The objective of a Preparatory or Induction Programme is to enable students in understanding and appreciating diversity, ice breaking and to give a flavor of management education. Some of the most widely used modules in the induction programme are Book Reviews, Basic IT for Managers, Basic Accounting, Basic Mathematics etc.
Movie review is a method to test and understand the student’s comprehension and written communication skills. This article cites 7 movies which are worth watching during the preparatory/orientation programme in PGDM/MBA. Management learners could be asked to write a movie review and to deliberate on the several management issues and dimensions addressed in these movies.
1. The Paper Chase (1973) – This movie introduces case methodology to the students. The movie is about a first-year law student at Harvard Law School who struggles with balancing his coursework and his relationship with the daughter of his sternest professor. This movie also exposes one to the Harvard Learning environment and peer pressure which motivates the students to get good grades.
2. 12 Angry Men (1957) – This is the story of a jury made up of 12 men as they deliberate the guilt or acquittal of a defendant on the basis of reasonable doubt. This movie explores many techniques of consensus-building, and the difficulties encountered in the process, among a group of men whose range of personalities adds intensity and conflict.
3. Invictus (2009) – This movie is a biographical sports drama which reveals how Nelson Mandela, in his first term as the South African President, initiates a unique venture to unite the apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
4. Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) – This movie is one of the few war movies that focuses not on larger rights and wrongs but on individuals. It shows war prisoners grimly hanging onto military discipline and pride in their units as a way of clinging to sanity by constructing a bridge. The movie reveals a lot about integrity, planning, commitment and work discipline.
5. Up in the Air (2009) – This movie is about a corporate downsizing expert who has traveled across the country firing people, his cherished life on the road is threatened just as he is on the cusp of reaching ten million frequent flyer miles and after he has met the frequent-traveller woman of his dreams.
6. The Social Network (2010) – This movie portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook and the resulting lawsuits. It portrays the evolution of Facebook as a giant social networking medium.
7. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) – The movie is about a struggling salesman who sells bone density scanner machines. Having been homeless for a year, he is poised to begin a life-changing professional endeavor. It portrays never give-up attitude of the protagonist and not adopting short-cuts even in struggling times.
Prof. Balaji M,
Thiagarajar School of Management, Madurai – Official Page