As participants of the ISB-Ivey Case competition near the deadline for submission of their cases, it is quite plausible that they would have content, process, and structure-related queries. To assist them in the final stage of case-writing, the Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Case Development (CTLC) organised two information sessions recently, which were attended by over 60 participants.

The first session was on 20 May, 2011 in Mumbai at the Principle L.N Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research. Ariff Kachra, Assistant Professor of Strategy and General Management Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, conducted the session and opened it by asking participants, “What is a Case?” The many interesting answers that followed inspired Professor Kachra to steer the discussion towards taking a common childhood story and analysing it like a case. He put forth all the elements of case writing with this story in the background and kept the audience animated with his insightful input. With this, the ground was set for the participants to pose their questions and concerns. From simple questions about the length and title of the case to complex ones such as deciding the thrust and protagonists of the case, participants went through an exhaustive list of questions. Professor Kachra also threw light on the importance of the teaching note in the case writing process, as well as on how to strike a balance when requesting a company for facts and data.

The second session was a Webinar on 30 May, 2011. CTLC is proud of the fact that for the first time, we could offer our participants from all over India the chance to speak to one of the esteemed judges of the competition through videoconferencing. Nicole Haggerty, Associate Professor of Information Systems, Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, conducted this session on the Web from Canada and our team in Hyderabad ably provided the required support. She answered myriad questions, ranging from topics such as disguising the identity of the case protagonist to the depth of industry details needed in case delivery.

The do’s and dont’s of case writing were clearly charted out in both the two-hour sessions. The event ended with participants thanking us for the support extended to them during the final leg of their case writing.