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How to Write a Reflective Case Study Dr. Pat Gillett A Reflective Case Study is similar to any other Case Study in that it presents the details of a particular dilemma. Typically, the reader is required to analyse the information provided in order to answer a number of questions. In doing so the reader not only demonstrates their comprehension and analysis capabilities but they also demonstrate an understanding of the case topic or subject matter. A Reflective Case Study is simply a case that is based on the writers own personal experience[footnoteRef:1]. In terms of writing the case, this is both an advantage and disadvantage. Its an advantage as you are the main source of information and there is no need seek the opinions and viewpoints of other parties involved. It’s a disadvantage in that you are so close to the action that other key perspectives or factors can be easily overlooked. [1: As mentioned in the Assignment Guidelines, if a student does not have any personal career experience to draw on, then they should interview someone who can provide them with the first-hand level of detail that is necessary.] Writing an interesting case study is a bit like writing a detective story. You want to keep your readers very interested in the situation. A good case is therefore more than just a description. It is information arranged in such a way that the reader is put in the same position as the case writer. A description, on the other hand, arranges all the information, comes to conclusions, tells the reader everything, and the reader really doesn't have to work very hard. For this Reflective Case Study assignment, there are four distinct stages: 1. Reflection: At the beginning of this stage, avoid the temptation to simply identify and focus on one single career experience. Maybe the first experience you come up with is appropriate but it is always good to have options. Once you have identified 3-4 career experiences that you might like to write about, go to the topic content (i.e. from the unit) and assess your level of understanding. Do you know the content well enough to develop an effective case study story? Sometimes students will have a very specific experience that they want to focus on but they are unable to incorporate basic topic-related concepts (and theory). As a result, the case story ends up being a personal rant, full of speculative comments and subjective opinions. No valuable learning outcome is available for the reader. 2. Analysis: Once you have identified the particular career experience that will be the focus of your case, and you feel that you have a good understanding of the Topic itself, identify and analyse the key case story features. Ask yourself the following questions: · What is/was the problem? · How did the problem come about? · Who is/was involved and what role did they play in creating or solving the problem? · What concept(s) and/or theories from the topic will be used to help present the case problem? · What are the key Learning Outcomes that the reader will take from the case story? Remember that some of the answers to these questions will be presented in your case story and some will be reserved for the Question and Answer section. 3. Writing the case story: Like all good stories, your case study should have an introduction, body and conclusion. Good introductions provide a small amount of context. For example, various characteristics of the organisation might be identified (industry, size, location, etc) as well as 1-2 key characters. This background information subsequently provides the opportunity to identify, either explicitly or discreetly, the case study problem. Having identified the problem in the introduction, the body of your case is where the contributing information is provided. Be careful as this is where you can easily lose the reader by dishing out mundane and irrelevant details. Consider the value and purpose of each sentence. A key challenge of this phase is to also recognise what information needs to be left out. Provide too much information and the reader is not required to undertake any analysis; and therefore no great learning outcome is achieved. Writing the conclusion in a case study can be tricky because you are not required to present a dramatic ending or make any recommendations. The following Q&A section will achieve those outcomes. In the conclusion, focus on how the problem has impacted the organisation and/or the individual workers. Here you are setting up the question and answers that will follow. After reading the conclusion, the reader should have at least one of your questions in their mind. Make them think they have come up with it themselves; i.e. rather than explicitly identifying it. 4. Writing the questions and answers: It goes without saying that the questions should be directly related to the dilemma presented in the case story. Avoid being overly simplistic with your questions. For example, asking the reader “what factors were critical to the dilemma?” offers no real opportunity to analyse the case (your just asking them to describe it) or to show their understanding of the topic. When writing your answers, it is important that no new information is introduced. You do want the reader to make some inferences by drawing on their understanding of the topic. However its not fair to expect that they anticipate some obscure feature you had in mind but did not disclose in the case. Organisational Behaviour (MNG82001) Assignment 2 Guidelines & Marking Criteria Title:Assignment 2 – Reflective Case Study Marks: 35 (which is 35% of the unit grade) Due: Prior to 9am on Monday 28th May (week 13), 2018. Task:Drawing on your own personal experience, write a mini case-study (max 1500 words) on one of the following OB-related topics: · When Teamwork failed to meet its objective · The appropriate use of power in the workplace · Organisational Change Following the case-study, two questions should be posed which encourage the reader to examine and analyse different aspects of the case in close detail. Students should also provide a brief 200-300 word example answer for each question in order to demonstrate the potential learning outcomes of the case.