People growing up with powerful television images may have a preferred observational learning style that conflicts with standard classroom experiences. This article describes a college instructor's experience using the movie "Dead Poet's Society" to teach management and organizational behavior. Following a brief film synopsis, two classroom…

Thomas Gordon's "Leadership Effectiveness Training" text states that for successful relationships to develop and persist in the workplace, mutual needs satisfaction must occur. A college instructor used the overall theme of Gordon's book to convey her own needs as a teacher to an organizational behavior class and ascertain her students' needs.…

Two potentially exciting elements are missing from the traditional case study analysis approach: opportunity for creative expression and clear focus on a contingency viewpoint in dealing with managerial problems. Computer-assisted scenario analysis emphasizes creative self-expression, a contingency viewpoint, and refinement of word-processing…

Because students rarely see themselves as irrational, hateful, or insecure, they tend to believe that stereotypes are not their problem. This article describes an exercise that helps students recognize their own racial biases and understand the influence of stereotypes on memory. Because stereotypes facilitate the processing and recall of…

One college faculty member's experiences in applying Deming management theory to his business courses to improve instruction are discussed. Key issues in the Deming philosophy are outlined, course changes based on them are described, and outcomes are examined. Suggestions are offered for overcoming institutional and ideological barriers. (MSE)

A study investigated effects of the timing of grading on college students' evaluations of instruction. Results indicated that timing of grades appeared to influence students' evaluation of the course and instructor. Ratings were generally poorer following grade receipt than before it supporting predictions of expectancy theory. (MSE)

A practical definition of "people skills," or interpersonal competence, that is grounded in linguistic and management theory is offered, and ways of incorporating development of such skills into the business curriculum are suggested. A view of people skills that complements the traditional emphasis on analytical skills in management education is…

An exercise used to address a serious college classroom communication problem is described. The activity consisted of small group discussions of the important dimensions of teacher performance and subsequent feedback to the teacher and larger group. It provided students with valuable experience in providing useful feedback and improved class…

A technique used in college instruction to improve the contribution of individual members to a small working group of students is described. The approach addresses two common problems: (1) resolution of conflicts and (2) dealing with nonperforming group members. Students interview prospective partners and form their own groups, then report on the…

Two techniques to integrate critical thinking into management internships include having students keep daily journals describing the organization's strengths and weaknesses; and requiring four analytic papers about the organization, written from the perspectives of management, customers, workers, and the student himself. (MSE)

Activities for team-building in college-level management and organizational behavior classes are described. The exercises use adventure-education techniques but have as their central theme the production of rhythms in various forms: creating predictable agendas; beating simple rhythms on desks; a Japanese hand clapping; recitation; and feeling…

Drawing on personal experience and research on gender, a college teacher explores how women's ways of knowing and experiencing have implications for instruction, specifically in an organizational behavior course. Feelings of self-doubt, novelty, terror, and alienation that accompany women into the management classroom are examined. (Author/MSE)

The degree to which today's college students overcome tomorrow's challenge of knowledge obsolescence depends in part on higher education's teaching them how they learn what they learn. The Analysis of Learning Project, used in both undergraduate and graduate business administration courses, is designed to help students understand how they learn.…

A strategy for teaching undergraduate organization theory and design uses dialectical inquiry (thesis-antithesis-synthesis) and involves students actively in classroom learning. Concepts are introduced through dichotomies as typically introduced in texts; discussion elaborates grey areas. Case analysis by this method conveys the often ambiguous…