Research from Assistant Professor Jose Cerecedo Lopez explores how a puzzle-based classroom exercise may help students better understand the overlapping nature of managerial roles within organizations.
This story was written by Nicole Mac Kinnon ’26.
Jose Cerecedo Lopez, assistant professor of management at the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business, published research that explores how a puzzle-based learning exercise may help students better understand the complexity of management.
His article, “The Puzzle of Managerial Responsibilities, Roles, and Levels,” published in Management Teaching Review, examines how experiential tools can surface the realities and tensions of managerial decision-making.
The exercise places participants in situations where they negotiate, delegate and coordinate across teams under real constraints. Rather than reinforcing traditional hierarchical structures, it can prompt students to notice how managerial responsibilities overlap and how decisions made at one level may influence the organization as a whole.
Key Findings:
- Managerial roles may be interconnected. Decisions made at the frontline, middle or executive level can shape outcomes beyond their immediate area.
- Tension may emerge in realistic ways. Participants may encounter challenges such as balancing immediate execution with long-term strategy or navigating competing priorities.
- Reflection may deepen understanding. A guided discussion after the activity can help students connect the experience to real managerial practice and encourage systems-level thinking.
Lopez joined Elon University in Fall 2024. Lopez’s teaching and research focus on organizational theory, entrepreneurship and strategy, with particular interest in how individuals make decisions under uncertainty.