[footnoteRef:1] A minimum of four distinct references from academic journals is to be included in the assignment. They can part of the case, the example answers, or spread across the two sections. [1: This content is separate from the max 1500 words to be used for the case study itself.] Purpose:This assignment seeks to achieve 2 key learning outcomes. Firstly, it seeks to develop a students’ awareness for the way in which ‘teamwork’, ‘power’ or ‘change’ is manifest in organisations. Secondly, understanding workplace behaviour can be greatly informed by periodic ‘reflection’. Through this assignment it is hoped that students recognise the value of setting aside time in their work schedule to reflect upon and analyse, issues that influence the behaviour of themselves and others in the workplace. Format: The single document submitted for this assignment is to contain the following components and formatting features: a) Assignment ‘Coversheet’ (document is available in the Assignment file on Blackboard). b) Assignment ‘Coverpage’ identifying the unit name & code, assignment title, student name & ID, and the word count of the Case Study and each example answer (note: Reference List content does not contribute to the word count). c) Case Study (maximum of 1500 words). See below for the type of structure and style to adopt. d) Two Case Study questions and example answers (max 300 words each) Adopt the following formatting features for the paper: · Apply page numbers. Page 1 comes after your coverpage. · Font style: Times New Roman, 12pt, justified, 1½ line spacing. · Margins – top and bottom to be 2.54cm. Left and right to be 2.54cm. No page boarders. · Spelling - if using a Microsoft package, specify Australian English language/grammar when running your spell-check. · Writing and grammar must conform to the standards of a professional report. Submit Process: All assignments are to be submitted through ‘Turn-it-in,’ which can be accessed from the ‘Assignment 2’ folder on Blackboard. The link will be activated in week 10 and you can submit the assignment at any time leading up to the due date. The file you submit should be labelled in the following manner: Surname, initial, student code, MNG82001, asmt 2 For example – Gillett, P, 012345, MNG82001, asmt 2 Feedback: Students who submit their report by the due date will receive feedback within 2 weeks. This feedback will be in the form of a marking rubric and a copy of your report with electronic comments made by the marker. Structure and style of the Case-Study There is no prescribed structure for the case. It is advised that students develop a catchy title; one that gives a clue as to the focus or purpose of the case. Although not mandatory, students might use sub-headings to help structure their case story. The general aim is to write an interesting story which clearly illustrates a good lesson in Organisational Behaviour. It is important that the key concepts associated with the lesson are discussed in the case and that this information is presented in a logical manner (i.e. it is effectively ‘contextualised’ and the story has good ‘flow’). At the same time, students should avoid being too blatant with the learning-related details. It is important for readers to ‘pick-up’ (if they read the case carefully enough) various surreptitious clues about the particular OB concept and to recognise their relevance to the intended learning objective. While the case is based on your own experience, you should not be referring to yourself specifically (e.g. I thought…, I did…, etc). Rather, you should adopt the perspective of someone who is observing and subsequently describing the case details as they unfold. Many textbooks across a range of disciplines provide case studies that adopt this type of perspective. Students who are unfamiliar with the approach should review various textbooks for examples. For students who have no workplace experience on which to base their case, they need to identify and interview someone who can provide the required first-hand insight. This will provide for a more realistic case story; as compared to simply making things up. Students can however, use a small degree of ‘artistic license’ to help promote the OB issue at the centre of their case. It is important that you use pseudonyms to protect the identity of the organisation and the individuals concerned. Refer to the documents ‘How to writing the Case Study’ and ‘Reflective Writing’ (located in Assignment 3 folder) for further advice and tips that are specific to this assignment. Two example assignments from previous sessions have also been