Business strategy requires skills in thinking creatively as well as analytically. Materials commonly used in teaching strategic management—traditional texts, case analyses, and simulations—are effective at exposing students to the analytical dimensions of strategy. However, materials that foster creative thinking are scarce. This article presents an approach to teaching strategic management based on metaphors from a variety of nonbusiness realms. A reading list is described that has been developed and used successfully over the past several years in the strategic management course at University of the Pacific. Specific ways to integrate these materials into an existing curriculum are detailed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Akin, G., & Palmer, I. (2000, Winter). Putting metaphors to work for change in organizations. Organizational Dynamics, pp. 67-79.
2.
Aristotle. (322 B.C.). De poetica.
3.
Armenakis, A., & Bedeian, A. (1992, September). The role of metaphors in organizational change agent and change target perspectives. Group and Organization Management, pp. 242-247.
4.
Baker, S., Crockett, R. O., & Gross, N. (1998, August 10). Nokia: Can CEO Ollila keep the cellular superstar flying high? Businessweek, pp. 54-60.
5.
Beating the west at its own game. (1999, October 13). Financial Times, p.20.
6.
Bianco, A. (1999, July 5). The Warren Buffet you don't know. Businessweek, pp. 55-66.
7.
Brooks, C., & Warren, R. P. (1970). Metaphor. In Modern rhetoric (3rd ed.). New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc.
8.
Brown, S. L., & Eisenhardt, K. M. (1998). Competing on the edge: Strategy as structured chaos. Boston: HBR Press.
9.
Byrne, J. A. (1999, October 18). Chainsaw Al. Businessweek, pp. 128-149.
10.
Chen, M. (1994, March/April). Sun Tzu's strategic thinking and contemporary business. Business Horizons, pp. 42-48.
11.
Cleary, A., & Packard, T. (1992, September). The use of metaphors in organization assessment and change. Group and Organization Management, pp. 229-248.
12.
Cummings, S. (1995, January-February). Pericles of Athens—Drawing from the essence of strategic leadership. Business Horizons, pp. 22-27.
13.
Eisenhardt, K. (1997). Strategic decisions and all that jazz. Business Strategy Review, 8(3), 1-4.
14.
Glucksberg, S., Manfredi, D. A., & McGlone, M. S. (1997). Metaphor comprehension: How metaphors create new categories. In T. B. Ward, S. M. Smith, & J. Vaid (Eds.), Creative thought: An investigation of conceptual structures and processes (pp. 327-328). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
15.
Hamm, S. (2000, May 8). Oracle—Why it's cool again. Businessweek, p. 114.
16.
Harrison, J. K., & Akinc, H. (2000). Lessons in leadership from the arts and literature: A liberal arts approach to management education through fifth discipline learning. Journal of Management Education, 24(3), 391-413.
17.
Henderson, B. (1989, November-December). The origin of strategy. Harvard Business Review, pp. 139-143.
18.
Hill, R. C., & Levenhagen, M. (1995). Metaphors and mental models: Sensemaking and sensegiving in innovative and entrepreneurial activities. Journal of Management, 21(6), 1057-1075.
19.
Hunt, S., & Menon, A. (1995). Metaphors and competitive advantage: Evaluating the use of metaphors in theories of competitive strategy. Journal of Business Research, 33, 81-90.
20.
Hurst, D. (1991). Cautionary tales from the Kalahari: How hunters become herders (and may have trouble changing back again). Academy of Management Executive, 5(3), 74-85.
21.
Jay, A. (1994). Management and Machiavelli: Discovering a new science of management in the timeless principle of stagecraft. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
22.
Karon, P. (1987, September 15). Software metaphor: Where the mind meets the power of the PC. PC Week, p. 58.
23.
Keidel, R. (1984, Winter). Baseball, football, and basketball: Models for business. Organizational Dynamics, pp. 5-18.
24.
Kerwin, K., & Naughton, K. (1999, October 11). Remaking Ford. Businessweek, pp. 132-142.
