The Pitfalls, and Potential, of Actual Events as Problem Drivers Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 26, 1999 THE PITFALLS, AND POTENTIAL, OF ACTUAL EVENTS AS PROBLEM DRIVERS Kenneth O. Morse, Waikato Management School University of Waikato, Hamilton, NEW ZEALAND ABSTRACT As teaching moves into the 21st century, students increasingly demand to see relevance in their edu- cation. In response, there has been an increase in application of ongoing events and actual data in curriculum design. Relying on the actual business environment, however, generates some major concerns for both faculty and students. Using three mini-case examples of major exercises de- signed ex ante based on anticipated co-operation of the actual international business environment with the development of student learning through problem-based exercises, this paper highlights some of the major pitfalls which result from using such exercises. In conclusion, the paper argues that despite the pitfalls, major contributions are made to both student learning and student moti- vation through direct interaction with the dynamic nature of the current international business envi- ronment. INTRODUCTION Simulations, games, case studies: a wide range of academic activities created from extracts of the existing environment, all attempting to develop skills in adjusting to changing conditions in an- ticipation of future individual performance re- quirements (Malik, Howard & Morse, 1997). The idea is to teach the “art of management” through exposure to those experiences that have past rele- vance, relying on the assumption that past experi- ence builds a foundation for future interpretation and practice.1 One of the advantages of problem- based learning over other possible curriculum de- sign techniques is the ability to develop problem solving skills as they will be faced by the student in their business/professional future (Milter & Stinson, 1995). These skills are developed and enhanced through the use of applications which draw directly from the environment in which the student will potentially find a future. Anticipating the increasing stringency of that environment in the distribution of productive opportunities, stu- dents increasingly demand to see the relevance of their involvement in what are often time and en- ergy consuming problem-based exercises. This demand has naturally pointed toward greater use of the “real world” as a problem setting environ- ment. _______________ _______________ 1 Essentially, the definition of “experiential learn- ing” as proposed by David Kolb in 1984. In response to this growing demand, there has been an increase in application of ongoing events and actual data to curriculum design and imple- mentation, in an effort to stimulate student interest while responding to the demand for increased relevance (Malik, Howard, & Morse, 1997). That growth is indicated by the increasing frequency of presentations at professional gatherings,2 as well as the increasingly frequent appearance of articles in a wide range of professional journals.3 While a 2 In addition to this Association of Business Simu- lation and Experiential Learning (ABSEL) forum, such conferences as the Educational Innovations in Economics and Business (EDINEB) series and the Annual meeting of the American Private En- terprise Education (APEE) Association are exam- ples, though not an all inclusive list. 3 For example, the Journal of Simulation and Gaming, the Journal of Free Enterprise, and – for international business specifically - the Journal of Teaching in International Business are just a few examples. 286 Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 26, 1999 review of this literature would indicate that the outcomes of most of these experiments is over- whelmingly positive, there is an underlying note of caution which also flows through this growing body of literature. That underlying tone of caution indicates that relying on the actual business envi- ronment to co-operate with curriculum design and implementation, however well intentioned, gener- ates some major concerns for both faculty and students. The following three mini-case examples of major exercises which attempt to use the changing international business environment to incorporate environmental relevance into the in- ternational business curriculum highlight some of those concerns. Each of the term length problem based exercises were designed ex ante based on co-operation of the actual international business environment with the exercise objectives. Mini case 1: Current Events Application Analysis: The under- lying premise in designing this exercise for a mandatory introductory international business course posits that undergraduate students can benefit from a period of intense exposure to the vagaries of the international environment. Thus, for an entire term, students were assigned to scru- tinize the Wall Street Journal for international events relevant to either domestic or international transactions, keeping a student journal of the most significant of those events. After two months (eight weeks), each student was required to iden- tify the four most significant of these recurring events, in priority order. From a compilation of these student lists, the top four recurring events were identified as continu- ing “trends” and became the objective for detailed analysis both in class and as outside exercises for the remaining seven weeks of the semester. Each of these “trends” was the focus of a series of three consecutive analysis assignments, wherein stu- dents were expected to interpret, in light of their cumulative academic experience, the impact of the “trend” on business (in general) in both the domestic and the international context. The ex- pected result was student ability to make a link between current events and firm response or reac- tion. The implicit assumption made in this case was that the historic pattern of each trend would con- tinue for the remainder of the term (seven weeks). Unfortunately, approximately a third of the con- tinuing “trends” did not continue! The most com- mon difficulty occurred when a particular “trend” occurred for a short period of time during