COMM 1010: CASE STUDIES

FOR GROUP PROJECT

Choose one of the following case studies for your group to solve. These case studies are based on real-life
situations that former students have experienced.
If your group prefers, you may instead use a problem that one of your group members is currently
experiencing. If you use your own situation, please get my approval before you move on to the next step of your
group project.
The project must be small scale and realistic ... something that your group can actually solve within one month.
Please do NOT select topics about which you are not experts. For example, you do not have the expertise to end
a war or change the food stamp program. You DO have the expertise to help a local organization recruit more
volunteers or to help a study group find a better method for improving their grades.
Case study #1: Condo owners
The problem:
A new group of 16 to 20 condos has been built and left with a barely functional leadership by committee
condo association. This group has the sudden dilemma that some of the new owners have dogs and some do not.
Some of the non-dog-owners have expressed that they do not want the dogs to harm their children in the
commons area, which is in the middle of the four condo buildings. This area has the childrens playground and
also is the only area for dogs to run.
Your problem question:
"How can parents and dog owners be reasonably accommodated by the condo association, so everyone is
satisfied with usage privileges and safety in the commons area?"
Note to students:
If you choose this problem, remember to focus on communication issues. At the same time, you will need to
suggest concrete solutions. It is not enough to state that the owners will meet to decide what to do. You should
describe the specific policies they develop. You should also identify, as part of your criteria step, elements of
constructive communication to be used in the process (e.g. the solution will maintain a supportive group
climate).
Some sample criteria:

Solution accommodates dog-owners as well as those who don't own dogs

Solution maintains a supportive group climate.
Solution complies with existing rules.
Solution does not favor one faction at the expense of the other faction.

Case study #2: The art show

The problem:
You are an advisory board to a privately owned art and photo gallery. As well as selling artwork, the gallery
offers a free exhibit for customers to browse through. Each month you feature a different local artist. This has
always been a fun and energizing activity. However, this month it's different. Some of your members want to
show an exhibit that includes some nudity. Other members are opposed. How will you solve this difference of
opinions?
Your problem question:
"How can we best satisfy the wishes of all members of the advisory board?"
Some sample criteria:
Our solution will

respect the values of all members equally

not offend any of our customers
maintain our tradition of allowing equal time to local artists
abide by state and federal regulations

Case study #3: Messy housemates

The problem:
You are sharing a house with four other students. When you first moved in, the five of you agreed to share
cleaning responsibilities. For the first month, your roommates were pretty good about washing their own dishes
and cleaning the bathroom and vacuuming the living room every so often. This month, however, as school gets
more demanding, you notice that more and more dirty dishes are being left in the sink, the bathroom is getting
grungy, and the living room is cluttered with shoes, sweaters, books, and dust. Two of you have dropped some
hints, but the other three have ignored your hints.
Your problem question:
"How can we housemates prevent the resentment that is building up among us over our messy environment?"
Some sample criteria:
Our solution will

be acceptable to all five of us.

distribute tasks fairly and evenly.

Case study #4: Working hours

The problem:

You work with a team of fifteen coworkers. Each of you works four hours a day, five days a week, on either the
morning, afternoon, or evening shift. Your manager has left it up to the fifteen of you to work out who will
work what shift. No one really wants the evening shift. Right now, the six workers who are married are refusing
to work the evening shift, arguing that they need time to be home with their spouses. They claim that their
family needs are more important than the wishes of the unmarried workers, who would like evenings free to
study or socialize. Your manager does not want to get involved in deciding who works which shift, but wants to
approve your final proposal.
Your problem question:
"How can we assign shifts in a way that is acceptable to all fifteen workers?"
Some sample criteria:
Our solution

must ensure that the office is staffed with five workers on all shifts.
will be acceptable to the manager.

Case study #5: The family car

The problem:
Tom and Jane Warner are working-class parents. They each own a car. Their cars are about ten years old. Their
daughter, Savannah, is a sophomore at SLCC. Their son, Troy, is a senior at Taylorsville High.
Jane has been taking Savannah and Troy to school on her way to work. The kids get a ride home from school
with friends, when they can. Otherwise, they stay at school until 5:30 PM and Jane picks them up on the way
home from work.
The kids are pestering their parents to let them drive the family cars because it would be make their lives more
convenient and because "it's cool to have your own car to drive."
Tom and Jane need their cars to get to work. They would be willing to let the children borrow a car occasionally
in the evenings after they get home from work. However, the parents are not willing to pay the high cost of
adding the children onto their car insurance.
Tom and Jane have saved enough money to pay for their children's college textbooks, student fees, and part of
their tuition. Savannah works ten hours a week as a sales clerk at Albertson's. Troy does not have a job.
Your problem question:
"What is the best solution to the Walker family's transportation needs?"
Some sample criteria:
A good solution

will reduce inconvenience for ALL family members as much as possible.

will not overburden the parents financially.

