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The Hero Doesn't Always Win: Reviving Picaresque Stories as a Pedagogical Tool for Management Eduation.

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Title: The Hero Doesn't Always Win: Reviving Picaresque Stories as a Pedagogical Tool for Management Eduation.
Authors: Middleton, Stuart1 (AUTHOR) s.middleton@business.uq.edu.au
Source: Journal of Management Education. Dec2025, Vol. 49 Issue 6, p839-867. 29p.
Subject Terms: *MANAGEMENT education, *COMPLEX organizations, CRITICAL thinking, STORYTELLING, TEACHING aids, IRONY, NARRATION, SOCIOCULTURAL factors
Geographic Terms: SPAIN
People: JOBS, Steven, 1955-2011
Abstract: Management education is a storytelling endeavor. The stories told in case studies and textbooks often follow a hero narrative, where a manager or organization triumphs against the odds. However, this essay argues the structure of hero narratives removes complexity and disconfirming information, therefore failing to prepare students for workplace realities. I therefore explore possibilities of a form of story first developed in medieval Spain, known as the picaresque, as a pedagogical tool for management education. By comparing and contrasting hero and picaresque stories of Steve Jobs at Pixar Animation, I show how the picaresque presents a nonlinear and fragmented portrait of life in organizations, offering management educators a pedagogical tool for developing critical thinking skills and exploring the complex and ambiguous nature of life in organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database: Business Source Index
Description
Abstract:Management education is a storytelling endeavor. The stories told in case studies and textbooks often follow a hero narrative, where a manager or organization triumphs against the odds. However, this essay argues the structure of hero narratives removes complexity and disconfirming information, therefore failing to prepare students for workplace realities. I therefore explore possibilities of a form of story first developed in medieval Spain, known as the picaresque, as a pedagogical tool for management education. By comparing and contrasting hero and picaresque stories of Steve Jobs at Pixar Animation, I show how the picaresque presents a nonlinear and fragmented portrait of life in organizations, offering management educators a pedagogical tool for developing critical thinking skills and exploring the complex and ambiguous nature of life in organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:10525629
DOI:10.1177/10525629251348256