Model-supported case studies for management education

Graham, Alan K.; Morecroft, John D. W.; Senge, Peter M.; Sterman, John D.

doi:10.1016/0377-2217(92)90012-x

Cited by 97 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Yet these are precisely the settings where dynamic complexity is most problematic, and the learning feedbacks described above least effective. Many virtual worlds for the study of dynamically complex settings have now been developed, and while further evaluative research is needed, they have enjoyed great success in precollege education, universities, and corporations (see Gould 1993, Graham, Morecroft, Senge, and Sterman 1992, Morecroft and Sterman 1994and Mandinach and Cline 1994.…”

Section: Improving the Learning Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning in and about complex systems

Sterman¹

1994

System Dynamics Review

Self Cite

911

238

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Change is accelerating, and the complexity of the systems in which we live is growing.Increasingly change is the result of humanity itself. As complexity grows so do the unanticipated side effects of human action, further increasing complexity in a vicious cycle.Many scholars call for the development of 'systems thinking' to improve our ability to manage wisely. But how do people learn in and about complex dynamic systems? Learning is a feedback process in which our decisions alter the real world, we receive information feedback about the world, and using the new information we revise the decisions we make and the mental models that motivate those decisions. Unfortunately, in the world of social action various impediments slow or prevent these learning feedbacks from functioning, allowing erroneous and harmful behaviors and beliefs to persist. The barriers to learning include the dynamic complexity of the systems themselves, inadequate and ambiguous outcome feedback, systematic 'misperceptions of feedback' where our cognitive maps omit important feedback processes, delays, stocks and flows, and nonlinearities that characterize complex systems, inability to simulate mentally the dynamics of our cognitive maps, poor interpersonal and organizational inquiry skills, and poor scientific reasoning skills. To be successful methods to enhance learning about complex systems must address all these impediments. Effective methods for learning in and about complex dynamic systems must include (1) tools to elicit participant knowledge, articulate and reframe perceptions, and create maps of the feedback structure of a problem from those perceptions; (2) simulation tools and management flight simulators to assess the dynamics of those maps and test new policies; and (3) methods to improve scientific reasoning skills, strengthen group process and overcome defensive routines for individuals and teams. D-4428

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Section: Improving the Learning Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning in and about complex systems

Sterman¹

1994

System Dynamics Review

Self Cite

911

238

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“…However, experience with process simulation as a means for software project management education and training has rarely been published [6,19,23] although the potential of simulation models for the training of managers has long been recognised [8,20,21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the learning effectiveness of using simulations in software project management education: results from a twice replicated experiment

Pfahl

Laitenberger²,

Ruhe

et al. 2004

Information and Software Technology

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The increasing demand for software project managers in industry requires strategies for the development of management-related knowledge and skills of the current and future software workforce. Although several educational approaches help to develop the necessary skills in a university setting, few empirical studies are currently available to characterise and compare their effects.This paper presents the results of a twice replicated experiment that evaluates the learning effectiveness of using a process simulation model for educating computer science students in software project management. While the experimental group applied a System Dynamics simulation model, the control group used the well-known COCOMO model as a predictive tool for project planning.The results of each empirical study indicate that students using the simulation model gain a better understanding about typical behaviour patterns of software development projects. The combination of the results from the initial experiment and the two replications with metaanalysis techniques corroborates this finding. Additional analysis shows that the observed effect can mainly be attributed to the use of the simulation model in combination with a web-based role-play scenario. This finding is strongly supported by information gathered from the debriefing questionnaires of subjects in the experimental group. They consistently rated the simulation-based role-play scenario as a very useful approach for learning about issues in software project management. q

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“…A highly successful application of system dynamics is project management (Lyneis and Ford, 2007) and reinforcing loops can help to explain why managers who wait too long before hiring more staff may see real progress on a project spiral downwards as more and more time is spent training new recruits (Roberts, 1964;Brooks, 1975;Cooper, 1980). Similarly, simulation can reveal how reinforcing loops can transform an airline with a rapid growth aspiration into a company whose service quality is caught in a spiral of decline (Graham et al, 1992). Reinforcing loops can also, in the application that led to the founding of our field, cause small perturbations to be amplified, producing significant problems for an organization (Forrester, 1958(Forrester, , 1992.…”

Section: Mapping Simulation and Reinforcing Loopsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Steering without Circe: attending to reinforcing loops in social systems

Lane

Husemann²

2008

System Dynamics Review

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Relating system dynamics to the broad systems movement, the key notion is that reinforcing loops deserve no less attention than balancing loops. Three specific propositions follow. First, since reinforcing loops arise in surprising places, investigations of complex systems must consider their possible existence and potential impact. Second, because the strength of reinforcing loops can be misinferred-we include an example from the field of servomechanisms-computer simulation can be essential. Be it project management, corporate growth or inventory oscillation, simulation helps to assess consequences of reinforcing loops and options for interventions. Third, in social systems the consequences of reinforcing loops are not inevitable. Examples concerning "globalization" illustrate how difficult it might be to challenge such assumptions. However, system dynamics and ideas from contemporary social theory help to show that even the most complex social systems are, in principle, subject to human influence. In conclusion, by employing these ideas, by attending to reinforcing as well as balancing loops, system dynamics work can improve the understanding of social systems and illuminate our choices when attempting to steer them. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Syst. Dyn. Rev. 24, 37-61, (2008) We are very honoured and happy to receive the Jay Wright Forrester Award. We are grateful to the members of the award committee, and to Peter Milling for his generous introduction. We are also in debt to many other people who have helped us and we would like to thank at least some of them here.We should like to mention our teachers at the universities of Bristol, Bielefeld and Oxford. We should also like to thank colleagues at LSE and in the fields of problem structuring methods and system science. The very first contact either of us ever had with system dynamics was when David sat in a room by himself for a week with a Mac 512 k, a copy of STELLA and the manual. It was Barry Richmond's fine work that set him off on a new course. He was also lucky enough early on to meet people who were great examples and who encouraged his growing interest in system dynamics. John Sterman, together with David Kreutzer, ran the very first system dynamics course that David ever went to. John's enthusiasm was infectious then and he has been immensely supportive ever since. One of the first people David got to work with on actual projects was John Morecroft and from that experience he saw directly how system dynamics could be used to improve organizations. Some of the earliest advice about work on problem structuring methods came from George Richardson,

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Model-supported case studies for management education

Cited by 97 publications

References 17 publications

Learning in and about complex systems

Learning in and about complex systems

Evaluating the learning effectiveness of using simulations in software project management education: results from a twice replicated experiment

Steering without Circe: attending to reinforcing loops in social systems

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