“We Didn’t Start the Fire”: What Can Billy Joel Teach Us About the External Environment?

Abstract

General and strategic management courses frequently provide external analysis tools through which students identify, classify, and assess how changes in the general external environment impact industries and firms. In this exercise, we facilitate analysis of the general environment through a popular song from the 1980s. Through analyzing an event or change mentioned in the lyrics within a general environment framework, students learn how that event or change influenced industries or firms. This process allows students to see the eventualities of historical changes on industries and firms of that time, which develops their skills in assessing the possible impacts of current trends on today’s industries and firms. This exercise is best suited for undergraduate students in a face-to-face introductory management or strategic management course; however, it could be adapted for use online.