the trend-setting period, then essentially ceased. Thus, there was no continuing “trend” to update, and therefore nothing for students to analyze. This exercise met with relatively limited success over the course of the five year period it was used. In addition to complaints of the onerous level of work required to identify and then thoroughly study the identified “trends”, students repeatedly found it difficult to make the necessary connec- tions between events and possible repercussions in either the short term or the long term. For fac- ulty, the task of reading the submitted analyses and providing useful feedback became an increas- ingly time-consuming task as well, made all the more difficult by the repeated complaints that the continuing trends did not continue! In the final analysis, however, a small portion of students identified this exercise as one of the highlights of their university experience due to the use made of relevant information from a reliable, current source. Mini case 2: The capstone exercise. Two complementary as- sumptions anchor the underlying foundation of the problem-based requirement for students to de- velop team designed international business plans. Not only should students be able to apply the wide range of accumulated past knowledge and skills in an integrated manner to a comprehensive business problem, but they should also do so in response to the time critical requirements of the volatile business environment. In this exercise for final year business majors, several teams were 287 Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 26, 1999 established and each assigned the task of creating a start-up business plan for a small import/export firm. The final expectation was a completed busi- ness plan suitable for submission to a funding agency for lending consideration. Successfully completing this expected final product required extensive research into potential offshore markets (for exports) and suppliers (for imports), with the consummate need for accurate as well as timely market information (Morse, Laschenski & Bos- sung, 1997). The search for timely (i.e., recent) market infor- mation relative to foreign markets and products proved a daunting task for students. While some sources appeared to be quite recent,4 they also proved to be somewhat speculative and at times unreliable. On the other hand, extremely reliable information,5 when available, proved to be dated relative to current market conditions. Also, in- creasing student reliance on electronic sources, especially the Internet, further strained the credi- bility of the information available due in part to the apparent minimal (or non-existent) Internet information quality control standards, which can vary widely by source. A number of other significant problems developed throughout the five year period of this capstone type exercise, the most relevant being the confu- sion caused when information changed dramati- cally in a short period of time. Because of the cu- mulative nature of business plan construction, ac- ceptance of less than fully reliable information early on in the project, which later proved to be _______________ 4 Sources such as the U.S. Department of Com- merce National Trade Data Bank (NTDB) (up- dated monthly) and the U.S. Chamber of Com- merce Quarterly Briefing Notes, for example. 5 Sources such as KPMG’s Doing Business in … series and a similar series produced by Arthur Anderson & Associates are examples. incorrect, meant a cascading series of changes and alterations later in the plan construction effort. While in hindsight completing this semester-long project proved to be a valuable and much appreci- ated learning experience for participants, it also proved to be extremely frustrating for students and time consuming for faculty. The inability to find required information which is both timely and reliable – while certainly reflective of modern business practice – strained the patience of stu- dents. This was not significantly ameliorated when seeking faculty assistance, as there is little likelihood that faculty would have any more reli- able information, or access to more reliable sources. Mini case 3: Transnational Consultancy/Contracting. The problem-based exercise in this elective final year introductory course in international (as opposed to domestic) management is based on the premise that cross border and cross cultural operations are the fundamental focus of an international career orientation. Therefore, students are exposed to the wide ranging requirements devolving from the assignment to develop and present a feasibility study for a major offshore international construc- tion project (such as an international airport, a telecommunications system or a hydroelectric dam), where the prime contractor (their individual group) would be based in a parent country differ- ent from that of the contracting nation. Given the bare essentials extracted from an existing adver- tised Request For Proposal (RFP), each team is expected to generate a sufficiently detailed pro- posal which either demonstrates the potential for a profitable prime contract bid or, alternatively, convincingly suggests why such an opportunity be bypassed. The breadth and scope of such a feasi- bility study points students to a wide range of past learning experiences drawn from across the cur- riculum, and also the extensive current interna Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 26, 1999 tional information available only through transna- tional sources. As with the first example, the latest relevant cur- rent events are critical to develop a truly competi- tive bid. In this case, such information is unlikely to be readily available in the detail students tend to believe necessary, raising possession of wide ranging research skills to a premium, and making time of the essence. It is not surprising, then, that students tend to become quite demoralized when the underlying RFP is withdrawn part way through the project, or some other major cata- clysmic event (such as withdrawal of financing) appears to render the exercise pointless. It then becomes a difficult task for faculty to revitalize student interest. SYNTHESIS For