TEACHING TIMELESS TRUTHS THROUGH CLASSIC LITERATURE: AESOP'S FABLES AND STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

Strategic management courses focus on top managers'efforts to guide organizations to greater prosperity. Unfortunately, most undergraduate students lack experience with high organizational levels. As a result, such students often struggle to relate to and grasp strategic management concepts. The authors argue that classic literature offers poignant, straightforward, and memorable lessons about strategy. As such, classic literature can be a useful addition to strategy professors'" teaching toolbox." In particular, Aesop's fables are used to illustrate key pedagogical points. The authors conclude with a discussion of other classic works that may be applied to the strategy field and implications for classroom usage.