Modelling Qualitative Information in a Management Simulation Game

Abstract

Management simulation allows students to apply their theoretical knowledge in a safe, feedback-learning context. The quality of the simulation model is important for the achievable learning effect. A model always simplifies reality, but should still strive for a realistic implementation of key factors and relationships of the modeled situation. Vague information and qualitative relationships have a great significance in practical business. In management games, however, such qualitative aspects are often excluded from the simulation as it is difficult to model them adequately [1]. Concepts like “competence”, “image” and “credit rating” are meaningful to business, but difficult to grasp with conventional simulation modeling. In our contribution an approach based on fuzzy sets is presented to help overcoming these difficulties.