You are here

Can TV Characters Teach Us About Management?

Can TV Characters Teach Us About Management?
Published on
14 September 2017

From leadership to team management, innovation, marketing or launching a startup, a recent book (De Mac Gyver à Mad Men - From Mac Gyver to Mad Men) analyzes management concepts in popular series such as Dr. House, The Sopranos, Mad Men, Six Feet Under, Breaking Bad and Sherlock. The result is a humoristic, but very relevant perspective on management.

Modern TV shows most definitely offer a fun yet serious opportunity to analyze and understand management concepts. “TV series provide us with common cultural references. As a result, they tend to offer mirrors in which we can all recognize ourselves,” explains Benoît Meyronin, marketing professor and researcher at Grenoble Ecole de Management who co-edited the publication with Benoît Aubert, director at the ICD International Business School.

The TV series analyzed in this manual offer more than the opportunity to identify with common characters and situations. The goal is to make management attractive and legitimate. "We decided to focus on a positive vision of the business world and management," adds Benoît Meyronin.

Attracting a diverse audience

By attracting a diverse audience such as business managers, local authorities, hospital staff, students and their professors, this book aims to introduce a wide variety of people to the subject of management. The book was created thanks to the collaboration of various business experts, professors and researchers who each specialized in specific themes.

Want to learn about team management? Let's look at Tony Soprano.

Want to learn about team management? Let's look at Tony Soprano. What about compromising? How about Birgitte Nyborg in Borgen. And leadership? The Walking Dead can provide us with answers. Strategic management of information? Let's look at Narcos. How about innovation management? Sherlock and MacGyver offer new solutions and efficient innovation. Digital start-up management? Breaking Bad. The basics of marketing? Mad Men. Developing your service culture? Six Feet Under. And the list goes on...

Each chapter of the book presents a quick summary of a series and brings up an issue that can be analyzed in terms of management using the series’ scenario and its characters.

De Mac Gyver à Mad Men – Quand les séries TV nous enseignent le management, ouvrage collectif coordonné a group publication coordinated by Benoit Aubert et Benoît Meyronin. Dunod.

On the same subject

  • Career Talk: Amandine Aman, Chief Marketing Officer at Le Wagon
    Published on 03 March 2023

    Career Talk: Amandine Aman, Chief Marketing Officer at Le Wagon

    For many of you, marketing is the dream field! Creativity, strategy, innovation, everything is combined to guarantee you will never be bored at your job! Amandine Aman (alumni GEM PGE 2011), Fractional Chief Marketing Officer at Le Wagon will not...

  • RSE : comment la température ambiante influence la perception de la communication
    Published on 07 December 2021

    Too cold to be skeptical: how consumer reaction to CSR communication is influenced by temperature

    The increasingly visible consequences of climate change, coupled with greater expectations around societal issues, have pushed corporate social responsibility (CSR) into the spotlight for both organizations and consumers. While many companies have...

  • RSE : comment la température ambiante influence la perception de la communication
    Published on 07 December 2021

    RSE : comment la température ambiante influence la perception de la communication

    Les conséquences de plus en plus visibles du changement climatique, associées à des attentes plus grandes sur les questions sociétales, ont placé la responsabilité sociale des entreprises (RSE) sous les feux de la rampe. Alors que de nombreuses...

  • la pertinence d’une réponse humoristique face à l’expression du mécontentement des clients sur les médias sociaux -c -Tero Vesalainen
    Published on 16 November 2021

    Online Humor: a Positive or Negative Tool for Brands?

    Recent research provides information on the appropriateness of a humorous response to customers' expressions of dissatisfaction on social media, and on the type of humor to be used according to the brand identity

  • la pertinence d’une réponse humoristique face à l’expression du mécontentement des clients sur les médias sociaux -c -Tero Vesalainen
    Published on 16 November 2021

    Réseaux sociaux et insatisfaction client : misez sur l’humour

    Une recherche récente renseigne sur la pertinence d’une réponse humoristique face à l’expression du mécontentement des clients sur les médias sociaux, et sur la forme d’humour à employer selon l’identité de la marque.

  • la majorité des personnes qui opte pour un plat froid sous-estime sa valeur réelle en calories
    Published on 09 July 2021

    When eating cold food means eating more food

    International research shows that the temperature of a dish, depending on whether it is served hot or cold, can potentially change our perception of its objective calorie content.

  • Réseaux sociaux : doit-on encadrer les filtres de beauté ?
    Published on 13 April 2021

    Should beauty filters on social media be regulated?

    The "ETIC" research program is investigating the adverse effects that digital images can potentially cause, with specific focus on the impact that beauty filters can have on users who are most exposed to the pressures of today's beauty ideals.

  • Messages publicitaires : s’adapter aux valeurs culturelles. L’exemple de la Corée du sud
    Published on 15 March 2021

    Advertising messages: adapting to cultural values. The example of South Korea.