anyone familiar with the vagaries of working in the messy, unpredictable environment of the modern business world, none of these results should be surprising; in fact, they tend to be in- dicative of the success of such problem based ex- ercises in replicating the conditions existing in the post-academic employment environment. But, the cases above (and certainly others) highlight some of the major pitfalls which result from relying on the “co-operation” of the actual environment when designing and implementing relevance based problem solving exercises. The unantici- pated behavior (or mis-behavior) of environ- mental actions may cause unsettling disruption in the well-planned curriculum. Maintaining student interest in the face of great swings in both the quantity and the attendant quality of current in- formation is a difficult, though not insurmount- able proposition. Additionally, potentially disas- trous actions unforeseen in the planning and de- velopment process may cause some disquiet, and even conflict with an otherwise smooth running academic experience. Thus, the potential disrup- tion in the student learning process is a very real concern. In addition, implementing such exercises imposes an additional burden on faculty in terms of both administration and responsiveness. Administra- tively, modifications to problem requirements, student deliverables and assessment mechanisms create additional work for faculty. Further, reduc- ing direct faculty control demands increased adaptability to the dynamics of a changing envi- ronment, and explaining such changes tests the mettle of the implementing faculty member(s), especially regarding the impact of the lack of co- operation of the environment on student assess- ment. Despite these pitfalls, the benefits derived appear to outweigh the problems associated with rele- vance-based problem solving exercises. Having to respond to unanticipated changes develops a cer- tain measure of analytical agility and responsive- ness which is not often the result of other types of exercises, especially when those changes can be justified on the basis of empirical, rather than cur- ricular, grounds. Likewise, the need to be able to deal with conflicting and at the same time chang- ing data, shifting external observations and in- complete analysis further improves quick thinking and responsiveness on the part of students. As with other forms of experiential learning, con- tending with the vagaries of the dynamic interna- tional environment as a student develops an indi- vidual heuristic algorithm for dealing with such dynamics, on which future activities can be inter- preted, evaluated and revised (Kolb, 1984). Thus, using this approach is a complement to other, less dynamic learning methods such as case studies, simulations and games (Malik, Howard & Morse, 1997), all of which also develop students underly- ing problem solving algorithm. Additionally, benefits to students appear to be long term, and seem to add to their post-graduate marketability.6 In each of the three mini-cases _______________ 6 Indicated by anecdotal student reporting. Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 26, 1999 above, students overwhelmingly appreciated the attempt to use the existing environment, rather than to sterilize an historical example (Morse, 1992). Further, anecdotal evidence from graduates indicate that participation in such unstructured exercises provided them with an essential back- ground for employment after graduation. Such long term benefits seem to far outweigh the short term difficulties a single semester of environ- mental fluctuation and disconcert imposed on both students and faculty. CONCLUSION Perhaps the advice provided with each investment prospectus is an appropriate caveat for those seek- ing to incorporate the vagaries of the external en- vironment in developing their problem solving exercises, in that “past performance is no guaran- tee of future behavior”. While this paper high- lights difficulties associated with excessive reli- ance on a co-operative and predictable interna- tional business environment, anecdotal evidence indicates that, despite the pitfalls, major contribu- tions are made to student learning through direct interaction with the dynamic nature of that envi- ronment. Further, resulting student perceptions of relevance are high and student willingness to par- ticipate in future similar exercises is significantly strengthened. As we move into the 21st century, the pressure for visible relevance will undoubt- edly increase.7 It is becoming increasingly impor- tant to develop direct links between educational activities and the dynamic external environment – a requirement that, despite the potential pitfalls, promises both short and long term benefits for students. _______________ 7 Made all the more significant by increases in market pressures through funding reduction and competitive deregulation. REFERENCES Kolb, David. (1984), Experiential Learning: Ex- perience and the Source of Learning and Devel- opment. Boston, MA: McBer and Company. Malik, S. Dolly, Howard, Barbara and Morse, Kenneth O. (1997) Business Plans, Case Studies and Total Enterprise Simulations: A Natural Co- existence, in Developments in Business Simula- tion and Experiential Learning, (24), Madison, WI: Omnipress. 158-163. Milter, Richard G. and Stinson, John E. (1995). Educating Leaders For The New Competitive Environment. Chapter 4 in Educational Innova- tions in Economics and Business Administra- tion: The Case of Problem-Based Learning. W. Gijselaers, D. Templaar, P. Keizer, J. Blom- maert, E. Bernard & H. Kasper, eds. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Morse, Kenneth O. (1992) The International Business Plan: An Alternative Case Study Ap- proach to Undergraduate International Business Education, presentation to the Annual Meeting of The Academy of International Business - Northeast Region, Scranton, PA, June 2, 1992. Morse, Kenneth O., Laschenski, John P. and Bos- sung, Sharon (1997). Teaching Across Disci- plines: An experiment in multiple-course team projects. Journal of Private Enterprise, XII, 2, 104-13. 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