The class was hot despite the room temperature being below 20 degrees. The air conditioner was operating at 16 degrees but still could not stop the sweat that ran down my neck. Thankfully, I wasn’t alone, as I could feel the adrenaline rush from everyone in the room. The deafening silence screamed through the Intercontinental Hall while we hoped our inactions would not impact negatively on our performance in the institution.
Such was the demand of the Executive MBA programme at the Lagos Business School (LBS), which requires finding the right balance between work and study. The fact that you are required to learn, understand, and put to business use something new over a very short period of time was overwhelming, especially with LBS’s case study learning approach, which has received global commendation. The Harvard Business School, University of Chicago, Colombia University, etc., all explained this case study learning method as an instructional method that refers to assigned scenarios based on situations in which students observe, analyze, record, implement, conclude, and recommend. Case studies are created and used as a tool for analysis, discussion, and decision making.
I was, however, new to this approach and had yet to fully come to terms with it. It felt strange and confusing that I was here to learn but still responsible for getting the answers I seek. This sounded like something you would ordinarily hear from a Matrix movie, where my selection of the blue pill would somehow open my eyes to realities I had never imagined existed before.
“I have only one question. How many of you have not read the case: Eolica de Composites?”, Segun Shogbamu, our Analysis of Business Problem (ABP) course facilitator had asked us at the beginning of his class. We had all learned our lesson from our experience at his previous class session where almost everyone (except for a lucky 3), did not read the first case titled: “Can you analyze the problem”. We all had excuses for how crazy the week was at work and our struggle to deliver on various tasks with no time to read our cases. Segun gave us 15 minutes to read the case in class and made it our first graded class assignment. A nerve-wracking welcome to LBS.
“How many of you have not read the case?”, he repeated. We were better prepared this time, as only about six of the newbies in the class raised their hands understandably as it was their first class. The rest of us grinned and nodded at each other, congratulating ourselves for a job well done. Toyin, our programme advisor, had split the class into groups the previous week, making it easier for us to talk to ourselves during the week and ensuring we all read the case.
“How many of you have analyzed the case?” Segun inquired again. The smiling faces vanished immediately, replaced with looks of confusion. None of us expected or prepared for this question. We had all hoped, again, that this would be a class discussion that would end with our facilitator providing us with the answers to the problem. How mistaken we were! “Reading the case and analyzing the case are not the same thing. I believe by now you should know this,” Segun said, adding, “Reading the case is just for informational purposes. Analyzing the case means you have your work plan and you have decided on what you want to do.”
Segun was clearly right. This is the LBS way, and there were no short cuts if we truly wanted to go on and excel after the completion of the programme. Our joy was short-lived, but the lesson was again learned. We were meant to have prepared extensively for the class by reading the case, analyzing it in our groups, documenting our process and decisions, and then coming to class where everyone gets to share their approaches. That is the true way. Of course, we still faced the consequences for not completing the job. There are no let offs in LBS.
