AN EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISE INTRODUCING STUDENTS TO THE ROLE AMBIGUITY FACED BY SALESPERSONS Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 9, 1982 40 AN EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISE INTRODUCING STUDENTS TO THE ROLE AMBIGUITY FACED BY SALESPERSONS James W. Gentry, Oklahoma State University L. Lee Manzer, Oklahoma State University ABSTRACT This paper presents an experiential exercise designed to introduce future salespeople to the type of role ambiguity that they may well be facing in the future. The exercise requires class members to role play the parts of a buyer, a sales rep, and a sales manager. Two versions of the task were run, with varying levels of expectations on the part of the buyer and the sales manager being incorporated. Although time problems were encountered, the students evaluated the exercise favorably. INTRODUCTION More than 50 percent of the students graduating with a 8.5. in Marketing take sales jobs. Many of these students take courses such as Sales Management or Sales Communications to better prepare for their first position, but many still find the transition difficult. One frequent problem is leaving a situation in which their role (as a student) is highly structured and entering a role which is more ambiguous. Although all members of organizations face some role ambiguity, few encounter as much as the salesperson. The salesperson has the normal encounters with supervisors, co- workers, and other home organization personnel. Additionally, the sales rep is primarily responsible for customer relations. While she/he represents the selling firm, it is quite clear that she/he must be as flexible as possible in terms of his/her “offering so that long term customer relationships can be developed. Further, characteristics of the sales rep’s position increase the ambiguity (1) the sales transactions normally transpire on the customer’s business location, lessening supervisor scrutiny and the normative constraints felt by the salesperson; (2) given that the salesperson is frequently removed from the supervisor, the evaluation process is based on performance outcomes rather than on the process used--the salesperson thus becomes quite dependent upon the customer to insure positive performance outcomes; and (3) the goals of the two parties (supervisor/ customer) are in some conflict, with the sales rep in the middle. Consequently, the selling situation generates uncertainty and interpersonal conflict, and demand for coping exceeds most occupational norms (Bagozzi 1980). The typical sales management student is introduced to role ambiguity in class lectures. The student, however, may perceive the topic to be one of academic interest rather than of practical significance. The experiential exercise discussed in this paper is intended to help the student experience the nature of the role ambiguity phenomenon. The transition from student to sales rep is therefore made with a more realistic set of expectations about the job structure. THE EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISE The conflicting expectations held by the sales manager and by the customer are one cause of the salesperson’s role ambiguity. A simple paradigm showing possible situations is shown in Figure 1. A comprehensive exercise might try to present examples of all four combinations. However, due to time contraints (one class period), this exercise used only two combinations: (1) high sales manager expectations, low customer expectations and (2) low sales manager expectations, high customer expectations. These combinations were chosen because of their contrasting natures. If only one combination were used, the high-high combination might be the best choice. Scenarios were written for the two selected combinations. Three students role played in each scenario, taking the positions of sales manager, sales rep, and buyer. The general instructions (shown in Figure 2) and the sales rep’s instructions (shown in Figure 3) were the same for both scenarios. FIGURE 2 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS Each of you will be assigned a specific role (sales manager, sales rep, or buyer). During the presentation, the supplier will be located on the side of the room away from the door and the buyer will be located near the door (except that the buyer will originally be in the hall while the sales manager gives the instructions to the sales rep). The presentation will start with the sales rep in the sales manager’s office, receiving instructions. The sales rep is free to clarify these instructions should he/she want. Next the sales rep is to visit the buyer in his/her office and attempt to negotiate a sale. The terms of the final contract (should one he made) will serve as the basis of the class discussion. Students seeking extra credit volunteered to participate in the exercise. All students volunteering were Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 9, 1982 41 given extra credit, but the students selected to participate were told that they had been randomly selected. In actuality, the students were selected on the basis of (I) their likelihood of