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`Management Gaming on a Computer Mediated Conferencing System:
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`A Case of Collaborative Learning through Computer Conferencing
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`Enrico Y. P. Hsu
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`Ramapo College of New Jersey
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`Abstract
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`Effective
`collaborative
`for
`is
`essential
`learning
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`management
`education.
`are
`skills
`Interpersonal
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`A computer mediated
`important.
`particularly
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`augmented with Virtual
`system,
`communication
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`Classroom (R) software, was used in conjunction with a
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`micro-computer based management game. Results of
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`the experiment,
`in terms of game performance, and
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`student group learning experience, were encouraging.
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`Further experimentation is needed to firmly establish the
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`significance of this experiential learning method.
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`Starr Roxanne Hiltz,
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`New Jersey Institute of Technology
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`room. "Read" is a way of handing out lengthy reading
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`assignments. "Response" is a way of asking students for
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`their answers or opinions. "Selection" serves to give the
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`students to pick a topic or role among those available to
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`"Decision support" is used to facilitate the
`them.
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`students to contribute their input for group decision.
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`Virtual Classroom (R) also includes a set of instructional
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`management tools, such as giving a quiz, maintaining a
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`grade book, etc. The software has been used by a small
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`number of pilot courses and shows positive results (Hiltz,
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`1989).
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`Recently, the US educational system has been widely
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`seen as deficient at teaching job-related skills. Part of
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`the deficiency lies in obsolete or irrelevant course
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`material, but another part lies in the very structure of
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`the US educational system itself. For example, the US
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`educational system rewards individual achievement at
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`the expense of a nearly complete neglect of collective
`achievement. The assignment of individual grades and
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`the "curving" of grades discourages students from sharing
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`hard-won insights on difficult
`topics with classmates,
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`especially ones who are not already close friends. This
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`paper addresses the deficiency in teaching collaborative
`skills in the education of managers.
`In management,
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`interpersonal skills, informational skills and decisional
`Indeed,
`are
`all of collaborative nature.
`skills
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`collaboration under proper
`leadership to achieve
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`common goals is the very essence of good management.
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`Collaborative learning has been known under many
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`other labels in the educational
`literature,
`including
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`"cooperative learning, group learning, collective learning,
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`study circles, team learning..." [Benton and Garth, 1983,
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`It includes a process of group conversation and
`p. 2].
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`activity which is guided by a faculty member who.
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`structures tasks and activities and offers expertise.
`Its
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`that
`basic premise is
`learning involves the "active
`construction" of knowledge by putting new ideas into
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`words and receiving the reactions of others to these
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`formulations. Additional structured communication
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`provided by Computer Mediated Communication
`systems facilites Collaborative Learning at college level.
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`Management games have long been studied for teaching
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`effectiveness [Greenlaw and Wyman, 1973; Wolfe,
`1985]. The results were inconclusive. However, by
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`re-analyzing the same data compiled by Greenlaw and
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`1. Introduction
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`This is a report on an on-going experiment [Hsu and
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`Geithman, 1988], in teaching collaborative managerial
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`a Virtual
`through
`simulation—gaming
`in
`skills
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`Previous papers [Hiltz, 1986, 1988a]
`Classroom(R).
`described the Virtual Classroom(R) as a teaching and
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`learning environment
`located within a computer
`mediated communication system. Accessible around the
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`clock and around the world, it was designed to support
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`for
`"collaborative
`learning"
`distance
`education,
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`particularly at the college level. There are "spaces" and
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`software support for lectures, class discussions, doing
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`assignments (individuallyor collaboratively), private
`communication with the instructor or other students,
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`taking tests, chatting informally in the student center or
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`"cafe", and more.
