Campus Based Students’ Perspectives on Strategic Management Simulation: A Contextual Study

Although business simulations are widely used in management education, there is no consensus on optimising their application. Our research explores the use of business simulations as a dimension of a blended learning pedagogic approach for management education. Accepting that few best-practice prescriptive models for the design and implementation of simulations in this context have been presented, and that there is little contemporary empirical evidence for the claims made by proponents of such models, we address the lacuna by considering business student perspectives on the use of simulations. Data was gathered from a source of 487 campus-based students, gathered over a three year period. We then intersect the available data with espoused positive outcomes made by the authors of a prescriptive model. We find the model to be essentially robust and offer evidence to support this position. In so doing we provide one of the few empirically based studies to support claims made by proponents of simulations in management education. We follow with suggestions for further research into the employability outcomes of simulation based training, based on the results of our study. The research should prove valuable for those with an academic interest in the use of simulations, either as a blended learning dimension or as a stand-alone business education activity. Further, the findings contribute to the academic debate surrounding the use and efficacy of simulation-based training within business and management education

Narrowing the attainment gap between international and domestic students::use of a simulation and experiential learning in mixed-cohort strategic management teaching

In this article we present an Action Research project which attempted to address the significant performance gap between domestic and international students on an undergraduate Business Management course at a UK university business school. In designing a final year strategy module around a business simulation, we provided international students with opportunities for active engagement through collaborative tasks, which we hoped would lead to enhanced performance and deeper engagement with teamwork, leadership and negotiation skills when studying in mixed-nationality cohort

EMPLOYMENT SKILLS DEVELOPMENT IN A SIMULATION ACTIVITY: an investigation of postgraduate student perceptions:(Extended Abstract)

The authors report a short-term research study which is at the nexus of two current avenues of importance in business school education: 1) Development of skills that enhance students’ employability prospects and future career development; 2) Embedding of experiential learning within business school curricula – in the context of this study, through simulation-based training [SBT]. The contemporary Higher Education institution [HEI] environment in the UK and elsewhere is rapidly evolving. Within this dynamic arena, students are increasingly indicating financial drivers as the primary motivator (Crockford, Hordósy, and Simms, 2015) for undertaking study. As such, HEIs are becoming increasingly aware of the need to support students’ transition into employment by addressing the needs of employers more effectively. Consequently, universities engage with a number of activities designed to support employability of graduates, including work placement schemes (representing a form of on-the-job training [OTJT]) and a wide range of simulations and role-playing scenarios. These are intended to contribute to the development of generic employability skills, as well as provide a ‘head start’ for graduates at the outset of their careers (Wilton, 2012). Similarly, universities are more alert to how their programs, assessment strategies and on-campus activities can support graduate and postgraduate employability. One such approach is the use of SBT in the classroom as a form of ‘free-practice’ activity, often linked to assessment. The use of SBT has been shown to act as both a catalyst and a vehicle for learning (e.g. Loon, Evans, and Kerridge, 2015)

Embedding Experiential Learning in the Curriculum::tutor and international student contributions and reflections in an Action Research project.

This article presents part of a five-year participatory Action Research project at a UK university, addressing curriculum re-design and development by evaluating the views of key participants: support and specialist tutors as well as students. Three main themes addressed are: student performance; interaction between international and domestic students; and academic engagement. Juxtaposition of interview comments, from tutors and international students, highlights the validity of differing views from each stakeholder group. Findings confirm the benefits of integrating academic and language support into the formal curriculum, higher levels of student engagement when embedding a large-scale business simulation, and the effectiveness of experiential learning pedagogies in mixed-nationality classroom

Campus Based Students’ Perspectives on Strategic Management Simulation: A Contextual Study

Although business simulations are widely used in management education, there is no consensus on optimising their application. Our research explores the use of business simulations as a dimension of a blended learning pedagogic approach for management education. Accepting that few best-practice prescriptive models for the design and implementation of simulations in this context have been presented, and that there is little contemporary empirical evidence for the claims made by proponents of such models, we address the lacuna by considering business student perspectives on the use of simulations. Data was gathered from a source of 487 campus-based students, gathered over a three year period. We then intersect the available data with espoused positive outcomes made by the authors of a prescriptive model. We find the model to be essentially robust and offer evidence to support this position. In so doing we provide one of the few empirically based studies to support claims made by proponents of simulations in management education. We follow with suggestions for further research into the employability outcomes of simulation based training, based on the results of our study. The research should prove valuable for those with an academic interest in the use of simulations, either as a blended learning dimension or as a stand-alone business education activity. Further, the findings contribute to the academic debate surrounding the use and efficacy of simulation-based training within business and management education

Learning with a strategic management simulation game: A case study

The use of simulation games as a pedagogic method is well established though its effective use is context-driven. This study adds to the increasing growing body of empirical evidence of the effectiveness of simulation games but more importantly emphasises why by explaining the instructional design implemented reflecting best practices. This multi-method study finds evidence that student learning was enhanced through the use of simulation games, reflected in the two key themes; simulation games as a catalyst for learning and simulation games as a vehicle for learning. In so doing the research provides one of the few empirically based studies that support simulation games in enhancing learning and, more importantly, contextualizes the enhancement in terms of the instructional design of the curriculum. This research should prove valuable for those with an academic interest in the use of simulation games and management educators who use, or are considering its use. Further, the findings contribute to the academic debate concerning the effective implementation of simulation game-based training in business and management education

ISAMS observations of stratospheric aerosol

The Improved Stratospheric and Mesospheric (ISAMS) on board the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) incorporates a 12.1 micron window channel for the measurement of aerosol opacity. The retrieval scheme is discussed briefly and preliminary observations of the Mt. Pinatubo aerosol cloud are presented and compared with SAGE 2 observations at 1.02 microns. The effect of aerosol on other ISAMS channels and its spectral dependence is discussed

Reprint: Learning With a Strategic Management Simulation Q2 Game: A Case Study

The use of simulation games as a pedagogic method is well established though its effective use is context-driven. This study adds to the increasing growing body of empirical evidence of the effectiveness of simulation games but more importantly emphasises why by explaining the instructional design implemented reflecting best practices. This multimethod study finds evidence that student learning was enhanced through the use of simulation games, reflected in the two key themes; simulation games as a catalyst for learning and simulation games as a vehicle for learning. In so doing the research provides one of the few empirically based studies that support simulation games in enhancing learning and, more importantly, contextualizes the enhancement in terms of the instructional design of the curriculum. This research should prove valuable for those with an academic interest in the use of simulation games and management educators who use, or are considering its use. Further, the findings contribute to the academic debate concerning the effective implementation of simulation game-based training in business and management education

Employment Skills Development in a Simulation Activity: an investigation of postgraduate student perceptions

The authors report a short-term research study which is at the nexus of two current avenues of importance in business school education:Development of skills that enhance students’ employability prospects and future career development;Embedding of experiential learning within business school curricula – in the context of this study, through simulation-based training [SBT]The contemporary Higher Education institution [HEI] environment in the UK and elsewhere is rapidly evolving. Within this dynamic arena, students are increasingly indicating financial drivers as the primary motivator (Crockford, Hordósy, and Simms, 2015) for undertaking study. As such, HEIs are becoming increasingly aware of the need to support students’ transition into employment by addressing the needs of employers more effectively. Consequently, universities engage with a number of activities designed to support employability of graduates, including work placement schemes (representing a form of on-the-job training [OTJT]) and a wide range of simulations and role-playing scenarios. These are intended to contribute to the development of generic employability skills, as well as provide a ‘head start’ for graduates at the outset of their careers (Wilton, 2012). Similarly, universities are more alert to how their programs, assessment strategies and on-campus activities can support graduate and postgraduate employability. One such approach is the use of SBT in the classroom as a form of ‘free-practice’ activity, often linked to assessment. The use of SBT has been shown to act as both a catalyst and a vehicle for learning (e.g. Loon, Evans, and Kerridge, 2015)