Plan Before You Play: An Activity for Teaching The Managerial Process

This article describes a 60‐minute classroom activity using LEGO^® bricks that demonstrates and reinforces the importance of the managerial process. The activity, Plan Before You Play (PBP), is targeted to introductory business classes, and differs from others in that it requires little investment or up‐front planning, is easily scalable, and, with a few minor adjustments, can be altered sufficiently to discourage information drift across multiple class offerings and academic terms. It can also be modified to subject specific discussions. Students can participate in PBP regardless of their level of knowledge or interest in the subject. Participating in PBP provides students with a concrete example of how good communication and a decision framework can result in more efficient use of resources. The activity also encourages creativity and can be used to generate healthy competition between student groups.