This article discusses the benefits of using "Mafia"--a fun, interactive, low-cost, and easy-to-learn role-playing game--to explore organizational behavior (OB) topics. We explain how "Mafia" can be used in the classroom to discuss OB topics, including dynamics of teamwork, disagreement and conflict, decision-making, trust,…

Work motivation is a core component of many management courses. However, its effective teaching can be hampered by the fragmentation and seeming incoherence of the various theories of work motivation. To address this challenge, we describe an interactive role-play activity that induces students to synthesize, apply, and compare several theories of…

This experiential exercise uses feedback from peers to develop students' classroom contributions and build a classroom climate that encourages active engaging and learning. It is best suited for courses that require active classroom participation, but works well in any format, traditional and online, and with any level of students. The activity…

In-class debates are an effective teaching method to cover contentious subjects. This article presents an experiential exercise in which students participate in debates pertaining to the inherent conflict between businesses' profit motive and the broader interests of society. Included in this article are classroom instructions for the exercise and…

Sustainable development is a powerful, significant, and occasionally controversial topic in management education. It usually refers to "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." The broad view of sustainable development is articulated on the United…

$50K @ Play Day is an in-class activity in which student groups apply their knowledge of organizational justice in a managerial decision-making scenario. In this simulation, student teams assume the leadership role of a successful corporate team and are tasked with distributing a monetary team award in a just manner. A comparison of student…

Delivering bad news is an inevitable aspect of management. Teaching students to deliver bad news effectively and professionally can be successfully implemented into a course that addresses elements of managerial communication. In this article, we explain an experiential exercise that applies components of a three-phase model for delivering bad…

Despite the many theories supporting experiential learning, there is little guidance on how to design effective experiential exercises. To address this gap, we adapt insights from gamification research to devise a step-by-step process that management instructors may use to design effective experiential exercises for use in face-to-face and virtual…

In an ever-increasingly diverse workforce, cross-cultural communication skills are essential for success regardless of job title or task. We present an engaging and customizable 30-minute activity designed to develop participants' cross-cultural communication skills by increasing awareness and sensitivity to interpersonal differences in…

Inclusivity and diversity are critical to maximizing team performance. This activity incorporates a popular party game that connects students with the learning objectives, demonstrating the vital roles inclusion and diversity play in the success of a business and the importance of building skills for maximizing teamwork. With little instruction to…

This experiential exercise teaches students what constitutes Appreciative Inquiry and how it is different from other feedback models, along with giving students the opportunity to apply their knowledge. Students practice giving Appreciative Inquiry to their peers' presentations through the use of an online platform that allows for written words…

This exercise aims to familiarize students with the underdiscussed topic of the role of context in coaching through a physical activity. It consists of a group sculpture--a combination of socio-drama, systemic constellation, and social presencing theater--drawing from a coaching case of an ethical dilemma, using the placement and arrangement of…

This in-class, 75-minute exercise creates a context for students to observe some of the challenges to cross-functional collaboration and offers insight into processes to achieve more successful outcomes. By demonstrating how a failure by compliance and business operations to work cross-functionally negatively impacts outcomes in the form of…

In this article, we outline an experiential exercise designed to teach students about cognitive schemas (what they are, how they are developed, and how they may influence us). Drawing on the literature related to implicit followership theories, the exercise encourages students to explore their perceptions related to the role of followers, thus…

Teaching leadership presents a challenge as students come into the topic with underlying assumptions of what makes for a good or bad leader. The experiential exercise described here brings together the worlds of leadership and art to elicit the students' implicit leadership theories. We have students look at works of art and relate them to their…