    A study conducted in South Korea examined the effectiveness of advertising messages broadcast in this rapidly growing market with Confucian cultural traditions, in comparison to globalized advertisements based on more individualistic values.

  • Published on 09 February 2021

    Emotional skills are key to resilience in management

    Fostering resilience during a crisis can be a game changer for managers and their team members. And the key to achieving this? Emotional skills offer a fundamental building block for managers to promote collaboration, resilience and well-being.

  • Published on 09 February 2021

    Les compétences émotionnelles au cœur du management résilient

    Développer ses compétences émotionnelles dans les relations intra et inter-organisations, améliore la prise de décisions et la performance des acteurs. Comment les compétences émotionnelles génèrent-elles une collaboration fructueuse ?

  • Nom de marques. Comment communiquer l’action par la sonorité ? copy metamorworks
    Published on 13 January 2021

    Brand names: How and why does sonority impact perception?

    How can the sound of a brand name influence a customer’s perception? New research explains that occlusive consonants (b, d, p, t) suggest greater action and therefore positively impact customer perceptions.

  • Accroître la valeur d'un produit de masse via la co-conception  c oksana nazarchuk
    Published on 10 January 2021

    The advantages of co-creating with customers

    Co-creation programs such as the massive online personalization program “Design your own Converse” offer interesting marketing advantages. Recent study results help us better understand the impact on customer experience and loyalty.

  • Service Freemium : lorsque la qualité fait la différence
    Published on 20 January 2020

    Freemium offers: quality the key to converting free users?

    Free digital services have become so commonplace that converting users to premium offers has become a major challenge for many digital companies. New research highlights quality as a key factor in successfully implementing a freemium strategy.

  • Gotteland David
    Published on 20 January 2020

    A good leader boosts a market-oriented culture

    Leadership style accounts for 16% of how well an organization creates a client-oriented culture. As it’s relatively easy to implement changes in leadership, this factor can be an effective lever to encourage a client culture.

  • Service Freemium : lorsque la qualité fait la différence
    Published on 20 January 2020

    Service Freemium : lorsque la qualité fait la différence

    Des recherches récentes soulignent l’importance de la perception des consommateurs dans le succès d’une stratégie de service « Freemium » (gratuit + premium).

  • Gotteland David
    Published on 20 January 2020

    Un bon leader booste une culture d’orientation marché

    « Charismatique, inspirant, stimulant et respectueux », le bon leader, orienté marché à titre individuel, servira de référent dans l’organisation et permettra de développer la culture client d’une entreprise.

  • Le dilemme des achats responsables à Noël
    Published on 16 December 2019

    Trending: buying an ethical Christmas gift...

    Christmas is a time for giving…” or maybe a time for shopping should we say. How can Christmas shopping and sustainable consumerism join paths?

  • Le dilemme des achats responsables à Noël
    Published on 16 December 2019

    Achats responsables : le dilemme de Noël

    A Noël, quels sont les arbitrages entre une consommation responsable et l’offre pléthorique de biens de consommation ? Le point avec Aurélie Merle, professeure associée de marketing à Grenoble Ecole de Management

  • Energie. La régulation des prix décourage la concurrence
    Published on 20 October 2019

    Energy: price regulation discourages competition

    A new European study analyzes the impact of price regulation on competitiveness in the European energy market. After 20 years of moving towards a liberalized energy market, the study notes that many countries report limited motivation by customers...

  • Des catalogues digitaux enrichis… Pour quoi faire ?
    Published on 16 September 2019

    Digitally enhanced catalogs… A winning promise?

    3D images, videos, detailed product files… Digitally enhanced catalogs offer a new, trendy marketing tool. Yet research confirms that such enhancements aren’t necessarily a worthy investment.

  • La recherche prospective : épicentre de l’innovation
    Published on 22 July 2019

    Forward-looking search: encouraging cutting-edge innovation

    Innovation is at the heart of business growth, in particular for dynamic sectors such as the high tech industry. To encourage radical innovation, it’s essential to integrate a future-oriented search and analysis process throughout an innovation...

  • Published on 21 June 2019

    Influence: a driving force in leadership

    “Leading by influence”, or the ability to convert the opposition and create alliances around a shared goal... Discover a new program focused on the importance of influence for effective leadership.

  • l’Institut de leadership
    Published on 03 June 2019

    Partnership: a unique leadership program arrives in France

    After a resounding success in Canada over the past five years, the Institut de Leadership is partnering with Grenoble École de Management to offer a unique leadership program in Paris, starting in November 2019: the Executive Leadership Certificate.

  • Comment réhabiliter les sens dans un environnement numérique ?
    Published on 24 May 2019

    How to re-integrate our senses in a digital environment?

    The 90s brought sensorial experiences to physical shops. With the digital revolution, how can we bring the same experiences to digital environments?

