Teaching objectives: the value of using cases in teaching operational research
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Teaching objectives: the value of using cases in teaching operational research PC Bell1* and C Haehling von Lanzenauer2 1
Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, Canada and 2Freie UniversitaÈt Berlin, Germany
This paper describes our experience with a case study that was intended to provide business students with a straightforward exercise in operational research=management science (OR=MS) but which consistently produces a learning experience for students that is quite different from that envisaged when the case was originally written. An effort is made to explain the surprising results in the classroom. This example demonstrates the fact that building OR=MS models often reveals important dimensions of a problem that otherwise might remain unexplored. The richness of this case also demonstrates the value of exposing OR=MS students to real problems through the use of cases. Keywords: teaching; OR/MS pedagogy; case studies; medical decision analysis
Introduction While the primary objective of lecturing is to impart factual knowledge, the aim of case-based teaching is to develop the student's ability to deal effectively with problems arising in new settings within an ever-changing environment. The case method, which is based on the concept of learning by doing, is intended to help students discover things for themselves. Steps such as problem ®nding, selecting and justifying the chosen form of analysis and concern for implementing an action plan are central in this interactive teaching style: with case teaching, the process of arriving at answers is as important as the answers themselves. Problem-oriented and interactive approaches in teaching operational research (OR) have been strongly recommended as one possible way to strengthen the role of OR in business school curricula.1 However, while the use of cases is common in ®elds such as marketing, human resources, strategy and operations, case-based teaching of the ideas and the potential of OR has had a dif®cult time gaining general acceptance. Evidence of movement in this direction, however, is appearing. More OR textbooks are being produced that include at least some cases (for example see refs 2 and 3) allowing adoptors to go beyond teaching theory and algorithms and provide students with practice in the art of applying OR methodologies effectively to real management problems. Initiatives to develop the instructor's skills in using cases effectively are seen as part of a major drive to advance the
*Correspondence: Prof PC Bell, Richard Ivey School of Business, London N6A 3K7, Canada E-mail: [email protected]
role of OR in managerial education.4 Workshops and sessions at conferences on teaching OR using cases are being offered regularly, providing instructors with the opportunity to learning new teaching skills. Efforts are under way, particularly at some of the major business schools and at INFORMS (for example,
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