Minimizing Startup Anxiety: Case Studies of no Simulation Experiences

Abstract

Many simulation administrators have observed that student teams exhibit a high degree of anxiety prior to the startup of the game experience. Although some anxiety (or stress) is probably productive for the startup situation (Benson and Allen, 1980), excessive tension can distract student teams from their real mission (running their company successfully) and impedes their ability to do any proactive planning. The symptoms range from incomplete plans prior to the startup to excessive difficulty in making decisions. In addition, simulation anxiety probably is one factor that inhibits more universal use of simulation games since many professors have difficulty in handling this aspect of student behavior. This paper reports two approaches to simulation startup that appear to reduce startup anxiety use of o case- simulation package, and integration of a simulation into the total body of knowledge being presented.