Tales of the unexpected : issues around the development of a crisis management module for the MBA program/ created by Denis Fischbacher-Smith and Moira Fischbacher-Smith

Crisis Management teaching has not featured within business schools to the extent that we might expect given the crises witnessed in a range of business sectors over recent years. One of the criticisms voiced against the MBA degree is that it has too great a focus on the rational and positivistic approaches to dealing with managerial problems. Organizational crises provide a challenge to that paradigm and suggest that a more critical approach to dealing with the management curriculum is required. This article provides an account of a stand-alone course in crisis management that has been delivered over a 20-year period in a number of institutions worldwide. The authors set out how the course is designed and delivered to bridge the gap between academia and business practice, how it makes use of evidence-based management, and how a critical approach is embedded throughout. The authors also discuss some of the challenges associated with designing and delivering a course that is multidisciplinary and technically demanding.