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`is a set of software
`Briefly, Virtual Classroom (R)
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`designed for implementation on various a family of
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`proprietary Computer Mediated Conferencing systems
`called Electronic Information Exchange Systems (EIES),
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`developed and implemented at New Jersey Institute of
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`Technology. The EIES systems consist of these basic
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`facilities: mail, conference, notebook, directory, and
`notifications. Virtual Classroom (R) software expands
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`the capability of conference module through "read",
`“response", “selection" and “decision support" activities,
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`designed to mimic the activities in a conventional class
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`0073-1129/91/0000/0367$01.00 © 1991 IEEE
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`367
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`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1020, Page 367
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`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - EX. 1020, p. 367
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - Ex. 1020, p. 367
`
`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1020, Page 367
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`

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`Wyman and by Wolfe, with an eye towards the teaching
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`of collaborative skills, Hsu [1989] demonstrated the
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`clearly positive effects of group interaction on student
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`performance in the playing of management games
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`[1989]. The emphasis was on the group interaction
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`benefits of game playing. Here we further buttress the
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`conclusions of Hsu, by comparing the game performance
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`groups
`student
`using a
`computer mediated
`of
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`conferencing system to that of student groups without
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`such a conferencing system. We show that computer
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`conferencing increases the group interaction benefits of
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`game playing. The student groups play better when
`supported by the Virtual Classroom(R) software. We
`also show that group cohesion and stability are
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`enhanced, as well.
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`The Virtual Classroom project includes the development
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`of software structures and pedagogical
`techniques to
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`enhance the effectiveness of computer conferencing for
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`the delivery of college level education, and the
`evaluation of the effectiveness of these innovations. The
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`research methodology is based on uasi-experimental
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`designs which use matched sections 0 the same courses,
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`delivered in various modes
`[Hiltz, 1988a, 1988b].
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`Students who have used the Virtual Classroom(R), rate
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`it, on the average, as delivering a more convenient and
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`better quality education than the traditional classroom.
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`Mastery of material as measured by grades was as good
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`or better than that obtained by students in traditional
`classes. These outcomes established the viability of the
`Virtual Classroom(R)
`as mode
`delivery
`of
`of
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`college-level courses.
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`2. Review of the Gaming Environment
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`To encourage collaboration and group identification
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`among students, it is necessary that they associate with
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`each other as much as possible, and that they strive
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`towards a common goal. In addition it is desirable that
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`the instructor be able to monitor the exchanges among
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`students. Physical meetings of groups of students outside
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`of class are difficult to arrange, given the diversity of
`in terms of course loads, schedules and
`students
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`interests.
`This is even more problematic in urban
`schools, where many students work part-time and there
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`is not a strong spirit of school identification.
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`The Virtual Classroom(R)
`is ideally suited for such a
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`situation. Students are grouped into teams to play a
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`management game. Meetings among team members,
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`however, need not be physical, nor must the members
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`schedule special
`times for meetings.
`Students may
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`access the computer conferencing system whenever it is
`convenient
`them, and conduct business
`most
`for
`discussions. Additionally, the instructor can read all of
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`the cements made.
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`1.
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`Turoff, et al.[1989], distinguish seven default conference
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`structures:
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`Discussion Conference: Structured to optimize
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`general purpose discussion by active groups of up
`to fifty or more individuals.
`Seminar Conference: Designed to facilitate
`learning oriented seminars and the "Virtual
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`2.
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`368
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`3.
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`4.
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`5.
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`6.
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`7.
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`1.
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`2.
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`3.
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`4.
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`5.
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`Classroom."
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`Information Exchange: Optimized for very large
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`(hundreds) engaged in unpredictable
`groups
`information exchange.
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`various
`Project Management:
`Incorporates
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`tracking, selection, and organizing features to
`maintain awareness of modifications, milestones,
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`status, and task assignments that are taking place.
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`Composition Notebook: Allows a high degree of
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`selective roles in different designated portions of
`the conference, and tracks the updates and
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`changes being made to the generation of a
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`collaborative document.
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`Data Collection Conference: Designed for the
`organization of structured data, and the tracking
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`and validation of data changes for a group
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`building and utilizing a collaborative data base.
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`Simulation-Game Conference: Structured to allow
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`a group to carry out a role playing, even-oriented
`scenario game.
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`In our experiment, we used the Simulation—Game
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`Conference option, supplemented by the Discussion
`Conference structure. A Simulation-Game Conference
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`allows a group to carry out a role-playing, event-oriented
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`scenario game.
`The game director can control all
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`communication channels and the conditions and timing
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`for events to occur. In order to simplify and standardize
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`the scenarios, 3 microcomputer based management game
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`was used to augment
`the role playing of the group
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`members. In this sense, the management game served
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`as a model to generate operating results based on a set
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`of decision inputs and the Simulation-Game Conference
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`provides the forum for the group members to formulate
`and agree on the decision inputs. The two technologies
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`thus complement each other in a group collaboration
`envrronment.
