The ubiquitous jazz metaphor: thoughts from a jazz musician and management educator

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a viewpoint about how the jazz metaphor can be applied to marketing/management education, in light of the article by Holbrook (2015).

Design/methodology/approach

This commentary examines the jazz metaphor from the author’s perspective as a jazz musician and management educator and hopefully provides the reader with a brief snapshot into the intricate workings of a jazz group. This commentary also investigates the lessons to be learned from Miles Davis’s approach to leadership and innovation.

Findings

The jazz group can provide a valuable model for modern organisations. The core competencies of a successful jazz group, e.g. collaboration, trust, dialogue and innovation can be employed to bring about a culture of creativity within an organisation.

Research limitations/implications

It may be possible to extend the jazz metaphor and investigate how different aspects of business practice could be aligned with particular genres of jazz.

Originality/value

This commentary expands on Holbrook’s discussion of the marketing manager as Jazz musician and provides examples of how these metaphors can be used in order to augment the marketing/management learning material to offer alternative perspectives to the learning communities and enhance the pedagogical practice

Citation

Dennis, N. (2015), "The ubiquitous jazz metaphor: thoughts from a jazz musician and management educator", Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 33 No. 7, pp. 966-971. https://doi.org/10.1108/MIP-08-2015-0151