Did you ever, during your graduate or undergraduate studies participate in a business simulation? If so, you probably found it a terrific learning experience and a lot of fun. It probably involved working with a small team and huddling around a computer screen as you discovered the impact of your financial or production decisions. Up until a few years ago this is what most simulations looked like. When I mention to managers, the concept of business simulations they usually nod and murmur in a “been there done that” way, “Yeah, I did one of those at university.”

When ask what they thought of it as a learning experience, most say that it was far more effective as a learning tool than their lecturer or their textbooks. Experiencing, they say, is more productive than listening or reading. They often add that it was nice to experience lifelike challenges without the stress and worry of real life failure. But, even though they enjoyed it and found it an enlightening experience, they give the impression that if you’ve seen one simulation you’ve seen them all.

What most don’t realize is that simulations have come a long way since the simple one dimensional computer games offered by most business schools. In those days the production or financial results attained at the end of the simulation were seen as all important. Often the experience of working through the simulation, so full of potential for additional learning was ignored.

The full immersion simulations we offer today are far different. Not only is there quantitative learning, but there is an equally important interpersonal and leadership development dimension. Participants still learn about finance, the value chain, the supply chain, or the production process. But what they also learn is that their simulated organization can’t succeed unless they pay attention to other issues such as team decision making, employee motivation, staff turnover, relationships with the union, safety, customer service, and all the other priorities that are juggled daily by real life managers. These variables can all be included in the total immersion simulation. Here’s how it works:

Prior to attendance, participants receive an information package notifying them that they have been appointed to a senior management position in the simulated organization. Each participant is a member of an executive team, all of whom are newly appointed. (The old executive team were killed in a plane crash!)

Each participant has a unique role; included are the roles of CEO and the Vice-Presidents of all major functions. Also included in the package are correspondence and documentation addressed to them or inherited from their “late” predecessors. They are told that they will attend a meeting (the date of the workshop), they are given specific goals for the meeting and advised that they should read the documentation and prepare for the meeting.

Each participant receives a unique set of documents. Each set of documents describes a portion of a number of issues and a partial solution to each. When they commence the simulation, (if they are effective managers) they start by sharing information, building complete pictures, identifying issues and prioritizing them.

The issues cover a wide range of topics, reflecting those that are most critical in a real life organization. One challenge set the team is to achieve a set of financial objectives. But there are many others that, depending how they’re resolved, will contribute to or impede business success. These other issues include those most relevant to the client organization or those that will require the use of key competencies. We can include any issue or any competency but the most popular seem to be strategic thinking, customer service, leadership, team work, conflict management, planning/organizing and decision making.

Thus the title “total immersion” simulations; whereas traditional simulations focus on one set of quantitative skills, these participant’s are fully immersed in a manager’s job. They must focus on the financial criteria of a successful business, but won’t succeed unless they also manage the multitude of other challenges that most managers are forced to deal with on a daily basis.

During the simulation itself, each participant has his/her own decisions to make. These are both financial decisions and those relating to other issues. However many of these decisions are dependent on what others in the team are doing, and some impact the success of the entire team. Therefore, there is much discussion and a challenging test of team decision making skills (a great team building experience). All decisions, both qualitative and quantitative are then entered into a computer simulation, and the team receives immediate feedback, telling them how the business fared based on their decisions. The simulation usually covers six hypothetical years, at which time the team discovers whether they have achieved the business goals set for them at the beginning of the simulation.

These programs have resulted in enormous benefits to both participants and their organizational sponsors. The value of any management training program lies in its ability to change behaviour and add value. Companies that have conducted evaluations have found evidence of true value added. One senior vice-president, addressing a group of program graduates, said “Any company experiencing change should have a program like this.” The most common comment from graduates of the program has been “This is the most useful program I’ve ever attended”.

To paraphrase a common response on program evaluations, “It was great fun and I learned an enormous amount”. As far as management development programs go, one can’t ask for more than that.