Using the Arts to Acquire and Enhance Management Skills

Abstract

There are many ways to gain insights into and develop approaches to acquiring and enhancing management skills. This article explores one of them—through examining analogies between strategic management and the creative arts fields, especially drama and dramatic literature and the experiences of symphony conductors. The article describes a variety of ways in which these art fields have been and are being used to enrich management learning experiences. These are neither the only nor necessarily the best approaches for everyone in every learning situation. Their study, nonetheless, does provide stimulating insights into the subject for many working in the field.