SELECTING AND DEVELOPING EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES USING MOVIES Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 17, 1990 150 SELECTING AND DEVELOPING EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES USING MOVIES A Management Training Perspective James W. Schreier, Far Cliffs Consulting ABSTRACT Over the years, business faculty and management train-era have used movies to teach/demonstrate business principles. Recently, greater use of the movies has appeared in management training programs to teach a wide variety of subjects. These include leadership, career management, and business ethics. This paper examines the available materials and provides guidelines for selection and use. And it describes a step- by-step process for developing exercises using movies. An exercise in business ethics is examined in detail, from selection of a film to development of the companion experiential exercise. BACKGROUND In the world of business education, business videos are the current rage. Ranging in price from less than $ 100 to over $1500, they tout the latest ideas of the best Gelling business authors. And they tell the stories of today’s leading organizations. In higher education, the business videos are used-- but their use is often limited by curriculum design, cost, and sometimes equipment. In the business and management training sector, another use of film/video exits. For years, Ken Blanchard, author of The One Minute Manager (1986), has said that Gregory Peck is more recognized among managers for his role in “Twelve o’clock High” than he is. This is not surprising because Twelve o’clock High” presents a thorough, powerfully dramatic case history of situational leadership. Management training programs routinely feature an evening or Sunday night special showing of the film. Other uses of movies, particularly in academic settings, have been discussed elsewhere (Michaelson and Schultheiss, 1988). In 1986, Blanchard Training and Development produced a video on Leadership and the One Minute Manager.’ Not only did Ken Blanchard use scenes from Twelve o’clock High’ to demonstrate situational leadership, he takes his viewers “to the movies” to demonstrate the concepts. In scenes from “Young Frankenstein,” ‘Karate Kid,’ “Nine to Five,’ ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” he teaches the step-by-step process of situational leadership. He illustrates by showing how the characters in the films deal with a variety of different events. In “Karate Kid’ he uses a clear parallel to the powerful use of “Twelve O’clock High.” He shows that Mr. Myagi applies situational leadership concepts by the book, in developing Daniel's karate skills. Blanchard's program does not contain any experiential application of situational leadership concepts to the use of the film. But it would be easy to take that step. The workbook exercises could be adapted to make them a little more experiential in scope. clearly, those who began using Twelve o’clock High’ and Blanchard’s broader use of movies deserve credit for sparking the ideas discussed in this paper. In 1988, Fulmer, Heinselman, and Sashkin released a career management skills inventory and experiential exercise tied to a movie. ‘Who’s in Charge?” the career management skills inventory stands alone. It measures the following ten different areas. Enjoying what one does. Striving for the best. Setting high goals. Visualizing success. Committing to risks. Managing time and resources. Using relationships. Balancing work and play. Positive values. Looking to the future. In an interesting step toward experiential learning, they then developed an exercise based on the model and the movie, Chariots of Fire. In the Fulmer, Heinselman, and Sashkin exercise, participants rate the two characters emphasis on the ten character tics. The exercise is similar to the many group consensus exercises involving survival or motivation. Participants compare individual and group responses to an expert viewpoint. Exhibit 1 shows the participant scoring sheet for the Chariots of Fire case Study. Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 17, 1990 151 SELECTION AND ADMINISTRATION The first part of this paper has discussed the evolution of “managing at the movies” in management training settings. Next I would like to identify the considerations in using a movie tied to an experiential exercise. Then I would like to talk about the development of a movie-based experiential exercise. First, and maybe just a bit surprising, the use of film usually is aimed at teaching a specific concept or set of concepts. Even though a movie may be two hours long, it is not really a "business policy” type case study. Twelve O’clock High” teaches a lot about organizations, but it really focuses on situational leadership. ‘Karate Kid” teaches little if anything about business, but its an excellent demonstration of situational leadership from beginning to end. “Chariots of Fire” gives an in-depth view of two individuals’ motivation and values. It could be used to discuss a variety of motivational models or the specifics of the career management skills used in the related materials. The point is simple, the available movie/exercises emphasize a single, focused subject. Do not look for a good movie that covers that basics of a full semester course in management, marketing, finance, or human resources. In fact, most of the applications discussed here are in the context of 15 -18 hour adult continuing education programs. These programs typically focus on a single topic that might be one day or week in an undergraduate course. Secondly, using a full-length feature film takes a lot more time than a business, management training video. “Chariots of Fire” runs for over two hours. And it’s entertainment -- not education. These points need to be taken into consideration in the planning and delivery of a movie based experiential exercise. Time needs to be allotted for the complete viewing of the film and full use of the experiential exercise. I’m not ignoring the pure teaching value of movie clips. In fact, the Blanchard “Leadership and the One Minute Manager” is an excellent training video. Blanchard is specifically pointing out the teaching points. But in a movie-based exercise, you’re asking viewers to capture the teaching points from the broad context of the story. this demands focus and time. Third, participants need to be given an overview of the learning objectives and their relationship to the film. They need to know what specifically they are watching for. This is particularly important because of the obvious possibility that someone will have already seen the movie. You are now asking them to watch the film for an entirely different reason - to concentrate on the motivation of the characters or their leadership behavior. You do not want them overwhelmed by the overall drama or action. Without the specific instructions, viewers may catch the story and Miss the learning. With the specific instructions, even people who have seen the movie already will continent “I was not watching it from that perspective the first time. For the “Chariots of Fire” exercise, several participants rented the video to rewatch the film in preparation for the case study analysis and discussion. Finally, the debriefing for both the movie and the experiential exercise is as important, or more important, than for any exercise. The depth of presentation that the movie brings seems to bring a similar depth to the discussion. And the debriefing can be harder to direct because it may wander to other topics raised by the story. But the level and clarity of discussion is excellent using this unique approach. DEVELOPING A "MOVIE-BASED" EXERCISE The current choices for "movie--based exercises are limited. In published versions, there are leadership and career management. So somebody intrigued by the idea might want to develop their own movie based experiential exercise. There are 1000's of movies available, many opportunities for developing an interesting exercise. The next section of this paper examines both the process and content of such an exercise. Participant reactions to both the “Leadership and the One Minute Manager” video and the “Chariots of Fire” case study impressed me. So I decided to develop a movie based experiential exercise. The course was a two day, continuing education, workshop oti Ethics and the Manager.” Obviously the first step of the process is identifying the specific learning objectives of the program. In this class, the Ken Blanchard/Norman Vincent Peale book, The Power of ethical Management (1988), was the course text. It presents a basic ethical model: is it legal? Is it balanced (fair to all parties)? and how would I feel about my actions if they were in the news? The next Bet of learning objectives dealt with the role of the manager. This class was for practicing managers. One objective was to examine the role of the leader in the process of day-to-day ethical management decision-making. I decided to examine this process by using the Kouzes/Posner model from The Leadership Challenge (1987). This model talks about ten basic actions for leaders and leadership from the eyes of the follower. This approach seemed a good opportunity to examine ethical behavior in organizations. While learning objectives are being considered, you must consider a design for the experiential exercise. This also happens as you select a film. For the experiential