Management lessons from Shakespeare’s Othello

It takes not just attitude, but also dealing with all sorts of people to make it to that coveted corporate chair. Job skills alone are not enough anymore. As people skills assume increasing importance in the corporate world, the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS) is taking help from Shakespeare’s play Othello to teach lessons in organisational behaviour, an important subject while pursuing MBA, to its students.

“Different human feelings commonly seen in a highly competitive corporate world are beautifully explained in the literary masterpiece, Othello. Human behaviour and traits such as ego, jealousy, competition, breach of trust, urge for power, etc, are explained in the play. These are the exact emotions that affect an organisation and interpersonal relations among co-workers. We are educating future managers as they need to be equipped with knowledge about human behaviour,” said JBIMS professor Leslie Rebello.

The initiative to include Othello was taken by the professors and students of a part-time MBA course running at JBIMS.

Most of the students enrolled for the course are working professionals and it has been a unique experience for them to understand the corporate world in a different way.

The play will be performed in front of professionals, including CEOs and managing directors, from the corporate world on February 12 between 3pm and 6pm at the YB Chavan auditorium at Nariman Point. There will be a session in which the professionals will share their experiences based on the emotions shown in Othello.

“The principle behind this project is ‘Othello with a corporate mantra’. There is a simple Indian flavour added to the play with certain alterations to make it shorter. It analyses human behaviour in a classic way,” said Rajiv Jain, a student who has done the scripting for the play.

“There are times when despite everything being in place, human behaviour tends to affect work. Working on the play and understanding its characters gives multiple lessons about how human behaviour is an important factor in a highly competitive corporate world,” Jain said.

“I used to work in an isolated manner, thinking that my skills will show my status in an organisation. But working on the play has made me realise how important ‘people skills’ are. If you do not keep your senior manager updated with your activities, there is a gap which gives others an opportunity to manipulate,” said Sunayan Shahani, another student.

Prof Rebello said it is a practice to teach organisational behaviour through plays in many management institutes in the West and some reputed ones in India.