The Profit: Using reality TV to teach management theories and strategies

Abstract

Instructors are constantly challenged to compete for student attention. The authors of this article discuss how they are stimulating their students using reality TV shows to teach management theories and strategies. Using reality TV shows has helped to captivate students and has resulted in higher levels of learning according to Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy. In exercises, students watch episodes, analyze the business problem, and identify central issues and key players impacting the business. Students are asked to comment, evaluate parts of the business episode, apply course theory, and create solutions. Exercises help students learn business fundamentals and the intersectionality of people, processes, and products. This case study provides instructors with a specific lesson plan for incorporating reality TV into the classroom in a way that is enjoyable to students and enables them to apply business theories learned in class to actual experiences of the business owners in the assigned episodes.