exercise, it may be helpful to think about a standard exercise style, or process issues, to facilitate the design. For example, the content is ethics and leadership. But the process can be a focus on individual or group decision-making, values clarification, or communication. The issue to be faced here relates to the content versus process issues addressed in part by Schreier [19791. He stated that exercises teaching process or organizational behavior concepts can be content as well as process relevant. A powerful, potentially generic, model for an experiential exercise is the group ranking, consensus type, experience. It forces participants to make choices about some issue, whatever that may be, communicate with others to discuss and defend their decisions, and, as a group, come to some agreement. The exercise can be used easily to direct a group toward a step where they propose solutions to a problem or recommendations/guidelines for a general area of concern. Having decided on the concepts that I wanted to present, and the group decision-making process that seemed to fit, the search for a film began in earnest. The search for an appropriate film can be very difficult. Or it might be drawn from a list of candidates that an instructor has considered for possible use. Or it might be a stroke of luck that a film stands out as a possibility for an exercise. It may even be there are several films that fit a particular teaching objective. Such seems to be the case with leadership. The list of appropriate films for demonstrating situational leadership may result in a leadership film festival. On other subjects, like business ethics, it may not be quite as simple. Or it may just be a film you watched recently on cable. This was the case with business ethics. The idea for a film-based exercise prompted the thought of "Tin Men, a business comedy starring Richard Dreyfuss and Danny DeVito. The Story concerns aluminum siding salesmen in the sixties. It follows their personal and professional exploits as the industry begins to face regulation from consumer/community boards. With learning objectives and a possible film, the final decision about the type of experiential exercise can be made. At this point I was working with two possibilities, a group decision-making exercise using the principles of leadership or a values clarification exercise similar to “The Girl and the Sailor’ (1989). In this exercise, shown in Exhibit 2, a story is told about five people. The values clarification is a simple question: which of these people do you like least? The same process could be used for the key characters in a film. I finally decided to develop both exercises and use them as a multi-part experiential exercise. The materials are shown in exhibits 3-5. Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 17, 1990 152 Exhibit 2 THE GIRL AND THE SAILOR A ship sank in a storm. Five survivors scrambled aboard two lifeboats: a sailor, a girl, and an old man in one boat; the girl’s fiancée and his best friend in the second. During the storm, the two boats separated. The first boat washed ashore on an island and was wrecked. The girl searched all day in vain for the other boat or any sign of her fiancée. The next day, the weather cleared, and still she could not locate her fiancée. In the distance she saw another island, hoping to find her fiancée, she begged the sailor to repair the boat and row her to the other island. The sailor agreed, on the condition that she sleep with him that night. Distraught, she went to the old man for advice, ‘I cannot tell you what is right or wrong for you," he said. “Look into your heart and follow it.” Confused but desperate, she agreed to the sailor’s condition. The next morning the sailor fixed the boat and rowed her to the other island. Jumping out of the boat, she ran up the beach into the arms of her fiancée. Then she decided to tell him about the previous night. in a rage, he pushed her away and said, ‘Get away from me! I don’t want to see you again!’ Weeping, she started to walk slowly down the beach. Seeing her, the best friend went to her, put his arm around her, and said, 1 can tell that you two have had a fight. I’ll try to patch it up, but, in the meantime, I’ll take care of you. Exhibit 4 Why Are All These Things Happening to Me? Leadership Practices and Ethics From the viewpoint of LEADERSHIP ACTIONS, rate the following characters (1 = good example - 5 = poor example). Consider these practices from two perspectives of leadership: the formal leadership (supervisors/managers/owners) and the informal leadership (more experienced co-workers/peers/industry stars"). B.B. Tilley Wayne Stanley Challenging the Process Shared Vision Enabling Others Modeling the Way Encouraging the Heart From an informal standpoint, what about B.B. and Tilley’s co- workers, Sam, Mo., etc.? Leadership is not just about leaders; it is also about followers. Successful leadership depends not just on activities of the leaders. It depends on the perceptions of the leader by the followers. Here are some factors concerning perceptions followers have of leaders. Again, rate the characters (1 = good example. 