform. Defy’s cofounders saw great potential in flying drones to solve the last-mile problem in deliveries. In addition to…

Founders Fund: Every Moment Happens Once

Nuveen and ecozen solutions: valuing a private equity impact investment.

In December 2021, Rekha Unnithan, CFA, received a cold outreach from Devendra Gupta, co-founder and CEO of Ecozen Solutions (“Ecozen”), an agriculture-focused cleantech business based in Pune, a major technology and manufacturing hub in India. Founded in…

APA Technologies

APA Technologies, a startup in the trucking industry, faced a significant challenge with its innovative product, the Tyro - an automatic tire inflation device. Founders Brad Miller and Jeffrey Howell, Stanford mechanical engineering students, developed…

APA Technologies (A): Just When We Were Hitting Our Stride

Apa technologies (b): no good deed goes unpunished, apa technologies (c): a potential partnership, apa technologies (d): reveal, senaca east africa (a): a family security business grapples with expansion.

Senaca East Africa, aka Sentry & Patrols, is a Kenya-based security guard firm founded in 2002 by John Kipkorir, a longtime member of the Kenyan police. At the time, there were only a few well-known Kenyan-owned security companies, and crime was rising…

Jason Scott: Creating a Dream Job to Find and Fund Entrepreneurs Across the Globe

Jason Scott’s superpower had always been his ability to connect people and ideas across industries, sectors, and geographies. After graduating from Stanford GSB, he pursued his professional North Star of finding the best entrepreneurs in the world and…

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2023-24 General Bulletin

Business Administration, MBA

Degree:  Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Program Overview

Weatherhead’s full-time MBA curriculum ensures graduates are prepared to enter the workforce with the skills they need to succeed in today’s business world. Students learn more than essential business management skills. They are prepared to be business leaders ready to engage with teams in a variety of specialized areas. Students are introduced to skills enabling them to reach beyond problem-solving to solution innovation. Learning from world-class faculty who invest in student success using experiential learning, networking with industry leaders, and current developments in business. Students acquire the knowledge and tools necessary to effect change for both business results and to make the world a better place.

Learning Outcomes

• Students function effectively in teams.
• Students are effective communicators in a business setting.
• Students are critical and creative thinkers.
• Students are competent analysts.
• Students can develop strategies to secure sustainable competitive advantage.

Program Requirements

The full-time MBA program is a four-semester, 60 credit hour program that provides students with the strong foundation necessary to be a leader in management while allowing opportunities for students to pursue their passions and customize their experience. In partnership with faculty and staff, students create a personalized learning plan with distinct concentrations by choosing electives that comprise half of the program thereby enabling specialization within their MBA.

Distinctive courses in Weatherhead’s MBA program help students assess their strengths and develop a learning plan to meet their career goals. Upon enrolling in the MBA, students take MBAC 515 , which facilitates the discovery of individual strengths and weaknesses through a series of self-assessments, experiential activities and case studies focused on teamwork. Students then develop core management skills (accounting, finance, marketing, operations/supply chain management, strategy, economics, statistics and analytics) in the first year of the program. In the second year of the MBA program, students choose electives based on their choice of concentration(s) and complete the required core strategy class.

The program provides space for 27 elective credit hours. Students in the Standard track MBA program must choose a concentration and complete 12 credit hours in that concentration area (a concentration is required). Students in the STEM track MBA must complete eight STEM-approved electives to complete the requirements of the STEM MBA program.

Independent Study

MBA students are limited to 3 credit hours of elective credit as an independent study with the approval of the full-time MBA faculty program director.

Other courses at the university may be eligible for MBA elective credit, subject to approval from the senior associate dean of academics and graduate programs.

Concentration Requirements 

The Weatherhead School of Management offers two tracks in the MBA program.

STEM MBA Track

The STEM MBA track offers three concentrations:

• Business Analytics
• Financial Analytics
• Operations Analytics

Standard MBA Track

The Standard MBA track offers seven concentrations:

• Entrepreneurship & Design & Innovation
• Healthcare Management
• Organizational Leadership

Sample Plan of Study

Dual degree options.

• Biochemistry, MS/Business Administration, MBA

Business Administration, MBA/Finance, MFin

Business Administration, MBA/Law, JD

Business Administration, MBA/Medical Physiology, MS

Business Administration, MBA/Medicine, MD

Business Administration, MBA/Public Health, MPH

Business Administration, MBA/Social Work, MSW

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Top 40 Case Studies of 2022-23

A case about a unique partnership to bring public toilet facilities to Indian slums earned the top spot in the 2022-23 Top 40 Yale case studies round up.

