30 Must See Movies for B-School Student
For Hollywood, the world of business can be a vehicle for many kind of stories, from morality tales to conspiracy theories to David and Goliath fables. With that in mind, Bloomberg Business week asked Deans at the top 30 business schools to name their favorite movies with a business theme or lesson and to explain their choices. For anyone contemplating business school, or currently enrolled in one, these picks serve as a kind of silver screen curriculum on leadership, ethics, and the exercise of power. This article is By Kiah Haslet
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- DirectorRon HowardStarsMichael KeatonGedde WatanabeGeorge WendtWhen a Japanese automobile company buys an American plant, the American liaison must mediate the clash of work attitudes between the foreign management and native labor.This movie was made when japan was showing the world how to make better products. the movie is about the clash and eventual reconciliation of cultures. Both cultures are overdrawn a bit, but the movie is thoughtful.
- Joseph Thomas (Dean of Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management) - DirectorMartin RittStarsSally FieldBeau BridgesRon LeibmanA young single mother and textile worker agrees to help unionize her mill despite the problems and dangers involved.Leadership doesn't just come from the top. Norman Rae is a single mother who - despite great personal risk - fights to unionize her textile mill to improve terrible working conditions
- James W. Dean Jr., (Dean of the university of North Carolina's Kenan-Flager Business School) - DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsGeorge C. ScottKarl MaldenStephen YoungThe World War II phase of the career of controversial American general George S. Patton.A profile of the most aggressive American general in world war II. This movie prompts deep reflections on the emotional intelligence that must underpin true leaders.
- Robert F. Bruner (Dean of the university of Virginia's Darden School of Business) - DirectorNorman JewisonStarsCherNicolas CageOlympia DukakisLoretta Castorini, a bookkeeper from Brooklyn, New York, finds herself in a difficult situation when she falls for the brother of the man she has agreed to marry.The character Cosmo Castorini has the "hard sell" down pat, saying to as naive young couple. "There are three kinds of pipe. There's what you have which is garbage and you can see where that's gotten you. There's bronze, which is pretty good, unless something goes wrong.
- Paul Danos (Dean of Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business) - DirectorMegumi SasakiStarsPaula AntebiWill BarnetRobert BarryHerb and Dorothy Vogel redefine what it means to be an art collector.The beauty of a maniacal focus: how a couple of modest means amassed one of the great modern art collections in America.
- Judy Olian (Dean of the UCLA Anderson School of Management) - DirectorHerbert RossStarsMichael J. FoxHelen SlaterRichard JordanA talented young man can't get an executive position without rising through the ranks, so he comes up with a shortcut, which also benefits his love life.A great comedy about a young Midwesterner (Michael J. Fox) travelling to the big city to begin his corporate career.
- Bob Dammon (Dean of Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business ) - DirectorDaniel GellerDayna GoldfineStarsBill BowesHerbert BoyerPo BronsonThe story of how a few individuals built an industry that would go on to finance nearly all of the major advancements in technology in the past 50 years with companies such as Atari, Genentech, Apple, Intel and more.It's about the history of the VC Industry and Silicon Valley. It did a fine job of communicating what the founding actors of VC are really like. One gets the feeling that if this hadn't been captured like this today. it might never have been captured in this first-person way.
- Rich Lyons (Dean of the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business) - DirectorNunnally JohnsonStarsGregory PeckJennifer JonesFredric MarchAn ex-soldier faces ethical questions as he tries to earn enough to support his wife and children well.
- Robert F. Bruner (Dean of the university of Virginia's Darden School of Business)
- DirectorAlex CoxStarsHarry Dean StantonEmilio EstevezTracey WalterA young punk, recruited by a car repo agency, finds himself in pursuit of a Chevrolet Malibu with a huge, $20,000 bounty--and something otherworldly stashed in its trunk.Determined professionals relentlessly pursue legitimate commercial objectives in a morally and technologically ambiguous world
- Thomas W. Gilligan, Dean of University of Texas, Austin's McCombs School of Business - DirectorCharles FergusonStarsMatt DamonGylfi ZoegaAndri Snær MagnasonTakes a closer look at what brought about the 2008 financial meltdown.A post-mortem of most significant global economic crisis in decades, pointing to shared culpability across many institutions, government and organizations.
- Judy Olian (Dean of the UCLA Anderson School of Management) - DirectorJohn LandisStarsEddie MurphyDan AykroydRalph BellamyA snobbish investor and a wily street con artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.A humorous story of greed, deception and redemption. It is always great when the good guys win.
- Bob Dammon (Dean of Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business) - DirectorVictor FlemingKing VidorStarsJudy GarlandFrank MorganRay BolgerYoung Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto are swept away by a tornado from their Kansas farm to the magical Land of Oz, and embark on a quest with three new friends to see the Wizard, who can return her to her home and fulfill the others' wishes.This famous classic showcases industrial Age perfection in the Emerald City.
