LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN A SIMULATED URBAN/ SUBURBAN (U/S) ENVIRONMENT Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 8, 1981 8 LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN A SIMULATED URBAN/ SUBURBAN (U/S) ENVIRONMENT E. Paul Moschella, University of Hartford ABSTRACT There is an increasing trend in government to look to local and regional governments to provide the solutions to regional problems. This transfer is occurring at a time when the environment has never been more complex, uncertain and changing. The challenge confronting local administrators is, to say the least, considerable. It was hypothesized that a computer- based, decision-making simulation model could make a significant contribution to the effective decision- making development of local administrators and their staffs. Urban/Suburban (U/S) Policy Interaction Model was adapted for training and development of local leaders and citizens. A limited trial and experiment were conducted and evaluation by the participants was positive. INTRODUCTION For several decades, economic, Social and political forces have fostered a steady net out-migration of population from the cities and into the suburbs. The exodus was accompanied by relocation of businesses, plants, jobs and wealth. While it appeared that suburbs utilized the city’s resources during the day, the city-dweller could see little reciprocal use or contribution from suburban resources-. Cities tend to become the owners of abandoned housing and factories and the homes of the poor and unskilled. In many areas, these perceptions have dangerously polarized the attitudes of the inhabitants of both the cities and the suburbs. During the 70’s, a national sentiment emerged which seemed to imply that this damaging migration and dislocation was, to a degree, attributable to intrusive federal policies. The response has been a slow, but discernible, reallocation of the control of funds to local communities - state, region and city. However, the delegation of the control of some expenditures to communities has not been without difficulties. In this age of complex problems and voter constituencies, community leaders and decision-makers had to be better prepared. To some extent, in an effort to cope, local leaders have frequently adopted a “single-issue” strategy. Such a policy, of course, is not sufficient given today’s political complexities. The Situation After two decades of indifference, or in some cases serious conflict, it is now believed desirable to: facilitate “unfreezing” some rigid regional perceptions pertaining to how a region and its communities function assist community decision-makers to avoid “single issue” Solutions and deal with several community forces at a time demonstrate to the community leaders how their decisions interact with those in neighboring communities and cities provide a setting in which urban and suburban community leaders and concerned Citizens can interact, practice and evaluate the results of their experimental leadership. Hypothesis for Test Based upon the foregoing community conditions and needs, it was hypothesized that the problem-solving performances of concerned community members could be enhanced by utilization of a dynamic Urban/Suburban (U/S) Interaction Simulation Model in a proper “laboratory” setting. Model Development The actual U/S Interaction Model was developed earlier by the author as a research tool for better understanding regional economic development. The National Endowment for the Humanities provided funds to permit its adaptation and evaluation for community leader training. The salient features of the U/S Interaction Model are: A region composed of a city and a suburb is the model’s geographical composition The region is viewed as a dynamic, physical system having an urban and a suburban subsystem The structures of the urban and the suburban subsystems are identical, i.e. the forces or factors perceived as relevant are the Same. The factor magnitudes and relationships can differ Pertinent urban, suburban and regional literature was extensively searched to identify and quantify the system forces or factors. Fig. 1 reflects the first level of the U/S system flow diagram. Major factors such as jobs, housing, plants, taxes and roads are identified The system was programmed using Fordyn by R. W. Llewellyn which is an excellent collection of Fortran routines that reasonably well emulate the concepts embodied in the simulation language, DYNAMO While not identical, the model conceptualizes a city about the size of Hartford, Connecticut and a suburb about the size of its Greater Hartford Region, together reflecting a total population of about 1,100,000 About 400 variables and interactions are used in the model, requiring some 2500 statements and 64K memory on a NCR 200 Software is also designed to permit easy change of model parameter so that the characteristics of other types of communities can be readily Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 8, 1981 9 Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 8, 1981 10 Beyond management development, a closely related benefit of regional simulation models is that their construction provides a focus to regional research efforts and expenditures. Weak systemic linkages are highlighted and the utility of missing information is identified, thereby attracting stronger financial support for the research. Regional simulation models provide a means for retaining in an orderly and logical manner the conclusions reached over time by costly research programs. The low and declining cost of computer hardware coupled with the wide availability and support of software now makes this approach to training and research extremely feasible. Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 8, 1981 11 TABLE 2 PARTICIPANT EVALUATION question Mean on a Scale of 1:5 1. To what extent did this simulation model help you to appreciate the complexity of the policy making process? 3.9 2. Do you think your skills in decision making have been improved by using this exercise? 2.8 3. Do you think this method would be effective for training public officials as well as private citizens? 3.9 4. Were the introduction to and preparation for the use of the model adequate? 3.4 5. The size of the group was too small or too large. 2.6 6. Did you feel that there was adequate and constructive interaction among the members of your group? inadequate or most adequate 3.6 Specific participant conclusions were: A regional simulation does increase the awareness and perceptions of local leaders as to the goals and strategies of others. The need to deal with multiple factors tends to reduce the resort to “one-issue” politics. An awareness and appreciation for community complexity were established. Although each exercise was no more than 3 hours duration, it was felt that decision-making skills were improved. Perhaps most satisfying, the participants rated the U/S model as a very effective method by which to train both public and private local decision-makers. Finally, the participants concurred that the U/S Model provided a viable setting for constructive interaction on extremely sensitive issues. Comments and observations were also requested. The two improvements most frequently suggested were: The suburb sector of the region should be divided into segments more closely representing the actual sizes of the communities of the participants. Education and the associated school system together with its interactions should be included in the model. SUMMARY This first effort was severely constrained both in scope and duration, It did not have many of the desirable conditions for a proper experimental design. Nevertheless, sufficient evidence was gathered to demonstrate the feasibility of regional simulations for developing decision-making skills at the critical level of the community leader and concerned citizen. Recommendations for Future Use Considerable progress has been made in the development and refinement of corporation, business and international business simulation models. Acceptance and use of these models has spread rapidly in education and training. However, in the public sector, where decision-making can often be even more complex than in the business sector, simulated decision- making has not yet received comparable research development and application attention. Little research exists on the training effectiveness of decision simulations in the public sector. This experiment, I feel, confirms the existence of a large number of local and regional personnel who can materially benefit by the development and application of regional decision-making simulations. The U/S Interaction Model is built on Jay Forrester’s DYNAMO and his system concepts. While alternative utdel structures should be evaluated, at present, the system concept can best express the regional perceptions of the decision-maker. Explanation of this type of model to the decision-maker is, therefore, greatly facilitated. Thus, I would recommend: 1) Accelerated development of local and/or regional decision-making simulations. 2) Expanded use of these models for: a) University level public sector courses. b) Local and regional officer training and development programs. c) Carefully designed experiments to validate the effectiveness of dynamic models in public management development, Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 8, 1981 12 Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 8, 1981 13 Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 8, 1981 14 Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 8, 1981 15 Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 8, 1981 16 Table of Contents Volume 8, 1981 The Promotion: Human Sexuality in Organization The Simulation of Chaos Leadership Development in a Simulated Urban/Suburban (U/S) Environment Tomed: A Computer Game Emphasizing Social Responsibility/or/why the Pop-Top Can? Integrated Brain Activity and the Manager's Job: Utilizing the Troika Model What does R2 Have to do with a Product Management Course? An Analysis of the Effects of Jungian Problem-Solving Style Dimensions on Marketing Decisions Bargaining Behavior in Personal Selling and Buying Exchanges Extending the Simulation Product Life Cycle A Generalized Algorithm for Designing and Developing Business Simulations Operationalizing a Test of a Model of the Use of Simulation Games and Experiential Exercises Pygmalion and Perception: An Experiential Exercise Behavioral Consequences of Reward Regarding Employee Absenteeism in an Industrial Setting: An Operant