The Group Case Study Method in a Web-Based Human Resources Management Course
| Author | Carrie G. Donald |
| Published date | 01 September 2003 |
| Date | 01 September 2003 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/014473940302300202 |
Teaching
Public Administration,
Autumn
2003,
Vo!.23,
No.2,
pp.20-33
THE
GROUP CASE STUDY METHOD IN A WEB-BASED
HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT COURSE
Introduction
CARRIE
G.
DONALD
University
of
Louisville, Kentucky
Many Master
of
Public Administration (MPA) programs across the United
States are turning to
new
technologies and web-based learning to better serve
their current students and to attract new ones (Gauch, 2001).
My
graduate-level
class, Human Resources Management in Public and Nonprofit Organizations, is
the first fully accredited
MP
A course offered online
by
the University
of
Louisville and has served as a pilot for future online offerings. The first online
course began
in
January 2001 and completed its third offering
in
the Spring
semester
of
2003. In this course, the group case study method utilised in
my
traditional on-site Human Resources Management course is transferred to an
electronic setting. The group method has proved to
be
a valuable tool in
acquainting students with real-life human resources management problems and
with the group decision-making skills to solve them. This paper describes the
group case study method and how this approach is implemented online in a way
that retains the method's learning advantages and maximizes the capabilities
of
a web-based course.
Background: The Study
of
Human Resources Management in the Public
and
Nonprofit Sectors
It
may
be
suggested that,
so
far as Human Resources Management (HRM)
education is concerned, a gap exists between concepts taught in the classroom
and their practical application
in
the workplace. Educators are challenged with
identifying a teaching method that will bridge this gap and prepare students to
use their knowledge with greater effectiveness in their work. In the field
of
HRM
education many courses still follow a traditional lecture/discussion
format. Although the lecture method has been criticised as emphasising learning
through memorising information, defenders
of
the method argue that lectures
are necessary to impart fundamental knowledge about the topic at hand.
Although the lecture/discussion method is still predominarit, the value
of
"action learning" and the case study method
in
particular, is becoming more
widely recognized. Some educators believe the lecture method combined with
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