The Simple Business Game and Simulation Transfering the Knowledge of Middle Management to Novices

Abstract

Almost every decision-making player in business games in the classroom environment in college and in-house education is interested in the financial status, such as the profit of their company, rather than the attainment of the strategic and tactic business goals which their professors expect them to implement through their decision making. Although profit is the most important measure for decision makers in real business, it should be noted that they are engaged in daily business with cost consciousness. Business games used as above can be categorized into computer-modeled complex games and non-computer-based simple games. Compared with complex games, simple games have a tendency towards pliability and a rich meaning if players are limited to middle managers with business experience. An example of the simple business game is the well known “Beer Game”. This presentation will introduce how the knowledge of middle management is transferred to management novices who play a simple business game, a simple business simulation, and then a simple business game again. “Paper Plane Game” is chosen as a simple game.