being in class, (2) their willingness to participate according to the guidelines supplied, and (3) their ability to perform the task well. Three selected students were notified during the class period before the exercise was to take place, and they were given the necessary materials. Also, they met with the instructor in order to clarify any questions. The second group of students was notified during class on presentation day. They organized their presentation while the first group was making theirs. FIGURE 3 SALES REP’S INSTRUCTIONS Given the instructions from the sales manager, negotiate a contract with the buyer. Your product is generally rated as the best available, and your firm has always been very customer oriented. Prior to the class presentation, you may interact with the sales manager to prepare a dialogue and you also may interact with the buyer to prepare that dialogue. The buyer and the sales manager are not to interact with each other directly. As indicated in Figures 4 and 5, the first group was given a scenario in which the sales manager was very exacting while the buyer had relatively flexible demands. The second group had the opposite combination. The sales managers’ instructions are shown in Figure 4, while the buyers’ instructions are shown in Figure 5. The sales rep and the buyer in each group were to agree to terms and sign a contract similar to the one shown in Figure 6. After the completion of the transaction, the audience rated the quality of the contract on the following criteria: fairness of the overall contract to both parties, fairness of the price, equitability of the minimum order quantity, and equitability of the order frequency. These criteria were presented as statements, and the responses were given on a five-point Likert-type scale varying from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree. Next, the audience was asked to rate the amount of role ambiguity faced by the sales rep, using an instrument developed by Ford, Walker, and Churchill (1974) and discussed in Bagozzi (1980). The instrument is shown in Appendix A. The instrument’s Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 9, 1982 42 dimensions span more than the ambiguity associated with determining the terms of sale that will satisfy both the sales manager and the buyer. For example, items deal with the sales rep’s allocation of time, the frequency of sales calls, and family expectations. Students have some problems in using the instrument to valuate the role playing exercise since some of the terms are not pertinent. The inclusion of the seemingly irrelevant items is intentional, as they provide basis for obtaining a more systematic view of the ole ambiguity faced by sales representatives. The debriefing session emphasizes those causes of sales ambiguity not related to the sales transaction itself is well as those observable in the role playing exercises. To better understand how the exercise has been employed, the following discussions relates the exercise to the guidelines for ABSEL contributors to facilitate replication and use’ that Dick Nordstrom provided for Certo’s (1981) presidential comments in the ABSEL News Letter. The details are shown in Table 1. The exer- cise has been used only once to date. The exercise ran smoothly, except that too much time was spent in evaluating the learning process (this will be discussed in greater detail in the next section). As this evaluation process was added primarily for providing feedback for this paper, this added time will not he required for future exercises. Consequently, it is thought that ample time will be available for adequate debriefing in the future. Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 9, 1982 43 EVALUATION OF THE EXERCISES Five students were asked to miss the first presentation and to use that time to read the two scenarios (in reverse order of their presentation). After reading each scenario, they filled out the instrument in Appendix A. The intent was to evaluate the scenario itself, without the presentation having an effect. The five students found this to be a difficult task and, consequently, they took more time than had been expected. Thus, the second presentation was delayed, as it was desired that the evaluators have a chance to view one of the presentations. Consequently, the expected one half hour debriefing session was considerably shortened (to about 10 minutes). Another reason for the limited debriefing session was the time required for all students to evaluate the exercise as a learning exercise. The instructor was disappointed that the debriefing session was shortened, and it is his belief that the exercise would have been much more effective had it been discussed more thoroughly. One student commented similarly on his evaluation sheet, “Not enough time at the end of the presentation to discuss what went on. If there were more time, it would have been great.” Evaluations of the Role Ambiguity in the Scenarios Table 2 gives the mean ratings of the role ambiguity found in the two scenarios. For each scenario, two means are presented; the first represents the ratings of the 33 students who saw both presentations and the