Purpose and Learning Benefits of Simulations: A Design and Development Perspective

In the development of business enterprise simulations, designers use as their knowledge base theories and business fundamentals drawn from accounting, finance, marketing, economic, production, and management courses. A problem exists, however, as each discipline has alternative procedures, theories, and unresolved issues. Because the simulation designer must choose specific procedures and theories, the personal bias of the designer enters the picture and cannot be avoided even if the designer attempts to avoid bias. The learning benefits of a specific simulation are thereby affected by what is and is not chosen as the knowledge base.