The Fast and the Furious: Introducing Strategic Management Using an Experiential Approach

This paper outlines an exercise designed to preview primary strategic elements through a team-based experiential exercise. Designed for delivery in a traditional classroom setting during a two-hour session, the exercise uses videogame software and a narrative context to transfer strategic management concepts into a real-world situation. This paper discusses the outcomes from implementations in postgraduate pre-experience and post-experience classes; an organisation structure variant presented to an undergraduate class is also described. The article illustrates how instructors can use the exercise as presented, can adapt the narrative context to fit their course design and objectives, or indeed design and develop their own exercise using similar software. In addition to previewing content in the course, the exercise served as an effective vehicle to begin structured interactions among students, to open a dialogue between students and the instructor, and to create a participative and interactive climate. The exercise, instructions, and material lists are presented.