http://jme.sagepub.com Journal of Management Education DOI: 10.1177/1052562903252511 2003; 27; 407 Journal of Management Education Paul Michael Swiercz and Kathleen T. Ross and Content Rational, Human, Political, and Symbolic Text in Harvard Business School Cases: A Study of Structure http://jme.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/27/4/407 The online version of this article can be found at: Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com On behalf of: OBTS Teaching Society for Management Educators can be found at: Journal of Management Education Additional services and information for http://jme.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts Email Alerts: http://jme.sagepub.com/subscriptions Subscriptions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav Permissions: http://jme.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/27/4/407 SAGE Journals Online and HighWire Press platforms): (this article cites 14 articles hosted on the Citations by Fabrizio Lorusso on October 4, 2008 http://jme.sagepub.com Downloaded from
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Journal of Management Education
DOI: 10.1177/1052562903252511 2003; 27; 407 Journal of Management Education
Paul Michael Swiercz and Kathleen T. Ross and Content
Rational, Human, Political, and Symbolic Text in Harvard Business School Cases: A Study of Structure
http://jme.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/27/4/407 The online version of this article can be found at:
Published by:
http://www.sagepublications.com
On behalf of:
OBTS Teaching Society for Management Educators
can be found at:Journal of Management Education Additional services and information for
10.1177/1052562903252511 ARTICLEJOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION / August 2003
Swiercz, Ross / HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL CASES
RATIONAL, HUMAN, POLITICAL,
AND SYMBOLIC TEXT IN HARVARD
BUSINESS SCHOOL CASES: A STUDY
OF STRUCTURE AND CONTENT
Paul Michael SwierczGeorge Washington University
Kathleen T. RossArbitron, Inc.
Critics of the case method have argued that cases too frequently overempha-
size the formal and rational aspects of organizational functioning. Responding
to these concerns, Harvard Business School (HBS) announced a commitment
to broaden case content. In this study, narrative analysis is used to investigate
the content of the 36 most popular HBS cases of 1996. It reveals that these
cases continue to reflect the rational domain bias that engendered the original
criticism. The authors provide guidance to both case users and writers through
the identification of four perceptual hazards (metathemes) that characterize
the rationality bias.
Keywords: case studies; qualitative research; narrative analysis; cast teach-
ing; case writing
Since in actual human behavior, motive and emotion are major influences onthe course of cognitive behavior, a general theory of thinking and problemsolving must incorporate such influences.
—H. Simon (1977, p. xiv)
407
Please address correspondence to Paul Michael Swiercz, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Man-
agement Science, George Washington University, 2115 G. St. NW, Monroe 302E; phone: 202-
In keeping with the tenets of the qualitative research methodology used in
this study, the research questions were framed to be general enough to permit
exploration but specific enough to establish boundaries for the inquiry. Effec-
tive teaching cases are supposed to provide a rich, descriptive, and varied
view of real-life situations. Indeed, that is the primary objective and pur-
ported advantage of the case method. To allow us to make an assessment of
their claims to be realistic portrayals of actual business practice, an in-depth
exploration of teaching case content was conducted using the following
research questions:
• What are the major problems/issues presented to the reader? Are these problems/issues representative of the human, political and symbolic—as well as rational—arenas of organizational life?
• What is the nature of the information presented to the reader for use in diagnosisand problem solving? Is there, for example, rich descriptive information con-cerning structures, strategies, events, interactions, relationships, beliefs, atti-tudes, and processes?
• What are the salient themes, patterns and categories across cases, and what dothese patterns suggest for future cases?
RESEARCH METHOD
This study is rooted in the qualitative paradigm and uses analytic induc-
tion as the logic of inquiry. The 36 cases selected for assessment were sub-
jected to intensive narrative analysis and cross-case comparison. Thus, the
study, in addition to providing a theory based analysis of case content, was
also designed to (a) enhance understanding of case structure and content, (b)
identify further research questions, and (c) suggest methods for future studies
(Babbie, 1995).