5 poor example) from both the viewpoint of and informal leaders. B.B. Tilley Wayne Stanley Honesty Competence Being Forward-Looking Inspiration Again, from an informal standpoint, what about B.B. and Tilley’s coworkers, Sam, Mo., etc.? Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 17, 1990 153 Administration The exercise is administered by first having participant complete and briefly discuss the leadership characteristics, shown in.Exhibit 3. Then the film is introduced with comments about evaluating the characters’ behavior from an ethical and leadership stand- point. A brief overview of the film is provided to give participants an idea of who and what to watch. During the early moments of the film, key characters are pointed out. After the film, each exercise is introduced briefing. The leadership actions exercise, exhibit 4, is conducted first. Participants could have spent over an hour discussing these factors. The ‘Who Do You Like Least exercise was conducted in a brief format to close out discussion of the film. Either of these exercises could be given between a half-hour to an hour for discussion. Debriefing The exercise is debriefed by having each group of participants, from the previous exercises, develop a list of specific guidelines for ethical business conduct with comments about how it relate to their Specific jobs. Here the difference between an undergraduate student setting and an adult continuing education or MBA student is apparent. These exercises were designed specifically to apply ethical management principles to their jobs and organizations. The discussion focuses in these areas and often prompts a variety of very specific questions based on the participants’ experiences. Evaluation Evaluation of this movie/experiential exercise comes from the debriefing. Are participants able to identify some key concepts of ethical management? Are they able to make application of these principals to their own On-the-job situation? And evaluation comes in the form of end-of-program evaluation forms? The question of real evaluation of learning comes back on the job and is extremely difficult to measure. The managers should go back to their jobs more knowledgeable and aware of the ethical impact of their decisions and behavior. OTHER POSSIBILITIES If you start thinking about the concepts taught in different courses and movies that demonstrate them, you can quickly develop some interesting possibilities. The movie “Chorus Line” is an excellent vehicle for discussing job hunting skills, recruitment, and selection strategies. From the individual viewpoint, the film includes a portrayal of the job hunter’s concern, highlighted in the early Moments with a song “My Resume.” From the organizational Standpoint, there are points about both recruitment and selection. An experiential exercise evaluating the selection of the dancers in the movie against a recommended set of hiring principles would provide a good vehicle for evaluating hiring standards. Exhibit 6 is a summary of Kurt Einstein’s (1986) principles for selection and is an excellent format for an exercise. SOME SPECULATION In developing the ethics exercise based on “Tin Men, r examined a variety of movies and considered exercises on a variety of management subjects. The speculation might be interesting for someone wanting to develop a movie-based experiential exercise. Subject Possible Films Change Fiddler on the Roof Power/Social Responsibility The Moneychangers Motivation/Values Secret of My Success Power The Magnificent Seven Exhibit 6 How to Pick the Best Personnel Selection and the Future of Your Company Personnel decisions fail because managers fail to: Develop job specifications. Gather enough information to make a correct selection. You must know what you need, what is acceptable, and what is unacceptable in a candidate. The dynamics of selection are: Past related information. Future related information. Performance standards. There are two evaluation criteria: Capability and Personality The "boss-subordinate" relationship is the most dynamic in any working situation. A candidate should never be interviewed under stress. References should be taken with a great deal of reservation, and are generally unreliable. The essence of the interview it to determine if the candidates can do what they say they can