INTER INSTITUTIONAL USE OF EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Learning, Volume 26, 1999 INTER INSTITUTIONAL USE OF EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Joint Use of Management Simulation Games Katsuyasu Fuj ita, Hokkaido Institute of Technology, Sapporo, Japan Sadao Murahara, Musashi Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan Jiro Mitamura, Musashi Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan ABSTRACT This paper describes the joint use of two management simulations among several universities in Japan. The one used is a decision game(DG) which is a WEB based game, and the other one is a management game(MG) which is a network based real-time game. Results and problems found in two games are presented. INTRODUCTION Hokkaido Institute of Technology started taking part in a decision game developed by Musashi Institute of Technology in 1994, and in 1997 participation was expanded to five schools with the addition of Shibaura Institute of Technology, Hokkaido Information University, and Setsunan University. A management game developed by Hokkaido Institute of Technology and played on the internet in seminar classes has completed testing, and from April, 1998 it has been used by 3rd year seminar classes at Musashi Institute of Technology. MUTUAL USE OF EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Musashi Institute of Technology has been developing and using a decision game (DG) since the 1 970s, and Hokkaido Institute of Technology developed and used a management game (MG) in the 90s. Both employ computers to achieve specialized educational goals. Both DG and MG were limited to intra campus use and require networks. In 1993 both games were the subject of presentations at the Japan Universities Association for Computer Education conference and discussions to enable their mutual use via networks took place. In 1994, the DO was used simultaneously at the two campuses as a first trial. At this point the network was not fully developed and telephone lines were used for data exchanges as well as data was verified via fax. In 1995, Hokkaido Institute of Technology was connected to the internet and testing took place via the network. In 1996, Shibaura Institute of Technology and Hokkaido Information University joined, and in 1997, Setsunan University became the 5th school to take part. An Internet compatible version of the MG was developed and testing verified that it could be used safely. DETAILS OF THE DECISION GAME Development and use of the decision game The development of the decision game was initiated in the 1 970s at the Murahara laboratory of Musashi Institute of Technology with the goal of enabling a systematic understanding of industrial engineering subjects. 255 Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Learning, Volume 26, 1999 The DG was used in weekly 90 minute lessons by third year students in Cost Engineering seminar classes, and its history may be divided into three stages: 1970s: Batch processing with data on computer cards. 1980s: Use on LAN computers with TSS of minicomputers. 1990s: Real time processing open format using the Internet In the 1990s it was finally possible to use the DG with other universities, with the only limitation on the participation that the various data must be transmitted by a specified time (presently Friday, 4:00 PM). The students at the participating universities then retrieve the decision data of each period from the web page of Musashi Institute of Technology. The DG referee at Musashi Institute of Technology calculates production and sales volumes from the decision data and posts the results on the web page. Each company then confirms sales volumes with the web page and prepares financial statements from the figures and sends these to Musashi Institute of Technology. Finally the DG referee posts five kinds of ranking data on the web page, including market share and rate of return on assets. The DG is executed weekly in this manner in eight cycles from September to December, and details of the execution can be confirmed on: cost.ie.musashitech.ac.jp/~d~index.html Results from 1997. In 1997 a total of 83 teams took part, 40 from Musashi Institute of Technology, 4 from Setsunan University, 26 from Hokkaido Institute of Technology, 10 from Hokkaido Information University, 2 from Shibaura Institute of Technology, and one team from the general public (details in Fig. 2). The problems encountered in 1997 may be divided into problems with the system in general and operational problems. 1) General system problems 256 Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Learning, Volume 26, 1999 Figure 3 - Ranking of 4th and 3rd year students a) The participating universities have different schedules making it difficult to implement the game in a timely fashion. b) Despite different curricula it is still necessary to implement the aims of DO in detail. c) Differences in computer literacy. 2) Operational problems a) Effort required to verify the data for transmission. b) Time taken up with responding to queries and inquiries from participants. Musashi Institute of Technology has to input the DG manually into an enormous worksheet. Further, with the increasing use of spreadsheets there are very large differences in operational results depending on how well students are able to use spreadsheet software. In 1997 five of the top ten teams were Hokkaido Institute of Technology 4th (final) year teams. Of the Hokkaido Institute of Technology teams the 4th year teams outscored the 3rd year teams (Fig. 3). One reason would be that the 4th year students are provided with own computers and concentrate on studying company management using spreadsheets. Many of the inquiries and questions from other participants overlap and for this year (1998) we are planning to update the ‘DG handbook.’ MANAGEMENT GAME (MG) ON THE INTERNET Development and use of the internet MG The Fujita laboratory (Hokkaido Institute of Technology) has used the MG on the LAN. This system which is termed the ‘internet MG’ has been made TCPLIP accessible and requires Windows networked computers (PC). The game was developed with Visual Basic (5.0), and the MG using board (board MG) functions are nearly completely realized (Fig. 5). Like the board MG, the internet MG involves four or five PCs in one group (industry) and compete in manufacture and sales. Here one of the PCs also acts as the server of the MG (Fig. 4). During operation from January to March 1998 the participants identified a number of problems with the internet MG: a) general public These people (10) represent participants in ‘training to form companies’ sponsored by a Hokkaido bank. They aim to become company 257 Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Learning, Volume 26, 1999 Figure 5— GUI of Management Game managers, and the age spread is very wide, 20 to 80 years of age. b) professional school students Students (30) who have played the board MG for half a year and study public welfare and management. Most of these students are not proficient PC users. c) university students Musashi Institute of Technology and Hokkaido Institute of Technology students (10) playing the MG for the first time, and without experience with the board MG. These students had an MG server in their respective laboratories and formed a mixed group. Implementation and problems identified The groups detailed above formed the participants in the internet MG for two to five periods. 1) problems with MG implementation This game is similar to the board MG and additionally has numerous functions that allow input of past results of the own company and details of decisions of other companies, and these additional functions gave rise to a few errors. 2) problems in operating the MG Joining procedures at the start of the game and the steps necessary to move on to following periods did not go as smoothly as expected, and there is a need to make improvements to make the progress of the MG more smooth. 3) problems with operating the PCs Among the participants, some were not well acquainted with the use of PCs, and it will be necessary to use larger fonts and make it easier to know where mouse clicks have occurred. Results at Musashi Institute of Technology The internet MG has been used with 2nd year students of the Industrial Engineering Department of Musashi Institute of Technology since April 1998. This has involved two 90 minute lessons with groups of 30 students. Due to the time limitations only two periods of the MG were possible, but one group responded to the game as shown in Table 1. It shows that the student response to the MG was positive, pointing to the benefits of MGs where students are enjoying the game. The DG is expected to provide motivation also in other classes for the participating 3rd year students (Cost Engineering seminar) (a survey of the participants at Hokkaido Institute of Technology, the general public, and professional school provided very similar results). CONCLUSIONS A DO for the management of large companies aimed at advanced students is planning to expand participation among universities and the general public this year. Another MG starting with just capital for the management of small companies is aimed at lower grade students (younger students). The joint use of the DG is in its fifth year, and from this year an MG has been used via the internet from Musashi Institute of Technology. The result has been a radically new educational environment involving the joint use of software 258 Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Learning, Volume 26, 1999 resources and joint implementation of the software at both universities. People interested in taking part in the DG or the MG are invited to contact the e-mail addresses below: DG: murahara@ie.musashi-tech.or.jp MG: fujita@hit.ac.jp Table 1 Reactions to the Management Game (MG) at Musashi Institute of Technology: • wish to try it over longer periods good because real • attracts interest as the best course experiences • would like to learn to analyze the print outs • such exercises where all can participate should be increased • interesting and wants to try again • like real Cost Engineering and so interesting interesting when compared with present experiments • unfortunate that there was not enough time will help me to manage better • the management game format is interesting nice to study pleasantly • really quite interesting, hope for more courses like this REFERENCES Available from authors. 