Our project addresses a gap in case studies. College Business classes as well as small businesses struggle to gain access to case studies about small businesses. In addition, free and open access to case studies is limited. A collaborative effort between the Economics & Business Department and the Library at an urban public college in the Northeast is creating case studies about small businesses in its city.
This 10-minute video will describe and illustrate the vision and strategies of this project, its existing and projected cases, and some of the obstacles and discoveries. We will demonstrate the planning documents that guide the creation, writing and presentation of all case studies.
Many students don’t recognize the rich diversity of their communities or find small local workplaces in examples used in Business courses. By examining Business concepts relating to Finance, Marketing, Management, Law and Government, the case studies offer students and members of the local and global community opportunities to explore relevant and critical questions. The case study method engages students, or others who openly-access our work, in critical thinking as well as concrete and relevant examples of decision making. The repository contributes Business knowledge and approaches to communities and individuals who might not otherwise have access to similar resources.
This project provides a template for further locally-based small case studies from a range of subject areas. Our presentation will introduce viewers to the process of the project as well as to brief samples of the completed case studies.
After participating in this session, attendees will be able to:
- Understand how to create a small business case study
- Learn how to create teaching notes that facilitate class discussion
- Learn benefits of collaboration across disciplines
- Learn how to build mutually-beneficial partnerships with the community
