A TIME-EFFICIENT GAME TO ILLUSTRATE CONCEPTS TAUGHT IN MANAGEMENT COURSES AND MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 17, 1990 231 A TIME-EFFICIENT GAME TO ILLUSTRATE CONCEPTS TAUGHT IN MANAGEMENT COURSES AND MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS Heinz Weihrich, University of San Francisco ABSTRACT The game illustrates concepts taught in management courses as well as in management development programs. The concepts include the effect of group size on effectiveness, intragroup communication, trust/distrust, group cohesiveness, motivation, frustration and withdrawal, competitiveness, leadership/followership, creativity, perception, and others. INTRODUCTION In a literature summary of business games, Joseph Wolfe identified 39 games in the various business areas. Games were most widely used in the Business Policy/ General Management area, followed by Economics, Marketing/Retailing, Finance, Management Principles and others. Organizational Behavior games were not shown at all. This may indicate an infrequent use of such games in courses such as Principles of Management and Organizational Behavior. Instructors often hesitate to use games because of their complexity and the work involved in preparing for the exercise. THE GAME AND ITS IMPORTANCE FOR ABSEL MEMBERS Over the past twelve years. this game was used to illustrate concepts in the Principles of Management and the Organizational Behavior courses. The concepts usually include: The effect of group size on effectiveness, communication, trust/distrust, group cohesiveness, motivation, frustration and withdrawal, competitiveness, ethical/unethical means to solve the problem, leadership! followership, creativity, perception, and other concepts. In addition, this game has been used in Management Development seminars in different cultural environments including Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei, Jamaica, Egypt, and Austria. While no conclusions about the cultural differences on he outcome of the game can be reached, a number of interesting observations can be made. Finally, professors doing the exercise among themselves found it very engaging. Thus, the game has been found to be suitable for students, managers, and professors. The main feature of the game is that it is deceptively simple, and requires little preparation. Yet, the game is rich in illustrating more behavioral concepts than most other games. The task itself is to put together a few pieces to form a prescribed figure. While a few groups have solved the problem in a few minutes, most groups needed about 10 to 15 minutes, and some groups used as much as 50 minutes or never solved the problem at all. The game is important to management professors because it is an effective and time- efficient way to demonstrate managerial concepts. to the description of the game appears vague in certain aspects (such as what figure is to be assembled), ft is done so purposely in order not to give any advantage to those who may have read this proposal and then participate in the session. SESSION PRESENTATION The game will, be presented in a fashion similar to how ft was used in classes and executive programs. The group will be divided into groups of three, six, and nine people. If the total group is large enough three additional groups of the same size will be formed, with one group being allowed to talk during the exercise while the other group may not (note, members may communicate in ways other than talking). Before receiving the envelope containing the pieces, group members are encouraged to develop the strategy for solving the problem, assign roles, or develop rules by which the group dynamics shall be governed. One person is assigned to each group to observe the members behavior, record them, and report them first to the group and then to the total class. In addition, two “roving observers go from group to group to note differences in behavioral dynamics among them. Observations are reported to the class. Generally, observers are instructed to focus on the group dynamics, leadership, communication, conflicts and their resolutions, and 50 on. The insights and learning concepts will be discussed by the observers, the participants, and the session leader. REFERENCE Wolfe, Joseph, (1985) “The Teaching Effectiveness o! Games in Collegiate Business Course,” Simulation and Games, 251-288. 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