Creating gusto through games and goals

Goal-based learning (GBL) has long been used for teaching (Schank and Kass, 1996) and training (Collins, 1994), and game playing is also very widely used (Fudenberg and Levine, 1998). When both are used together it can become a winning combination that focuses students? attention, dismisses precepts about a subject, lowers barriers to preferred learning-styles and open minds to new tools, ideas and concepts. The combination can be achieved using basic traditional physical props (e.g. pens and paper) or advanced internet technology. This report briefly describes an offline and online approach and then summarises some of the main benefits to be gained from combining games and goals to get students going in the right pedagogical direction

Méthode et outil de simulation distribuée pour l'accommodation de la conduite de réseaux d'entreprises

Aujourd'hui, la plupart des entreprises s'organisent en réseaux de partenaires, de fournisseurs et de soustraitants pour réaliser de nouveaux projets. Cependant, les outils classiques de planification n'offrent pas toutes les fonctionnalités nécessaires pour garantir la conduite de telles organisations. Dans ce mémoire, une démarche et un outil sont proposés pour évaluer la faisabilité des plans multi-sites de production ou de transports avant leur exécution. La méthode présentée permet d'adapter la configuration de ces réseaux afin de maintenir de bonnes performances pour les projets évalués. Intégrant le protocole HLA, l'outil gère la synchronisation des simulateurs en garantissant la causalité des événements simulés. La bonne exécution des plans multi-sites associés aux configurations d'ateliers et de logistique est ainsi évaluée. Les performances de l'outil révélées par les résultats de simulation de différents scénarios montrent l'intérêt et l'effectivité de l'approche. ABSTRACT : Currently, most of the companies are organized in networks of partners, suppliers and subcontractors to carry out new projects. However, the conventional tools for planning do not offer all the functionalities making it possible to guarantee the control of such organizations. In this dissertation, the steps and a tool are provided to evaluate the feasibility of the production or transportation multi-site plans before their execution. The presented method makes it possible to adapt the configuration of these networks in order to maintain good performances for the evaluated projects. Integrating the HLA protocol, the tool manages the synchronization of the simulators by guaranteeing the causality of the simulated events. The good execution of the multi-site plans associated to the workshops and logistics configurations is assessed. The tool performances revealed by the simulation results of various scenarios show the interest and the efficiency of the proposed approach

Metrics for enterprise transformation

Thesis (S.M. in Technology and Policy)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2009.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 148-161).The objective of this thesis is to depict the role of metrics in the evolving journey of enterprise transformation. To this end, three propositions are explored: (i) metrics and measurement systems drive transformation, (ii) employee engagement is a proxy to gauge transformation progress; and (iii) metric considerations enable enterprise transformation when systematically executed as part of a transformation roadmap. To explore this problem, the aerospace measurement community was consulted to help grasp a better understanding of the context in which transformation is currently defined and measured. Once the problem space was defined, the environment of doing research with the enterprise as the unit of analysis was described with the intent of exploring the role of metrics and transformation. In particular, the performance measurement literature helped identify tools and methods used to select metrics to enable decision making at the enterprise level. After this review, two case studies were performed, considering: (1) the implementation of a bottom-up measurement system to drive transformation and (2) the effect of a top-down corporate measurement system on the enterprise. The first case study revealed insights regarding the benefits and challenges of implementing measurement systems and highlighted the use of employee engagement as a proxy to measure enterprise transformation. In the second case study, contemporary measurement issues were discussed and mapped to an Eight Views of the Enterprise analysis to identify critical enterprise interactions.(cont.) Ultimately, the Lean Advancement Initiative's Enterprise Transformation Roadmap was used as a method for depicting how performance measurement can help enable enterprise transformation. The implications of research in metrics for enterprise transformation span across thee areas: (1) the extensive literature reviews provide an academic contribution for performing enterprise and measurement research; (2) a common language and framework for exploring measurement problems is depicted for practitioners through the case study analysis; and (3) a connection between enterprise measurement and enterprise transformation is established to drive future transformation success.by Craig D. Blackburn.S.M.S.M.in Technology and Polic