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`Among the many published management games,
`"Business Simulator" by Reality Technologies, Inc. was
`selected for the following reasons:
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`The game is relatively inexpensive so that all
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`students can afford to own it.
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`The game is playable individually. This way the
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`students can learn business concepts at home and
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`at their own individual paces. The students can
`also use the game to predict probable outcbmes
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`of various decision parameters before submitting
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`these decisions to their group.
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`The game can be played by assigning functional
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`roles to members of a group,
`thus requiring
`collaboration within the group.
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`The game allows for competition between groups,
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`thereby stimulating greater student interest.
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`The game is user friendly.
`It does not require
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`much computer expertise to run. It provides on
`line help and tutorial. Furthermore, it includes a
`number of color charts to show the performance
`results.
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`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1020, Page 368
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - EX. 1020, p. 368
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - Ex. 1020, p. 368
`
`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1020, Page 368
`
`

`

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`3. The Experiment
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`Four .sections of OS 471 Management Practices
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`particrpated in the current study. A total of fifty-three
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`students who completed the course were organized into
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`eighteen companies, each comprising two to four
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`students with an average of three. "Company" is the unit
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`of analySIs of our experiment. The assigned product for
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`all Simulated companies was a household robot (Pet-
`Bots) that would do most domestic chores.
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`Three sections had access to the Virtual Classroom on
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`EIESZ at NJIT: one larger section used the basic
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`facilities of the Virtual Classroom on EIESZ and two
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`the
`smaller sections used all
`advanced features on
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`EIESZ plus
`readily available off-line productivity
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`software, such spreadsheet and data base system. The
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`fourth section, serving as the control group did not have
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`access to EIESZ at all. Thus we have three treatments:
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`Control Category with no access to Virtual
`1.
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`Classroom,
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`Experimental Category I with regular Virtual
`2.
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`Classroom facilities, and
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`Experimental Category 11 using
`3.
`regularVirtual
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`Classroom facilities,the full
`features of the EIESZ
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`conferencing system plus
`such off-line productivity
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`software as spreadsheet and data base management
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`system.
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`the students were randomly
`Within each category,
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`divided into six groups of three to four students. Each
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`group had a name and an organizational structure,
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`consisting of a CEO, a Financial Officer, an Operations
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`Chief and a Marketing Executive. A Game Playing
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`Procedure manual was distributed at the beginning of
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`the semester, detailing the responsibilities of the various
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`officers and the format of an end-of-semester summary
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`report.
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`Three phases of the life cycle of a business were
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`simulated:
`start-up, growth, and independence. The
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`decisions to be made in each phase are shown in Figure
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`1.
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`competes
`against
`three
`and against
`each other
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`companies played by the computer. Each week student
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`company must submit their quantitative decisions on the
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`items listed in Fig. 1. Members of each company must
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`study the results of last year operation, economic trend
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`and operational policies, and run the game program
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`independently by guessing how their competing company
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`might play their hand. Then company members discuss
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`pros and cons of the quantitative decisions as put
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`forward. Since the members play different functional
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`roles: manufacturing, marketing and finance, they tend
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`to focus on their respective functional area more than
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`the other areas. However, they have a common goal of
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`optimizing the operating results: units sold, back orders,
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`ending inventory, market share, operating income,
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`income tax, net income, CEO’s net worth, company book
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`value, etc.
`Here collaboration comes
`into play.
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`Hopefully they converge toward a single set of numbers.
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`In any case, before the weekly deadline, CEO must
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`make final decision.
`In the first
`treatment of the
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`experiment, CEO’s submit their decisions on a piece of
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`paper. The instructor runs the game and saves the
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`results on a diskette available for the students to copy.
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`In the second and third treatment, they declare these
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`numbers in their company’s private conference. The
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`instructor, being an observer of all the conferences, picks
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`up decisions from two competing companies and runs
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`the game officially. The results of the game for the
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`current year are then published in the Managers’ Lounge
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`(class conference).
`In the second treatment of the
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`experiment, some key results were published. This
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`method requires more of instructor’s time in extracting
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`the results from the game and inputting into the
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`conference.
`In the third treatment,
`the instructor
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`transfers a binary file containing all the results of the
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`game through "binary file transfer" facility of the EIESZ
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`system. Students can download this file onto their own
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`diskette and play the next year game based on current
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`year results. The game was played for nine weeks,
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`representing nine fiscal years. The performances of the
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`different companies were evaluated based on the final
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`outcome of the ninth year.
