Glossary
Case study: a real situation, a decision to reach
A case study places the candidate before a real situation, with its partial data and its deadline. What gets assessed is the decision reached and the way it is justified. The files worked on concern real West African organisations.
Deciding with what you have
A case study reconstructs a documented professional situation: context, constraints, available data, deadline. The candidate analyses, decides and argues. Data is deliberately partial, as in the field, and the marking scheme values the quality of reasoning as much as the answer chosen. The cases worked on concern West African organisations and their regulatory setting.
- Context, constraints, available data and deadline
- Data is partial, exactly as in the field
- The scheme values reasoning as much as the decision
The anatomy of a case
The International Trade programme works on complete shipment cases: the Incoterm chosen, customs documents, handling a port delay. The Business Law and OHADA Compliance programme starts from real articles of association and has the candidate draft the deed that secures the transaction under the applicable framework.
- 01
1 — The file
Context, available figures, calendar constraints and the client's expectations.
- 02
2 — Analysis
What the data says, what it leaves open, and the assumption you set to move forward.
- 03
3 — The decision
One option chosen, stated plainly, with the consequences it carries.
- 04
4 — The argument
Why this option rather than another: the part that weighs most in the marking scheme.
Programmes driven by cases
2 catalogue programmes put “Case study” to work: 300 credits and 3000 taught hours in total. The official rule holds throughout — one credit stands for 25 hours of work, 10 of them taught. Every line below is recomputed from the programme page: level, duration, credits, taught volume and fees in Guinean francs appear exactly as filed in the official catalogue.
| Programme | Level | Duration | Volume | Fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Trade | Bachelor's degree | 2 years | 120 credits · 1200 taught hours | 5 000 000 GNF per year |
| Business Law and OHADA Compliance | Bachelor's degree | 3 years | 180 credits · 1800 taught hours | 5 200 000 GNF per year |
Quick answers
Are the cases drawn from real organisations?
They are built on documented West African situations, anonymised where the file requires it.
Is there a single right answer?
Several options are defensible. The scheme assesses coherence between analysis, decision and argument.
Are cases handled in groups?
Both formats exist: individual for assessment, collective in workshops, where comparing approaches is where most of the benefit lies.
Explore next
- Practical workIHETC practical work: technical environments, simulated installations, safety protocol and assessment of professional technique.
- OHADAOHADA: scope, uniform acts, effect on Guinean companies, and the IHETC programmes that make it their working framework.
- SYSCOHADASYSCOHADA: chart of accounts, financial statements, standard and minimal cash systems, and the IHETC programmes that practise it.
- Balance sheetBalance sheet: assets and liabilities structure, how a director reads it, usual ratios and the IHETC programmes that teach it.
- Income statementIncome statement: income, expenses, intermediate balances and how a director reads it, in IHETC management and finance programmes.
- Cash positionBusiness cash: the cash plan, the gap between receipts and payments, working capital needs, in IHETC programmes.