Abstract
We explore ways in which managers’ work environments differ from those in which business students are learning about management. The volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environments in which graduates will be doing management are unlike the stable, contained, familiar and well-defined classrooms that dominate institutions of higher education. We employ concepts including the Cynefin Domains of Knowledge (Snowden & Boone, 2009) to explore how available management education/learning techniques do - do not - replicate those complex/chaotic VUCA environments. The persistence of the gap between theory and practice in management education is examined. To reduce the gap, we propose greater use of experiential simulations and activities. Applying the concepts explored here may require a willingness to risk entering non-linear and unfamiliar learning experiences since an efficient transition from stable academic contexts to VUCA conditions is neither simple nor easily achieved.
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Notes
- 1.
Higher education has many goals including creating ‘workplace ready’ graduates. This paper is focusing on proposing ways to create a state of workplace readiness for students.
- 2.
Aporetic refers to involving doubt or puzzlement.
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Leigh, E., Levesque, L.L. (2022). Reframing the Boundaries of Experiential Education Using Cynefin Domains. In: Dhar, U., Dubey, J., Dumblekar, V., Meijer, S., Lukosch, H. (eds) Gaming, Simulation and Innovations: Challenges and Opportunities. ISAGA 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 13219. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-09959-5_8
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