When I began the journey of pursuing my masters
fifteen months ago, I did not think a class that centered on leadership case
studies would be one that I would choose. I must admit that I found the case
studies in MSLD 635 particularly difficult but also enjoyable. Each time I was
assigned a case study, I would have an internal argument with myself about
which problems would be considered macro and which problems could be listed as
micro. I think I lost some of my hair during that nine-week class! But, the one
thing I did enjoy about the class was the opportunity to take many of the
leadership theories that had been taught in other classes and utilize them in
real life scenarios. Knowledge is great in a book, but it is sometimes difficult
to envision the concepts as they relate to leadership and organizational
culture. Though I did not imagine myself choosing this class as one of my two
electives I am in week four and nearly half way through the class.
This week we were tasked with developing a case study
of our own. As this is my ninth class in the program, I thought I had seen an
example of every assignment imaginable. Through the eight and a half classes, I
have completed approximately two hundred and fifty assignments which included
blogs, team assignments, discussion questions, presentations, literature
reviews (that one was rough), and annotated bibliographies.
I was initially both excited and a bit fearful about
developing a case study. In the multiple assignments I have completed, I have
discussed my organization, organizational culture, leaders, and co-workers ad
nauseam, so I was eager to write about a different subject. However, the assignment loomed much harder
than I first imagined. I struggled with picking a topic as each scenario would
seem to be the perfect case study until I sat staring at a blank screen as I
continuously suffered from writer’s block. It was as if my mind could not
determine how to work backward because it was used to writing about the case
study and not developing the case study. I once saw a video where a gentleman
asked multiple volunteers to try to ride his bike. This was a normal bike
barring one exception-the steering was backward. To turn right, you had to turn
the handlebars left and vice versa. This short video showed countless people
crash this bike because their mind did not understand the concept of flipping
the script. I felt like I was on the bike as I developed the case study.
Schell (1992) listed multiple factors that should be considered
when developing a case study which included (a) acknowledgment of a subject
suitable for a case study, (b) acceptable form of the case study, (c) problems
may develop while creating the study, and (d) the challenge of simplifying case
information to other situations. As I attempted to begin my case study, I
encountered the factors of a suitable subject and problems hindering the case
study in the infancy of the project. Another difficulty was simplifying the
case study so it would be adaptable to other situations. In my research, I
discovered other stories or cases of goals increasing due to new management or
new facilities, so I believe it is adaptable to other individuals or
situations.
As I read the article by Schell (1992), I began to
ponder the issues that I feel are vital to a case study. The first requirement
is the story or lesson that you would like to tell. What data is important
enough to be included in your case study? What details should be included? What
are the objectives of the story? Another vital portion of the case study is the
critical thinking analysis of what do you want to teach from this study? What
would you like the reader to get out of reading your case? Finally, the case
study should include critical thinking questions so the reader can reflect and
analyze the case.
Unfortunately, I cannot say that the assignment of
developing a case study allowed me to understand case studies any better. As I
previously mentioned, I struggled with the dynamics of developing the case study.
In this week’s discussion post, we compared and contrasted the contingency
theory of leadership with the situational theory of leadership. Rowe and
Guerrero (2013) stated that the three factors would assist in the contingency
theory of leadership were (a) leader member relations, (b) task structure, and
(c) leader’s position power. While attempting to put together my case study, I
honestly felt like I was a leader who misunderstood the three factors and,
therefore, utilized the wrong style in the wrong situation, which has probably
happened to some of us as leaders.
However, as time passed, I began to understand the
concepts and was able to produce a finished assignment. When I began my first
job out of college as an accounts payable clerk, my sole duty was to create and
balance the deposit each day. After several weeks, I had the opportunity to
create invoices and mail them out, so I could understand the entire circle of
the department. As I began the assignment, I hoped the same level of understanding
would occur as I have read and analyzed many case studies, but unfortunately
developing a case study brought no additional acceptance or understanding of the
process.
So, what did I learn while completing this assignment?
I learned that developing a case study requires a level of critical thinking as
it is a difficult process. I have developed an appreciation for the
well-written case studies I have read in the past. There is a major difference
in developing a case study and developing a well-written and though-thought
provoking case study. I can now say that I have completed a case study, so I
know the level of difficulty involved.
References
Rowe, W. G. & Guerrero L. (2013). Cases in Leadership. (3rd ed.). Thousand
Oaks, CA. Sage Publications, Inc.
Schell, C. (1992). The value of the case study as
research strategy. Retrieved from http://finance-mba.com/Case%20Method.pdf
