EXPERIENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES WITH MICROCOMPUTERS Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 9, 1982 78 PANEL EXPERIENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES WITH MICROCOMPUTERS David J. Fritzsche, Illinois State University Ronald L. Jensen, Emory University Corey O. Schou, University of Central Florida ABSTRACT The impact of microcomputers on the educational scene is beginning to be felt, but it is still in the early development phase. The microcomputer is also beginning to have an impact on business data processing. For members of ABSEL this means that we must consider what effect, if any, this will or should have on the subject of business simulation, in the classroom or in the industrial training sector. PANEL SUMMARY As with many new arenas of development, the initial period is one of producers striving to obtain market recognition and position. This frequently means product differentiation, and in the area of computers this may mean incompatibilities in software as well as hardware. A manufacturer is tempted to design the product such that “foreign attachments are discouraged, thus enhancing the sales of their own products. This has been a common practice among main-frame manufacturers, and there is some indication that the same approach is being used by some microcomputer designers. Fortunately for the microcomputer users, not all manufacturers are taking this approach. Many of the smaller producers, as well as a few of the larger firms, have chosen to follow a somewhat standardized route for the software environment, but few of them have gone as far in standardizing hardware. Because we are still in the early growth period there is still considerable uncertainty, but it appears that the more standardized approach is achieving greater market acceptance as users become more informed of the advantages this offers to them. For simulation developers, this question of standardization can be very important if we wish to make the simulation available to a broad base of users. In addition to the standardization question, the level of sophistication of available software development tools, and also of developed (ready- to-use) software, is improving at a very rapid rate. As developed simulation packages become more readily available these will increase the attractiveness of microcomputers in the educational market. As the software development tools improve, the developed packages should improve. These are complementary activities, and are part of the reason that the acceptance of microcomputers is increasing so rapidly. Most of the simulations currently available for microcomputers are of the game type, with space ships to shoot down, fighter craft to fly, or strange shaped monsters to avoid. While these may be very good for making money for the developer, and perhaps even for improving eye-hand coordination for the player, they are generally not the ones of interest to ABSEL members in our professional role. With a few notable exceptions, major simulations have not yet appeared on the micro scene. This may be due in part to a simple lag in the availability of adequate software development tools, or it may be that the potential developers are not yet convinced that an adequate audience exists to justify the necessary development time. In either case, this is now changing quite rapidly, so we may expect to see more full fledged business simulations in the micro world soon. While most microcomputers are used as free-standing, single user computers (and most software is written on this assumption), we also have the beginning of a trend toward combining multiple microcomputers into various clusters and/or networks for the purpose of sharing scarce resources. This may include allowing a single printer to serve several users, sharing large mass storage systems to reduce file redundancy, to provide common data bases, and to simplify the administration of large numbers of microcomputers. The simulation developer needs to be aware of the potential offered by this approach, as well as the limits of the present state-of-the-art. The microcomputer offers considerable computing power for the money, but it does have some very definite limitations in the presently available implementations. The simulation developer can take advantage of what is working, if the developer is aware of where to look for it. The developer can also avoid frustrating failure if the limitations are understood and allowed for in the design and implementations of the simulation. It is our expectation that this panel should help the microcomputer simulation developer recognize the potential and limitations of this educational tool, and to aid the developer to select and use appropriate hardware and software for their simulation development. 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