do. CONCLUSION Movies provide an interesting opportunity for some creative experiential exercises. The guidelines identified here, although similar to guidelines for good experiential exercises of any type, are important. Using films requires some special set-up and instructions to the audience. It requires specifically focused exercises that focus on the learning objectives, which may be quite different from the plot of the film. The results are interesting. Participant reports high levels of involvement with the learning. The discussions during the exercises seem to produce a very deep level of analyze and understanding. Measuring the learning might be an important step in making this a proven format for experiential learning. Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 17, 1990 154 REFERENCES Blanchard, Kenneth, The One Minute Manager, New York: Wm. Morrow, 1985. Blanchard, Kenneth, Leadership and the One Minute Manager, Blanchard Training and Development, Escondido, California, 1987 (Video) Blanchard, Kenneth and Peale, Norman Vincent, The Power of Ethical Management, New York: Wm. Morrow, 1988. Einstein, Kurt, How to Pick the Best - Personnel Selection and the Future of Your Company, Video Education Network, 1986 Fulmer, Robert M., Heinselman, C. Tom, and Sashkin, Marshall, Self Management Assessment, organization Design and Development, 1988 Kouzes, James M. and Posner, Barry Z., The Leadership Challenge, Jossey-Bass, 1987. Kouzes James H. and Posner, Barry Z., “Leadership Is in the Eye of the Follower, 1989 Annual: Developing Human Resources, J. William Pfeiffer (Editor), University associates, 1989, pp. 233 -240. Michaelson and Schultheiss, ‘Teaching Power Using ‘The Magnificent Seven, Organization Behavior Teaching Research, #4, 1987-1988. Schreier, James W., Issues in the Organizational Application of Simulation and Experiential Material, in Certo, S. and Brenenstuhl, D. (Editors), INSIGHTS INTO EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING (Tempe, Arizona: -Bureau of Business and Economic Research, Arizona State University), April 1979, pp. 107-111. The Girl and the Sailor,” in 1989 Annual: Developing Human Resources, 3. William Pfeiffer (Editor), University Associates, 1989, pp. 17- 22. Table of Contents Volume 17, 1990 The Impact of Decision Support Systems on the Effectiveness of Small Group Decisions - Revisited The Relationship Between Financial Performance and Other Measures of Learning on a Simulation Exercise Use and Effectiveness of an Analogy-Based Expert System Suggestions for Computerized Business Authors Dealing with Power: An Experiential Exercise Using Movie and Personal Diary Analysis Techniques A Model for Developing Student Skills and Assessing Outcomes Through Outdoor Training Computer-Aided Exercises Versus Workbook Exercises as Learning Facilitator in the Principles of Marketing Course An Exposition of Guilford's Si Model as a Means of Diagnosing and Generating Pedagogical Strategies in Collegiate Business Education Formal Planning and Simulation Team Performance: A Cross Sectional Approach Cases: Real Organizations in Real Time in the Classroom An Empirical Investigation of the Internal Validity of Marketing Simulation Game An Empirical Evaluation of the Pedagogical Value of Playing a Simulation Game in a Principles of Marketing Course Factors Affecting Effective Teaching of Strategic Planning: Some Preliminary Evidence An Experiential Exercise for Learning About the Relationship Between Organizational Form & the Project Management Process Accounting Communication Skills can be Taught in the Auditing Course Modeling Cost Functions in Computerized Business Simulation: An Application of Duality Theory and Sheppard's Lemma A Life Cycle Analysis of Decision Making for a Strategic Management Team What's the Problem? A Dynamic Model for Teaching Problem Solving Skills Experientially International Currency Fluctuations: Money$im, A Simulation Superstores: A Specialized Retailing Simulation Within a Specialized Marketing Curriculum Factors Affecting Student Perceptions of Learning in a Business Policy Game VC + EL = VL The Name Game: An Experiential Exercise in Intergroup Relations The Effects of Experiential Accounting Work Experience on Student Performance in Intermediate Accounting Courses The Results of Using the Experiential Activity Group Performance Evaluation in a Business Policy Setting Using a Legal Database to Describe the Legal Environment of Marketing (and Business) Matching Environmental Uncertainty and Organizational Configuration An Instructional Computer Simulation of Tampering in QC Executive Evaluation of Student Learning in the Looking Glass Simulation Group Personality Composition and Total Enterprise Simulation Performance