COGNITIVE LEARNING USNG A COMPUTER-BASED, QUALITATIVE INTERACTIVE BUSINESS SIMULATION Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 17, 1990 204 COGNITIVE LEARNING USNG A COMPUTER-BASED, QUALITATIVE INTERACTIVE BUSINESS SIMULATION Paul Moschella, University of Hartford ABSTRACT Criticism has been directed at educators for failing to teach students and managers how to solve problems. Concentration has been on methods for solving structured problems or problems comprised of limited and clear characteristics for which accepted methods of solutions have been developed. Means for providing and coping with a set of uncertain and unstructured factors has been lacking. The paper discusses a language-based computer simulation which permits the subject to utilize cognitive skills for memory-recall of the concepts acquired in education and experience to find and achieve an understanding of a complex business situation. INTRODUCTION A criticism that is now being directed at education on all levels is that today’s graduates can crunch numbers, but Cannot solve problems (National Commission of Excellence in Education, 1983). A primary objective of computer-based business simulations has been to give students and managers an opportunity to practice “hands-on” managerial thinking. Still simulations are criticized for being narrow, quantitative and unrealistic. While the need to develop the managers skills exists and the potential to acquire these skills exists, a major deterrent is that few pedagogies are available that can provide for intensive development of the range of human cognitive skills. Recognizing the broad acceptance of business cases for these cognitive purposes, attention was directed at finding ways to expand the cognitive potential of the classical business case. Achieving an Understanding A distinct cognitive stage of problem-solving is called “orientation achievement” or reaching an understanding of what the ‘true” situation is. In current case pedagogy, orientation is achieved by reading and rereading the case. Normally, one reaches an understanding by first collecting information relevant to the Situation. In today’s dynamic society, oneself and others are the primary sources of information. Human sources and sources prepared by humans can be accessed only by questions - Questions: Source and a Structure In present experiments, certain dimensions have proven particularly helpful when questioning. One dimension is the conscious partition of knowledge by academic disciplines. When this step is taken in the interest of organized questioning, the next level dimension becomes Concepts. Methodical application of the major academia disciplines significantly facilitates the evocation or recall by the individual of his existent knowledge base. The embedded Concepts of the discipline can then be recalled which, in turn, enables the individual to expand organized questioning. Three dimensions were used to develop a construct for a proposed structure for questioning - A Knowledge Matrix consisting of Disciplines, Concepts and Environments. Research on the Questioning Process For these experiments, a computer program. THE MANAGER was developed to organize and simplify the questioning process for the user, make input user-friendly, eliminate the influences of the researcher and to automate question collection and analysis. The device used to motivate and elicit questions from the participants is the classical, business case used as a database. As the total situation (case) is “sheltered” in the computer, the subject can obtain information about the situation (case) only by means of Questions. There are both qualitative and quantitative responses at the terminal and the printer. In effect, the user must first prepare ones own case and then solve it; a more realistic simulation of the true managerial role. Experimental. Method and Results Thirty business school students were individually instructed to ask as many questions as each believed necessary to adequately understand the situation. Students were selected in the following specialization’s--marketing, management, economics/finance, accounting, information systems, and insurance. The null hypothesis under test in this experiment was: The concepts used by the students to ask questions are not significantly influenced by the concentration or specialized training of the students. ANOVA tests confirm the hypothesis that the subjects concentration or specialization does not influence the disciplines used to search complex, business situations. (P .01). A total of 353 concepts were used. The ten concepts used most frequently to search the simulated global situation were: The implications of this particular array of questions is now being assessed. Conclusions It was apparent to both observers and subjects that with an understanding of the questioning process together with an opportunity to practice, the effectiveness and efficiency of the subject’s cognitive skills for questioning in complex situations improved rapidly. 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