THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TOTAL ENTERPRISE SIMULATION PERFORMANCE AND LEARNING Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 20, 1993 141 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TOTAL ENTERPRISE SIMULATION PERFORMANCE AND LEARNING John Washbush & Jerry Gosenpud University of Wisconsin-Whitewater ABSTRACT This study examined the relationship between learning and simulation performance. It had two purposes; I, to examine the degree to which learning and simulation performance co-vary: 2) to explore the performance-related correlates of learning. Using a researcher-developed learning measure, we found no positive correlation between learning and simulation performance. Additionally we believe the data suggest that learning is associated with the extent to which a team struggles to improve its performance standing BACKGROUND There is a relatively extensive literature dealing with the topic of student learning in the simulation environment. In general, simulations are considered valid for use in a strategic management course, but the implication from these papers for the present study’s purposes is that learning and performance are unrelated. Previous papers have dealt with the specific kinds of learning goals accomplished in a simulation, including improving quantitative skills and the acquisition of applied or theoretical knowledge. There have also been papers on the development and acquisition of decision-making and interpersonal-communication skills and on general concerns applicable to development of learning validation models. The question remains about what specific types of learning are affected by the use of simulations. METHOD The formal hypotheses were’ (I) Students who acquire more learning over the period of simulation play attain superior performance in the simulation: 2) Students who struggle effectively with the dynamics of playing the simulation exhibit superior learning performance Subjects were enrolled in three sections of the required undergraduate Administrative Policy course at the I University of Wisconsin-Whitewater during the spring, 1992 semester. All sections played Micromatic. We structured the players into teams in live industries, Although the period of play ranged from 9-13 quarters we used identical decision factor weights and evaluative criteria for all industries. Game performance was worth 200 o of the course grade. At the fifth week of play, one researcher abandoned teams and each of his students continued as single-member firms using the team’s past performance as a historical basis To measure learning the researchers developed two parallel forms of a multiple-choice and short-essay examination. Questions were constructed using issues and situations routinely confronted by companies competing in Micromatic. and they tapped analytical, synthesis and application skills of Bloom’s Taxonomy Form 1 was administered as a pre-test at the beginning of the semester. Form 2 was administered at the end of the semester. Learning over the period of play was defined as the difference in percentage score far Form 2 minus percentage score far Form I RESULTS AND DISCUSSION We found no direct, positive linear relationship between simulation performance and learning. Though not statistically significant, our data displayed a tendency for those who performed more poorly in the simulation to learn more. Additionally, our data also suggested that those who learned the least were members of tennis that dropped in ranking over the course of the simulation. In general, those who performed best did not learn the most; those who performed the worst did not necessarily learn the least. This does not invalidate simulation use. We found that simulation players did learn and they learned what the game intended to teach--namely data and financial statement analysis understanding the consequences of decisions, and applying that understanding to subsequent decision-making situations. In addition, the results of this study indicate that learning was not entirely random hut was associated with the struggle to maintain position in a competitive industry and the effort to improve even after severe declines in performance. Thus, while not verified, this study suggests some of the behaviors associated with learning, namely struggle and the effort to improve That these behaviors are generally associated with learning in a variety of situations adds credibility to these findings and offer an Important avenue for further research efforts Previous work on the correlates of learning in the simulation has focused on variables under the control of game administrators, such as game complexity, reward for performance, and team size. This study suggests focusing on another set of variables, those associated with the performance-related behavior of the players Even though these variables are not easily controlled by researchers, this study indicates that they are probably measurable, researchable, and useful in explaining why some people learn and others do not. That learning and performance are not positively correlated is important to teachers who use simulations in grading students. The results suggest that a teacher who believes that grades should reflect only learning should not use simulation relative performance standing as a basis for grading. This study indicates that simulation performance does not reflect the degree to which a student has learned Does this result suggest that grading on simulation performance is invalid? Clearly not! Real managers are evaluated on performance outcomes all the time and rarely on learning. In this study, learning was measured by parallel pre-and post-tests, which reflected what the researchers believed students should learn in the Micromatic simulation experience At this early stage of development these tests exhibited marginal statistical reliability, and their validity depends on our best judgement about appropriate content However, in a recent study comparing students exposed to the simulation experience with others who were not, the present authors found that those experiencing the simulation