The specific research technique employed was narrative analysis. Narra-
tive analysis is a form of content analysis, but it is more qualitative in that it
seeks to understand the meaning within the text. In narrative analysis, the
researcher “typically begins with a set of principles and seeks to exhaust the
meaning of the text using specified rules and principles, but maintains a qual-
itative approach” (Berg, 1998, p. 225). Several contemporary social scien-
tists have written of narrative analysis as a method to investigate the assump-
tions and worldviews of authors as expressed in textual representations
possibilities, two categories alone, rational and rational/human account,
accounted for 85% of all text in this study.
To investigate the impact of changes initiated in response to critics, we
contrasted cases written before and after 1987. Surprisingly, the preponder-
414 JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION / August 2003
TABLE 2
Components of Bolman and Deal’s Four Organizational Domains
Rational Human Political Symbolic
Structure Employee needs/
expectations
Competition for
resources
Values/beliefs ideals
Chain of control
(lines of authority)
Interpersonal
dynamics
Diversity of interests/
agendas
Myths/stories
Policies/procedures Group dynamics Power and influence Rituals/ceremonies
External environment
(industry issues)
Relationships Organizational con-
flict/cooperation
Metaphor
Strategy/goals Interpersonal conflict Bargaining/
negotiation
Humor/play
Core technologies
(raw materials,
technical activities,
desired end results)
Management/leader-
ship styles
Legal action/reaction Organizational
reputation
Information technol-
ogy (what and how
is information
managed?)
Human emotions Gray area of unstated
authority levels
Ethics
Decision-making
systems
Creativity Threats Drama/theater
Standards Informal organization Tacit knowledge
Financial analysis Rumors Culture/climate
NOTE: The rational domain is concerned with organizational structure, strategy, roles, andtechnology. The commonly accepted mechanism for understanding this domain of organiza-tional life is the measurement and analysis of various factors within the organization, typicallyeconomic factors. The human domain allows us to explore the interdependence between individ-uals and the organization—it focuses on the individual needs, aspirations, and relationships.This domain is concerned with interpersonal and group dynamics, individual needs, skills, andemotions. It focuses on identifying and analyzing the various relationships in organizational life:both formal and informal relationships between the individuals and the company, as well as rela-tionships between individuals. The political domain is the arena in which power and distributionof resources are negotiated. Organizations are composed of individuals and groups, which co-alesce around needs, perspectives, and interests. Conflict is inherent in complex human sys-tems—bargaining and coercion occur as individuals and groups compete for power and re-sources. The symbolic domain recognizes that organizations can be experienced (and thereforediagnosed and understood) as tribes, culture, and theater. This domain is influenced by perspec-tives shared principally by anthropology and the fine arts. Thus, the symbolic domain representsthe various ingredients of an organization’s culture, including rituals, myths, heroes, ceremo-nies, and values.
by Fabrizio Lorusso on October 4, 2008 http://jme.sagepub.comDownloaded from
Teaching cases are most often written in a modified story form, often
beginning with a catchy vignette. Consider this example from Apple
Computer:
John Sculley, Apple Computer’s charismatic CEO, sat in his small, interioroffice in Cupertino, California, reading the year-end results for 1991. The com-puter industry had just experienced its worst year in history. Average return onsales plummeted to under 4% and the return on equity (ROE) was under 11%.For the first time, worldwide PC revenues actually dropped by almost 10%, despiterising unit volume. Although Apple continued to outperform the industry, theintensity of competition was putting acute pressure on Apple’s margins. “Ourchallenge,” noted Sculley, “is not only to stay ahead of our competition, but wehave to find some way to change the rules of the game. If computer manufactur-ers continue to make and sell commodities, everyone in our business will suf-fer.” Changing a $50 billion global industry, however, was no easy task. YetSculley believed that Apple was one of the only companies that could do it. ForApple’s next strategy session, he asked his staff to address two key questions:(1) could Apple change the structure of the industry, and if so how? And (2)what other alternatives are available? (Apple Computer, 1992, 9-792-081, p. 1)
416 JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION / August 2003
Meta-Themes
Rationalistic
Rational material dominates the presentation. Even when non-
rationalistic information was provided, it is detailed and developed as
part of a specific problem being posed to the reader.
Execucentric
Cases predominantly written from the vantage point of one or several
senior executives.
Instrumentalist
According to these cases management’s primary purpose is to control
people and circumstances to achieve an outcome.
