Building on the Mission and Vision of Manchester University, the College of Business creates a learning environment in which students may acquire and develop the knowledge, experience, skills, and global perspective needed to succeed in their chosen fields of business and in graduate school. The College’s learning environment is built on the following values:
- Integrity—developing a strong ethical foundation for making difficult decisions in a complex business environment
- Respect—fostering a culture of collaboration, inclusion, and stewardship
- Excellence—striving to create an atmosphere in which the performance of students surpasses even their own expectations
Learning Outcomes:
Students who graduate with a degree in any major in the College of Business will be able to think critically, as demonstrated by their ability to analyze a business case using the following framework:
- Identifying the key issue(s): the student must identify the problems that need to be resolved or the decisions or evaluations that need to be made
- Analysis/argument:
Problems: the writer should persuade the reader that she or he has identified the root causes of the problem by making evidence-based arguments
Decisions: the writer must identify the decision options and the criteria for making the decisions, and he or she must persuade the reader that the selected decision will lead to greater benefits or fewer downsides than the alternatives, based on the identified criteria
Evaluations: the writer must articulate the criteria upon which the evaluation is based and then support her or his evaluation with evidence based on the manner in which the performance is being evaluated or assessed (e.g., the performance was effective or ineffective, it created advantages or disadvantages, it resulted in strengths or weaknesses, etc.)
- Developing and prioritizing plans for action: step-by-step actions (may include both immediate-term and long-term steps) that should be undertaken to solve the problem, implement the decision, or improve the performance
- Communicating the case analysis orally or in writing
Adapted from: The Case Study Handbook: How to Read, Discuss, and Write Persuasively About Cases. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2007.