INF 1230 Managing Information Organizations: Case Writing Assignment

Part A

Prepare a case of approximately 500 words involving at least one major managerial principle. Your case should include:

• necessary background information such as the external environment of the institution or agency involved;

• relevant characteristics of protagonists (e.g. physiological and psychological characteristics);

• relevant situational factors (e.g. historical or geographical factors);

• one 'major' problem;

• any number of 'minor' problems;

• identification of the problem solver (someone with the authority to resolve the problem; a manager, a consultant, or some other individual).

Part B

In approximately 500 additional words, resolve the case developed in Part A. Follow the steps for case study analysis presented on pages 11 and 12 of the INF 1230 Resource Workbook.

Evaluation

Your case study will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:

1. plausibility of the case and its resolution;

2. internal consistency;

3. quality of the writing;

4. reasonableness and persuasiveness of the problem identification;

5. reasonableness and persuasiveness of the resolution;

6. adequacy of the implementation;

7. relevance of the management principle(s) involved.

In presenting your resolution, avoid vernacular and jargon; but feel free to use point form where appropriate (e.g. in listing possible resolutions). Keep your case and resolution short and simple. Your case and resolution should together total no more than 6 pages of double-spaced text.

You should hand in the assignment to the Teaching Assistant or instructor by October 19 and 20, 2011 (Sections 1 & 2 respectively). The assignment should be typed, double-spaced. A late penalty will be assessed on papers that are handed in after the due date without prior permission from the instructor.

An example of a student assignment is available here.