GUIDE TO

BUSINESS GAMING
and
EXPERIENTIAL
LEARNING

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Association for Business Gaming

and Experiential Learning
(ABSEL)

The contributors are:

Edited by James W. Gentry

The Work of 20
Contributing Experts
Experiential learning is relevant to
most academic disciplines, of course, but
is particularly pertinent to the business
discipline due to its inherently applied
nature.
Now, at last-from a group of expert
contributors-comes the definitive, handson guide for business educators wishing to
use games and experiential exercises to
maximum effect.
While currently available books in the
area focus on gaming or on experiential
exercises-but not both-this authoritative
guide provides a needed combination of
the two in clearly written, ready-to-apply
terms.
The books wealth of information is
clearly organized in six major sections:
Introduction: What Is Experiential
Learning?; Introduction to Simulation
Gaming; Game Development; Future
Trends in Business Gaming; Experiential
Exercises; and The Evaluation of
Experiential Learning.
When you consider that executive
education rarely uses the traditional
lecture/test format, the need for this guide
to
todays
recommended
teaching
approaches is underscored.
Founded in 1974, the Association for
Business Simulation and Experiential
Learning (ABSEL) has developed into a
professional association of predominately
business faculty. Key to its organizational
goals is the expansion of the use of
simulations and experiential learning
techniques for business education in both
current and evolving applications.
Flap 1

The Editor-in-Chief is JAMES W.

GENTRY, University of Nebraska,
Lincoln.

THEODORE C. ALEX, Wayne State

University
WILLIAM D. BIGGS, Beaver College
ALVIN C. BURNS, Louisiana State
University
HUGH M. CANNON, Wayne State
University
NEWELL E. CHIESL, Indiana State
University
RICHARD V. COTTER, University of
Nevada, Reno
ANTHONY J. FARIA, University of
Windsor
DAVID J. FRITZSCHE, University of
Portland
STEVEN C. GOLD, Rochester
Institute of Technology
JERRY GOSENPUD, University of
Wisconsin, Whitewater
LEE A. GRAF, Illinois State
University
CALVIN E. KELLOGG, University of
Mississippi
J. BERNARD KEYS, Georgia
Southern College
R. BRUCE McAFEE, Old Dominion
University
ALAN L. PATZ, University of
Southern California
THOMAS F. PRAY, Rochester
Institute of Technology
JAMES W. SCHREIER, Far Cliffs
Consulting
RICHARD D. TEACH, Georgia
Institute of Technology
JOSEPH WOLFE, University of Tulsa

Flap 2

GUIDE To
BUSINESS GAMING
and
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Association for Business Simulation
and Experiential Learning (ABSEL)
Edited by James W. Gentry

Nichols/GP Publishing, East Brunswick / Kogan Page, London

Copyright 0 1990, by Association for Business Simulation and

Experiential Learning (ABSEL).
All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Guide to business gaming and experiential learning / Association for
Business Simulation and Experiential Learning ; James W. Gentry, editor.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN O-89397-369-6
1. Management games. I. Gentry, James W., 194711. Association for Business Simulation and Experiential Learning.
HD30.26.G85 1990
658.40353-dc20
90-32561
CIP
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Guide to Business Gaming and Experiential Learning, edited by
James Gentry.
Higher education institutions. Curriculum subjects. Business games.
Management games.
658.0078
E-UKISBN

o-74940-092-7

Printed in the United States of America.

The Association for Business Simulation and

Experiential Learning dedicates this guide to its
founder, J. Bernard Keys.
The editor also dedicates the guide to one of his
mentors, Ralph L. Day, who was the third
president of ABSEL, and to his parents, Donald
and Carolyn Gentry.

