Àngels Fitó Bertrán Universitat Oberta de Catalunya Ana Beatriz Hernández Lara Universitat Rovira i Virgili Enric Serradell López Universitat Oberta de Catalunya The effectiveness of a business game to improve students’ skills: A comparative European study October 2014 II Workshop in Business, Economics and e-Learning

Introduction Literature review on the effectiveness of business games and research questions Methodology Analyses and Findings Discussion and Conclusions The effectiveness of a business game to improve students’ skills: A comparative European study

Introduction Changes affecting EHEA: change in the role of instructors, students in the centre of the learning process, constructors of their own knowledge, relevance of skills Different educational systems in the countries of the EHEA New e-learning methods in management training: Business Games The effectiveness of a business game to improve students’ skills: A comparative European study The context…

Introduction Student’s perception on the effectiveness of a business game Comparison at a European level The effectiveness of a business game to improve students’ skills: A comparative European study Different types of skills: generic and specific managerial skills The aim of this study

Literature review on the effectiveness of business games and research questions Descriptive studies Benefits: they are games and e- learning methods  Autonomy and active builders of knowledge  Enjoyment and motivation  Immediate feedback  Learning from the experience and simulating on the job situation  Competitive environment  Not time or space restrictions  Knowledge and Skills: teamwork, leadership, decision making, problem-solving, information management BUSINESS GAMES EFFECTIVENESS The effectiveness of a business game to improve students’ skills: A comparative European study

Gaps & Contributions of this study… There is not a clear classification of the aspects considered when evaluating a business game, mixing beneficial characteristics with learning outcomes, like competences and skills. Also, the specific managerial competences have been mostly neglected Lack of empirical research about the role developed by business games from the point of view of students There are cross-cultural different attitudes of individuals toward technology, interactive learning environments, causality, gambling, understanding and business. Scarce comparative studies comparing different educational systems, contexts and cultures The effectiveness of a business game to improve students’ skills: A comparative European study Literature review on the effectiveness of business games and research questions

Literature review on the effectiveness of business games and research questions RQ 1: What are the generic and specific managerial skills that students from different European countries value most when they determine the utility of a business game? RESEARCH QUESTIONS The effectiveness of a business game to improve students’ skills: A comparative European study RQ 2: Are there significant differences in the assessments made by students from different educational systems in terms of the skills fostered by the business game?

Methodology THE GAME The effectiveness of a business game to improve students’ skills: A comparative European study

Methodology DATA The effectiveness of a business game to improve students’ skills: A comparative European study 126 post-graduate students from 5 European countries: 39 from Spain, 26 from Portugal, 8 from Italy, 16 from Germany and 31 from Ireland THE QUESTIONNAIRE GENERIC SKILLS SPECIFIC MANAGERIAL SKILLS PROFILE Focus group Revised by two experts 5-point Likert scale Tested on 16 students

10. Solving conflicts between groups 11. Solving intra-group conflicts 12. Reaching agreement 13. Creativity 14. Entrepreneurship 15. Capacity to innovate 16. Ability to work under uncertainty 17. Influencing others 18. Accepting the influence of others 19. Delegating 20. Trusting 21. Creating good work climate 1. Processing whole information 2. Processing partial information 3. Decision-making 4. Reaching conclusions from the information obtained 5. Time management 6. Solving problems related to time 7. Using new technologies 8. Using new communication platforms 9. Solving technical and programming-related problems Methodology GENERIC SKILLS The effectiveness of a business game to improve students’ skills: A comparative European study K-means Group 4: management of conflict Group 5: use of ICT Group 6: leadership Group 3: entrepreneurship and change Group 2: time management Group 1: information processing and decision making

8. Planning management projects 9. Understanding management concepts 10. Understanding management theories 11. Processing and analysing financial information and data 12. Understanding the role and functions of different economic agents 13. Identifying and dealing with relevant economic information sources 14. Integrating ethics in organisational decisions 1.Contributing/helping to reach the goals of a firm 2.Managing a company 3.Improving the competitive position of a company 4.Designing and developing strategies for a company 5.Providing managerial advise 6.Managing managerial risks 7.Adopting different managerial/business roles Methodology SPECIFIC MANAGERIAL SKILLS The effectiveness of a business game to improve students’ skills: A comparative European study K-means Group 2: planning and theoretical knowledge Group 1: abilities of management Group 3: managerial roles and risk

Analyses and Findings The effectiveness of a business game to improve students’ skills: A comparative European study Generic skills SpainPortugalItalyGermanyIreland F Overall One-way ANOVA nmeansdnmeansdnmeansdnmeansdnmeansd 1. Information and decision-making Time management Entrepreneurship and change Conflict Use of ICT Leadership *

