Business Simulations

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by: Abbey smith
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Word Count: 367
Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2011 Time: 12:38 AM

The Use of Business Simulations

Business Simulation is the name given to a tool which is commonly used for training or analysis of practices and systems at all levels of business and corporate operation. The process was first developed in the United States in 1956 by the American Management Association and was at the time called the Management Decision Game. Although many changes have been implemented to the system and the way in which the results are used the basic principle and the initial comparison to a marriage of military war games and role playing still hold merit today.

Scenario Based Simulations

Simulations can be split into two distinct types; scenario and numerical.

Scenario simulations are those which are similar to role playing, in that the delegates are given an initial situation which is similar to something they might come across in their normal daily duties and have up to four responses to this situation. After the initial choice there are further situations with further responses available and the more choices which are made by the team the more they are able to explore the situation and the consequences of their earlier decisions.

Numeric Simulations

Numeric Simulations whilst seemingly less engaging are still just as vital. The numbers used can be manipulated to represent the whole of a company or specific parts or elements thereof.

The delegate is again given a figure or numerical data and has to make decisions based upon this which then have consequences and lead to more choices and more data. Often this data is shown in various formats such as spreadsheet, graph or report and it is these formats which are used for analysis and decision making.

The Process

Many Simulations, whether numeric or scenario based follow the same pattern. A group leader or specialist in the subject matter introduces the subject (“theory briefing”) introduced the actual specific activity (“game introduction), facilitates the play (“playing the game”) and then debriefs players enabling them to discuss the results and dissect the decisions which were made during play.

About the Author

Business Simulations are a great way to improve your business skills and knowledge, come to tenzing.co.uk where there is a huge amount of information on classes and courses in business – check out the website today for Business Games