Making strategy “Real”: Using reality television for innovating teaching approaches

Abstract

Management instructors struggle to ensure that students understand and are engaged with the course material. Strategic management concepts present a particular challenge since many of them can be complex and are thus difficult to teach. We discuss how using a visual media case – a competitive reality television series – allows for more effective learning across a wide range of management topics. We demonstrate how a specific series can be used to teach multiple subjects or a single topic. Additionally, we show how inductive and deductive teaching methods can be utilized successfully. Student reactions are a valuable indicator of teaching effectiveness, so we also provide student feedback from their experience with the program.