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`The students also had access to the results of all other
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`companies for comparison and reference. The key
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`the
`results were recorded in a data base so that
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`comparative results could be organized and published
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`from time to time. This practice proved to be useful in
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`maintaining the interest and competitive spirits of all the
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`groups.
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`The companies with access to CMC were assigned a
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`group conference for the conduct of the simulated
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`business. Typical uses were the assignment of functional
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`roles, discussion of the logistics and scheduling of
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`game-playing, formulation of general strategies of the
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`business, and review of operational
`Each
`results.
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`student company discussed the results in its private
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`the
`conference
`see whether
`outcomes met
`to
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`expectations and to search for possible reasons for
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`deviations. All students with CMC also participated in
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`two other conferences: the Student Center for social
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`activities and the Managers’ Corner. for management
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`related discussions.
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`Figure 1: Decisions in Business Simulatorm) Game
`
`Phase I: Startup - Phase fl]: Independence
`
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`Price
` Advertising
`
`
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`‘ Units
`Units
`Units
`i
`Factory Expansion
`Factory Expansion
`Ions Term Debt Sold
`14mg Term Debt Sold
`
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`Common Stocks
`Common Stocls Issued
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`Issued
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`‘
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`—% Sales on Credit
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`1
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`Sales Force Size
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`Research a Development
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`One Year Learn
`Supplier Payment Period
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`Dividend
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`Each student company is paired with another company
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`belonging to the same category or treatment. The pair
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`369
`
`
`
`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1020, Page 369
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - EX. 1020, p. 369
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - Ex. 1020, p. 369
`
`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1020, Page 369
`
`

`

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`Both the Student Center
`students without CMC.
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`Conference and the Managers’ Corner Conference
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`played important roles in developing this camaraderie.
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`One third of the students who used CMC asked to
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`remain on the conference for further socialim‘ng with the
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`instructor and the students of the next semester, some of
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`whom selected these particular sections as a result of
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`recommendations from the veterans. More importantly,
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`the average student with CMC clocked an average of 5
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`hours per week on one or another of the conferences
`outside of class time, while students without CMC met
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`less than one hour per week.
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`the discussion in the Managers’ Corner
`Much of
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`conference related to the potential problems of on-the—
`job managers. For example, students discussed what to
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`do if the boss "goofs off frequently." WK responded:
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`"My boss goofs off a lot since he became a partner in
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`the design firm Iwork for. He also has a good sense
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`of humor. so when he is goofing off I ask him ‘How
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`can I help You,Bob‘.7’ and he’ll tell me he’s not really
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`doing anything and I’ll tell him that it sounds good to
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`me and I want to do my fair share. Something like
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`this usually makes him self-conscious and he starts
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`looking for something productive to do. I think most
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`bosses got to be bosses by being responsible 'and
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`capable (I said MOST OK?) and I think if you can
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`find some good natured way to point out to them that
`
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`their goofing off
`affects you,
`their
`sense of
`responsibility should take over without causing too
`much trouble."
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`A comparison of the American management style with
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`the Japanese proved an inexhaustible
`source of
`discussion, while hot debate took place over
`the
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`economic relationship between West and East Germany.
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`Discussion in the group business conferences was serious
`and of similarly high quality. A comment by CA, the
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`CEO of FutureWave, represents a typical entry:
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`"I agree with you about raising the price from $34 to
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`$41. We don’t have enough production to compete
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`at a low price so we might as well make like Hewlett
`Packard. This will result in a lower market share but
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`will maximize our profits until we are ready to
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`expand. One suggestion: s end more on advertising.
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`Instead of $500K maybe 525K. Our sales will be
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`targeted to a higher income bracket which has not
`
`heard of us or has regarded our goods as lower
`quality because of the lower price range. Good
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`hunting!"
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`The groups with CMC also benefitted from greater
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`group coordination and continuity in the face of real-life
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`disruptions. For example, 0A disappeared for a time
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`and abandoned his prerogative of finalizing business
`decisions. LC and GB used all three conferences to
`plead for OA’s return by posting humorous comments:
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`370
`
`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1020, Page 370
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - EX. 1020, p. 370
`
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`— l
`
`RohoTech
`%—l KJ&J
`
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`m
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`The number of students and companies was too small
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`for results on all dependent variables to be statistically
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`significant at the .05 level, but the results are consistently
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`those with
`the Virtual Classroom.
