The Ism Simulation: Teaching Integrated Management Concepts

This article describes an experiential simulation that teaches management principles for service organizations. This team-based simulation requires students to coordinate airline staff and suppliers to meet flight schedules and customer demand while maintaining profitability. The decisions in the simulation require students to develop an integrated approach to management, coordinating marketing, operations, managerial accounting, and organizational behavior decisions. Key lessons include (a) the importance of integrated decision making; (b) the challenges of service operations management, including managing capacity, matching capacity with demand, financial forecasting, and coordinating marketing and operations decisions; and (c) the complexities of team-based management.