Persuasion (A and B)

In October 2009 Columbia Business School's Career Management Center faced a culminating problem: student dissatisfaction with a mandatory training program had escalated, with students complaining to faculty and administrators about the program. In Case A of this two-part case, students are introduced to a model of Persuasion Theory—and are asked to consider its application to the workshop. Case B reveals how the Center revised the workshop, in accordance with persuasion theories, and the positive outcome that ensued.