Objectivist
Cases written to assume that there exists an objective reality waiting to
be observed and recorded.
Figure 1: Metathemes
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Caterpillar Tractor Co. (9-385-276, p. 7) where highly depersonalized terms
are used to euphemistically interject the human dimension:
The company’s management engaged in careful strategic analysis and tried totake a long-term view of its business. In more that half a century, Cat had suf-fered only one year of loss; that was in 1932 at the height of the great depres-sion. The strength of the company’s classic strategic posture of high-qualityproducts backed by effective service was well understood throughout the com-pany, and management was committed to its maintenance and defense. Asenior executive said in an interview: “Our competitive position and our man-agement strengths are a hell of a hurdle for competitors to overcome. We notonly have a strong defensible strategic position, we just know our businessbetter than anyone else, and we work harder at it. (italics added)
These examples illustrate the different degree of description provided in
cases for rational information and human information. The majority of cases
in this study leave the reader with a much clearer picture of the structure, sys-
tems, technologies, and industry (rational issues) than of the human, politi-
cal, or symbolic fabric of the organization. This is true even when there are
numerous references to the human domain, which as illustrated above, when
provided tend to be far more superficial and cursory than the references to
rational information.
There are exceptions to this pattern, most notably in the teaching category
Organizational Behavior (OB). All four of the OB cases in the sample contain
prominent amounts of text representing the perspectives of employees, and
three of the four include direct quotes regarding individuals’ opinions of
organizational changes and specific managers. This is in contrast to an over-
all pattern whereby employees, if mentioned at all, are characterized as
expendable commodities.
Donna Dubinsky and Apple Computer, Inc. (A) (9-486-083, pp. 6-11)
illustrate an example of a CEO (Steve Jobs) discussing Apple’s distribution
process during dinner with his friend Fred Smith of Federal Express. Based
on this event, Jobs reaches a conclusion without input from the responsible
managers at Apple, creating a negative reaction with the leadership group.
For anyone who has spent time in organizations, this scenario has a ring of
truth and is a stark contrast to the mechanical decision making contained in
most of the teaching cases in this study. In addition, these excerpts portray a
manager (Dubinsky) gaining insight into the problems of the company by lis-
tening to the perspectives of other employees. Students are able to see the dis-
tribution channel conflict as part of a much bigger problem because the
detailed description of the human problem solving interactions go well
beyond the rational elements of the issue.
418 JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION / August 2003
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aged to view management as a fundamentally independent and technical
function. Twenty-two of the 36 cases do not mention the role, competencies,
or interests of nonmanagement staff.
INSTRUMENTALIST
The instrumentalist perspective is closely related to the execucentricity in
that it assumes that employees are just one of many resources to be controlled
by the manager (as opposed to the source of all activity related to the concept
of organization). The majority of the cases in this study endorse the assump-
tion that conception, planning, and execution of goal-oriented behavior are
the essence of the management role. Embedded in this perspective are the
assumptions that the environment (including employees) is controllable, and
the manager is, or should be, “in control.” Thus, management becomes
largely a technical rather than a social process. The instrumental/technical
foundation is evidenced by marked absence of social interaction in the cases.
Only one case in this study fully acknowledges the challenges of gathering or
disseminating information in support of decision making. In the vast major-
ity of cases, the manager focuses on the process of implementing functions or
policies and his or her own meanings and interests take precedence over all
others.
Over 60% of the cases in this study do not mention employees. Among
those that do, many seem to assume that without executive direction, others in
the organization would be unable or unwilling to take reasonable action. In
the Xerox case, for example, CEO Kearns and his senior managers
instituted a strong quality movement in the belief that quality would drive costsdown and that getting it right the first time would eliminate costly repairs andreplacements and would prevent the unnecessary breakdowns that drive cus-tomers away. Kearns and top management strove to drive the quest for qualitythroughout the organization. . . . The senior management team issued to theoperating units a set of requirements and guidelines to ensure that customer sat-isfaction became their first priority. . . . All employees were made to feelaccountable for customer satisfaction and made to act accordingly. (XeroxCorporation: The Customer Satisfaction Program, 9-591-055, pp. 4, 8,10, ital-ics added)
The word drive has a range of meanings, but in the first sense, it means to
urge or send in some direction by blows, threats, violence, and so on (Oxford
American Dictionary, 1980), suggesting that, without coercion, employees
would not support quality. The excerpt goes on to say that senior managers
issued requirements and guidelines, whereby employees are made to feel and
422 JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION / August 2003
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made to act a certain way. This passage suggests that employees need man-
agement to discover, articulate, and then enforce values, as well as tell
employees how they should feel and act.
