The future of business simulations Many of my colleagues adopted online simulations into their teaching during the pandemic. These exercises fitted in naturally with a Zoom-based approach to remote teaching, and worked well with small groups of students and participants divided into breakout rooms. While case studies demand students focus on reading and digesting considerable amounts of information, simulations enable participants to absorb content in bite-sized chunks and combine this with frequent social interaction. Simulations provided a reliable means of boosting engagement during the pandemic (a time when many students felt exhausted) and I predict that simulations will become an increasingly popular tool for all online teaching. In my opinion, following the shift towards online learning, together with the improvements in that field, we are living in the golden age of business simulations. All the principal trends of business education seem to favour simulations, three of which seem particularly significant: • We are seeing an increase in the number of extensive technical knowledge. Examples of such platforms are Roblox and Unity. After all, if teenagers can create their own games in Roblox Studio or the like, what prevents business school professors from leveraging these tools, and the growing talent pool, to create virtual learning experiences? • The new virtual and augmented reality platforms that allow for the rapid creation of graphically appealing interactive games without requiring the creator to have hardware seems naturally suited for pairing up with educational role-play software that incorporates human interaction; for example, in exercises requiring cooperation or negotiation. • Leaps forward in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) with language-processing capabilities might usher in a new era of business simulations with natural language interfaces. I was blown away by the mobile game AI Dungeon , which runs on an OpenAI language engine. It is only a matter of time before someone applies these increasingly affordable and advanced AI capabilities to simulate leadership challenges.
However, despite the impressive scope of what can be achieved with AI these days, I am doubtful that simulations will ever replace teachers. Rather, I foresee professors playing a central role in explaining the limits of simulations and helping students build connections between the specificity of the exercise and their wider learning. Adopting a simulation into any teaching context takes time and effort. I would say the effort is roughly on a par with implementing a new case study. But like the very best case studies, a simulation can be a reliable partner in conveying a topic and demonstrating the practical applicability of the desired learning points to participants. The development of Global MBA programmes with significant online components will, I expect, compel leading business shools to invest in developing their own business simulations in the same way they have invested in publishing case studies. It seems that Wharton is leading the way with its new Wharton Interactive unit, which has launched a number of compelling simulation products. Whether online simulations, with increasingly strong story elements, will grow in scope and become more strongly integrated into online curricula in the future remains to be seen. Although they seem a natural next step in educating the younger generations that have grown up around computer games, I also have yet to meet an executive participant who is put off by them. Business simulations may also provide a way for researchers to convey their findings and theoretical frameworks to practitioners. As technology continues to develop in the future, launching a new business simulation may become no more of a hurdle than writing a case study to illuminate your research findings. As I was writing my own book on digitalisation, it felt natural to design an interactive exercise to illuminate my main framework to students. I encourage all the professors and HR professionals involved in training to check out the Business Simulation Hub.
HENRI SCHILDT is a Full Professor of Strategy at Aalto University, with a joint appointment
at the Aalto University School of Business and School of Science
Henri teaches digital strategy and digital transformation in MSc, MBA and tailored executive education programmes, while his research interests span digitalisation, strategy process, organisational change, and strategies for creating social value. He is also the author of The Data Imperative
| 37
Ambition | BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online