Delving into the complex project management landscape of a partnership between governments, designers, academic, and NGOs in India, the Project Sammaan case study jumped to the #1 spot this year from #30 in 2021 based largely on its strong sales to academic institutions.

Cases on the uses of debt and equity at Hertz that took the top two spots last year continued their strong showing this year at #2 and #3.

Surprisingly, the abridged version of the Toyota 2010 case leapt from #40 in last year’s roundup to #4; perennial favorite Coffee 2016 took #5 and cases involving search funds, private equity, and Cadbury, another perennial favorite, rounded out the top 10.

CRDT compiled the Top 40 list by combining data from its case store, Google Analytics, and other measures of interest and adoption.

Other year-end data for 2022-23 showed that:

• 26K case users from 156 countries and all 50 U.S. states interacted with 191 Yale cases.
• Over fifty percent of case users came from outside the U.S. with India, Tanzania, and the Philippines making up the bulk.
• 22 cases on the list are "raw" and 18 "cooked."
• The top 40 cases were supervised by 21 different Yale SOM current and former faculty members, several supervising multiple cases.

All of the 2022-23 Top 40 cases are available for purchase from the Yale Management Media store .

And the Top 40 cases for 2022-23 are:

1 Project Sammaan

2 Hertz Global Holdings (A): Uses of Debt and Equity

3 Hertz Global Holdings (B): Uses of Debt and Equity 2020

4 Toyota 2010 (Abridged)

5 Coffee 2016

6 Searching for a Search Fund Structure: A Student Takes a Tour of Various Options

7 Gardner Denver

8 Search Fund Company Boards: How CEOs Can Build Boards to Help Them Thrive

10 Suwanee Lumber Company (B)

11 Marina Bay Sands

12 IBM Corporate Service Corps

13 Shake Shack IPO

14 Children's Premier

15 Hirtle Callaghan & Co

16 Volkswagen

18 Commonfund ESG

19 Alternative Meat Industry

20 Mastercard

21 Palm Oil 2016

22 Design at the Mayo Clinic

23 Mercy Corps

24 Mike Erwin: An accidental social entrepreneur

25 DonorsChoose.org

28 The Alibaba Group

29 Giant Bicycle: Bike-Sharing in Taipei

30 American Greetings

31 Air Canada

32 Achievement First

33 Tesla in Germany

34 Nielsen: How Will the Company Maintain Its Commitments to Multiple Stakeholder Groups?

35 Climate Change Capital

36 2011 Debt Limit Crisis: How Should the Fed Respond?

37 The Future of Malls: Was Decline Inevitable?

39 Herman Miller

40 AXA: Creating the New CR Metrics

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• 15 Aug 2016

Writing a Case as a Student at HBS

There is a lot to get used to during your first semester atHBS – attending class, making new friends, finding an internship, and doing homework again. While reading and preparing cases for each class may seem daunting and time-consuming at first, it becomes second nature after a semester or two. By second year , many students decide to try their hand at writing a case themselves.

Why write a case with a professor?

In case you aren’t yet familiar with HBS cases, they are the 10-30 page packets upon which almost every class discussion is based. Cases can be and are written on many topics: a person, a company, a country, an event. They are written by HBS professors, research associates, and sometimes students.

For those who are nostalgic about undergraduate or masters’ thesis writing days, and are excited about being in an academic environment again, writing a case with a professor is a great way to do independent academic research. Depending on the topic, case writing allows you to conduct primary research and meet case protagonists .

Some students have leveraged such research to find new jobs or expand their professional networks. It is also a great way to leverage pre-HBS work experience (by writing a case on a company you’ve worked with) or learn something completely new. If you are looking to dig deep into a company or topic, writing a case is one of the best ways to do it. 

Additionally, case writing is a way to form a close relationship with a professor of your choice - they become your case advisor and mentor. It also affords you a unique “inside look” into the workings of HBS and the process by which our learning curriculum is built. Being associated with a published HBS document isn’t too bad either.

How does it work?

If writing a case is something that interests you, it is very easy to get started.

1) Choose a topic of interest or a professor you are hoping to get to know better. If you choose a topic first, find a professor that either you know and like or that is particularly knowledgeable on or interested in the topic. As you will soon see, pretty much any topic goes!

