Teaching management lessons through leisure
Were Plato alive today, one of the greatest Greek philosophers that ever lived would have rued his flippant dismissal of the arts as a rudderless enterprise that will not add value to the society, given Ruth Herman's deconstruction of imaginative literature.
It would be recalled that within the context of Plato's Utopian (The Republic), the ideal society should have no place for poets, playwrights and practitioners of other sundry art forms (except painting and sculpture) because of the corrupting influence of works, a misrepresentation of reality, which will spread ignorance and misinformation, thereby weakening the very fabric of society. He therefore reasoned that art should be banned.
In spite of Plato's great influence on Western thought, creative arts, drama, poetry etc. flourished. And today, the arts have not only flourished, several of its branches have also become more functional. One of such branches of the art is imaginative literature, a genre, which is being used as a teaching tool for post graduate students of management today.
This came about through a trend initiated by Ruth Herman, a lecturer of marketing and public relations at the University of Hertfordshire, who deconstructed imaginative literature, adapting it into the curriculum for teaching strategy, leadership, human resource management, communication strategies, small business and entrepreneurship, organizational behaviour and business ethics and marketing, among others.
Gaining acceptance by the day, Herman's initiative, is currently being put into practice in Nigeria by the British Council in Lagos, to see just how useful a tool it can be.
Imaginative literature as teaching tool
Let us take as an example Georgie by Malachy Doyle, one of the favoured texts by The Readspiration Bank, the management reading group of British Council Lagos, which has communication as its focus, even though it is imaginative literature. The book explores the world of Georgie, a boy in special care. He is a difficult boy with a lot of secrets. No one can get close to him.
But truly, all Georgie wants is for someone, anyone to come and put their arms around him. To tell him it’s alright. The book explores how change came the way of the young lad who is afraid of anyone who tries to get close and how the secrets he has kept hidden, even from himself for long were unlocked. The Readspiration Bank took a look at how the complexities of Georgie’s nature and his emotional responses are akin to real life and how it affects management as a corporate function.
As was the case in Georgie, a major component of any piece of fiction is the emotional and intellectual engagement of the protagonists in the story-line, which the writer has created (this is also a vital component in the organizational mix). It cannot be ignored in situations involving human beings, where personal likes and dislikes inform so much of what we do.
Participants are encouraged to look at these human interactions as portrayed in the texts suggested. They speculate on what might happen if different personalities were involved. They can also play the part of the writer and make each character react in an alternative way. This leads to useful debate on how they themselves would react if confronted by a particular character in a similar situation. Putting themselves into the plot is an excellent way of making them think through situations not dissimilar to ones with which they may well be confronted at a later date.
Clearly, the use of fiction as a way into a greater understanding of organizations has enormous potential.
The Readspiration Bank
In a novel way, British Council Lagos hopes to broaden the horizon of its members by instituting The Readspiration Bank, a management reading group through which they will read and review recommended United Kingdom and Nigerian imaginative literature, which addresses specific areas of management.
Inaugurated in July 2005, the initiative wholly sponsored by the British Council attracted participants from different sectors of the economy. Omowunmi Segun, the British Council consultant in charge of The Readspiration Bank says it is aimed at helping people with interest in management get inspiration from books thought to be mere fiction.
Presently running for the second semester, the programme which transcends different areas of management ran its first semester from August to December 2005. Selected texts for the first semester were Georgie by Malachy Doyle, The Tax Inspector by Nick Hornby, Animal Farm by George Orwell, Cambridge by Caryl Phillips and Nice Work by David Lodge.
The selected texts were made available to members of the reading group, after which each text was discussed, particularly in relation to management principles and practice during each meeting session. Taking a cue from the pre-selected text devoured, participants share their views and experiences on management and human interaction with corporate organizations.
Also, each session of The Readspiration Bank has a reviewer who may also act as facilitator for that session. Reviews of pre-selected texts done by the group are posted on the web pages of British Council website and the programme also offers participants who regularly submit reviews reward.
Above all, the programme offers members opportunities to link up with other management reading groups through video conferencing or the Internet.
The Italian and Chinese experience
The art of teaching management through example has an illustrious heritage. After all, Roberto Machiavelli used stories of the kings in Ancient Greece to instruct his Florentine princes in strategic statesmanship. While indeed, the use of Machiavelli’s book, The Prince and the Ancient Chinese Sun Tzu's Art of War has become standard practice in many Business Schools. This is not surprising. Such instruction by looking at what other people have done is essentially what is practiced in classrooms all over the world when management students look at case studies of real businesses to determine the principles of organizational management.
These, of course are examples from 'real life'. What about the created life which only exists in the imagination of the writer and the reader? Can we use the techniques employed by writers like the Ancient Greek Aesop, whose fables have been moral exemplars for thousands of years, to show managers how to handle complex situations in large (or small) organizations? Are situations, which are entirely fictional, as credible or as useful?
But these of course, all claim to be examples from 'real life'. What about the created life which only exists in the imagination of the writer and the reader? Can we use the techniques employed by writers like the Ancient Greek Aesop, whose fables have been moral exemplars for thousands of years, to show managers how to handle complex situations in large (or small) organizations? Are situations, which are entirely fictional, as credible or as useful?
But Herman argues that these created situations can be even more valid than real ones. Since case studies often provide extensive evidence of profit and loss accounts and of strategic decisions rightly or wrongly made, without reflecting the personal conflicts or the emotional engagement of senior management or how ethical considerations, ideology and/maybe religion influence decision making.
As reactions to external forces at work, teaching management through imaginative literature makes the difference by illustrating the interior forces, which are also at work.
