Comparing Objective Measures and Perceptions of Cognitive Learning in an ERP Simulation Game

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have had a significant impact on business organizations. These large systems offer opportunities for companies regarding the integration and functionality of information technology systems; in effect, companies can realize a competitive advantage that is necessary in today’s global companies. However, effective training for the incorporation and use of these large-scale systems is difficult and challenging; improved strategies for effective training include the use of business simulations. The question of the effectiveness of training remains—“How do we measure learning?”. In a recent Simulation & Gaming article “Business Simulations and Cognitive Learning”, Anderson and Lawton (2009) focus on research associated with the assessment of cognitive learning in business simulations. They indicate that little progress has occurred in objectively assessing cognitive learning in simulations and call for research that might help determine whether simulations accomplish what they purport to achieve in terms of participant learning. In this research note, objective measures of learning are presented. The results of objective measures of learning are compared with those of self-assessed perceptions of learning in the context of an ERP business simulation game. Based on the comparisons of learning measures, self-assessed measure results were not different from those of objective measures; moreover, learning did occur.