An Expert System for Selecting Analytical Techniques for Analyzing Marketing Research Data Effects of Cognitive Styles on Responses in an In-Basket Simulation A Psychometric Analysis of Kolb's Revised Learning Style-Inventory Selecting and Developing Experiential Exercises Using Movies Application of a Real-World Strategic Management Model in the Classroom Demand Equations which Include Product Attributes Consumption as the Objective in Computer-Scored Total Enterprise Simulations The Effects of Decision Format and Evaluation on Simulation Performance, Decision Time, and Team Cohesion The Effects of Computer Related Assignments on Student Performance in Business Administration The Money Game: A Dynamic Simulation Including Random Shocks for Money and Banking Courses Methods for Evaluating Performance on Business Simulations: A Survey The Effects of Synergogy on the Policy Course: Significant Improvements in Student Learning and Teacher Evaluation Conditions and Outcomes of Trust in a Two-Person Bargaining Exercise Bankgame Enhancing Computer Business Simulation with the Use of VGA Graphics An Experiential Approach to Entrepreneurship An Advanced Simulation Method (ASM) for Multiple Objective Problems The Influence of Experiential learning Techniques on Student Recognition of Non-Primary Learning Styles Negotiating Mergers and Acquisitions: A Cocktail Napkin Approach Identification of Unintended Effects in Experiential Laboratory Exercises An Experimental Comparison of Paper and Pencil and Computer Aided Decision Support Tools Porting a Simulation from the IBM World to the Macintosh World A Transaction Cost Analysis of Experiential Learning The Development of Experiential Exercises for Courses in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management The Assessment Center as and Experiential Classroom Exercise Pricing Strategy Algorithms for Playing Business Simulations Organizational Structures for International Operations: An Experiential Activity Simulation Emphasis in the Business School Capstone Course An Integrated Approach to Computerizing the Business Curriculum Cross-Cultural Business Negotiations Exercise Organizational Socialization and Gender Differences in Students at Work Understanding Student Work Experience: A Content-Analytic Approach Introducing Executive MBA Programs with Management Games An Analysis of Improvement in Business Decision Outcome with Sequential Use of Two Simulation Games Teaching Business Policy Utilizing Mass Lecture and Individual Case Labs Potholes Along the Road to Evaluating Learning Outcomes: The Case of Outdoor Management Training Experiential Learning for Interior Design Students: Using CADD, Lotus 1-2-3, and Wordperfect Cognitive Learning Using a Computer-Based, Qualitative Interactive Business Simulation Sex Discrimination: Does the Woman get the Job or Does the Best Man Win? A Search for Visual Aids to Support Experiential Learning Through the 1990's An Experimental Analysis fo the Effectiveness of Student Role-Playing in Sales Training How to Have Students Learn from their Term Projects Self-Evaluation Exercise (SEE): An Assessment of Class Contribution A Study of the Influence of Team Formation on Attitudes and Performance in Management Games A Hardware Based CIM Simulation Laboratory Model Test Substance Abuse in Organizations Micro Computer Training Models Teaching Forecasting, Cash Budgeting and Inventory Model Building Using SBTools A Comparison of the Effects of Experiential Learning Activities and Traditional Lecture Classes An Adjunct Writing Instruction Assistant, The Computer; With an Illustration Classroom Software for ABC Analysis Utilizing Information Processing Technology to Enhance the Business Policy Simulation Experience Progressive Cases Realistic Job Previews Vs. Traditional Job Previews: Experiencing the Differences and Understanding the Consequences Investment Analysis Using the Pragmatic Multiplier Approach A Computer Simulation Interface for Competitive and Firm Analysis Self-Assessment of Ethical Decision Making Predispositions Preparing Managers for Overseas Assignments An Inquiry into Japanese Marketing: Workshop on Teaching Japanese Marketing The Performance Appraisal Feedback Interview: A Role Play for Human Resources Management Teaching Counselor Selling techniques Using Experiential Techniques to Teach International Topics International Management Simulation Gaming: Current Status and Future Developments A Realism Comparison of Simulation Technologies/Methodologies A Time-Efficient Game to Illustrate Concepts Taught in Management Courses and Management Development Programs Teaching the Management of Technology The Concept of Face and the Applicability of Experiential Exercises in an Oriental Culture's