PREFACE
OVERVIEW
Everyone learns from experience. This is as true in teaching as it is in any other
area. In many instances, the first attempts to use or administer a new pedagogy
result in a somewhat painful learning experience for the instructor. Determining
where to start can be difficult and, once determined, the start-up costs are
frequently quite high. What specific approach should be used? If one is
considering a game or an experiential exercise, whose should be used? Should a
new one be developed? What problems are associated with existing tools? What
difficulties are encountered when developing ones own exercise or game? How
does one handle the situation if the game breaks down or if the results do not
make any sense? What if students make decisions that are completely outside
the expected realm? And worse yet, what if those decisions yield good results?
Do these approaches have any educational benefit?
This Guide is intended to provide practical insight into these problems and
into their expedient handling. This guidance is based on the trial and (all-toofrequent) error learning that a number of us in the Association for Business
Simulation and Experiential Learning (ABSEL) have obtained. Further, we will
review the available evidence on the effectiveness of the various approaches.

BACKGROUND
The Association for Business Simulation and Experiential Learning was started
in 1974 with the sponsorship of a conference on business gaming and
experiential learning by J. Bernard Keys and Howard Leftwich of Oklahoma
Christian College in Oklahoma City. ABSEL has developed into a professional
association whose membership consists predominantly of business faculty.
Currently there are approximately 150-200 members. The organizational goals
are as follows:
1. The expansion of the use of simulations and other experiential learning
techniques for business education in both current and evolving
applications.

vii

2. The provision of a forum for those currently using or developing

simulations and experiential learning techniques and tools for business
education.
3. The provision of an outlet for the generation of empirical studies in
business gaming and experiential exercises.
4. The maintenance of a viable organization that employs a challenging yet
supportive presentational style.
Chapter 1 will provide more discussion of ABSEL, in addition to discussing
other organizations sharing somewhat similar purposes.

THE GUIDES ORGANIZATION

The Guide is divided into six parts. Part 1 provides an introduction to the area,
with the first chapter discussing the sources available should one want to
participate in organizations involved in experiential learning. Chapter 2 grapples
with the question of what is meant by the term experiential learning.
Part 2 provides an introduction to simulation gaming, with four chapters that
discuss how to select games, usage trends for games, specific games currently
available, and administrative issues involved in successful gaming experiences.
Part 3 deals with issues involved when one endeavors to develop ones own
game. One chapter provides an overview of the problems faced, while the other
deals with one specific issue that is critical in nearly all business games: the
development of a realistic and robust demand function.
Part 4 deals with the next generation of simulation games, with one chapter
on real time simulation and another on open systems simulation.
Part 5 of the Guide moves from simulation gaming to other experiential
approaches. Chapter 11 provides an introduction to experiential exercises and
discusses several vivid examples. The next chapter offers very practical
guidance as to how to administer experiential exercises. Chapters 13 and 14 deal
with the live case, in which students are to work closely with an organization
as part of the class requirements. The first of these chapters gives an overview,
while the second offers insight into how the instructor can provide a theoretical
structure to a largely unstructured process. The last chapter in this section
discusses a general structure of experiential exercises, as well as some of the
changing forms which we will be seeing.
The sixth and final part of the book covers the effectiveness of the various
approaches. The first chapter discusses the vast array of concerns that need to be
dealt with in order to conduct reasonably sound experimental studies in this
area. The last two chapters evaluate the findings from the areas of simulation
gaming and experiential learning.
viii

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES
Theodore C. Alex served on the marketing faculty at Wayne State University
and is currently in business in the Detroit area.
William D. Biggs is department chairman of management at Beaver College,
where he previously served as dean of Continuing Education. Bill is a past
president of ABSEL.
Alvin C. Burns is on the marketing faculty at Louisiana State University,
having returned from a stint as department chairman at Central Florida
University. Al is a past president of ABSEL.
Hugh M. Cannon is on the marketing faculty at Wayne State University,
having taught previously at Northwestern University. Hugh is currently the
executive director of ABSEL.
Newell E. Chiesl is on the marketing faculty at Indiana State University, and is
currently writing a Promotions textbook.
Richard V. Cotter is on the management faculty at the University of NevadaReno, and has run one of the longest running collegiate simulation game
competitions in the United States.
Anthony J. Faria is the marketing department head at the University of
Windsor, and is the co-author of two of the leading simulation games
(COMPETE and LAPTOP) in marketing.
David J. Fritzsche is on the marketing faculty at the University of Portland
after having taught at the University of Nevada-Reno, Illinois State University,
and the Rochester Institute of Technology. Dave is a past president of ABSEL.
James W. Gentry is on the marketing faculty at the University of NebraskaLincoln, having taught previously at the University of Wisconsin-Madison,
Oklahoma State University, and Kansas State University. Jim is a past president
of ABSEL.

