The Managers’ Corner:

The case study is often used in a selection process, usually coupled with interview questions as well.  What Bendel is proposing here is the use of the case study as a separate alternative to interview questions (i.e. as a stand-alone item).  Having a case study as a separate item sends the message to candidates that the case study is not merely an appendage but rather an important information-gathering technique of its own.

Let’s define what we mean by a case study.  In Bendel’s terminology “a case study is a detailed description of a presenting problem which requires a complex response”.  It usually includes some form of background information to the case study, a presenting problem, and a set of instructions to the candidate on how to respond to the issue raised in the case study.  A case study can be used for the assessment of candidates and for professional development.

There are several advantages to using a case study:

1. It is generally more comprehensive and complex than traditional questions in both its content and in the range of indicators that can be applied to it.  As such, it likely more closely reflects accurately the nature of the problems that present themselves in a normal working situation.  While questions can be designed in such a way as to include several issues (presenting and underlying) they do not tend to reflect fully the scope of the issues that most people must face in a workday.  In some ways, then case studies are closer to the realities that candidates are likely to face if successful in a competition.
2. Case studies can be supported by additional reading materials that have to be consulted in the preparation period. This means that all the candidates are dealing with the same information at the same time and thus can be compared on a more level playing field.  The material is the same; what the candidate does with it is more easily comparable than responses fashioned for a traditional question which can be answered using a variety of examples that are not easily comparable among candidates.
3. A case study built around an issue that the organization is currently facing is a productive way of gathering possible solutions for the problem as the candidates’ responses as a whole present the team of assessors with possible solutions. For example, when interviewing for a position like the Manager of Information Technology, it is quite possible that external candidates (though not exclusively) have faced some of the same issues that are presented in the case study and have gone a long way in former positions to solving those issues.  For internal candidates who have felt, perhaps, somewhat constrained by past practice, they can use the case study response to show some of the initiative and creativity that they have not been able to display to date.  The field, then, is wide open.
4. If the back-up to the case study (not the case study itself) is distributed well in advance of the actual competition the best candidates will put in the time required to answer more fully and completely and to access information that they can incorporate into their responses. They can talk to experts in the field and read the latest research to impress.  At the time of receiving the actual case study, in a controlled environment, they can incorporate their earlier research into their responses.  Don’t we all want people in our organizations who are more fully prepared?  Well, let’s just see how much more they are willing to do if given the time to do it!  Certainly, a case study has the capacity of reducing the number of candidates who are not serious enough about the position to engage in this kind of detailed preparation.

Remember, the purpose of any good selection exercise is “to show people at their best”.  To do that, assessors must give candidates more information, more time, and more scope in answering.  The single, well-fashioned case study is perhaps the best vehicle to do just that!

Dr. Dan

Want to know more about case studies and our services regarding them?  Check out our Management Group Webinars on “Handling Case Studies in an Interview” or “The Use of Multi-Source Data gathering in Selectin and Appraisal” or the Education Contracted Services on “Selecting the Best Candidate:  Designing Effective Case Studies”.  You might just find we can help you on your way or, indeed, provide you with some samples that fit your organization’s needs!