Deal With It: An Ambiguity Assignment for Real-world Projects

Employers repeatedly complain that even the brightest business school graduates lack skill in dealing with ambiguous, real-life situations. Real-world projects can help develop that skill, but they are difficult to design and deliver, and frustrating for students who need support for dealing with ambiguity beyond the instructor’s reassurances. Yet instructor interference erodes the inherent value of dealing with that ambiguity. This session provides information on an effective, easy-to-use assignment including student reactions, sample responses to the assignment prompt, and room to discuss where and how this ambiguity “add in” can be implemented in other courses.