Getting lost to find direction: Grounded theorizing and consciousness-raising in management education

Abstract

The design of an implemented, innovative management course for French Master’s of Science students revolves around a field assignment in which they must visit and study an unfamiliar organization, diagnose what is going on, and apply their critical thinking to the situation to identify its causes, consequences, and implications for management action. This report makes the case for a pedagogic experience that uses grounded theorizing to raise consciousness among management education students. Such theorizing has a unique impact on students’ ability to become conscious in their thinking and helps them discover new avenues of thought, entailing notions of understanding people as they work in their context, making sense of complexity, engaging in critical introspection, and accepting personal revelation. The authors conclude by noting the teaching implications of this course and its potential impact for research in pedagogic innovation.