CORPORATION EXECUTIVES’ RATINGS OF POLICY LEARNING TECHNIQUES Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 9, 1982 69 CORPORATION EXECUTIVES’ RATINGS OF POLICY LEARNING TECHNIQUES B. Irvin Summers, Southwest Missouri State University Charles Boyd, Southwest Missouri State University ABSTRACT The value of Policy learning techniques is rated by 72 business executives. The findings are most favorable to case analysis; less favorable data are reported for computer simulations and other experiential techniques INTRODUCTION Several reports have indicated the positive aspects of games as learning methods. Raia (5) found games to be efficient for acquiring content knowledge. Robana (6) reported numerous learning results. Shim (7) reported positive student learning responses. Certainly as we meet in discussion sessions and informally in groups at ABSEL each year, we, as a professional interest group, generally endorse simulations and games as useful learning techniques. Other investigators have recently focused attention on simulation games and experiential learning techniques in industry. Examples are the Thompson and Pitts (8) panel at the 1980 ABSEL meeting and the Hunter and Price (2) article in Newsweek. METHOD The data here reported provides practitioners’ ratings of methods of learning Business Policy. Two of the questionnaire items are applicable: 1. Considering the students’ future application of Business Policy concepts to their career in a company, what learning method do you believe is best? (Please rate 1 thru 5) Please mark those about which you have no knowledge with a 6. Lecture/discussion Computer simulation game Case analysis Other experiential exercises 2. Which teaching methods were most helpful to your learning Business Policy? (Rate 1 thru 5) If one of the methods below was not used in your course, please mark with a 6. • Lecture/discussion • Computer simulation game • Case analysis • Other experiential exercises Note: The respondents had been previously instructed that 1 was the most favorable or positive rating and that S was the least favorable or negative rating. A sample of 280 companies was drawn according to the scheme in Table 1. Seventy-five questionnaires were returned, about 27 percent, and all were useable. Table 1 also displays the responses from each cell of the sampling matrix. TABLE 1 *Base Group 25 25-50 50-75 75-100 Commercial Banking 4 2 5 4 2 Life Insurance 4 2 2 0 4 Diversified Financial 4 2 1 1 2 Retailing 3 1 3 3 3 Transportation 2 2 1 1 1 Utilities 3 2 1 2 3 Industrials 3 0 0 2 0 *Base Group = smallest for Fortune 50 or 500 25 - 25% of the base asset size 25-50 = 25% to 50% of base asset size 50-75 = 50% to 75% of base asset size 75-100 = 75% to 100% of base asset size FINDINGS Of our 75 responses, 19 had completed an undergraduate course in Business Policy, 42 had completed a master’s level policy course, and 3 had completed a policy course at the doctorate level. However, the frequencies obtained for Question 2 were very low (Table 2) . We do not have an explanation for the lack of response to the question; other items on the same page of the questionnaire and the items on the total questionnaire were completed with practically no omissions. We just do not know why “teaching methods most helpful to your learning Business Policy” received such a low response rate. Because the response rate is so low, we are reporting the frequencies (Table 2) and not attempting any further analysis of Question 2. Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 9, 1982 70 TABLE 2 FREQUENCIES OF RATINGS QUESTION 2 Rating Teaching Method 1 2 3 4 5 Lecture/Discussion 16 14 13 2 0 Computer Simulation 2 8 9 5 5 Case Analysis 25 15 2 2 2 Other Experiential Exercises 2 3 11 6 2 Question 1, the respondent’s opinion of learning methods for a student’s future application of Business Policy concepts, received a good rate of response (Table 3) TABLE 3 FREQUENCIES OF RATINGS QUESTION 1 Rating Learning Method 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lecture/Discussion 19 24 27 4 1 0 Computer Simulation 4 15 31 9 9 7 Case Analysis 46 21 2 0 5 1 Other Experiential Exercises 6 14 16 7 1 24 (6 = no knowledge) Depending on one’s assessment of a 3 rating, Cases and Lecture/Discussion do appear to be perceived as the most favored learning method. Table 4 results from deleting the “no knowledge” responses in Table 3 and converting the remaining frequencies to percentages. Examination of Table 3 reveals that at least 28 percent of the respondents are favorable toward each learning method. We will be further testing the data to determine if those that rate Lecture/Discussion high also rate Simulations high and so forth; we apologize for not having these tests completed by the date required for the Proceedings copy. What may be the case is that specific people lean best from a specific leaning