Conditioning Approach The Simlab Program: The Use of Experimental Simulation and Process Analysis for the Development of Management and Organizations Designs for Research on Simulation-Games, Cases, and Other Experiential Exercises The Role of Students in The Case Method Weaknesses in Research Design Critical Variables in Research on the Educational Value of Management Games Research Questions for Cases Research on the Learning Effectiveness of Business Simulation Games - A Review of the State of the Science The Effects of Valuation Techniques on Holding Cost During Inflationary Periods: A Simulation Exercise The Operations Simulation - A Study in Game Development Applying Guided Design to the Production/Operations Management Course: A Progress Report and Evaluation Terminal Data Entry and Retrieval Systems Simulations and Microprocessors Microcomputers and Related Technology for Simulation Gaming Microcomputers - A New Technology for Innovations in Business Simulations Microprocessor Controlled Interactive Video Simulation Business Game Design: From Theory to Practice The Success of a Computerized Simulation in Microeconomic Pedagogy The Test Preview Game: Applying the Game Show Format Providing a Real World View of the Personal Function: A Simulation Finding an Effective Means of Teaching Managerial Behavioral Skills: Two Different Experiential Teaching Methods Compared A Management Development Program Based on the Experiential Learning Model Participant Type Differences in Response to Experiential Methods: An Informal Look Preparing Student Groups to Participate in Experiential Group Projects: An Organizational Development Approach An Instrument for the Assessment of Learning Dimensions: A Progress Report of the Learning Dimension Scale (LDS) An Empirical Analysis Relating the Learning Style Inventory to Memory and Logical Ability Teaching Styles in Simulation Experiential Learning Versus Traditional Teaching Styles Student Perceptions of Effective Teaching Behaviors Problems in Evaluation of Experiential Learning in Management Education Students' Perceptions of Learning by Simulation A Relative Evaluation of Experiential and Simulation Learning in Terms of Perceptions of Effected Changes in Students Overview of Computer Based Business Games in Business Policy Classes Behavioral Decision Theory and Business Policy Giving Accounting Students Writing Experience as Job Preparation Getting to First Base with MBO: An exercise for Writing and Evaluating Objectives Dimensions of Conflict in Experiential Learning Consumer Alienation and Perceived Relevance of the Business Simulation Using the Self-Reference Criterion to Simulate Culture in Internationalized Business Course Experiential Learning in a Cross Cultural Setting- The Practice of Simulation Approach to Business Education in Japanese Universities Student' Perceptions of the Use of a Computerized Simulation in Teaching Management Information Systems Using the Case Study Approach to Develop a Microcomputer Bases, Fully Integrated, Data Base Driven, Management Information System The Case Study as a Tool for Organizational Change: Applying the Steel Ax to the Designers of Management Information Systems Toward a Theory of Teaching Business Policy A Case Study in the Use of Experiential Learning (A Management Game Simulation) to Enhance Student Understanding of Strategy Evaluation and Policy Formulation Suggestions for Integration of the Business Administration Core Publishing Opportunities and Requirements for Business Simulation and Experiential Learning Materials How do we Apply Experiential Learning Intercollegiate Case Competitions for M.B.A. Students: Initiation and Implementation Teaching Business Policy and Strategy Using the Incident Process The Learning Co-Op Approach to the Core Policy Course Meeting the Managerial Skill Shortage - Is Academia Up to It? An Empirical Analysis of Experiential Learning Reinforcement International Experiential Learning: Experience is the Best Teacher Encouraging Student Participation During International Academic Programs European Summer Study Program: Can you, Should you, What Does it Take? Travel Seminars in Europe: How can I Direct One? International Experiential Learning: Student Evaluation ABSEL: Empirical Findings on the State of the Association Sensitivity of Performance Scores in Business Simulations Improving the Learning of a Business Simulation Game by Increasing the Process Content Student Participation in Deciding Performance Criteria for Grading in an OB Course: An Exercise and a Case Study Markup for Profit: A Simulated Self-Administered Experience in Retail Pricing The Investment Decision Game: An Experiential Learning Approach to Stock Market Decisions Through Gaming CHIPS: A Marketing Channels management Game External Validation: An Experimental Approach to Determining the Worth of Simulation Games Teaching Performance Appraisal Skills: An Experiential Approach In Support of Experiential learning: Results of a Follow-Up Survey The Introductory Management Course: Taking Theory Application One Step Further Decision Efficiency and Effectiveness in a Business Simulation The Implications of Cognitive Processing Variables and the Complex Decision Simulating the Simulation for Enhanced Player Rationality Simulation/Experiential Learning Audit