- James W. Dean Jr., (Dean of the university of North Carolina's Kenan-Flager Business School) - DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsEdward G. RobinsonSusan HaywardRichard ConteAfter years in prison, Max promises revenge on his brothers for their betrayal. His lover Irene and memories of his past yield him a broader perspective.House of strangers shows how microfinance worked in the ghettos of New York in the 1920s and '30s. The Gino Monetti character's banking success is based on lending money to neighbourhood people with just a handshake, but that kind of "collateral" does not pass muster with the new breed of bank regulators.
- Paul Danos (Dean of Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business) - DirectorJohn LandisStarsJohn BelushiKaren AllenTom HulceAt a 1962 college, Dean Vernon Wormer is determined to expel the entire Delta Tau Chi Fraternity, but those troublemakers have other plans for him.One of the best documentaries ever made on how to structure management training and leadership immersion programmes.
- Thomas W. Gilligan, Dean of University of Texas, Austin's McCombs School of Business - DirectorDavid FincherStarsJesse EisenbergAndrew GarfieldJustin TimberlakeAs Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that would become known as Facebook, he is sued by the twins who claimed he stole their idea and by the co-founder who was later squeezed out of the business.A must see primer on how the millennials think, invent and connect-and how bumby the ride can be from rags to riches.
- Judy Olian (Dean of the UCLA Anderson School of Management) - DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMarlon BrandoAl PacinoJames CaanThe aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.Michael Corleone, in ordering execution for a top lieutenant's switching loyalty says, "Tessio was smarter," indicating that it did not surprise him that Tessio would be the first to switch allegiance to a new leader when the old leader was past his prime.
- Paul Danos (Dean of Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business) - DirectorOliver StoneStarsCharlie SheenMichael DouglasTamara TunieAn impatient young stockbroker is willing to do anything to get to the top, including trading on illegal inside information taken through a ruthless, greedy corporate raider who takes the youth under his wing.For me the story is about a character (Charlie Sheen} who is torn between the moral and ethical upbringing he received from his father (Martin) and the allure of wealth and power as embodied by Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas).
- Bob Dammon (Dean of Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business ) - DirectorSidney LumetStarsHenry FondaLee J. CobbMartin BalsamThe jury in a New York City murder trial is frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.This is not really a business book, but it is a wonderful depiction of group decision making. consensus building, and persuasion, all crusial in business. For years, this movies was utilized in one of our courses at Johnson.
- Joseph Thomas (Dean of Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management) - DirectorJason ReitmanStarsGeorge ClooneyVera FarmigaAnna KendrickRyan's job is to travel around the country firing off people. When his boss hires Natalie, who proposes firing people via video conference, he tries to convince her that her method is a mistake.Reminds all leaders that organizations - no matter how complex or technologically advanced - are about people, not "things".
- Judy Olian (Dean of the UCLA Anderson School of Management) - DirectorRonald NeameStarsAlec GuinnessJohn MillsSusannah YorkAfter World War II, a Highland Regiment's acting Commanding Officer, who rose from the ranks, is replaced by a peace-time Oxford-educated Commanding Officer, leading to a dramatic conflict between the two.How does a leader "take charge?" This movie raises a host of lessons about leading. It also offers rich insights about the psychology of managerial bullies. Dramatic Kudos to Alec Guinness, who plays the bully.
- Robert F. Bruner (Dean of the university of Virginia's Darden School of Business) - DirectorGlenn JordanStarsJames GarnerJonathan PrycePeter RiegertThe president of a major tobacco company decides to buy the company himself, but a bidding war ensues as other companies make their own offers.
- Bob Dammon (Dean of Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business)
- DirectorPaul BrickmanStarsTom CruiseRebecca De MornayJoe PantolianoA Chicago teenager is looking for fun at home while his parents are away, but the situation quickly gets out of hand.
- Thomas W. Gilligan, Dean of University of Texas, Austin's McCombs School of Business
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenDorothy ComingoreFollowing the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'The office party scene has dancing girls and bands and ends with "The Charlie Kane Song." where the new leader is not only lampooned, but CEO Kane himself joins in the chorus and shows a different side of himself to the troops.
- Paul Danos (Dean of Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business) - DirectorFrank CapraStarsJames StewartDonna ReedLionel BarrymoreAn angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.The small Savings and Loan officer, George Balley, lambastes the money bags character, Mr. Potter with"... my father didn't think so. People were human beings to him.
- Joseph Thomas (Dean of Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management) - DirectorNorman JewisonStarsDanny DeVitoGregory PeckPenelope Ann MillerA corporate raider buys up shares in an undervalued company and falls in love with the founder's son's lawyer/step daughter. Let the battle begin.
- Thomas W. Gilligan, Dean of University of Texas, Austin's McCombs School of Business