I have posted two teaching cases on my web site:
www.stern.nyu.edu/~wstarbuc
Teachers are free to use these as long as they do not charge students for
them. If you simply add the urls to your syllabus, the students will be
able to print these cases themselves. However, "The Sandhogs" is a
two-part case and you may not want the students to see the second part
until after class discussion.
"The Sandhogs" affords a fairly true-to-life parallel to the Challenger
disaster, at least as I interpret that disaster. You can use my article
with Frances Milliken as a teaching note. This article is also posted on
my web site.
I suggest using "The Sandhogs" cases as follows: (1) Before class, the
students read the first part of the case, and they bring to class short
essays in which they state their decisions and the rationales for these
decisions. (2) In class, the students form into groups that come up with
group decisions. This process takes 20-30 minutes as the students argue
about their different views and different interpretations of the evidence.
(3) Write each group's decision on the board. (4) Pass out part two and
ask the groups to reconsider their decisions. (5) Again, write the groups'
decisions on the board. (6) Discuss the rationales for go or no-go
decisions as well as commitment to an announced course of action.
"Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz" is an extremely successful law firm. The
case links organization structure, compensation, culture, environmental
circumstances, and strategy. The basic principles generalize widely --
they certainly translate to expertise-based businesses such as consulting
firms, engineering firms, investment banks, architecture firms, medical
practices. As a teaching note, you can use "Keeping a butterfly and an
elephant," which is also posted on my web page.
Bill Starbuck