2) Determine how you want to fit the case writing into your schedule. Options include replacing a class your second year with an independent project, or treating case writing like an extracurricular activity in addition to your regular class load.

3) Meet with the professor you choose; most professors are happy to have case writing help! If you chose a professor before a topic, you will want to discuss potential topics with him or her during these first meetings.

4) Get researching! Some professors provide more guidance than others. Either way, this is your project so take initiative and make the most of it.

My personal experience

During the first semester of my EC (second) year, I continued to work part-time at the company with which I interned over the summer. Once that commitment ended at year-end, I was looking for an interesting extracurricular for my last semester.

I approached a few professors in the BGIE (Business, Government, and the International Economy) department whose classes I loved. I told them I was interested in writing about either Israel or the former Soviet Eastern Europe and asked whether either of these topics would be interesting to them as well.

Luckily, one of my favorite professors was interested in writing about Eastern Europe and we immediately got started. I chose to write a case in addition to taking five classes, which I found very manageable. Students can also get credit for case writing by doing it as an independent project. As the semester wore on, I started helping with another case about a small company started by an HBS graduate in Nigeria. I ended up learning more than I had even expected and developed a closer relationship with a great professor in the process.

However you decide to structure your future HBS case writing, one thing is guaranteed: you will get to know interesting people and become more knowledgeable about a topic of your interest. I can’t think of a better way to have spent some time during my last stint in the academic world.

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MBA Case Studies - Solved Examples

Need of MBA Case Studies

Case i: chemco case.

• ChemCo is a quality leader in the U.K. car batteries market.
• Customer battery purchases in the automobile market are highly seasonal.
• The fork-lift business was added to utilize idle capacity during periods of inactivity.
• This is a low-growth industry (1% annual growth over the last two years)
• Large customers are sophisticated and buy based on price and quality. Smaller customers buy solely on price.
• There is a Spanish competitor in the market who offers low priced batteries of inferior quality.

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• High quality product, but low end customers care more about price than quality
• Mismanaged product diversification in a price sensitive market
• Alternative 1: Establish an Off-Brand for the fork-lift business
• Alternative 2: Educate the customer market about product quality
• Alternative 3: Exit the fork-lift battery business
• Establishing the firm's quality image
• Increase in market share
• Increase in sales
• Cost of the product
• Protect firm's quality image in the automobile industry
• Redesigned product to reduce the cost of manufacture
• Low price to enable it to compete with Spanish producer
• Make use of the quality leadership in car batteries market
• Offer reliability testing, extended warranties etc. to promote quality image
• Set higher prices to extract surplus from these advantages
• A passive strategy, not proactive
• Recommendations: Alternative 1 is recommended in this case. Since the firm operates in an industry which has low growth, hence it can expand market share and sales only by taking the customers from other players. Hence, it needs to tackle the Spanish competitor head-on by aggressively pricing its product. At the same time, launching a low-priced product under the same brand name erodes the high quality image in the car batteries market. Hence, the best option is to go for an off-brand to target the fork-lift customers who are increasingly becoming price sensitive. This will enable the company to ward off the threat in short-term and build its position strongly in the long-term.