Were Plato alive today, one of the greatest Greek philosophers that ever lived would have rued his flippant dismissal of the arts as a rudderless enterprise that will not add value to the society, given Ruth Herman's deconstruction of imaginative literature.
It would be recalled that within the context of Plato's Utopian (The Republic), the ideal society should have no place for poets, playwrights and practitioners of other sundry art forms (except painting and sculpture) because of the corrupting influence of works, a misrepresentation of reality, which will spread ignorance and misinformation, thereby weakening the very fabric of society. He therefore reasoned that art should be banned.
In spite of Plato's great influence on Western thought, creative arts, drama, poetry etc. flourished. And today, the arts have not only flourished, several of its branches have also become more functional. One of such branches of the art is imaginative literature, a genre, which is being used as a teaching tool for post graduate students of management today.
This came about through a trend initiated by Ruth Herman, a lecturer of marketing and public relations at the University of Hertfordshire, who deconstructed imaginative literature, adapting it into the curriculum for teaching strategy, leadership, human resource management, communication strategies, small business and entrepreneurship, organizational behaviour and business ethics and marketing, among others.
Gaining acceptance by the day, Herman's initiative, is currently being put into practice in Nigeria by the British Council in Lagos, to see just how useful a tool it can be.
Imaginative literature as teaching tool
Let us take as an example Georgie by Malachy Doyle, one of the favoured texts by The Readspiration Bank, the management reading group of British Council Lagos, which has communication as its focus, even though it is imaginative literature. The book explores the world of Georgie, a boy in special care. He is a difficult boy with a lot of secrets. No one can get close to him.
But truly, all Georgie wants is for someone, anyone to come and put their arms around him. To tell him it’s alright. The book explores how change came the way of the young lad who is afraid of anyone who tries to get close and how the secrets he has kept hidden, even from himself for long were unlocked. The Readspiration Bank took a look at how the complexities of Georgie’s nature and his emotional responses are akin to real life and how it affects management as a corporate function.
As was the case in Georgie, a major component of any piece of fiction is the emotional and intellectual engagement of the protagonists in the story-line, which the writer has created (this is also a vital component in the organizational mix). It cannot be ignored in situations involving human beings, where personal likes and dislikes inform so much of what we do.
Participants are encouraged to look at these human interactions as portrayed in the texts suggested. They speculate on what might happen if different personalities were involved. They can also play the part of the writer and make each character react in an alternative way. This leads to useful debate on how they themselves would react if confronted by a particular character in a similar situation. Putting themselves into the plot is an excellent way of making them think through situations not dissimilar to ones with which they may well be confronted at a later date.
Clearly, the use of fiction as a way into a greater understanding of organizations has enormous potential.
The Readspiration Bank
In a novel way, British Council Lagos hopes to broaden the horizon of its members by instituting The Readspiration Bank, a management reading group through which they will read and review recommended United Kingdom and Nigerian imaginative literature, which addresses specific areas of management.
Inaugurated in July 2005, the initiative wholly sponsored by the British Council attracted participants from different sectors of the economy. Omowunmi Segun, the British Council consultant in charge of The Readspiration Bank says it is aimed at helping people with interest in management get inspiration from books thought to be mere fiction.
Presently running for the second semester, the programme which transcends different areas of management ran its first semester from August to December 2005. Selected texts for the first semester were Georgie by Malachy Doyle, The Tax Inspector by Nick Hornby, Animal Farm by George Orwell, Cambridge by Caryl Phillips and Nice Work by David Lodge.
The selected texts were made available to members of the reading group, after which each text was discussed, particularly in relation to management principles and practice during each meeting session. Taking a cue from the pre-selected text devoured, participants share their views and experiences on management and human interaction with corporate organizations.
Also, each session of The Readspiration Bank has a reviewer who may also act as facilitator for that session. Reviews of pre-selected texts done by the group are posted on the web pages of British Council website and the programme also offers participants who regularly submit reviews reward.
Above all, the programme offers members opportunities to link up with other management reading groups through video conferencing or the Internet.
The Italian and Chinese experience
The art of teaching management through example has an illustrious heritage. After all, Roberto Machiavelli used stories of the kings in Ancient Greece to instruct his Florentine princes in strategic statesmanship. While indeed, the use of Machiavelli’s book, The Prince and the Ancient Chinese Sun Tzu's Art of War has become standard practice in many Business Schools. This is not surprising. Such instruction by looking at what other people have done is essentially what is practiced in classrooms all over the world when management students look at case studies of real businesses to determine the principles of organizational management.
These, of course are examples from 'real life'. What about the created life which only exists in the imagination of the writer and the reader? Can we use the techniques employed by writers like the Ancient Greek Aesop, whose fables have been moral exemplars for thousands of years, to show managers how to handle complex situations in large (or small) organizations? Are situations, which are entirely fictional, as credible or as useful?
But these of course, all claim to be examples from 'real life'. What about the created life which only exists in the imagination of the writer and the reader? Can we use the techniques employed by writers like the Ancient Greek Aesop, whose fables have been moral exemplars for thousands of years, to show managers how to handle complex situations in large (or small) organizations? Are situations, which are entirely fictional, as credible or as useful?
But Herman argues that these created situations can be even more valid than real ones. Since case studies often provide extensive evidence of profit and loss accounts and of strategic decisions rightly or wrongly made, without reflecting the personal conflicts or the emotional engagement of senior management or how ethical considerations, ideology and/maybe religion influence decision making.
As reactions to external forces at work, teaching management through imaginative literature makes the difference by illustrating the interior forces, which are also at work.
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