Improvisational theatre techniques can help management educators enhance class discussion and role-play, build teamwork, encourage risk taking, and stimulate creativity. This article draws from the existing body of work on improvisation found in organization theory and creates a framework for improvisation’s use in the management classroom. Specific exercises are presented and their benefits are discussed.
References
1.
Barrett, F.
(1998). Creativity and improvisation in jazz and organizations: Implications for organizational learning. Organization Science, 9(5), 543-555.
2.
Brown, S. L.
, & Eisenhardt, K. M. (1998). Competing on the edge: Strategy as structured chaos. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
3.
Crossan, M. M.
(1998). Improvisation in action. Organization Science, 9(5), 593-599.
4.
Crossan, M. M.
, & Sorrenti, M. (1997). Making sense of improvisation. In J. Walsh & A. Huff (Eds.), Advances in strategic management, 14, 155-180.
5.
Halpern, C.
, Close, D. & Johnson, K. (1994). Truth in comedy: The manual of improvisation. Colorado Springs, CO: Meriwether.
6.
Izzo, G.
(1997). The art of play: The new genre of interactive theatre. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
7.
Johnstone, K.
(1981). Impro: Improvisation and the theatre. London: Metheun Drama.
8.
Kao, J.
(1996). Jamming. New York: Harper Business.
9.
Locke, E.
(1968). Toward a theory of task motives and incentives. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 3, 157-189.
10.
Mintzberg, H.
, Raisinghani, D., & Theoret, A. (1976). The structure of unstructured decision processes. Administrative Science Quarterly, 16, 246-274.
11.
Moorman, C.
, & Miner, A. S. (1998a). The convergence of planning and execution: Improvisation in new product development. Journal of Marketing, 6(3), 1-20.
12.
Moorman, C.
, & Miner, A. S. (1998b). Organizational improvisation and organizational memory. Academy of Management Review, 23(4), 698-723.
13.
Nkomo, S. M.
, Fottler, M. D., & McAfee, R. B. (2000). Applications in human resource management: Cases, exercises and skill builders (4th ed.). London: Southwestern College.
14.
Osborn, A. F.
(1957). Applied imagination (1st ed.). New York: Scribner.
15.
Paulus, P. B.
, Larey, T. S., & Dzindolet, M. T. (2000). Creativity in groups and teams. In M. E. Turner (Ed.), Groups at work: Advances in theory and research. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
16.
Quintanilla, C.
(1999, June 15). Corporate drones go off to improv class. The Wall Street Journal, p. B1-B1.
17.
Spolin, V.
(1990). Improvisation for the theater. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.
18.
Weick K. E.
(1993). The collapse of sensemaking in organizations: The Mann Gulch disaster. Administrative Science Quarterly, 38(4), 628-652.
19.
Weick, K. E.
(1998). Improvisation as a mindset for organizational analysis. Organization Science, 9(5), 543-555.
20.
Weintraub, S.
(1998). The hidden intelligence: Innovation through intuition. Woburn, MA: Butterworth-Heineman.