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Case studies in MBA strategic management curriculum development from Australian universities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Tim O'Shannassy ,
Sharon Kemp  and
Chris Booth
Tim O'Shannassy
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Business, RMIT University, Melbourne VIC, Australia
Sharon Kemp
Affiliation:
School of Management, Swinburne University, Hawthorn VIC, Australia
Chris Booth
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Business, RMIT University, Melbourne VIC, Australia
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Abstract

In recent years the Business Council of Australia (BCA) has drawn attention to the importance of the availability of a well-trained supply of employees for the Australian workplace. Specifically the BCA highlighted the benefits of a quality education imparting skills in the areas of collaboration, teamwork and leadership all of which greatly assist the effective practice of creativity, innovation and strategy. This paper makes a useful contribution to teaching practice in several ways. The paper links comments from the BCA to a significant and ongoing debate in the strategy literature on the best approaches to teaching the practice of strategy. The paper then demonstrates, with case studies from the RMIT University MBA and the Central Queensland University MBA programs, different approaches to how this can be done. This is followed by a critical discussion of the literature and case studies. Suggestions are made for future research and teaching practice.

Keywords

management education‘soft’ skills‘hard’ skillsstrategic managementcase studiesstudent assessment
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , July 2010 , pp. 467 - 480
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2010

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Footnotes

*

When we conceived and first prepared this article Sharon Kemp was Associate Professor of Strategy at Central Queensland University. The authors are indebted to Professor Gus Geursen, Pro-vice Chancellor and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Business and Informatics at Central Queensland University, who decided that there should be a capstone unit based on strategy that used a case study approach in the Central Queensland University MBA Program.

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