Case II: NAKAMURA LACQUER COMPANY

• The Nakamura Lacquer Company: The Nakamura Lacquer Company based in Kyoto, Japan was one of the many small handicraft shops making lacquerware for the daily table use of the Japanese people.
• Mr. Nakamura- the personality: In 1948, a young Mr. Nakamura took over his family business. He saw an opportunity to cater to a new market of America, i.e. GI's of the Occupation Army who had begun to buy lacquer ware as souvenirs. However, he realized that the traditional handicraft methods were inadequate. He was an innovator and introduced simple methods of processing and inspection using machines. Four years later, when the Occupation Army left in 1952, Nakamura employed several thousand men, and produced 500,000 pieces of lacquers tableware each year for the Japanese mass consumer market. The profit from operations was $250,000.
• The Brand: Nakamura named his brand “Chrysanthemum” after the national flower of Japan, which showed his patriotic fervor. The brand became Japan's best known and best selling brand, being synonymous with good quality, middle class and dependability.
• The Market: The market for lacquerware in Japan seems to have matured, with the production steady at 500,000 pieces a year. Nakamura did practically no business outside of Japan. However, early in 1960, when the American interest in Japanese products began to grow, Nakamura received two offers
• The Rose and Crown offer: The first offer was from Mr. Phil Rose, V.P Marketing at the National China Company. They were the largest manufacturer of good quality dinnerware in the U.S., with their “Rose and Crown” brand accounting for almost 30% of total sales. They were willing to give a firm order for three eyes for annual purchases of 400,000 sets of lacquer dinnerware, delivered in Japan and at 5% more than what the Japanese jobbers paid. However, Nakamura would have to forego the Chrysanthemum trademark to “Rose and Crown” and also undertaken to sell lacquer ware to anyone else the U.S. The offer promised returns of $720,000 over three years (with net returns of $83,000), but with little potential for the U.S. market on the Chrysanthemum brand beyond that period.
• The Semmelback offer: The second offer was from Mr. Walter Sammelback of Sammelback, Sammelback and Whittacker, Chicago, the largest supplier of hotel and restaurant supplies in the U.S. They perceived a U.S. market of 600,000 sets a year, expecting it to go up to 2 million in around 5 years. Since the Japanese government did not allow overseas investment, Sammelback was willing to budget $1.5 million. Although the offer implied negative returns of $467,000 over the first five years, the offer had the potential to give a $1 million profit if sales picked up as anticipated.
• Meeting the order: To meet the numbers requirement of the orders, Nakamura would either have to expand capacity or cut down on the domestic market. If he chose to expand capacity, the danger was of idle capacity in case the U.S. market did not respond. If he cut down on the domestic market, the danger was of losing out on a well-established market. Nakamura could also source part of the supply from other vendors. However, this option would not find favor with either of the American buyers since they had approached only Nakamura, realizing that he was the best person to meet the order.
• Decision problem: Whether to accept any of the two offers and if yes, which one of the two and under what terms of conditions?
• To expand into the U.S. market.
• To maintain and build upon their reputation of the “Chrysanthemum” brand
• To increase profit volumes by tapping the U.S. market and as a result, increasing scale of operations.
• To increase its share in the U.S. lacquerware market.
• Profit Maximization criterion: The most important criterion in the long run is profit maximization.
• Risk criterion: Since the demand in the U.S. market is not as much as in Japan.
• Brand identity criterion: Nakamura has painstakingly built up a brand name in Japan. It is desirable for him to compete in the U.S. market under the same brand name
• Flexibility criterion: The chosen option should offer Nakamura flexibility in maneuvering the terms and conditions to his advantage. Additionally, Nakamura should have bargaining power at the time of renewal of the contract.
• Short term returns: Nakamura should receive some returns on the investment he makes on the new offers. However, this criterion may be compromised in favor of profit maximization in the long run.?
• Reject both: React both the offers and concentrate on the domestic market
• Accept RC offer: Accept the Rose and Crown offer and supply the offer by cutting down on supplies to the domestic market or through capacity expansion or both
• Accept SSW: offer; accept the SSW offer and meet it through cutting down on supply to the domestic market or through capacity expansion or both. Negotiate term of supply.
• Reject both: This option would not meet the primary criterion of profit maximization. Further, the objective of growth would also not be met. Hence, this option is rejected.
• Accept RC offer: The RC offer would assure net returns of $283,000 over the next three yeas. It also assures regular returns of $240,000 per year. However, Nakamura would have no presence in the U.S. with its Chrysanthemum brand name The RC offer would entail capacity expansion, as it would not be possible to siphon of 275,000 pieces from the domestic market over three years without adversely affecting operations there. At the end of three years, Nakamura would have little bargaining power with RC as it would have an excess capacity of 275,000 pieces and excess labor which it would want to utilize. In this sense the offer is risky. Further, the offer is not flexible. Long-term profit maximization is uncertain in this case a condition that can be controlled in the SSW offer. Hence, this offer is rejected.
• Accept SSW offer: The SSW offer does not assure a firm order or any returns for the period of contract. Although, in its present form the offer is risky if the market in the U.S. does not pick up as expected, the offer is flexible. If Nakamura were to exhibit caution initially by supplying only 300,000 instead of the anticipated 600,000 pieces, it could siphon off the 175,000 required from the domestic market. If demand exists in the U.S., the capacity can be expanded. With this offer, risk is minimized. Further, it would be competing on its own brand name. Distribution would be taken care of and long-term profit maximization criterion would be satisfied as this option has the potential of $1 million in profits per year. At the time of renewal of the contract, Nakamura would have immense bargaining power.
• Negotiate terms of offer with SSW: The terms would be that NLC would supply 300,000 pieces in the first year. If market demand exists, NLC should expand capacity to provide the expected demand.
• Action Plan: In the first phase, NLC would supply SSW with 300,000 pieces. 125,000 of these would be obtained by utilizing excess capacity, while the remaining would be obtained from the domestic market. If the expected demand for lacquer ware exists in the U.S., NLC would expand capacity to meet the expected demand. The debt incurred would be paid off by the fifth year.
• Contingency Plan:  In case the demand is not as expected in the first year, NLC should not service the U.S. market and instead concentrate on increasing penetration in the domestic market.