25.
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we live by. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press.
26.
Lengnick-Hall, M. L., & Lengnick-Hall, C. (1999). Leadership jazz: An exercise in creativity. Journal of Management Education, 23(1), 65-70.
27.
Lloyd, T. (1995, September/October). A little bat sense. Journal of Business Strategy, pp. 9-10.
28.
Luechauer, D. L., & Shulman, G. M. (1998). Using a metaphor exercise to explore the principles of organizational culture. Journal of Management Education, 22(6), 736-744.
29.
Mackay, C. (1841). Extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds. Radnor, PA: Templeton Foundation Press.
30.
Marsh, A. (1998). The man who listens to horses. Forbes, 161(9), 122-127.
31.
McNeilly, M. (1996). Sun-Tzu and the art of business: Six strategic principles for business. New York: Oxford University Press.
32.
Mintzberg, H. (1984, Fall). Who should control the corporation? California Management Review, pp. 90-115.
33.
Mintzberg, H. (1987, July/August). Crafting strategy. Harvard Business Review, pp. 66-75.
34.
Mintzberg, H. (1994, January-February). The fall and rise of strategic planning. Harvard Business Review, p. 109.
35.
Mintzberg, H. (1996). The structuring of organizations. In H. Mintzberg & J. B. Quinn (Eds.), The strategy process: Concepts, contexts and cases (pp. 331-349). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
36.
Mintzberg, H., & Quinn, J. B. (1996). The strategy process: Concepts, contexts and cases. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
37.
Mintzberg, H., & Quinn, J. B. (1998). Readings in the strategy process. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
38.
Morgan, G. (1998). Images of organization: The executive edition. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publications.
39.
Ortega y Gasset, J. (1948). The dehumanization of art. New York: P. Smith.
40.
Pucik, V., & Hatvany, N. (1983). Management practices in Japan and their impact on business strategy. Advances in Strategic Management, 1, 103.
41.
Quinn, J. B. (1978, Fall). Strategic change: Logical incrementalism. Sloan Management Review, pp. 7-21.
42.
Quinn, J. B., & Paquette, P. (1996). Sony Corporation: Innovation system. In H. Mintzberg & J. B. Mintzberg (Eds.), The strategy process (pp. 595-609). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
43.
Rapaport, R. (1993, January-February). To build a winning team: An interview with Bill Walsh. Harvard Business Review, pp. 111-120.
44.
Reger, R. K., Mullane, J. V., Gustafson, L. T., & DeMarie, S. M. (1994). Creating earthquakes to change organizational mindsets. Academy of Management Executive, 8(4), 31-41.
45.
Sakamoto, O. (1999, October 26). Japan: It's Sony's recipe for success. Asahi Shimbun News, Financial Times Information Ltd.
46.
Smith, J., & Golden, P. (1999). The corporation (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
47.
South, D. (1995, April 5). Get patients to really listen. Medical Economics, pp. 35-40.
48.
Sweetman, K. J. (1997, March-April). Cultivating creativity: Unleashing the genie. Harvard Business Review, pp. 10-13.
49.
Thomas, A. S. (1998). The business policy course: Multiple methods for multiple goals. Journal of Management Education, 22(4), 487-497.
50.
Wagner, C. (1995a, November-December). Managing change: Views from the ancient past. Business Horizons, pp. 2-6.
51.
Wagner, C. (1995b). Would you want Machiavelli as your CEO? Journal of Creativity and Innovation Management, 4(2), 120-127.
52.
Ward, T. B., Smith, S. M., & Vaid, J. (Eds.). (1997). Creative thought: An investigation of conceptual structures and processes. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
53.
Whitney, J. O., & Packer, T. (2000). Power plays: Shakespeare's lessons in leadership and management. New York: Simon and Schuster.
54.
Wrapp, H. E. (1998). Good managers don't make policy decisions. In H. Mintzberg & J. B. Quinn (Eds.), Readings in the strategy process (pp. 35-40). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
