Assuring Business School Learning With Games

Abstract

Background. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) has stated that business games can and should be used for business school Assurance of Learning (AoL) programs. There is no direct objective evidence that business games are valid for such applications. Aim. The purpose of the study presented in this article was to examine the extent to which a business game could be used for such applications. Method. The validity of THE GLOBAL BUSINESS GAME was examined by assessing the degree to which it was available, accessed, used, engaged in and otherwise demonstrated internal validity in a large European university program. Results. The recorded data for the game revealed that many of its enrolled players either did not directly engage in the experience, or were only minimally involved. Those who were completely engaged in the experience obtained superior economic results and created strategies and implementations that were rational, goal-oriented and correct for the simulation’s modeled competitive environment. Conclusions. A large-scale business game can serve as an assurance of learning device, but it is only an incomplete evaluator due to subject non-involvement. Recommendations. Game publishers that state their games are valid for assurance of learning purposes should present objective evidence of their validity claims. Those engaged in assurance of learning programs should employ other methods for measuring outcomes than those used in this study. Those using business games should take measures to insure their participants are engaged and are accountable within its teaching structure.