performed better on the present study’s tests, thus providing evidence of’ face validity. These results add credibility to this paper’s conclusions The results of our research, tentative though they may he strongly argue far continuing research along the lines outlined here For copies of the full paper, data analysis tables, learning tests, or the reference list, contact; John Washbush Management Dept UW-Whitcwater Whitewater. WI 53190 (414) 472-3902 Table of Contents Volume 20, 1993 Dominant Personality Types and Total Enterprise Simulation Performance Shelf Wars: A Grocery Channel Simulation Shared Cultural Perspectives: An Experiential Exercise Utilizing International Students to Globalize the Classroom An Instrument for Investigating the Effectiveness of Teaching Methods in the Business Policy and Strategy Formulation Course Providing Better Trained Graduates for Accounting Employers The Ambition Gradient Approach to Evaluation of Computer Simulation Game Team Performance Alphatec: A Negotiation Exercise with Logrolling and Bridging Potential Using the Ideafisher Idea Generation System as a Decision Support System in Marketing Strategy Courses A Dynamic Market Share Allocation Model For Computerized Business Simulations Multi-Cultural Adaptability Using Experiential Learning in a Graduate Course Development of Experiential Applications in HRM: Practicing What Preach and Preaching for Practice Linking Students and Business Leaders Through Portfolios Debriefing International Experiential Learning Exercises: Road Signs for Effectiveness Sales Manager: A Simulation Modeling Interactive Effects in Mathematical Functions for Business Simulations: A Critique of Goosen's Interpolation Reducing the Complexity of Interactive Variable Modeling in Business Simulations Through Interpolation Antecedent Biases of Experiential Learners: Trainee Occupation and Subgroup Diversity Pax in Terra Sancta: Simulating the Middle East Peace Negotiations A Multiple Regression Case In Experiential Learning Changes in Ethnocentric/Geocentric Orientation by Business Students after Exposure to a One Summer Course in International Marketing's A Systematic Approach to the Development and Evaluation of Experiential Exercises Entrepreneurs Evaluate Experiential Education A Linear Programming Approach to Open System Total Enterprise Simulations Reflecting Leader Behavior from the Looking Glass, Inc. Simulation Linking Cognitive Styles, Teaching Methods, Educational Objectives and Assessment: A Decision Tree Approach Restructuring Management Education in Post-Communist Countries: How Western Experts Can Help Managerial and Cultural Pre-Conditions for Superior Performance in a Global Setting: An Experimental Study with the Aid of Business Games Multiple Industries in Computerized Business Gaming Simulations Content or Process? - Content and Process! Some Observations and Reflections About Management Education in Central Europe Out-of-Class Experiences to Promote Volunteerism Enacting the Linguistic Consciousness of the Modern Managerial Mind: Post-Modernism and Experiential Learning Intergrating Experiential Exercises into the College Curriculum: The Case of Internationalizing the Business Curriculum Simulation Marketing Oversights Incorporating Advertising Creative Strategy into Computer-Based Business Simulations The Dynamics of a Partnership Between Business and Education Collaborative Education Done Globally Experiential Systems Analysis CADPLAN: A Simulation for Comparative Advertising A Doctoral Symposium: Preparing Students for Conference Behavior Comparing the Simulation with the Case Approach: Again! Total Quality Management: A Model for Continuous Quality Improvement The Quality Audit: An Experiential Exercise for Business Students Extending the Reach of Simulations: DECIDE Heads for the Inner City Lessons Learned from a Customized Management Development Simulation The Foreign Exchange Spot Trading Simulation Using Lotus 1-2-3 to complete a Triple Play in a Simulated Competition International Business Education: Is Enough Being Done? Matching of Student-Teacher Cognitive Style as a Factor in Student Success in an Introduction to Information Systems Course Breathing (More) Life into the Case Approach Lord of the Flies: A Live Case Approach to Leadership Cooperative Case Studies: Experiential Tools for Teaching Business Problem Solving Tools Strategy Simulations in Context: An Evaluation of Key Dimensions The Distribution Channel Game Evaluation of a Simulation Game as an Education Tool for Utility Professionals The Relationship Between Total Enterprise Simulation Performance and Learning Total Quality Management does not Happen by Magic, but it can be Taught Using a Pedagogical Methodology that Utilizes Magic Effectively Preparing Students for Careers in a Global Environment by Integrating Total Quality Management Thoughout the Business Curriculum An Empirical Investigation of Cognitive and Performance Consistency in a Marketing Simulation Game Environment Using MARSGAP with LAPTOP: (A Marketing Simulation Game Analysis Program) with LAPTOP: A Marketing Simulation Adapting TQM Implementation to Organizational Level An MBA Business Simulation: Executive Interaction Experiential Exercises and Pedagogy Track Workshop: Experiencing Cultural Diversity in the Classroom (and the Hotel Meeting Room) Closing the Gap between Corporate and National Culture The Dynamic Manufacturing Company The Use of Experiential Techniques in Corporate Training The State of Simulation Gaming in Easter European Countries- Principally Russia An Experiential Exercise in Cross-Cultural Training Valuing Differences: A Conceptual Framework Demonstration of an Experiential Exercise Effectively Using Experiential Learning to Impart TQM Concepts in a High Technology Environment The Older Worker Questionnaire: An Exercise Concerning Older Worker Stereotypes and Behaviors The Crime Fighting Task Force: An Exercise in Organizational Politics Welcome to the Party! An Expression of Vocational Preference Experiential Exercise for Imparting Cross-Cultural Appreciation Six Swift Simulations on Globalization Overview of BASF Delegate Program