Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/61380
give students "near experiences" with real risk. For instance, student pilots have long used complex computer-driven flight simulators that replicate actual flying conditions in extremely realistic ways. In one simulated flight, a student pilot could experience violent weather, navigationalmalfunc- tions, and electrical, hydraulic, and propulsion malfunctions that could take a lifetime to experience in the air. It's impor- tant to note that even themost experienced pilots report that the environments achieved through simulation produce real- istic emotional and physiological responses. egy, international business, and supply chain management. Michigan, Kellogg, Darden, and Columbia are a few of the business schools using simulations within their curricula, either in courses or in one-week "simulation intensive" expe- riences. Business simulations can be found outside the uni- versity system as well. For instance, the cosmetics company L'Oréal has designed an online business simulation as part of its business competitions. Computerized business simulations immerse students in the inner workings of an existing organization almost as if they were aliens from outer space come to visit planet Earth. They must sum- mon survivorlike skills that force them to call on their core business knowl- edge, then assess challenges, solve prob- lems, and implement plans of action. The more closely these simulations are tied to the ongoing curriculum, the more quickly students will learn key business concepts. Student teams from the University of St. Thomas College of Business struggle to adjust their business plan as their computerized business simulation throws them several curves. ed conditions—in their case, computer-controlled dummies that can be programmed to imitate the physiological respons- es of human beings undergoing anesthesia. The University of Arizona School ofMedicine introduced this technique in the mid-1990s. Instructors can programthe dummy to react with many bodily systems all converging in one experience. The fact that a crisis is happening to a dummymakes it no less real, and the student knows that he must be prepared to react to any symptom in order to save the "patient." Computerized business simulations can be used in the Anesthesiologists are also being educated through simulat- same way to expose business students to a compressed range of real-world problems. Business simulations such as Pharmasim, Autosim, Stratsim, Markstrat, Brandmaps, Links, and countless others are regularly used in undergraduate and graduate classrooms to help teach topics likemarketing, strat- simulation, which occurs outside their regular course load, although everything they learn in their core courses is rele- vant to the simulation. For instance, in amarketing class they will learn how to identify consumer needs and target likely consumers; they will use this knowledge as they carve out a market niche for their vaporware products. If one of the competing teams has targeted the same consumer group and has a better product or a better price, the first team will have to decide how to respond. Similar correlations between con- andmeet weekly to discussmarketing, product development, and strategic positioning. Two days after making each deci- sion, the groups get reports that analyze their decisions with- in the context of decisions the competing teams have made, and they all must live with the consequences as they move forward in the simulation. Students spend about ten hours a week on the business BizEd MAY/JUNE 2004 45 Full-Time Simulation At the University of St. Thomas, stu- dents are involved in a business simula- tion exercise that spans the entire MBA program. Teams of students use the Brandmaps simulation as they work in a computer-mediated environment to compete against each other interactively. Four to seven five-member teams all form companies to manufacture an imaginary product called "vaporware,"