UTILIZING INFORMATION PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE THE BUSINESS POLICY SIMULATION EXPERIENCE Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 17, 1990 217 UTILIZING INFORMATION PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE THE BUSINESS POLICY SIMULATION EXPERIENCE Walter J. Wheatley, University of West Florida John L. Cox, University of Vest Florida Ralph M. Roberts, University of West Florida INTRODUCTION It is highly important that collegiate schools of business teach the application and use of Information technology, and additionally teach applications and uses at the strategic or policy level of the organization. To accomplish this objective, the authors suggest that the business policy course be centered around a complex and challenging international simulation with access to spreadsheet applications software, decision-making modeling software, a decision support system, and an expert system. COMPUTERIZED BUSINESS SIMULATIONS Today, with the widespread availability of desktop computers with more computing power than corporate mainframes of twenty years ago, simulations can provide the students with a learning experience that emulates the “real” world in terms of internal factors, external factors, international elements, human factors, labor relations, multiple International manufacturing facilities, etc. Whereas the basics of the approaches to maximize some specific business factor may be presented using, for example, management science techniques by manual calculation, the student’s must be exposed to practical sized problems or they will not understand why they are learning the techniques in the first place. While business may certainly be simulated without the aid of a computer, we believe that the combination of the numbers of students that must be serviced and the omnipresence of computers in the workplace require the simulation be computerized. SPREADSHEET APPLICATIONS SOFTWARE Above the use of a computerized simulation, there is a need for computerized tools for the students in the program. These tools provide the student with practice In “what- iffing” by aiding in the modeling of portions of the business under various assumptions of the future State of the business and world; i.e., they describe the situation without prescribing the action to be taken by the manager. The early incorporation of spreadsheet software into the students program will enable them to be comfortable with trying different decisions and interpreting the results of those decisions, all without causing harm to the business. Class material at this point will be based on assumptions by the students about the operation of the business; i.e., they will know what relationships (equations) exist between differing parts of the business. [t is not necessary to teach students the “detailed” use of a specific integrated package In order for them to have an appreciation of the use of technology in the manager’s job. DECISION-MAKING MODELING SOFTWARE Much software exists for microcomputer that is helpful to the students making decisions for their simulated firms. While software keyed to the text being used has some advantages, it is mot necessarily disadvantageous to use a package that is independent. A package keyed to the exercises and symbology of the specific text being used cuts down on the frustration level of the students and lessens the time spent in the computer lab. It is extremely unlikely, however, that their future employer in industry will be using the same package they used in their courses, so they must be prepared to use different symbology anyway. The packages to which the students have access should include, but not be limited to, the following: inventory acquisition and control, production scheduling, product mix determination equipment acquisition, and quality assurance. DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS The vast majority of computerized business simulations produce a history file, which makes an ideal database. By employing any of a variety of data base generators that are presently available, e.g., Interactive Financial planning System (IFPS), SAS, SPSS, etc., students can obtain valuable information to be employed in their simulated planning and decision-making activities. Decision support systems (DSSs) can be of value to correlate pricing decisions to increases or decreases in the level of units of finished product sold. Sensitivity analysis can be performed on such vital data as salesforce, advertising, wholesaler allowances, and retail customer coupon effectiveness. DSSs can even benefit production decisions by providing information on worker efficiencies, down time, and inventory availability. EXPERT SYSTEMS The expert system is an outgrowth of artificial intelligence and is a system that tries to capture the knowledge of an "expert”. Expert systems can enhance the business simulation experience in a variety of ways. Perhaps the most popular means of assistance is by serving as a tutorial in instructing the students in the mechanics of playing the simulation. A second choice of using expert systems in a simulation is that of expert strategic consultant. Expert systems can be devised to provide the novice game player advice in such areas as when to expand their advertising programs to when to build a new production factory. Expert systems can be used to reduce the learning tine of a simulation and provide the student’s access to a vast amount of strategic knowledge that can enhance their simulation experience. 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