The Paper Game - using a business simulation for student engagement (the scholarship of teaching is presented)

Reed 330

The scholarship of teaching is demonstrated in the presentation by explaining the experiential learning exercise used by this professor. This classroom activity challenges students to learn the basic processes of management in a simulation of commerce. Teams compete to maximize profit while recording sales, inventory, cash flow, expenses, and profit margin. The game is low-tech and can be completed in a 50-minute class period. The game was created by Pierre-Majorique Leger at HEC Montreal and modified by Brad Thomas for his Management Information Systems course. Teamwork, communication, strategy, and a little luck are needed to be successful in this game. The information flow required to support the business processes of the company is experienced. Students will begin to appreciate and understand the need for an enterprise system to support the integrated business processes. Learning outcomes include the basic understanding of commerce and how businesses operate differently based upon their processes. It is an introduction to more sophisticated systems and an electronic business simulation that is played later in the class.