xi

Steven C. Gold is on the economics faculty at the Rochester Institute of

Technology. He is the author of the ASTUTE simulation game.
Jerry Gosenpud is on the management faculty at the University of WisconsinWhitewater. Jerry formerly was editor of the ABSEL Newsletter and is now a
co-editor of the ABSEL Proceedings.
Lee A. Graf is on the management faculty at Illinois State University, and has
served as president of ABSEL.
Calvin E. Kellogg is on the management faculty at the University of
Mississippi, after having served on the faculty at Illinois State University and
the University of Arkansas. He is currently the editor of the ABSEL Newsletter.
J. Bernard Keys is the Fuller E. Calloway Professor of Business at Georgia
Southern College. Bernie is the founder of ABSEL, and was its first president.
He is currently director of the Center for Business Simulation in the School of
Business at Georgia Southern.
R, Bruce McAfee is on the management faculty at Old Dominion University,
and has developed a series of intriguing experiential exercises over his career.
Alan L. Patz is on the management faculty at the University of Southern
California, and specializes in the business policy area.
Thomas F. Pray is on the decision sciences faculty at the Rochester Institute of
Technology, and is president-elect of ABSEL.
James W. Schreier is in private consulting with his own firm, Far Cliffs
Consulting of Milwaukee, after serving as associate dean in the College of
Business at Marquette University. Jim is a past president of ABSEL.
Richard D. Teach is on the marketing faculty at the Georgia Institute of
Technology, and has been concerned with issues in simulation game design for
many years.
Joseph Wolfe is on the management faculty at the University of Tulsa, currently
on leave teaching in Hungary. Joe is a former president of ABSEL.

xii

CONTENTS
Preface
Author Biographies

PART 1 INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1
Chapter 2

Organizations Advancing Business Simulation and Experiential

Learning J. BERNARD KEYS
What Is Experiential Learning? JAMES W. GENTRY

PART 2 INTRODUCTION TO SIMULATION GAMING

Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6

Introduction to Computerized Business Management Simulations

WILLIAM D. BIGGS
Business Simulation Games After Thirty Years: Current Usage
Levels in the United States ANTHONY J. FARIA
A Review of Business Games J. BERNARD KEYS and WILLIAM
D. BIGGS
Guidelines for Administering Business Games DAVID J.
FRITZSCHE and RICHARD V. COTTER

PART 3 GAME DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 7
Chapter 8

Designing Business Simulations RICHARD D. TEACH

Modeling Demand in Computerized Business Simulations STEVEN
C. GOLD and THOMAS F. PRAY

PART 4 FUTURE TRENDS IN BUSINESS GAMING

Chapter 9 Interactive Real Time Simulation NEWELL E. CHIESL
Chapter 10 Open System Simulation ALAN L. PATZ

ix

PART 5 EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES

Chapter 11 Experiential Learning Exercises: Sources and Specific Examples R.
BRUCE McAFEE
Chapter 12 Administrative Guidelines for Experiential Exercises
JAMES W. SCHREIER
Chapter 13 The Use of Live Case Studies in Business Education: Pros, Cons,
and Guidelines ALVIN C. BURNS
Chapter 14 Structuring A Live Case: A Method and Example from an
Introductory Advertising Class HUGH M. CANNON and
THEODORE C. ALEX
Chapter 15 Evolution of Experiential Learning Approaches and Future
Developments LEE A. GRAF and CALVIN E. KELLOGG

PART 6 THE EVALUATION OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING 251

Chapter 16 A Cornucopia of Considerations in Evaluating the Effectiveness of
Experiential Pedagogies ALVIN C. BURNS, JAMES W.
GENTRY, and JOSEPH WOLFE
Chapter 17 The Evaluation of Computer-Based Business Games: Methodology,
Findings, and Future Needs JOSEPH WOLFE
Chapter 18 Evaluation of Experiential Learning JERRY GOSENPUD

Appendix A
Appendix B
Bibliography