259 Table of Contents Volume 26, 1999 ABSEL's Historical Research Interests Back From the Future: An ABSEL Merlin Exercise for the Year 2005 The Contributions of ABSEL During the 1980's ABSEL's Contributions to Experiential Exercises in the 90's ABSEL's Contributions to Experiential learning/Experiential Exercises: The Decade of the 1970's Business Simulations - Algorithms and Model Enhancements: A 25 year Review A Study of the ETS General Field Test as an AACSB Assessment Tool and the Impact of Experiential Exercises and Simulation on Learning A Framework for Assessing the Competencies Reflected in Simulation Performance Developing A Learning Culture: Assessing Changes in Student Performance and Perception Financial Simulation Using Distributed Computing Technology Analyzing Managers' Judgements and Decisions with an Educational Business Simulation Understanding Your Business through Home-Made Simulator Development An Examination of a Reanalysis of the Impact of a Market Leader on Simulation Competitors' Strategies Applying Shocks to TE Simulations: A Demonstration Increasing Efficiency of Management Skill Assessment A Testbank for Measuring Total Enterprise Simulation Learning Developing Leadership Skills - Video Live! LEADSIMM: Collaborative Leadership Development for the Knowledge Society A Team Approach to Producing Multi-Media Laptop and Video Formatted Presentation Tinkertoys Revisited: Exploring Trust Based Relationships Overall Dominance in Total Enterprise Simulation Performance Success or Bankruptcy: The Relationship between Personal and Goal Orientation and Simulation Performance Assessing the Effects of Feedback: Muti-method and Muti-directions in Multi-pedagogical Courses The Missing Ingredients in Experiential Learning Purpose and Learning Benefits of Business Simulations: A Design and Development Perspective Building Capabilities for Change through Laboratory Simulations Modeling Innovation as a Process of Design in Educational Business Simulation The Need to Measurer variance in Experiential Learning and a New Statistic to do so Assessing Effectiveness of an Experiential Oriented Course Over Time Developing Participant Satisfaction Models of Experiential Exercises in Business Education Perceptions of Learning in TE Simulations Students' View on the Use of Business Gaming in Hong Kong Management Gaming's Lost Opportunity: Meditations about the Russian Experience and Prospects for the Future Unanticipated Enhancements in the Business Strategy and Policy Game when Running in Windows 95 Using a Business Game to Demonstrate Broad Business Concepts A New Model for Business Courses (Getting the Student Connected) Seeing the Forest and the Trees: Integrating Knowledge Using Large Scale Simulations in Capstone Business Strategy Classes Is It Here To Stay? A Roundtable Discussion of the Inter-Group Interaction Interactive Tools Used in Applying Financial Concepts Strengthening Essential Skills through a Finance Exercise: Calculation of Beta A Model of Currency Exchange Rates Understanding Currency Exchange Rates: A three-part Exercise Student Experiences in the World Intercollegiate Business Game Competition Student Experiences in the International-Collegiate Business Policy Game Competition Using Boards of Directors in Simulation Environments: Comments From Board Members Sharing Best Practices: Teaching Smarter, Not Harder Star Power: A Simulation for Understanding Power and Empowerment The Marketing Game: A Marketing Principles Simulation Alexander Islands: GSSM Tiny Business Simulator on the WWW Putting Strategy into Strategic Business Games Industry Analysis, Porter's Five Forces Model and Strategic Group Maps in the Business Strategy Game Simulation The Use of Concept Mapping to Improve Student Performance and Understanding of Strategic Management Concepts: A Comparison of Techniques Transformational thinking in the Organizational Behavior Course: The Use of Metaphor as an Assessment Tool Creation of a Virtual Learning Community for the Global Virtual Enterprise Project Inter Institutional use of Educational Resources: Joint Use of Management Simulation Games Business Insights: Theory and Practice with the Aid of a Business Simulation Progress: An Experiential Exercise in Development Marketing The ABC's of teaching the Theory of Constraints to Undergraduate Business Students Demonstrating Principles of Organizational Purchasing Behavior through an Experiential Exercise The Virtual Manager: A Different Simulation for Managing Complexity When the Rules are changing and Chaos Breeds Innovation: Recapturing the Value of Constructive Thinking and Play in Simulation Training The Pitfalls, and Potential, of Actual Events as Problem Drivers Using Business Games to teach Environmental Awareness and Green Management: The International Experience with the ENSIM Game A Review of my ABSEL-Related Work Simulation of Government: A Workshop Using GEO Creating Internet-Based Games Using Perl and JavaScript Who's on First? Exploring the Concepts of Problem-Based Learning, Experiential Learning, and Lifelong Learning Students Learn Customer Service and Selling while Conducting Research So You Want to Run an NFL Football Team–An Honors Interdisciplinary Project Supervised Internship: The Employer's Perspective Using Computer Assisted Simulation to Teach International Business Strategy: A Case of the Multinational Management Game (MMG) Multi-Cultural Experiential Learning: A Computer Simulation in China An Appreciative Stance on Diversity as We Move into the 21st Century: A Timeline Exercise to Identify Key Experiences in Good Work Relationships between Black and White Peers A Day in the Life of an Interactive, Real Time, and Internet Delivered Course: A Demonstration Comparing Internet Search Engines: An Experiential Learning Exercise Total Enterprise Simulations and the Internet: Assessing Student Perceptions and Preferences Teaching Accounting Information Systems in a Practicum Format Providing Experiential Learning in Accounting through a Field Study Payroll Project A Spreadsheet Based Business Simulation Game Computer-Behavioral Simulations Training for Project Managers Simulation Scenarios - Rationale and Illustration