Why Do We Bother with Games and Simulations: An Organizational Learning Perspective

Abstract

The accelerating rate of change and the increasing uncertainty in the outcomes of change are evident across the whole business arena of today. This uncertainty is the result of the very complex and often inexplicable nature of our environment and the problems within it. Successful organizations are not trying to respond to this challenge by predicting the future, but are developing their ability to continuously learn and adapt to changes in their environment. This ability to adapt requires the organizational ability to learn. The process of developing and implementing games and simulations is one of the most effective approaches in enabling such organizational learning. Games and simulations help organizations develop symbolic thinking and gestalt understanding; help them create memories of the future; enable shared experiences and the building of shared intelligence; and, possibly most important, develop their members’motivation and confidence to act.

User‐parameterised generic models: a solution to the conundrum of modelling access for SMEs?

“…Simulators used to address organisational change, to facilitate communication, to re-form interpretative frameworks and to develop confidence, motivation and ''memories of the future'' are referred to in the simulation/gaming literature (Tsuchiya 1998;Wenzler and Chartier 1999;Duke 2000). This project was designed to investigate how effectively such business tools can function when used by managers with minimal, or even total absence of, expert facilitation in using a simulator that represents a firm's position at a point in the future after a planned major change has been implemented.…”

Design and evaluation of a simulation game to introduce a Multi-Agent system for barge handling in a seaport

“…Moreover, people responded with greater enthusiasm after playing the game than after a vocal presentation only. Through the game, players were able to understand the properties of the parts in the dynamics of the whole (see also [20]). …”

“…On the other hand, there are many authors claiming that games do help to increase the understanding of complex situations. Wenzler and Chartier [20] state that the properties of the parts can only be understood in the dynamics of the whole. Games and simulations are a mechanism to show the big picture (Gestalt understanding) in a condensed period of time.…”

“…His experience is that simulation games are extremely useful in developing an appreciation of systems thinking, i.e., viewing the phenomenon under consideration as a consequence of the interaction of the system constituents. Ryan [16] states that simulation games create common experience among participants, which they can refer to when discussing the system concepts (see also [14,20]). Le Bars and Le Grusse [14] describe their experience with a simulation game and a decision support system for (collective) decision making among several actors.…”

Engineering situational methods for professional service organizations : an action design research approach

“…In collaborative design the participants not only design, but also investigate the mutual reactions to these produced designs. Literature in simulation-based gaming -and design show how these methods are able to increase the sense of reality (Lindley, 2005), stimulate knowledge exchange and even after the implementation process these simulations support the organizational members since they give additional information and functionality compared to the business process documentation (Wenzler and Chartier, 1999).…”