Over the years, Dr. Vidyaranya Gargeya has developed a philosophy of education that involves some innovative teaching methods. His ACID Test, an interactive case used as a final examination in his Global Operations Strategy course, has been called the greatest improvement in case teaching since the case method was introduced. In 2003, Dr. Gargeya and his ACID Test received the Wick Skinner Award for Teaching Innovation from the Production and Operations Management Society.

The case study has become the predominant teaching instrument at business schools around the country since the Harvard Business School introduced it into their curriculum in the 1920s. Dr. Gargeya designed the ACID Test (ACID is an acronym for A nalysis & Application, Content & C onceptualization, Integration & Implementation, and Decision & Discrimination) to address the shortcomings of the conventional case study method.

A week before a final exam Gargeya gives his students an eight page write-up on the organization that is to be the focus of the ACID Test. On the day of the final examination, Gargeya begins the class by passing out the questions for the exam. After students have a few minutes to review them, the guest presenter gives a twenty minute overview of his or her organization followed by forty minutes of answering questions from the class. After the question and answer session, students spend the remainder of the class completing a written examination.

While traditional case studies involve static events from the past, the ACID Test is a live case study that takes place in real time. The interaction with the executive permits students to extract information beyond what is presented in written form and it forces them to integrate the information provided by the presenter into their responses for the exam. For Bryan MBA students, it is the most memorable exam that they take in the program because it tests them on their ability to seek out information on the spur of the moment as the case unfolds before their eyes and it forces them to think on their feet by quickly analyzing information and making decisions under the pressure imposed by the time constraints of a final exam and the unpredictable nature of a live case. The ACID Test also maintains a close linkage between what is taught in the MBA program and how it applies to the real and constantly changing world of business.

Dr. Gargeya uses the ACID Test for MBA 627: Global Operations Strategy, a course that provides an international focus to operations management. While many MBA programs offer an elective course in global operations, few if any business schools make it a required MBA course. At the Bryan School, where there is an emphasis on providing an internationalized business education, Global Operations Strategy is part of the Strategic Management Core, which is the top-tier of the MBA curriculum.

During the first module of the spring semester, Gargeya’s presenter for the ACID Test was Herbert L. Hugill, the Chief Executive Office for Qualicaps Group, a global pharmaceutical company with manufacturing plants in the U.S., Canada, Spain, and Japan. The test became truly international when Mr. Hugill had to be in Eastern Europe the day of the final examination due to last minute circumstances requiring Gargeya to quickly arrange for Hugill to make his presentation and answer questions from Romania through a teleconference call. Since he began implementing the Acid Test as a final exam in 1994, this was the second time he used an international teleconference to administer the test.

-May 2007