Global BBA Capstone Project: Case Writing

Case Writing is the Capstone Project of the Global BBA program, replacing the bachelor thesis (that tends to be customary in an academic program) as a graduation requirement.

Taking place over the junior and senior years, it is organized through 4 Case Writing Seminars, and culminates with the submission of the Original Case developed by students over the course of these 2 years. Each Case Writing Seminar (CWS) is a semester-long course during which students will be under the supervision of a Case Advisor, whose main responsibility will be to teach students how to develop an original case with an insight note.

Case Writing Seminar

After reading through and analyzing around 250 cases over the course of the first 2 years of the Global BBA program, students would have gained a great knowledge of what a case should be like and how it should be taught in class. It then becomes their turn to develop this original material about an organization from the perspective of decision-maker(s) (executives, managers, etc.), along with the insight note that serves as a guide for how to teach this case in a class setting.

Taking into account the challenges/issues/opportunities faced by the decision-maker(s) while laying out a factory story about the situation, students will analyze and interpret various information in order to provide a framework and strategic solutions through their unique perspective while being based on an underlying theory.

• Case: It is not a mere introduction, description or promotion of a certain organization but instead, it would depict the challenges/issues/opportunities being faced by the organization (usually from the point of view of decision-maker(s) at a managerial or executive level) with facts and objectivity, leaving the whole decision-making process and conclusion to the reader.

• Insight Note: The insight note should not be just an introduction to the analytical framework but instead, it provides a full framework for the readers, along with unique strategic solutions to the challenges/issues/opportunities at hand. Prior to detailing the framework and the solutions, a case synopsis and its learning objectives should be laid out, followed by the case questions that open the insight note to the framework and solutions based on the theory.

While the case contains objective facts and ends with questions about next steps, the insight note is mainly made up of objective considerations providing the framework and possible answers; and they both complete each other.

Case Writing's Midpoint and Final Presentations

Every semester, Case Presentations are organized as academic events for the students to showcase their case writing progress and accomplishment, with a Midpoint Presentation halfway through and a Final Presentation prior to graduation.  During this Spring semester, we have seen the publication and progress on cases about Uniqlo, OnePlus, Coinbase, TSMC, Tencent, and Riot Games, with topics ranging from brand marketing, strategic management, Web3, human resources management, business succession, etc.

The presenters are able to also collect feedback from their peers and faculty for further development while the audience gets to have an insight about the Case Writing capstone project, gaining inspiration from peers who are progressing in their Case Writing and peers who have also finished their Original Case. Following these events, the students find it a great opportunity to network with each other, exchanging ideas while planning ahead for their upcoming summer vacation.