The Effectiveness of SDM Method in Business Simulation Game

Authors

  • Beiyu Yang
  • Motonari Tanabu

Abstract

Many researchers acknowledge that debriefing is important in simulation game. One of the key aspects of debriefing is to acquire knowledge. In this paper, we give attention to knowledge acquisition in simulation game. Thanks to the advancement of IT, most simulation games have been computerized and widely utilized online. Such development of IT makes new methods for knowledge acquisition available. Surrogate decision maker (SDM) method is one of such methods. The SDM is a computer based numerical simulation with intelligent agents and human-generated gaming data. It can be used for different types of participants to acquire different types of knowledge from/for various gaming simulation activities. This paper focuses on the effectiveness of SDM method for knowledge acquisition in computer supported simulation game. First, we briefly introduce the different types of activity and participant that involved in simulation games and their relationship, and identify possible types of knowledge acquisition in section 2. Then, defining the SDM method, we see how the method can be used in different activities in section 3. In section 4, we give some usage of the method in business simulation game, and suggest possible usage of the method for each type of activities. In section 5, we present two experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of SDM method in both in-game and post-game debriefing. Finally, we discuss how IT supported methods can facilitate knowledge acquisition in simulation game activities.
Keywords: surrogate decision maker method, business simulation game, knowledge acquisition, experiential learning, debriefing, game model characteristic exploration

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