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…

Porter's five forces model is an important tool in strategic management. Strategy students use the five forces model to conduct industry analysis by evaluating the external conditions that impact firms in a given industry. The five forces model is deceptively simple, yet it encompasses important nuances that students sometimes struggle to fully…

Universal Design (UD) involves the creation of accessible, flexible products that are functional for a wide population of users. Our problem-based learning exercise challenges student teams to create products and services guided by the principles of UD. After teams generate their new product concept, a spokesperson from each team pitches it in…

This article outlines an active learning exercise that gives students the opportunity to learn and apply the behaviors of transformational leadership theory. Students watch a brief, prerecorded "before" video depicting transactional manager--employee interactions. Students then revise the script so that the manager exhibits the four I's…

General and strategic management courses frequently provide external analysis tools through which students identify, classify, and assess how changes in the general external environment impact industries and firms. In this exercise, we facilitate analysis of the general environment through a popular song from the 1980s. Through analyzing an event…

Management students conduct much of their coursework in teams, as they should. We teach them where teams can fail and how teams can become high performing. But too often, the team experience for students is solely about logistics and coordination. Students often miss the rich benefits of using their self-awareness and social intelligence to…

The 3-Step Charrette problem-solving methodology turns the classroom into a consulting firm. It trains participants to solve complex, real-world problems cooperatively and systematically. Participants identify needed information and perform several research cycles in teams to gain knowledge to examine the root causes of a presented problem.…

Increasingly, graduates of business schools will face business and organizational situations with a high degree of complexity and ambiguity. In this context, teaching and learning strategies need to develop students' abilities in problem structuring and complex problem solving. This article describes a team-based project set to teams of four or…

This article reviews Conceptboard, a professional collaborative online whiteboard that can be used to enhance student engagement and collaboration, enable real-time group interaction, and promote active learning. What makes Conceptboard particularly relevant for management educators is its familiarity, flexibility, and versatility. It extends and…

The prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace has become more visible thanks to the #MeToo movement. For college students about to enter the workforce, it is important to understand and learn to address situations surrounding gender-based harassment. I present here a series of situations that provide students with the opportunity to discuss…

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…

Workplace conflict, with its potential to be either highly beneficial or highly damaging, is best handled with thoughtful, deliberate care. This article presents two classroom exercises that demonstrate the value of carefully weighing both parties' interests in a conflict, as suggested by the well-known "dual concern" model of conflict…

This article provides an overview of job design and offers an experiential teaching exercise to help students develop a better comprehension of job design and redesign, as well as learn the importance and challenges of such undertakings. Understanding the core elements of job design is especially important because job design serves as the…

Although many global MBA programs teach intercultural communication, what happens when the method for teaching that concept becomes mostly experiential? To answer that question, the authors took two very similar classes, both composed of working adults, a Business Communications course in Germany and a Managerial Communications course in the…

Responding to change is a critical workforce competency and an essential skill for effective leadership and management along with abilities to work in a group, problem solve, and demonstrate critical thinking capabilities. In this experiential exercise, students collaborate in groups, think critically, and respond to customer demands in a…