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An Anderson University MBA opens doors to management positions—including vice presidents and CEOs—in almost every industry. Connect, network, and collaborate with AU alumni professionals to help advance your career and reach your professional goals.

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Anderson University is a national leader in higher education in its use of technology to support and enhance all aspects of its core function—teaching and learning, which has led to the institution being recognized as an Apple Distinguished School since 2014. Through Anderson’s Digital Learning Initiative, Anderson has provided all of its residential undergraduate students and select graduate program students with an iPad Air and Apple Pencil. The mission of transforming learning experiences and preparing students to serve their communities and careers in the twenty-first century is enhanced through mobile devices developed by Apple.

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RSU Named on Fortune’s Best Online MBA Programs for 2024

Posted May 16, 2024

American global business magazine Fortune has named Rogers State University as the highest-ranking university in Oklahoma on its Best Online MBA Programs for 2024 list.

Out of 92 MBA programs ranked, RSU was listed as 52nd, ahead of the only other Oklahoma university, University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, which ranked 82nd.

Fortune’s methodology involved a combination of factors, including where the leaders of America’s 1,000 biggest companies pursued their MBAs (20 percent), online search volume (20 percent), a school’s previous ranking (five percent), and eight other school-provided data points.

“We are proud to be included in this ranking,” said RSU Academic Dean Dr. Susan Willis . “Once again, RSU’s MBA is recognized for the affordable, quality program that it is. We are meeting the needs of our students by providing quality courses and options to specialize in specific areas of interest.”

In December 2023, RSU’s online MBA program was recognized by online collegiate business news aggregate Poets&Quants as having the most affordable online MBA Program in the nation, according to their 2024 rankings of Best Online MBA Programs.

The Rogers State University online MBA requires a total of 36 credit hours, with the curriculum designed to meet the needs of MBAs in today’s business world. Coursework includes foundations in accounting, critical thinking and ethics, business strategy, financial management and managerial economics.

The RSU MBA offers several specialization options, including accounting, business analytics, health care management, management, and sport management.

For more information, or to apply to Rogers State University’s Master of Business Administration degree program, visit www.rsu.edu/mba .

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Comparing mba programs in europe and asia.

How Do They Compare: MBA Programs in Europe and Asia

Prospective MBA students often find themselves at a crossroads when deciding between pursuing their degree in Europe or Asia. Each region offers distinct advantages and characteristics that shape the MBA experience –  from curriculum to costs, faculty to job prospects and cultural dynamics. 

Curriculum differences 

European MBA programs typically embrace a case-study approach, focusing on experiential learning and real-world applications of knowledge gleaned in the business classroom. These programs often come with a broad-based curriculum, covering a wide range of business disciplines such as finance, marketing, strategy and entrepreneurship. 

On the other hand, Asian MBA programs tend to have a more specialized focus, catering to the specific needs of regional industries. For instance, programs in Singapore can emphasize finance and technology due to the city-state’s status as a financial hub and tech hotspot.

“European MBA programs typically have a broad focus on international business principles, while Asian MBA programs often provide a deep dive into local markets along with global business strategies,” explains Michelle Zhu, MBA administration director at China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai. 

“This can be particularly advantageous for those looking to tap into expansive opportunities in Asia’s dynamic economies,” she adds. 

Faculty and teaching methodologies

In Europe, MBA programs often boast a diverse faculty drawn from academia, industry and consulting backgrounds. Teaching methodologies in European MBA classrooms often involve lively discussions, group projects and interactive lectures. 

“Peer-to-peer learning is encouraged. It enriches the overall experience of the program, helping students to shape their viewpoints, and prepares them to work with people from many different backgrounds and cultures,” says Sara Vanos, executive director of MBA admissions at HEC Paris. 

