Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 30, 2003 THE IMPACT OF BUSINESS WAR GAMES: QUANTIFYING TRAINING EFFECTIVENESS

Does participation in a business simulation exercise change people’s perspectives on decision problems? Does it change their approach to solving those problems? These are fundamental questions positively confirmed by this research. Using the semantic differential technique and a one-group pretest-posttest design, tests are conducted to assess changes in characterization and approaches to business decision problems. A matched pair t-test confirms significant change in ten of twelve key hypotheses; while the Wilcoxon signed-rank test confirms nine. The measurement methodology developed and results presented provide quantifiable justification for the use of business simulation exercises to induce targeted change in a decision maker’s decision problem perception.

[1]  Donald L. Kirkpatrick,et al.  Evaluating Training Programs. The Four Levels. Berrett-Koehler Organizational Performance Series. , 1994 .

[2]  Philip H. Anderson,et al.  A Survey of Methods Used for Evaluating Student Performance on Business Simulations , 1992 .

[3]  C. Scherpereel.  Seeking the Dimensions of Decision-Making An Exploratory Study: Working Paper Series--02-17 , 2002 .

[4]  Beverly Geber,et al.  Does Your Training Make a Difference? Prove It!. , 1995 .

[5]  G. Klein,et al.  A recognition-primed decision (RPD) model of rapid decision making. , 1993 .

[6]  C. Osgood,et al.  Semantic differential technique : a sourcebook , 1969 .

[7]  J. Wolfe,et al.  The Role of Management Games and Simulations in Education and Research , 1990 .

[8]  C. Douglas Wetzel,et al.  The Effectiveness of Games for Educational Purposes: A Review of Recent Research , 1992 .

[9]  J. Wolfe.  The Teaching Effectiveness of Games in Collegiate Business Courses , 1985 .

[10]  George Alliger,et al.  Who's Afraid of Level 4 Evaluation? A Practical Approach. , 1993 .

[11]  J. M. Kittross.  The measurement of meaning , 1959 .

[12]  Michelle T. Iaffaldano,et al.  Job satisfaction and job performance: A meta-analysis. , 1985 .

[13]  R. Farson,et al.  Management of the Absurd , 1996 .

[14]  Kenneth J. Chapman,et al.  Can a Simulation Help Achieve Course Objectives? An Exploratory Study Investigating Differences Among Instructional Tools , 1999 .

[15]  Julian C. Bleecker.  VIRTUAL BUSINESS , 1993, SGCH.

[16]  Kenneth R. Goosen,et al.  Purpose and Learning Benefits of Simulations: A Design and Development Perspective , 2001 .

[17]  Herbert A. Simon,et al.  The Sciences of the Artificial , 1970 .

[18]  I. Ajzen,et al.  Attitude-behavior relations: A theoretical analysis and review of empirical research. , 1977 .

[19]  Thomas S. Wurster,et al.  Blown to Bits: How the New Economics of Information Transforms Strategy , 1999 .

[20]  Ron Schultz,et al.  Open Boundaries: Creating Business Innovation Through Complexity , 1998 .

[21]  P. S. Greenlaw,et al.  The Teaching Effectiveness of Games in Collegiate Business Courses , 1973 .

[22]  Winston Bennett,et al.  A META-ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONS AMONG TRAINING CRITERIA , 1997 .

[23]  Martin H. Levinson.  Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention , 1997 .

[24]  D. T. Vernon,et al.  Specificity of the attitude as a determinant of attitude-behavior congruence. , 1974 .

[25]  John D Schulz.  LET THE BATTLE BEGIN , 2002 .

[26]  D. Hantula.  Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions , 2001 .

[27]  D. Reibstein,et al.  Putting the lesson before the test: Using simulation to analyze and develop competitive strategies , 1999 .