A Simulation for Teaching Skills Relating to Organizational Self-renewal

Lyles, Marjorie A.; Near, Janet P.; Enz, Cathy A.

A Simulation for Teaching Skills Relating to Organizational Self-renewal

Abstract

[Excerpt] This article is about one simulation which we have found to be helpful in teaching managers how to implement change. The function of the renewal process is to enable to firm to cope more efficiently with environmental fluctuations. In perceiving and responding to these external changes, management acts according to its own view of what deserves attention. Such firm characteristics and constraints as resources, personalized objectives of the owners/managers, individual attitudes towards the adoptions of innovations, informal networks and power relationships indicate that the renewal process is difficult to achieve. Thus, renewal is a particularly critical element of the strategic management process and the simulation which we will describe attempts to help managers think about these issues. The name of the simulation is The Change Game. This article addresses four major topics: (1) the learning objectives of the simulation; (2) the key theoretical concepts developed in the simulation; (3) a description of the simulation; and (4) a discussion of some of our experiences in utilizing the simulation.

Date Issued

1992-01-01

Keywords

organizational change; simulations; business school education

Rights

Required Publisher Statement: © Emerald. Final version published as: Lyles, M. A., Near, J. P., & Enz, C. A. (1992). A simulation for teaching skills relating to organizational self-renewal. The Journal of Management Development, 11(7), 39-47. doi: 10.1108/02621719210020629
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

Types

article