Asian MBA programs, meanwhile, tend to feature a mix of local and international faculty, with a greater emphasis on lectures and traditional teaching methods.

“European programs can have diverse international faculties and a variety of teaching methods,” says Zhu at CEIBS. “However, Asian MBA programs can be very competitive in faculty diversity.” 

Duration and structure 

Both European and Asian MBA programs typically span one to two years, with some offering flexible formats such as part-time or executive options. 

“The European job market presents unique challenges, and taking a two-year career break is often more complicated for our students compared to markets like North America. As a result, several top schools offer shorter MBAs,” says Stefano Pogutz, MBA director at SDA Bocconi school of management in Italy. 

At SDA Bocconi, the full-time MBA program is modular and flexible. Students have the option to enter the job market after 9, 12 or 15 months, depending on their goals and ambitions. Asian MBAs also often include additional components like internships and language courses that help students engage with the local business culture and practices.

Costs and employment prospects 

When it comes to costs, European MBA programs often command higher tuition fees compared to their Asian counterparts. Living expenses in Europe can vary widely depending on the city and country. Additionally, scholarships and financial aid opportunities are prevalent in MBA programs in both Europe and Asia.

“It is interesting to observe that the tuition fees for top-ranked MBA programs in Asia tend to be generally lower than those in Europe,” says Nicole Tee, director of the MBA programs office at NUS Business School in Singapore. 

Both Europe and Asia offer promising employment prospects for MBA graduates, albeit in different industries and sectors. European MBA graduates often find opportunities in consulting, finance and multinational corporations, leveraging the region’s strong business ties and diverse economy. 

Asian MBA graduates, on the other hand, benefit from the region’s rapid economic growth, particularly in sectors such as technology, healthcare and e-commerce. “Europe offers robust job opportunities in traditional industries such as finance and consulting. However, Asia’s rapidly growing sectors, particularly in technology and innovation, are creating new leadership roles and are keenly seeking MBA graduates with a deep understanding of regional contexts,” says CEIBS’ Zhu. 

Vanos, at HEC Paris, says: “MBA students can stay in France for up to one-year post graduation to search for their dream job if they wish. Many students receive work visas for France and the surrounding Schengen countries. Over one third of our international students stay in France.” 

Cultural differences 

Cultural differences play a significant role in shaping the MBA experience in both Europe and Asia. European MBA programs tend to promote a culture of debate, critical thinking and diversity, reflecting the region’s multiculturalism and openness. In contrast, Asian MBA programs often place a greater emphasis on hierarchy, respect for authority and group harmony, reflecting cultural norms prevalent in many Asian societies.

Ultimately, the choice between pursuing an MBA in Europe or Asia depends on individual preferences, career goals and cultural adaptability. While European MBA programs offer a diverse and immersive learning experience, Asian MBA programs provide specialized knowledge tailored to regional industries. 

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Management consulting courses | which modules to look out for on your mba.

Management consulting courses | Presenting is a key part of the job of a consultant ©vladans / iStock

Which modules in the MBA curriculum provide the best preparation for a career in consulting? Here are some of the top management consulting courses to look out for

Tue May 14 2024

Each year, waves of MBA students from schools across the globe join top consulting firms, with recruitment numbers running into the hundreds at prestigious institutions such as INSEAD and London Business School. 

The business school to consultancy connection is strong. Typically MBAs offer tried and tested routes into the industry, with highly structured recruiting timelines and dedicated consulting clubs in place offering students guidance through the process. 

But it’s more than just a connection that helps students secure consulting jobs each year. 

Top firms including the likes of Bain, McKinsey, Deloitte, Accenture, and Strategy& all hire MBA grads because of their holistic understanding of the fundamentals of business, which can be translated across various projects involving different clients, industries, and problems. 

The generalist MBA curriculum is therefore well suited to the career of a consultant. But are there any specific management consulting courses that aspiring consultants should look out for? 

Here are some of the key subject areas that will prepare you for a consulting career. 

Considering A Career In Consulting? 

Management Consulting Courses: 7 Key Modules

1. strategy .

The role of a consultant is to identify client problems, find solutions, and lead their planning and implementation. Strategic thinking is therefore at the very heart of the advice and value that management consultants offer to their clients. 

Happily, there is almost always some form of strategy taught during a core class within the MBA curriculum. For example, within the INSEAD MBA, an Introduction to Strategy is one of six core modules all students must take. 