second represents the ratings of the five students who read the scenarios (in reverse order) before rating. In general, the pattern of ratings for those who saw the presentations (the audience) were the same as those given by the readers. The readers’ scores tended to be more extreme for both scenarios, hut this is expected since the sample size was so small. Apparently, the order in which the scenarios were presented did not affect the evaluation. The scenarios were designed such that A had a demanding sales manager and a more flexible buyer, while Scenario B had the roles reversed. As might be expected, the sales rep was seen as knowing his/her limits to authority better in Scenario A, while the sales manager’s satisfaction with the sales rep’s performance was seen as being lower in that scenario. Otherwise, the two scenarios were viewed quite similarly on the criteria listed in Appendix A. To some extent, this would indicate that the attempt to present two contrasting role plays was not very successful. The instructor noted that this was due in part to the individuals chosen to play the various roles. The sales manager In Scenario B, who was given more flexible instructions than his counterpart in Scenario A, took the role playing very seriously and actually was just as stern, or possibly more so, than his counterpart. The best laid plans of mice and men The contracts agreed upon in the two scenarios were also evaluated by the audience, and the results are shown in Table 3. The terms of the contracts themselves (as well as the expected terms) are given in Table 1. The contract determined in Scenario B is actually closer to the expected results, although the audience rated it as being less fair. The terms of the contract in Scenario A are far more favorable to the seller in terms of the order frequency, order quantity, and price. Quite possibly the class orientation had encouraged the student to view the sales transaction more from the sales manager’s perspective (after all, the exercise did take place in a sales management class). Again, the primary reason for the evaluation of the scenarios as to the amount of role ambiguity found and as to the fairness of the contracts was to provide more food for thought for the debriefing session. The instrument in Appendix A was used to show that the sales transactions only incorporated some of the potential causes of the role ambiguity faced by salespersons. Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 9, 1982 44 Evaluation of the Exercise Itself All 45 students evaluated the exercise after the abbreviated debriefing session. The results are shown in Table 4. As can he seen, there was generally strong agreement that the exercise was enjoyable and a good learning experience. Even though demand characteristics were present that would tend to elicit favorable responses, these results are viewed as being especially favorable when one considers that the debriefing session was shortened due to a lack of time. The comparison of the exercise to the lecture as a learning experience is made more meaningful when one considers that the instructor was named the University’s outstanding teacher during the 1978-19 school year. SUMMARY This paper discussed the development and use of a role playing exercise to present the topic of role ambiguity faced by the sales representative. The students gave favorable attitudinal measures toward the exercise, despite the fact that the debriefing process was incomplete due to a lack of tine. The exercise discussed here had two groups of students portray sales transactions, with the intention that different sales managers and customer orientations would be seen. However, the results indicate that the two presentations were seen very similarly. Consequently, we recommend that only one of the cells in Figure 1 be presented, preferably the high sales manager/high customer expectations cell which can be expected to generate the largest amount of role ambiguity. This reduction would allow more time for debriefing, during which most of the learning is expected to occur. Given the difficulty that many students have with the concept of role ambiguity, and the likelihood that it will become an important factor in their lives if they join a sales force, we believe that the role playing exercise Is a valuable teaching tool. REFERENCES Bagozzi, Richard P. (1980), Causal Models in Marketing, New York: John Wiley and Sons. Certo, Sam (1981), “President’s Ramblings,” ABSEL Newsletter, 1 (#3, April), 10. Ford, Neil H., Walker, Orville C., Jr., and Churchill, Gilbert A., Jr. (1974), “Expectation Specific Measures of the Inter-Sender Conflict and Role Ambiguity Experienced by Industrial Salesmen, Journal of Business Research, 3, 95-112. Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 9, 1982 45 Table of Contents Volume 9, 1982 The Value of Conjoint Analysis in Enhancing Experiential Learning The Effect of Participation in a Collective Bargaining Simulation on the Expectations and Attitudes of Union and Management Representatives Conflict Resolution in Experiential Learning The Use of Simulation to Test Theories of Bargaining in a Business Context The Nominal Group Technique: A Vehicle for Improving Case Method Courses A Framework for Developing a Business Policy Case Produce Your Own Video Cases for Classroom Use: A Demonstration An Experiential Effect from Charismatic Encounters Nine Topic Oriented Mini Simulations: Descriptions, Purposes, and Observations A Hospital Simulator (HOSPSIM) A Report of the Model and Results Expected from Field Testing An Evaluation of SLIM (A System Laboratory for Information Management) An Experiential Exercise Introducing Students to the Role Ambiguity Faced by Salespersons The Advertising Research Project as an Innovative Experiential Learning Technique The Small Group Research Project: An Experiential Learning Approach for Undergraduate Marketing Research Students The Relationship of Cognitive Style Maps to the Preference for Experiential Learning of Undergraduate Students The Learning Style Inventory Debate Revisited: An Empirical Assessment fo the Construct Validity Issue Related to Experiential Learning Theory Conducting a Classroom to Facilitate Career Goal Attainment Corporation Executives' Ratings of Policy Learning Techniques The Generation and Application of Evaluation Criteria for Management Policy and Strategy Simulation Games Experiential Opportunities with Microcomputers Leading Students to Learning: The Teacher's Obligation An Experiment in Teaching Principles Courses: The Mini Debate Formula Developing Creative Thinking Through Experiential Learning Heuristic and Systematic Evaluation of Policy: Exercise in Decision Making A Case Study Approach for the Litigation Decision: Employing Decision Analysis to Determine When a Business Should Settle or Go to Court Learning Negotiation Skills Through Simulation Union vs. Management: A Simulation of Collective Bargaining in Action Inside the Black Box: An Analysis of Underlying Demand Functions in Contemporary Business Simulations A Review of Channel Exercises and the Description of a New Alternative SIMCON I: A computer Based Simulation Model for Evaluating Physical Distribution Strategies Involving Order Consolidation Toward Competency-Based Management Education: The Interpersonal/Communications cluster The Value of Pre-Teaching in Role Playing Some Effects of Positive Personal Reinforcement upon Socializing Students in an Experiential Learning Course Who Gains and Who Does Not from Experiential learning Toward the Ultimate Experiential Exercise, the Student View Simulating Professional Writing Experiences in the Classroom The Johari Window as a Measure of Personal Development Windows Into Management: A Participative Aid to Learning Get Your Faculty Involved A Pedagogical Approach to Business Gaming for the Commuter Student Super Service for Computer Game Administrators Expand the Role of Simulation with Creative Scenarios The Delivery, Administration, and Evaluation of an Executive Development Program Using a Total Enterprise Business Game An Application of Experiential Learning in International Trade and Foreign Direct Investment International Management: Building Bridges Analysis of a Business Simulation Exercise: Organizational Survival and Success The FALRIS Organizational Scavenger Hunt Trainee V. Trainee Subordinates' Evaluation of Experiential Learning Longitudinal Analysis of an Innovative Teaching Intervention Student Perceptions of Effective Teacher Behaviors Revisited Realism and Learning: The Evolution of a Management Game A Merger and Acquisition Simulation A Stock Market Investor Simulation Experiential Learning in Consumer Behavior: Perceptual and Attitude Change Exercises The Recycling Industry Problems of Women in Management: A Role Playing Exercise for a Course in Contemporary Organizational Problems Experimental Three Weekend Course: Empirical Results A Process for the Analysis and Development of Course Content and Instructional Methodology for Large Class Sections Problems Associated with the Assessment of Experiential learning Using the Multiple Choice Test Combining Lecture and Simulation Teaching Methodologies Qualitative Determinants of Team Performance in a Simulation Game The Effects of Different Team Sizes on Business Game Performance Comparison of Problem-Solving Technologies: A Free Simulation Approach Consistency in Business Games A computer Simulation of Personnel Selection Decisions Giving Praise Exercise Job Enrichment A Look at the Spoken and Written Word in Organizations A Pattern of Group Communication A New Generation in Business Simulation Adapting Mainframe Business Simulations to Min Computers File Access is the Essential Prerequisite to Time-Flexible and Interactive Computer Simulation A Microcomputer Simulation for Teaching Retail Location Strategy Blocks & Chips: A computer-Assisted, Geno-Typical Entrepreneurial Game Development of a Self-Paced Course in Business Statistics The Involvement of Student Bodies in the Teaching of Advanced Technical Concepts Systems Learning Sequence: An Experiential Course Module for Management Information Systems An Experiential Approach to Developing Managerial Competencies Communication Research, Inc. An Experiential Learning Activity Developed as a Practicum for a Course in Organizational Communication