Reading a business text explain that while the Indian economy is growing rapidly, the vast bulk of the populace still engages in subsistence work might dryly get the idea across. To really understand an economy, however, prospective students would be well served to look at both macro and microeconomic issues. That's why clicking the multimedia links in the first case of the Yale School of Management's Design and Social Enterprises Series provides a more modern approach to the case study method of learning. Hearing SELCO's Thomas Pullenkav explain that, "For about 90 percent of SELCO's individual clients, the solar system they purchase is the most expensive system in their household, and will probably be the most costly item they have ever owned in their entire lives," contextualizes household spending power in a way that a per capita income figure in Rupees never could.
Historically, the case method of studying business was pioneered at Harvard Business School. Early teachers found that there were no business textbooks, so they examined existing businesses and their problems by interviewing executives. Out of that primary research, they built case studies as historical narratives describing the business's past and then asking a series of questions about what it should do in its operations to better prepare for the future. Nowadays, Harvard's cases include exhibits and multimedia links, but remain focused on business and management issues. We at Core77 (perhaps because industrial design is a multidisciplinary craft) tend to see things more holistically. For a teacher or student in a design field then, Yale's Design and Social Enterprises Series will be a very welcome tool, and an intriguing step forward in how the intertwining strands of business and design can be articulated and shared. In partnership with Design Observer and with funding from Rockefeller Foundation, the first case, on Indian solar lighting company SELCO is now available under a Creative Commons license for free noncommercial use. (More backstory from Design Observer can be found here and here.)
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