Strategy modules focus on how businesses position themselves to create wealth, covering a mixture of objectives and policies, and detailing how organizations utilize resources. Topics may cover subjects such as how companies create a competitive advantage, and how businesses allocate resources to sustain their position. 

2. Corporate Finance 

Consultants often have to advise on data-heavy problems and conduct cost-benefit analyses to best serve their clients. An understanding of the areas of finance that are important for all managers is therefore important for a career in consulting. 

Corporate finance modules offer a key introduction to this area, helping students understand how to value a firm through financial theories and concepts. Specific topics may include frameworks for how firm valuation is carried out, multiple valuations, free cash flow, and optimal capital structure. 

You’ll typically find some form of corporate finance within the core MBA curriculum. Some business schools may list it under a slightly different name, for example London Business School lists a core module offering the same content under the title Finance I. 

3. Data Modeling 

For consultants, data-based modeling is an important skill which allows them to take a structured approach when analyzing complex problems and providing forecasts for solutions. Modeling is a key means by which consultants can use data to make an impact on managerial decisions. 

Modeling is generally taught within the core MBA curriculum. At Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, there are two Business Analytics modules that offer an introduction to analytics and provide students with a toolkit for handling data. On the other hand, students on the LBS MBA learn these skills during the core Data Analytics For Managers course. 

Most MBA programs also offer the opportunity to undertake elective modules and embark on specialized pathways, with more advanced data-based modules typically among the options. 

4. Operations 

The nature of a consulting project will vary from case to case, however consultants are often faced with problems that relate to organizational processes, including how to improve processes, best practices for planning capacity, and how to effectively manage a supply chain. 

Knowledge of how to manage business operations can therefore be useful for consultants, preparing them to face a wide range of issues. 

Operations is typically a core part of the generalist MBA curriculum. For example, at INSEAD, in the second term MBA students undertake the Process and Operations Management module which teaches them how to analyse and improve a company’s activities, and shows how the external environment can impact a company’s ability to meet customer demands. 

5. Marketing 

Marketing is one of the areas of the core MBA curriculum that delves most deeply into an organization’s relationship with its customers; evaluating how businesses provide value and how they position themselves within their marketplace. 

Conducting market research and developing a deep understanding of a brand are fundamental when beginning a new consulting project, marketing is therefore among the top management consulting courses in the MBA curriculum. 

You’ll be hard-pressed to find an MBA program that doesn’t offer marketing as part of the core study period. Some schools, such as the Indian School of Business (ISB), even offer multiple core marketing modules, with ISB teaching all students both Marketing Management and Marketing Decision Making. 

6. Practical Consulting Projects 

The MBA curriculum is about much more than just learning theories and evaluating cases inside the classroom. Most business schools also incorporate practical learning throughout the MBA journey, allowing students to apply their newfound knowledge to solve real problems. 

Typically coming in the form of strategic consulting projects, business simulators, or capstone projects, these experiences allow students to work with companies and get a taste of life working on real-world projects. 

At London Business School, for example, the MBA Class of 2022 worked with 116 different client companies across more than 200 strategic consulting projects during their studies. 

As an aspiring consultant, these practical learning opportunities should be one of the most important parts of your MBA experience. You’ll gain the chance to bring together all of the skills and knowledge you’ve learned throughout your MBA, and figure out whether solving problems and advising clients is the right career path for you. 

7. Electives and specializations 

These modules, most of which are core to the MBA curriculum, rank among the best management consulting courses to prepare you for this challenging career path. 

As most MBAs also offer the chance to tailor the learning experience in some way, those who particularly take to one subject area can dive deeper during the latter period of their studies, which can provide the platform to become a specialist consultant later in their careers.

Combined, these modules will provide you with the foundations for a career in management consulting. However it’s important to bear in mind that management consulting is about having soft skills, as well as a holistic business acumen. 

Dealing with a variety of clients on a regular basis will require you to have strong communication skills; you’ll need to be just as comfortable negotiating with stakeholders as you are presenting a forecast. You’ll also need to be agile as you navigate complex issues, and prepared to adapt when things go wrong. 

Alongside your studies in-class, it’s therefore important to seize any opportunities to work on your soft skills while studying your MBA. Make the most of elements such as group projects, leadership workshops, or career coaching, as they can be fundamental as you progress in your career.

For more info about what it's like to work in consulting, the perks and salaries you could gain, and tips on how to successfully become a management consultant,   download our BusinessBecause Consulting Guide

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