Narrative Case Studies
Narrative case studies use a comprehensive history of a problem, along with the several parts of the typical case study, to teach using the case method. With this method, students try to find better solutions to problems, and find ways to analyze why their chosen solution is best.
An example of a narrative case study is the Tylenol cyanide scandal. As learned earlier in the course, in 1982 seven people died after ingesting Tylenol tablets laced with cyanide.
Almost immediately, Tylenol's market share dropped from 37 percent to 7 percent. Johnson & Johnson, the parent company had to work quickly to save the product. They reintroduced the product with tamper-resistant packaging and a large media campaign.
Johnson & Johnson was successful. The Tylenol brand recovered and regained customer trust.
The Tylenol Scandal case study details everything that happened from beginning to end. It also details each step J&J took when turning the scandal around -- both positive and negative steps.
This case study is now used in business, marketing, crisis management, and other disciplines to help them solve their own problems. They can look at what J&J did to solve their problems, and use that information to fix their own issues.
As a teaching tool, this case study allows the students to analyze each step Johnson & Johnson went through, and whether or not any other solutions were possible.
Decision-Forming Case
A decision-forcing case doesn't provide an outcome, and therefore forces the students to determine an outcome on their own. Often these cases have an epilogue, which completes the story.
The formats of these cases can vary. They can be standard written cases, PowerPoint presentations, movies or movie clips, or even TV or news stories. Regardless of the type of case, they all: