Playing Business Games:Expectations and Realities
Abstract
PLAYING BUSINESS GAMES Expectations and Realities WILLIAM REMUS STEPHEN JENNER University of Hawaii Although the literature on gaming is quite extensive, only a few articles focus on student attitudes and even fewer study empiri- cally the effect of games on attitudes (and then, usually only student motivation and interest). After reviewing the conflicting evidence on student attitudes, this article reports an experiment to measure student expectations and the realities of playing a business game. It also explores the nature of the attitude changes caused by playing a business game. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE The earliest studies of student attitudes were based on the Carnegie Tech Management Game (CTMG). Dill et al. (1966) reported on 6 faculty-coached groups of students playing CTMG. They did not find significant relationships between performance and satisfaction, intelligence, or personality variables. However, those students planning management careers became more interested in the game as it progressed; other students did not. SIMULATION & GAMES, Vol. 12 No. 4, December 1981 480-488 i 1981 Sage Publications, Inc. Remus, Jenner / EXPECTATIONS AND REALITIES 481 Dill and Doppelt (1963) conducted an experiment with measurements being taken before and after the CTMG. They found that the team presidents