Author: Chandler, Karen A.

Publication Year:

Media Type: Periodical (article)

Summary:

Abstract:

The traditional case study method is a valuable teaching tool to familiarize arts management students with management issues and the tools to make informed decisions. This article addresses new possibilities for the use of the case study in the arts management classroom, one that is pedagogically focused, rather than curricular driven. The author also examines the implications of the Project on Management Studies in the Arts (POMSA) case study paradigm used in the late 1990s on four Washington, D.C. area theaters.

The POMSA initiative, originally housed at American University and now associated with the College of Charleston, conducts and disseminates case study research on current and innovative management strategies in nonprofit and for-profit cultural institutions. POMSs research paradigm is an assessment tool, and not an evaluative one, for examining arts organizational functioning and change. Its pedagogical design expects an acceptance of critical and intellectual dialogue over time, a search for more questions and not always the answers, and assessment not evaluation. A benefit of POMSs case approach is its comprehensive and longitudinal nature. Another is the opportunity for students to develop and author case studies, and then use them in a variety of ways in the classroom.

Arts & Intersections:

Categories: Professional Development