I am working on putting together a case study that we will be used in our leadership training class. The class will have one module for each area of our business - finance, sales, hr, etc. The goal of the case is to provide an over view of a company and then have a different topic covered during each module. At the end of the course they will have walked through every aspect of our business. Has anyone done anything like this? If so, do you have a template or any information you can share regarding best practices for developing this case. Thanks.

Hi,

Rather than think of this initiative in terms of a "course" or "training"...you might want to consider something like this that respects the adult learner, doesn't consume lots of resources, and gets people talking about topics relevant and current:

A series of informal, activity/function specific dialogues using an actual corporate project/program/client/problem.

You should be able to identify either an existing, on-going, or recently completed project that touched all of your organization's functional areas (finance, HR..etc).

Use that to provide the context for the dialogues. Invite folks from the specific departments to sit in with the group and talk about the project, their piece of the pie and their approach...learning. Participants can also be asked for their own reactions and ideas.

In the end you have a group of more well rounded leaders who, although they have not built "skills" (training)they have established a solid foundation and perspective.

University of Tampa grad....

Take a look at the 10-day MBA and maybe customize a curriculum based upon the chapters in that book. We've worked with clients who have done something similar.

Then also consider a Capstone event that integrates all the modules. Teaching business/leadership in a discrete module form is not totally effective because you miss out on the cross-functional aspects of business. How does HR impact Production impact Marketing impact R&D impact Finance, etc. etc. A Capstone event can build not only finance, operations, leadership, and strategy skills, but also cross-functional decision-making and alignment.

If you're interested in discussing a Capstone event or even an all-in-one Mini-MBA event, let me know. We have a proven methodology utilizing computerized business simulations that address this learning objective very well. See minimba.com or prisim.com

Jeff Lefebvre

Hi lizintampa, this is certainly a good idea. Having one case study helps to put everything in the context of the same story, however there are some points to consider.

1. It is important to pull the whole story together so that it makes sense to have a story in the first place.

2. Because of focusing on one story, you may have to focus on certain specific areas and wont be able to easily move to something completely different.

3. It is risky to have one story. If your delegates don't like the story or the case study, they will be bored the second time you mention it and after that they may simply switch off.

4. If the delegates are from different organisations, it is much better to focus on different case studies for different sessions so that you can cover more industries and management styles based on different business needs.

Anyway, just some inputs. Of course your needs may dictate to have the complete case study anyway, so good luck. It's certainly entertaining to write one.