method, and that it is most appropriate to have several learning methods available in the Policy course, as well as in other courses. e.g., the Learning Style Inventory (1) may be on the correct conceptual track even if it does have construct problems. TABLE 4 PERCENTAGES OF RATINGS QUESTION 1 Rating Learning Method 1 2 3 4 5 Lecture/Discussion 25.3 32 36 5.3 1.3 Computer Simulation 5.9 22.1 45.6 13.2 13.2 Case Analysis 62.2 28.4 2.7 - 6.8 Other Experiential Exercises 13.0 30.4 39.1 15.2 2.2 Our data collection instrument asked that the respondent indicate their organizational level and their number of years of management experience. TABLE 5 FREQUENCIES OF RESPONDENTS’ LEVEL IN THEIR ORGANIZATION Level Frequency 1 10 2 25 3 29 4 3 5 2 6 2 TABLE 6 FREQUENCIES OF RESPONDENTS’ YEARS OF MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE Years of Experience Frequency 3 5 3-5 9 6-10 19 10-20 23 20 16 The respondents are from middle and upper management and have several years of management experience. We would like to know if one’s level in organization and the amount of one’s management experience influence one’s responses to Question 1. Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 9, 1982 71 While the N’s for levels 4 thru 6 are too small for anything but tentative observations, they do follow the general pattern or ratings within level 1 thru 3. Case analysis is the most favored learning method. (Table 7). When the ratings are considered by years of management experience (which may reasonably be a surrogate for the respondents age), case analysis is again the favored learning method (Table 8). DISCUSSION One would presume that the instructors’ skill in making any learning method interesting and useful would vary considerable, and given a sample such as the one selected for this research, that instructor variation would largely be self- canceling. At least for the present it is not unreasonable to accept the data as we see it in Tables 1 thru 8. Replication of this research is needed with emphasis on lower level organization members and former Policy students two to four years out of school. We suspect the student may rate the highest that learning technique that was most emphasized by that student’s Policy instructor. One of the major flaws in this present research was our failure to ask the respondents their policy instructor’s emphasis. If our suspicions are true, the above data may represent the emphasis Policy teachers are placing on various instructional techniques. However, there is a danger that we ABSEL’ers, in our own enthusiasm for simulations and experiential techniques, excessively rationalize less than favorable findings such as those presented above. REFERENCES (1) Carlsson, Barbara, P. Keane, and J. B. Martin, Organizational Psychology: A Book of Readings (Englewood Cliffs:- Prentice-Hall, 1971). (2) Hunter, Bill and Margeret Price, “Business Games: Underused Learning Tools?” Industry Week, Vol. 206, No. 4, August 18, 1980, pp. 53-54, 56. TABLE 7 POSITION LEVEL IN ORGANIZATION COMPARED TO MEAN RATING OF LEARNING METHOD Position Organization Level Learning Method 1 2 3 4 6 Overall X Lecture/Discussion 2.0 2.16 2.24 3.0 3.0 1.5 2.2 Computer Simulation 3.7 3.12 3.31 2.33 4.5 5.0 3.3 Case Analysis 1.2 2.28 1.41 1.33 1.0 1.5 1.68 Other Experiential Exercises 3.3 3.79 3.88 - 2.0 3.0 3.73 N= 10 25 29 3 2 2 (Smaller value = more favorable rating) TABLE 8 YEARS OF MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE COMPARED TO MEAN RATING OF LEARNING METHOD Years of Management Experience Learning Method 3 3-5 6-10 10-20 20 X Lecture/Discussion 2.8 2.11 2.16 2.09 2.37 2.22 Computer Simulation 2.6 2.89 3.79 3.39 3.25 3.35 Case Analysis 1.0 2.11 1.58 1.57 1.88 1.67 Other Experiential Exercises 3.5 2.43 3.11 3.73 4.94 3.65 N= 5 9 19 23 16 (Smaller value = more favorable rating) Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 9, 1982 72 (3) Parasuraman, A., “Evaluation of Simulation Games: A Critical Look At Past Efforts and Future Needs” Proceedings Seventh ABSEL Conference, Dallas, 1980, pp. 192-194. (4) Parasuraman, A., “Assessing the Worth of Business Simulation Games: Problems And Prospects,” Simulation and Games, Vol. 12, No. 2, 1981, pp. 189- 200. (5) Raia, Anthony P., “A Study of the Educational Value of Management Games,” The Journal of Business, Vol. 39, No. 3, 1966, pp. 339-352. (6) Robana, Abderrahman, “What Business Students Learn From Finance Simulations,” Proceedings, Seventh ABSEL Conference, Dallas, 1980, pp. 177- 179. (7) Shim, Joe K., “Management Game Simulation: Survey and New Direction,” University of Michigan Business Review, Vol. 30, No. 3, 1978, pp. 26-29. (8) Thompson, Kenneth R., and Robert E. Pitts, “Using Simulation and Experiential Learning in Industrial Settings,” Proceedings, Seventh ABSEL Conference, Dallas, 1980, p. 44. 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