In contrast, the Ford case describes a quality program and reflects a differ-
ent approach to the respective roles of managers and employees:
Let the workers run it. Don’t impose the old hierarchy on them if you want themto behave differently; . . . if you involve the hourly worker, he’ll [sic] willinglycontribute far more than management could imagine. . . . Feeling that organiza-tional barriers were stifling the energy and initiative flowing from EI . . . Pageknew that he could achieve only a limited degree of reform before runningheadlong into the barrier of Ford’s corporate wide controls. His solution wasto create a management task force. (Transformation at Ford, 9-390-083,pp. 32, 6, 8)
The Ford case recognizes workers as creative, responsible partners in the
quality effort. In addition, Page realizes that retraining managers to think dif-
ferently about their roles—indeed to move out of the control mind set—is
critical to the success of Ford’s transformation. But Ford is the exception. In
Proctor & Gamble, we again see the more typical case:
Though our greatest asset is our people, it is the consistency of principle andpolicy which gives us direction. . . . The general manager’s role will be compro-mised if our means to control these are dissipated in team discussions. . . .Another concern was that team meetings would be an effective decision mak-ing forum. . . . It was felt that participants would go in with parochial views thatthey would not be willing to compromise. Some managers claimed that,because the teams’ roles and responsibilities were not clear, it would becomeanother time consuming block to decision making rather than a means toachieve progress. (Proctor & Gamble Europe: Vizir Launch, 9-384-139, pp. 2,12, italics added)
Although a spokesperson for Proctor & Gamble stated that “our greatest
asset is our people,” the real emphasis of the case is on management control.
Although the case references the use of teams, management is concerned that
without careful control, teams might undermine the controlling managers’
“objective” view of the problems at hand.
An overly instrumentalist view of leadership assumes that the superior’s
task is to manipulate and control subordinates. This approach to leadership
undermines the moral and creative aspects of leadership and dehumanizes
both the leader and his or her colleagues. With the notable exception of the
Ford case, teaching cases in this study adopt an instrumental orientation. And
as a consequence, they fail to capture the dynamic nature of complex interde-
Swiercz, Ross / HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL CASES 423
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Consider how we train strategists in the MBA classrooms. We take young peo-ple with little business experience—hardly selected for their creativity, letalone their generosity—and drill them in case after case in which they play thegreat strategists sitting atop institutions they know nothing about. . . . Is it anywonder that we end up with case studies in the executive suites—disguised asstrategic thinking? (p. 63)
Let’s begin by recognizing today’s MBA for what it is: technical trainingfor specialized jobs, such as marketing research and financial analysis. (Andthese are not good management.) Then maybe we can recognize good manage-ment for what it is: not some technical profession, certainly not a science(although sometimes the application of science) but a practice, a craft. We havesome good things to teach in management schools; let’s teach them to peoplewho know what’s going on. (p. 63)
FUTURE RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This study raises two important future research questions. First, given the
lack of research regarding teaching cases and the useful revelations emerging
from the Bolman and Deal model, “Are there other investigative frames
which might be used to explore the content and structure of teaching cases?”
The Bolman and Deal model offered a unique opportunity to investigate the
question of “rationality bias”; alternative models could offer important addi-
tional insights into the assumptions and values embedded in our teaching
tools.
The second question concerns how cases are written and reported. A criti-
cal exploration of the dynamics and process of case preparation could pro-
vide a valuable resource for future investigations of case pedagogy. The ques-
tion “How real are the real-world case studies?” deserves an answer. The
“science” of management research has made significant strides over the past
three decades. Recent qualitative research developments and innovations
have created powerful tools for investigating the “truth” of case narratives.
Given the centrality of the case study in business education, research aimed at
investigating the case process has a great deal to offer to the advancement of
business education and the organizational processes that flow from it.
Swiercz, Ross / HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL CASES 427
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