Practical Case Study

Practical Case Study

The purpose of this case study is to create an opportunity to apply the ideas and concepts discussed in class and the readings in the analysis of a real organizational situation. The situation may be drawn from your own experience or from public information found in newspapers, books, reports, etc. Your choice of organization and situation will be an important one and will call for considerable judgment and discretion in deciding whether it is feasible to use it for the purposes of the case study.

You will examine a number of different ways of viewing organizations through the lens of

metaphor. Please choose what you feel to be the four most important metaphors for the

organization in its evolution towards a more viable, vital and innovative condition. In this part you should demonstrate your understanding of the metaphor: For this reason, even if aspects of the metaphor are missing, describe what these would look like in your focal organization.

Your paper will conclude with recommendations that actively enhance the organization’s capacities to learn and innovate, to become a wiser, more proactive, organization and, at the same time, a good citizen in society. Your recommendations should include not only the metaphors but also insights from the leadership practices within The Wise Company.

Be sure to maintain a professional stance in relation to matters which are sensitive and confidential and disguise the source of your project (unless it is drawn from public records) through use of appropriate pseudonyms. Confidentiality and the general conduct of the project are entirely your responsibility, so proceed with caution and an ethical sense.

You may choose any complex, real life organization, described in a detailed case study or written about in multiple sources in the press (for example in Fortune, the Economist, Sloane Management Review, Wall Street Journal, or through a case clearing house such as the Harvard Business School Press. It should not be a case that you have studied in another course and must be a unique submission with minimal similarity (less than 10%) to other cases or papers you have submitted. (You will find a Turnitin link under Assignments in Blackboard for your case study.)

Successful organizational analysis rests in an ability to examine any given organizational situation so that its fundamental characteristics are made clear. It is not simply a question of spotting problems and applying appropriate solutions. Rather, it hinges on questions such as:

• What is going on in the situation that you are analyzing? What metaphors best describe the situation? What wise leadership practices are present and what ones could best be enhanced in this organization?
• How can you make sense of the situation and arrive at an interpretation that allows you to both say something concrete about it and point towards the organization’s attainment of a more proactive and innovative condition?

(1) Summary: Introduction to Your Organization (Approximately 500 words) Here first

describe your organization as a machine and as a living system. A brief account of the

situation being investigated, providing enough information for the reader to understand the nature of the organization and its context. This section should include relevant background information as well as a clear statement of the focus of your case study. For example, it is appropriate to provide information on the age, size, and history of the organization, the product or services it provides, and the general nature of its environment. The purpose of this is to orient the reader, so that he or she can acquire an understanding of the industry or sector with which you are dealing, and the general trends it is facing. Following a general introduction, you should focus in on the specific situation of the organization that demands—or did demand– attention.

(2) An Analysis of the Organization using four key metaphors (leading toward

informed/wise business practices.) Using at least four “organizational” metaphors

from the course, apply/explore how these are relevant to the organization. (Approx., 1500 words)

The analysis section must include analysis based on four of the metaphors used in the course.

To summarize, here you are challenged to demonstrate your understanding and usage of the four metaphors to describe your focal organization, Present the organization in terms of the language of the metaphors, applying these also to bring out the critical issues and challenges of the situation. All of the above means that your choice of organization is critical! — You must be able to find sufficient actual information that allows you to discuss the metaphors and the application of the leadership practices.

3) Using the analysis via Morgan’s metaphors and the leadership practices from The

Wise Organization as a basis, make recommendations for your focal organization (1500

words). Give specific examples and make good use of the various insights and all of the

six main leadership practices found in The Wise Company. If you see that some essential practice or attitude is not present, imagine how it might be within your focal organization. This should result in your clear recommendations.

Your analysis should address the problems you see but also, through the application of

the leadership practices, areas where opportunities exist which may be enhanced. The

goal is to encourage a more proactive, innovative organization that holds to a standard

of continuous innovation with regard to quality products and services that contribute

to rather than take away from the common good and well being of society.

CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING THE CASE ANALYSES

The following criteria will be used to evaluate the case study

• The complexity of the case (cases that are very simple and offer little challenge will not

necessarily earn a high grade).

• Demonstrated in-depth understanding and use of the metaphors, the theories and concepts

related to these, as they are used to explain and analyze the case situation;

• The comprehensiveness and care with which the case situation being analyzed is described
• In the recommendations section, the comprehensive use of the leadership practices/philosophies/attitudes outlined in The Wise Company.
• The soundness of your analysis and general conclusions.
• The professionalism with which the report is presented.