  • Comment l’expérience patient peut-elle revitaliser notre système de soin ?
    Published on 27 September 2018

    How can the patient experience revitalize our healthcare system?

    Renewed interest in patient feedback and improving the patient experience could mark the beginning of a patient-oriented culture. Thanks to a recent workshop, more than 60 players in the healthcare industry were able to discuss and exchange about...

  • les fondamentaux pour bien gérer son marketing personnel.
    Published on 12 July 2018

    The fundamentals of personal marketing

    Successful personal marketing is an art. How can you go beyond compulsive tweeting or an excessive use of social networks in order to create a solid strategy to build and maintain your e-reputation?

  • David Gotteland est professeur de marketing à Grenoble Ecole de Management
    Published on 21 June 2018

    How Can You Create a Reliable Innovation Process?

    Formatted, creative methods with a framework enable scientifically proven increases in innovation processes. The stakes are high as only 15% of innovative ideas at a company end up as financial and commercial successes.

  • Comment les primes influent la vente de produits neufs ou recyclés ?
    Published on 19 June 2018

    Sales Incentives: Balancing New and Remanufactured Goods

    Remanufactured goods can provide companies with higher profit margins. But, it’s essential for companies to implement a strategy that adequately balances the sale of new and remanufactured products.

  • fornerino-marianela
    Published on 19 April 2017

    Sensory Marketing: Reinventing the Customer Experience

    How can images, sounds, smells, touch and taste impact a customer’s intention to purchase?

  • research on Contextual Television Advertising
    Published on 28 February 2017

    Research: Questioning the Effectiveness of Contextual Television Advertising

    As businesses and marketing go digital, companies have to track the effectiveness of their advertising across many channels. The growth of online transactions has made website conversions an essential factor for many businesses. Thanks to detailed...

  • research on Contextual Television Advertising
    Published on 28 February 2017

    Recherche : Quelle efficacité pour la publicité contextuelle à la télévision ?

    Du fait de la digitalisation de leurs activités économiques et marketing, les entreprises se préoccupent de plus en plus de l’efficacité de leurs campagnes publicitaires. Le taux de conversion, mesuré comme le nombre de transactions en ligne par...

  • research on logo makeover perception
    Published on 18 October 2016

    Time for a Logo Makeover? Make it a Hit!

    A logo represents a brand’s image. It highlights its values and market position. Changing your logo can be a delicate transition. How can you ensure a smooth change? In January 2014, Grenoble Ecole de Management unveiled its new logo. Caroline Cuny...

  • research on logo makeover perception
    Published on 18 October 2016

    A nouveau logo, nouvelle image : comment réussir la transition ?

    En janvier 2014, Grenoble Ecole de Management affichait un nouveau logo, aux couleurs de ses performances et de ses orientations. Caroline Cuny et Marianela Fornerino, professeurs au département marketing à GEM, et Julien Grobert, ancien assistant...

  • Quand Orange met la performance économique et sociale au service du client
    Published on 16 September 2016

    Orange Combines Economic and Social Performance to Enhance Customer Service

    In 2014, the Orange group launched a national training program to help its technical and sales teams evolve. The goal was to encourage a change in perspective in terms of management in order to implement transverse interactions and simplify its...

  • Published on 19 March 2017

    Easy-to-Read Food Labels Increase Intention to Purchase

    The battle for healthy food has become a worldwide concern. Public health agencies have invested energy and resources in fighting health risks such as obesity. In this battle, food labels that indicate nutritional facts have come to play a vital...

  • Published on 19 March 2017

    Recherche : Informations nutritionnelles, gare à l’effet boomerang des efforts de clarté

    Plus la fiche d'informations nutritionnelles d'un produit est lisible et facile à assimiler, plus les intentions d'achat des consommateurs augmentent. Y compris si le produit est mauvais pour la santé ! Un éclairage inédit sur les efforts de...

  • Quand Orange met la performance économique et sociale au service du client
    Published on 16 September 2016

    Quand Orange met la performance économique et sociale au service du client

    Comment la certification « Managers de services » de Grenoble Ecole de Management, destinée aux managers intermédiaires d’Orange, a-t-elle contribué à renforcer l’esprit d’initiative, la créativité et les interactions positives au sein du groupe ?...

  • Published on 22 June 2015

    Research: Microeconomic Degrowth, Community Supported Agriculture

    Economic growth is the cornerstone of mainstream macroeconomics. In the face of economic crises and unemployment, growth has long been the only acceptable solution. Yet many issues have started to challenge this dominant economic model. As a result...

  • Published on 16 January 2015

    Nostalgia makes consumers more likely to spend or donate money

    The use of nostalgia has been a top trend in marketing in the last few years, in commercials, product lines and even TV shows. The present study demonstrates that feeling nostalgic weakens the desire to hold on to money, and makes it easier to part...