Analyses and Findings The effectiveness of a business game to improve students’ skills: A comparative European study Generic skills F One-way ANOVA (Spain, Portugal and Italy) t-Student (Germany and Ireland) Educational systems: group A and B n (A)mean (A)sd (A)n (B)mean (B) sd (B) t-Student 1. Information and decision- making Time management Entrepreneurship and change Conflict Use of ICT Leadership

Specific managerial skills SpainPortugalItalyGermanyIreland F Overall One-way ANOVA nmeansdnmeansdnmeansdnmeansdnmeansd 1. Management Planning and theoretical knowledge * 3. Managerial roles and risk Analyses and Findings The effectiveness of a business game to improve students’ skills: A comparative European study

Analyses and Findings The effectiveness of a business game to improve students’ skills: A comparative European study Specific managerial skills F One-way ANOVA (Spain, Portugal and Italy) t-Student (Germany and Ireland) Educational systems: group A and B n (A)mean (A)sd (A)n (B)mean (B)sd (B) t- Student 1. Management * 2. Planning and theoretical knowledge Managerial roles and risk

Discussion and Conclusions The effectiveness of a business game to improve students’ skills: A comparative European study For students, business games are appropriate e-learning tools to foster both, generic and specific managerial skills in management training courses The most valued generic skills were: information and decision- making, and leadership. The least valued skills were: use of ICT and the management of conflict The most valued specific managerial skill was abilities of management, the least valued one was planning and theoretical knowledge

Discussion and Conclusions The effectiveness of a business game to improve students’ skills: A comparative European study Almost none significant differences by countries or educational systems for generic skills Some significant differences by countries and educational systems for specific managerial skills. Group B valued most this kind of competences Students’ perception about how a business game helps them to acquire specific skills varies in different countries and is influenced by cultural aspects and previous exposure to experiential learning. The differences detected could help to adapt the games and the teaching processes to the specific context in which the game is being used and maximise its potential

Ana Beatriz Hernández Lara María Tatiana Gorjup Rosalía Cascón Pereira Universitat Rovira i Virgili The role of the instructor in business games: A comparison of face-to-face and online instruction International Journal of Training and Development

Introduction Advantages of business games Active participation of students Immediate feedback Enjoyment and motivation Knowledge and competences Debate: ¿real utility? Introduction Methodology Results Discussion and conclusions The role of the instructor in business games: A comparison of face-to-face and online instruction

Introduction Gaps (Jensen, 2003; Chang et al., 2003; Faria y Wellington, 2004) Assessment of competences without justifying previously the criteria for their selection Mix between characteristics and competences Doubts on the contribution of business games to develop theoretical knowledge Arguments suggest relevant differences between e- learning and traditional systems of training, which raise an interesting debate about the role of the instructor in the e-learning process Introduction Methodology Results Discussion and conclusions The role of the instructor in business games: A comparison of face-to-face and online instruction

Introduction Research purpose: Analyse the role of the instructor Introduction Methodology Results Discussion and conclusions Proposition1:Students value the role of the instructor in business games even though the technologies involved in the game could replace some of the instructor’s functions. Proposition 2: Students’ perceptions regarding the role of the instructor in business games depend on the involvement and interaction of the instructor in the learning process. The role of the instructor in business games: A comparison of face-to-face and online instruction

Methodology The data collection Two groups of players at postgraduate level FIRST GROUP: 33 players facilitated by an instructor in a face-to-face process SECOND GROUP: 23 players facilitated online Analyse the role of the instructor Introduction Methodology Results Discussion and conclusions face-to-face online The role of the instructor in business games: A comparison of face-to-face and online instruction

Methodology The data collection K-means Group 2: mediator in teamwork Group 1: facilitator in the learning process Group 3: model for students Introduction Methodology Results Discussion and conclusions The role of the instructor in business games: A comparison of face-to-face and online instruction

Results Descriptive data Introduction Methodology Results Discussion and conclusions The role of the instructor in business games: A comparison of face-to-face and online instruction

Results Introduction Methodology Results Discussion and conclusions The role of the instructor in business games: A comparison of face-to-face and online instruction

Results Introduction Methodology Results Discussion and conclusions The role of the instructor in business games: A comparison of face-to-face and online instruction

Conclusions Important contribution of the instructor in the effectiveness of e-learning and business games The instructor’s functions relating to facilitating the students’ work and learning, helping to overcome problems, providing an objective evaluation, and motivating, orienting, and guiding students seem to be especially relevant in business games Instructor’s involvement and interaction significantly affect the students’ perception of the role of the instructor in the learning process The online instructor must play a more proactive role. The online instructor must be the one who understands the problems of students and takes steps to resolve them, motivating the students through greater interaction Introduction Methodology Results Discussion and conclusions The role of the instructor in business games: A comparison of face-to-face and online instruction