Case study #6: Support Our Troops

The problem:
You and your group members hold opposing views about whether the U.S. should engage in combat. However,
all of you would like to show support for our individual troop members.
Your problem question:
How can we, as a group of five students, show meaningful support to our U.S. troops? or Whats the most
effective way we can support our individual troop members?
Some sample criteria:
An effective action will

not make a political statement either for or against war

bring a smile to the face of at least five troop members

Case study #7: Choosing a Collage

The problem:
You and your group members are the Advising program here at SLCC. A student comes to you to help her
decide which college to go to for her bachelors degree. She eventually wants to earn a law degree. She plans on
graduating from SLCC in May with a 3.5 GPA in her Speech Communication degree. Her part-time job at
Federal Express and a 1/2l tuition waiver has been all she has to pay for college. She is single, 21 years old,
never lived away from her home in SLC and has a steady boyfriend. He has another year before he finishes his
schooling at SLCC in Business Marketing. You want to help her make the best decision possible.
Your problem question:
"Which college should she transfer to after she completes her degree at SLCC?"
Some sample criteria:
Consider your own personal situation to develop meaningful criteria. The criteria you choose would vary
depending on your personal circumstances. Here are a few criteria you might consider. The college will

offer a strong program in her major field of study.

be affordable, given her specific financial situation.
give her a chance to experience living on her own outside of Utah ... OR .... will allow her to stay close
to home (Choose the option that's important to your team.)

NOTE: SLCC has knowledgeable resource persons in the Advising program, as well as among faculty
members, who may be good resources as your team researches this case.
Case study #8: Scholarship Awards Committee
The Problem:
You comprise a scholarship Awards Committee at State University. A special trust was established by an
anonymous donor to award one full-tuition scholarship per year, renewable for three years, to a person with
demonstrated need for financial assistance, a reasonable expectation of success as a student, and who is unlikely
to attend college if not granted some form of aid. There are no other conditions attached to the award except
that a student committee must select the winner from a list of applicants supplied by the admissions office.
Admissions has given you a list of five eligible applicants and said no other information can be given to you.
Who will receive the scholarship? You can award only one scholarship.
1. Duane, age 16, a white student from a middle-class family, finished high school in three years. He says he
rushed through because he could not have tolerated another year of the bull. His mother, a widow with two
younger children to support, can work only part-time in her field as a registered nurse. Duanes high school
grade average was 3.0. University tests predict a 2.6 college grade-point average in a science curriculum and a
3.1 in non-science. His mother is determined that Duane should be a physician. Duane says he is not sure of
what job or profession he wants. He has some emotional problems; a psychiatrist he has seen recommends
college because he thinks Duane needs an intellectual challenge.
2. Carla, age 17, is a Hispanic student with very high recommendations from the small town high school where
she earned a 3.8 grade point average. In her senior year she became engaged to Luis, a long-distance truck
driver, who wants her to get married at once and forget college. She is known to have spent a few nights with
him on a cross-country trip to haul grain. Your university predicts she will earn 2.6 in science and 3.3 in a nonscience program. She says she wants to become a social worker to help work with migrant children in
California. The priest where she attends church says she has a fine mind, but he predicts she will marry and
drop out even if she starts college. Her parents are uneducated (less than high school), hard working, law
abiding, and very poor.
3. Melissa, age 26, is an African divorcee with a seven-year-old son. She had a 2.8 grade average in high
school because I goofed around, but tests predict a 2.9 in science and a 3.6 in non-science at your university.
She says she wants to become an English instructor in college if I get lucky, or at least in high school. She
was a beauty contest winner at 18, but says she is bitter toward men and will never remarry. She gets no child
support or other family assistance. Her present boss, a dress shop owner, gives her a good character reference
but predicts she will marry rather than finish college.
4. Sam, age 19, is an African American student who was offered several football scholarships, but they were
withdrawn when an auto accident injured his legs. He can get around well but cannot compete in athletics. His
high school grade average was barely passing, but entrance test scores predict a 2.5 average in science and 3.0
in a non-science curriculum. His father, a day laborer, says he can contribute nothing toward a college
education for Sam. Sam says he is determined to become a football coach. Although he has been advised that
may be difficult without a college playing record.
5. Chou (Joe), age 27, escaped from China after he lost his right hand during the Tiananmen Square massacre.
Orphaned as a youngster, he was brought to this country by a local church organization from Hong Kong. He
spoke no English when he arrived in the United States, but now is competent. He earned his GED while he
lived with the churchs minister and wants to become a computer programmer. The university predicts a 3.0
average in science and a 2.8 in a non-science program. He is limited in his ability to support himself through
manual labor; because he cannot work his way through school, he needs financial assistance.

Your problem question:

What would be the best way to select the student to receive the scholarship?
Some Sample Criteria:
A good choice

will not show bias by gender, ethnicity or age.

follows the conditions outlined in the award.
will be completed before the semester registration deadline.

Permission to use Scholarship Awards Committee Case granted 1-25-2016 by Virginia Ginny
HoranAcademic Chair, Communication and the Arts Suffolk County Community College, Grant Campus,
631.851.6486 horanv@sunysuffolk.edu