The Decision.
The Homecoming.
The Paper.
LeBron James is the subject of a newly published research paper penned by a doctoral candidate and a professor at Case Western Reserve's Weatherhead School of Management.
The paper looks at LeBron's decision to announce live on an ESPN special in 2010 that he was leaving the Cavs, and his letter for Sports Illustrated in 2014 that he was returning to Cleveland.
Alperen Manisaligil, a doctoral candidate, and professor Diana Bilimoria, both from Weatherhead's department of organizational behavior, collaborated on the research paper "Taking Your Talents to Business Communications: Analyzing Effective Communication Through LeBron James's Career Moves."
The idea for the paper that encourages other academics to use James' announcements in the classroom was born when Manisaligil was teaching an undergraduate class.
"This was around the time when LeBron James announced his return," Manisaligil said in a statement. "We are a university in Cleveland, so I thought, 'We can turn this into an in-class activity.' "
His students were then charged to evaluate everything from James' comment that was taking his "talents" to Miami, to Cavs owner Dan Gilbert's harshly worded public letter in response, to the pair's eventual reconciliation.
"The reason why we chose this as a case study is that it was very timely," Manisaligil added. "We could watch the video of the televised ESPN interview, or we could read the letter that had just been published. So it was a very contemporary issue of relevance from a business management standpoint. This was an exercise in how managers should, when faced with difficult communication decisions, share a message in a way that is best received."
In the end, Bilimoria said students found _ whether they were Cavs fans or not _ that the "Decision" interview with ESPN in 2010 "left behind ... a lot of bad feeling" while the return letter in 2014 was a better-received approach.
"The process of communicating that decision was more suitable, more appropriate and more measured, the way a business decision made by a manager, executive or a leader should be made," Bilimoria said in a statement. "That is the point we were trying to establish. You must be thoughtful about media elements, and allow that to inform the method of communication."
The pair hopes other academics will look at what transpired in Northeast Ohio surrounding James and use their case study in the classroom.
"Conducting effective communication is important for all managers and employees, but students often underestimate this," the study concludes. "Through accessible content and an interesting case study, this activity helps students advance their skills in medium selection and use to communicate effectively in business settings."
