The TV show "Seinfeld" has been in rerun mode so long that most of us have probably seen each episode at least once. But who would have thought that clips would be used in business school classrooms as teaching aids?
Sure enough, it's happening. And Penn State prof Jamey A. Darnell is promoting the idea in a paper titled, Yada, Yada, Yada...Successful Business! Using Seinfeld Clips to Teach Business Model Evaluation. Here's the premise:
One of the primary characters on Seinfeld is Kramer, the eccentric neighbor of Jerry Seinfeld, who often comes up with business ideas that are usually characterized as not feasible. A common activity of Kramer is the quest of creating something from nothing. The pursuits of these ideas often show the difference between an idea for a new business and a true entrepreneurial opportunity. Many of these Kramer examples are teaching opportunities and can be extended to discuss ideation, creativity, entrepreneurial behavior, foundations of entrepreneurship, innovation, market research, trend analysis, value proposition/differentiation, foundational business models, etc. ...
The goal of incorporating Seinfeld clips into the classroom is not necessarily to facilitate the creation of a specific business idea for a student, but rather to expose the student to the process of creating and evaluating business ideas.
Actually, some of Kramer's ideas could have been contenders. A bladder for oil tankers to prevent spills, for example:
Kramer: Bombs away (Uh oh).
Jerry: This is going to be a shame.
(SPLAT!)
George: Hello.
Kramer: Well, that didn’t work. Hey, how about this…ketchup and mustard in the same bottle?
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2:17 PM 5/13/2020
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