Introduction Experiential Learning: Why It Works Active-learning Teaching Exercises

I believe that one of the most fundamental trends occurring in our economies—or, at least, in the world's most developed market economies—is that an ever-increasing part of our wealth is being generated by the so-called knowledge economy as opposed to agrarian, resource-based or industrial production. This shift has been taking place since the start of the industrial revolution; its visible result can be gauged by the ever-increasing growth of our service economy as a percentage of all economic activity. Roughly three-quarters of the wealth generated by most developed-market economies is based on services, and that percentage continues to increase inexorably. While acknowledging that every generation seems to think that it is living in a special time, I believe that this major shift is indeed real and has profound implications for how we manage our companies. Knowledge workers cannot be bossed around like the low-value-added workers of the past. When an ever-increasing part of a company's asset base walks out of the door every evening (or, alternatively, stays at home because they don't actually have to be 'at work'), managers have come to realise that old-style, '2 × 4' 1 management techniques (i.e. where workers are metaphorically hit on the head to get them to perform) are obsolete. When workers add value by their brains rather than their brawn they need to be treated much more as equals and partners; the key task of managers now is to create an environment where creativity and ingenuity can flourish rather than enforcing rote adherence to standard operating procedures. The effects of this shift into a knowledge-based economy are starting to affect all aspects of the corporation and how it is managed, albeit more slowly than perhaps desired. (The Economist [2006], in a recent survey titled 'The New Organisation: A Survey of the Company', laments that 'The way people work has changed dramatically, but the way their companies are organised lacks far behind.') Nevertheless, change com-1 A '2 × 4' is a standard size of construction timber in North America (it actually measures 1 1 ⁄ 2 inches by 3 1 ⁄ 2 inches—please don't ask why!). panies must, otherwise they risk joining the fate of so many other mighty leviathans that have fallen on their organisational swords. Likewise, the teaching of business (and, for that matter, the business of teaching) must adapt to the dramatically different learning needs that such a profound shift …