AN EXPERIMENTAL COMPARISON OF PAPER AND PENCIL AND COMPUTER AIDED DECISION SUPPORT TOOLS Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 17, 1990 187 AN EXPERIMENTAL COMPARISON OF PAPER AND PENCIL AND COMPUTER AIDED DECISION SUPPORT TOOLS David W. Finn, Texas Christian University Kimberly L. Treese, Texas Christian University ABSTRACT Four weeks into a multi-period simulation game, a random sample of student groups was given a computer driven decision aid. Until that tine, all groups had been required to use a paper and pencil tool. The two types of student groups were tracked for the remaining periods of the simulation. The results showed that there was no difference between the paper and pencil groups and the randomly chosen groups on several dependent variables. However, the groups differed significantly on attitude toward the simulation. BACKGROUND In a Fall semester we were using the LAPTOP simulation (Faria and Dickinson 1987) as a continuing exercise in a large (approximately 130 students) section of Principles of Marketing. Decisions are based on a market and sales forecast that groups make. For the first 3 or 4 periods a common occurrence was for company to sell all its product and to lose large sums of money and/or have underpaid salespeople (which contributed to turnover). These results came as a surprise to the very companies who “planned” for them! DESIGN Between semesters, we developed two decision aids. The paper and pencil tool was in the form of a simple 4-page worksheet that instructed groups to calculate costs and revenues. Students here asked to make a mark on a tally sheet every time they tried a different decision. The computer decision tool took the form of a Lotus 1 2 3 based program. Student groups simply entered their decisions, paged ahead to see the ‘bottom lines”, and were able to page back to change decisions. The experiment was structured as a pre-test post-test with control group design. For the first three decision periods, all groups used only the paper and pencil tool. At the end of period 3, several groups were provided with the computer aid and instructed to transfer their decisions to the worksheet. The sample was comprised of 5 randomly chosen groups who used the computer aid at least twice in the post-test phase and 32 control group companies. RESULTS Several companies sold all their product (exactly met their forecasts) during the simulation. NONE of those companies had unexpected bottom lines or sales force satisfaction. Conclusion: forcing students to calculate and state their expected bottom line, under the assumption that their forecast is accurate, serves to reduce (or eliminate) "dumb" errors. This is probably true no matter what form the decision tool takes. Decision Effort On average, the groups who eventually got the computer tool made fewer decision changes (trials) than the control group in the base period. After receiving the computer tool, this group increased its effort by 7 changes per decision period. The control group increased its effort by 3.2 changes per period. Not significant. Conclusion: There is no evidence to suggest that introducing the computer tool increased decision effort. Performance The performance measure was based on cumulative total profits at the end of the pre-test and at the end of the post- test periods. The companies were ranked (1st through 6th) within industries (10 industries). Conclusion: There is no evidence to suggest that groups who used the computer tool improved performance .ore than groups who used paper and pencil. In fact, the median rank of the computer groups got worse, but not statistically worse. Attitudes At the conclusion of the game, all students completed a 6- item Likert type attitude scale designed to measure attitude toward the simulation. The scale had a reliability of .82. Conclusion: Students who were in-groups that received the computer aid had significantly lower attitudes toward the simulation than other students. CONCLUSION The results of this experiment suggest that as long as we ask students to calculate and report the anticipated bottom line results of their decisions, it does not matter whether it is with a paper and pencil tool or with a computer tool. However, We should probably allow students to use tools that they are most comfortable with. REFERENCES Faria, A.J., and John R. Dickinson, LAPTOP: A Marketing Simulation, Plano, Texas: BPI, Inc. 1987. Table of Contents Volume 17, 1990 The Impact of Decision Support Systems on the Effectiveness of Small Group Decisions - Revisited The Relationship Between Financial Performance and Other Measures of Learning on a Simulation Exercise Use and Effectiveness of an Analogy-Based Expert System Suggestions for Computerized Business Authors Dealing with Power: An Experiential Exercise Using Movie and Personal Diary Analysis Techniques A Model for Developing Student Skills and Assessing Outcomes Through Outdoor Training Computer-Aided Exercises Versus Workbook Exercises as Learning Facilitator in the Principles of Marketing Course An Exposition of Guilford's Si Model as a Means of Diagnosing and Generating Pedagogical Strategies in Collegiate Business Education Formal Planning and Simulation Team Performance: A Cross Sectional Approach Cases: Real Organizations in Real Time in the Classroom An Empirical Investigation of the Internal Validity of Marketing Simulation Game An Empirical Evaluation of the Pedagogical Value of Playing a Simulation Game in a Principles of Marketing Course Factors Affecting Effective Teaching of Strategic Planning: Some Preliminary Evidence An Experiential Exercise for Learning About the Relationship Between Organizational Form & the Project Management Process Accounting Communication Skills can be Taught in the Auditing Course Modeling Cost Functions in Computerized Business