Eight must watch movies for MBA students
Ipsita Sarkar Gupta | shiksha.com
You don’t always read books on management to learn the tricks of the trade. Movies and their underlying themes carry valuable lessons. They can end up being more powerful than a chapter in a book.
What does a student learn during MBA? Leadership, innovation, revenue scaling, profit making, expanding a business, teamwork - these are just some adjectives. The MBA classes explore many more aspects.
Classic works of cinema are not just for film students to admire and imbibe from. They reflect real life and carry subtle messages that inspire generations and can be a good guide for someone leading a team or trying to be successful entrepreneurs.
Explore these must watch eight movies for MBA students:
1. Wall Street (1 & 2)
The first part (1987) is about a 'young stockbroker willing to do anything to get to the top, including trading on illegal inside information taken through a ruthless and greedy corporate raider who takes the youth under his wing.' The second part (2010) takes up the thread after eight years have passed.
Why is this a must-watch for an MBA student?
‘Greed is Good’. We all secretly aim to get more? What is the MBA dream? Great placements and position? Watch the two movies to know the downfall power and money can bring.
Wall Street (1987)
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)
2. Godfather (2 & 3)
Godfather 2 shows the meteoric rise of poor Italian immigrants in New York to become the mafia boss and setting up many businesses. It teaches how smart moves can build an entire empire.
Godfather 3 takes the story forward when the next generation tries to legitimise the illegal empire through acquiring a powerful bank run by the Vatican.
Why is this a must-watch for an MBA student?
A business can be expanded in both honest and dishonest ways. However, both require strong leadership and bold planning. They expose corporate intrigues and how the powerful subvert the system to their advantages. These movies are a lesson in how not to conduct a business in a dishonest way because it ultimately leads to destruction.
Godfather II
Godfather III
3. 12 Angry Men
A dissenting juror in a murder trial slowly manages to convince the others that the case is not as obviously clear as it seemed in court.
Why is this a must-watch for an MBA student?
Group behaviour, consensus building and personality conflicts – all these aspects encompasses boardroom behaviour. Watch this movie to understand group dynamics and how to reach a decision. Also, it shows the power of one man and how he can change the thought process of everyone else - like a business leader or visionary.
There is also a Hindi remake of the movie —Ek Ruka Hua Faisla.
12 Angry Men
4. Morning Glory
An upstart television producer accepts the challenge of reviving a struggling morning show program with warring co-hosts.
Why is this a must-watch for an MBA student?
Not every business has a success story. This is where MBA graduates come in. They are expected to turn businesses into profit making enterprises with smart and innovative thinking. See how Becky Fuller turns a loss-making TV programme into profit making show through hiring, firing and innovative thinking.
Morning Glory
5. Kalyug
This Shyam Benegal classic is known as a modern day version of Indian epic Mahabharat – depicted as an archetypal-conflict between rival business houses.
Why is this a must-watch for an MBA student?
The movie teaches how rivalry can destroy businesses, more so when it involves personal factors and family. Most businesses these days are run by families – Birlas, Ambanis to Mittals. Some of these powerful business families have separated while some still together. If someday you plan to become an entrepreneur, learn how to plan everything right.
Unfortunaltely, we couldn't find an official trailer of this movie.
6. Citizen Kane
Following the death of a publishing tycoon, news reporters scramble to discover the meaning of his final utterance.
Why is this a must-watch for an MBA student?
We all know greed is bad. Watch this movie to know the dangers of greed. Kane, a man drunk on power, teaches a lesson to all MBA students on how to stick to ethical business practice. It’s an all time classic for MBA Students.
Citizen Kane
7. Captain Phillips
The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.
Why is this a must-watch for an MBA student?
The movie teaches about everything important for business graduates: effective planning, preparing for worst times, implementation and execution, future training, unity of a team and leadership. Tom Hank’s role in this movie teaches how the leader of a business unit should act - both in good times and bad times.
Captain Phillips
8. Jerry Maguire
When a sports agent has a moral epiphany and is fired for expressing it, he decides to put his new philosophy to the test as an independent with the only athlete who stays with him.
Why is this a must-watch for an MBA student?
The movie is about a man who is at a perfect position in life – good mangement tactics, big clients, great reputation and a future. And then he loses it all for expressing his thoughts. This movie not only represents a great entrepreneurial story but also makes one examine what is important in business and life.
Source (Movie briefs): IMDB and Wikipedia
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