Teaching Management Research through Computer Simulation

Abstract

The past decade serves as witness to the number of changes that have taken place in management education: management principles have given way to contingency management; the lecture is increasingly accompanied by cases, experiential exercises, and field experiences; and memorization has given way to situational thinking. Changes of this nature should come as no surprise as the field has increasingly borrowed from and incorporated behavioral science findings. In fact, it is the nature of the behavioral sciences that has given rise to this turnabout in management education. Management students are increasingly aware of the value of quantification, the use of scientific inquiry and the need for objectivity in management decision making. They are also coming to know that the practice of management, as a profession, requires an understanding of the complex interactions between variables. For example, when is pay a motivator? Does the nature of the work environment affect a given pay program? How many relevant variables should be considered when making decisions about the motivational aspects of pay?