Simulation: An Application of Duality Theory and Sheppard's Lemma A Life Cycle Analysis of Decision Making for a Strategic Management Team What's the Problem? A Dynamic Model for Teaching Problem Solving Skills Experientially International Currency Fluctuations: Money$im, A Simulation Superstores: A Specialized Retailing Simulation Within a Specialized Marketing Curriculum Factors Affecting Student Perceptions of Learning in a Business Policy Game VC + EL = VL The Name Game: An Experiential Exercise in Intergroup Relations The Effects of Experiential Accounting Work Experience on Student Performance in Intermediate Accounting Courses The Results of Using the Experiential Activity Group Performance Evaluation in a Business Policy Setting Using a Legal Database to Describe the Legal Environment of Marketing (and Business) Matching Environmental Uncertainty and Organizational Configuration An Instructional Computer Simulation of Tampering in QC Executive Evaluation of Student Learning in the Looking Glass Simulation Group Personality Composition and Total Enterprise Simulation Performance An Expert System for Selecting Analytical Techniques for Analyzing Marketing Research Data Effects of Cognitive Styles on Responses in an In-Basket Simulation A Psychometric Analysis of Kolb's Revised Learning Style-Inventory Selecting and Developing Experiential Exercises Using Movies Application of a Real-World Strategic Management Model in the Classroom Demand Equations which Include Product Attributes Consumption as the Objective in Computer-Scored Total Enterprise Simulations The Effects of Decision Format and Evaluation on Simulation Performance, Decision Time, and Team Cohesion The Effects of Computer Related Assignments on Student Performance in Business Administration The Money Game: A Dynamic Simulation Including Random Shocks for Money and Banking Courses Methods for Evaluating Performance on Business Simulations: A Survey The Effects of Synergogy on the Policy Course: Significant Improvements in Student Learning and Teacher Evaluation Conditions and Outcomes of Trust in a Two-Person Bargaining Exercise Bankgame Enhancing Computer Business Simulation with the Use of VGA Graphics An Experiential Approach to Entrepreneurship An Advanced Simulation Method (ASM) for Multiple Objective Problems The Influence of Experiential learning Techniques on Student Recognition of Non-Primary Learning Styles Negotiating Mergers and Acquisitions: A Cocktail Napkin Approach Identification of Unintended Effects in Experiential Laboratory Exercises An Experimental Comparison of Paper and Pencil and Computer Aided Decision Support Tools Porting a Simulation from the IBM World to the Macintosh World A Transaction Cost Analysis of Experiential Learning The Development of Experiential Exercises for Courses in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management The Assessment Center as and Experiential Classroom Exercise Pricing Strategy Algorithms for Playing Business Simulations Organizational Structures for International Operations: An Experiential Activity Simulation Emphasis in the Business School Capstone Course An Integrated Approach to Computerizing the Business Curriculum Cross-Cultural Business Negotiations Exercise Organizational Socialization and Gender Differences in Students at Work Understanding Student Work Experience: A Content-Analytic Approach Introducing Executive MBA Programs with Management Games An Analysis of Improvement in Business Decision Outcome with Sequential Use of Two Simulation Games Teaching Business Policy Utilizing Mass Lecture and Individual Case Labs Potholes Along the Road to Evaluating Learning Outcomes: The Case of Outdoor Management Training Experiential Learning for Interior Design Students: Using CADD, Lotus 1-2-3, and Wordperfect Cognitive Learning Using a Computer-Based, Qualitative Interactive Business Simulation Sex Discrimination: Does the Woman get the Job or Does the Best Man Win? A Search for Visual Aids to Support Experiential Learning Through the 1990's An Experimental Analysis fo the Effectiveness of Student Role-Playing in Sales Training How to Have Students Learn from their Term Projects Self-Evaluation Exercise (SEE): An Assessment of Class Contribution A Study of the Influence of Team Formation on Attitudes and Performance in Management Games A Hardware Based CIM Simulation Laboratory Model Test Substance Abuse in Organizations Micro Computer Training Models Teaching Forecasting, Cash Budgeting and Inventory Model Building Using SBTools A Comparison of the Effects of Experiential Learning Activities and Traditional Lecture Classes An Adjunct Writing Instruction Assistant, The Computer; With an Illustration Classroom Software for ABC Analysis Utilizing Information Processing Technology to Enhance the Business Policy Simulation Experience Progressive Cases Realistic Job Previews Vs. Traditional Job Previews: Experiencing the Differences and Understanding the Consequences Investment Analysis Using the Pragmatic Multiplier Approach A Computer Simulation Interface for Competitive and Firm Analysis Self-Assessment of Ethical Decision Making Predispositions Preparing Managers for Overseas Assignments An Inquiry into Japanese Marketing: Workshop on Teaching Japanese Marketing The Performance Appraisal Feedback Interview: A Role Play for Human Resources Management Teaching Counselor Selling techniques Using Experiential Techniques to Teach International Topics International Management Simulation Gaming: Current Status and Future Developments A Realism Comparison of Simulation Technologies/Methodologies A Time-Efficient Game to Illustrate Concepts Taught in Management Courses and Management Development Programs Teaching the Management of Technology The Concept of Face and the Applicability of Experiential Exercises in an Oriental Culture's