`in favor of
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`Experimental category 11 has just ended. Preliminary
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`analysis of the enhanced condition shows extreme
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`variance: the highest and lowest performances of all
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`companies observed occurred.
`In depth analysis is
`required to identify the possible causes. Results shall be
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`discussed in an update report.
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`A less tangible but perhaps more important measure of
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`the value of CMC in teaching collaborative managerial
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`skills is the camaraderie that developed in companies
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`with access to CMC. As one of the questions on the
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`final exam, the students were asked to list the names
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`and nick names of the class members. The students who
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`used CMC knew the names of 83% their classmates,
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`while the students without CMC scored only 67%. The
`students with CMC organized ski/skating trips and small
`parties, while nothing of the sort took place with the
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`Companies without access to CMC were dependent on
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`face-to-face meetings or telephone or mail to conduct
`their communication.
`4. Results
`
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`indication that CMC improves student
`The clearest
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`learning of managerial skills is that the companies run
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`by students with CMC performed dramatically better
`than companies run by students without CMC. We
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`defined three criteria and a composite index:
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`Composite Index = Profitability + ROA (Return on
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`Assets) + ROE (Return on Equity)
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`as measures to rank the performance of a company.
`The results of the final year operation of the simulated
`
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`companies are shown in the following table.
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`Performahee Measures of smarts
`
`Cbuipmy’ Name -"_ it} Profitability '-
`
`Companies without access to Virtual Classroom on Eli-152
`
`
`— n2.9
` 1 7
`
`
`193
`25.5
`Robotron
`1 1.4
`
`6.1
`m-
`13.3
`_-—-_
`
`.—-H-
`“To
`L
`
`
`1 Average /
`
`
`Experimental category I with access to Virtual
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`
`
`Petitioner Riot Games, Inc. - Ex. 1020, p. 370
`
`Petitioner Valve - Ex. 1020, Page 370
`
`

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`"Hey 0A, did you get stuck in traffic again . We
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`missed you at the class today. We wanted to confer
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`with you about the simulator but we will see you at
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`another time. GB." "0A, First of all, I’m extremely
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`gratified to hear that you are alive and well. I thought
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`maybe you had been swallowed up by a garbage truck
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`or something!!! Nice to hear from you!!!"
`"How
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`come you weren’t in class??? How come you don’t
`talk to us anymore??? Do we smell??? Are we
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`offensive??? C’mon, lets get together and talk about
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`Year #4!!! GB and myself shared some thoughts this
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`morning, but as our CEO we would like to get your
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`thoughts on a plan of action. When you read this,
`
`answer me right away so we can get
`the ball
`rolling! ! !"
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`0A returned eventually to FutureWave (not, however,
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`as CEO). He participated actively in the game and
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`
`
`shared the
`the good performance of
`credit
`for
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`In fact, FutureWave was
`the top
`FutureWave.
`performer by all the objective measures.
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`JR, CEO of KJ&J, had a similar experience; however,
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`he continued to maintain contact with his group through
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`CMC. He was able to return to the game and resume
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`his responsibilities as CEO. Both examples show that
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`CMC provides critical support for students who have
`been temporarily distracted from their duties.
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`In contrast, the CEO’s of Hysterical and RJM, both
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`companies without CMC, also vanished from their posts.
`Neither returned for the duration of the semester,
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`the
`Finally,
`prepare
`students
`CMC helped
`end-of-semester summary report. The groups that used
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`CMC for the conduct of their business had the benefit
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`of a complete record of the individual contributions of
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`the group members. The preparation of the report was
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`only a matter of editing the contents of the conference,
`while the groups without the benefit of CMC had to
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`convene several meetings
`to assign the work and
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`assemble the results.
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`5. Concluding Remarks
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`in
`We have shown that CMC is extremely helpful
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`teaching collaborative skills to management students.
`Simulated companies using the Virtual Classroom (R)
`
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`structures within a computerized conferencing system
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`
`
`achieved
`significantly
`profits,
`return
`higher
`on
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`investment and return on equity. It also provides a
`lifeline to students who become temporarily distracted
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`from their class responsibilities. An enhanced CMC
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`system (Virtual Management Practices Laboratory or
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`Virtual Lab for short) with special features, such as
`on-line "forms," binary file transfer capability,
`role
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`playing sessions, incoming mail organizer functions, and
`"file cabinets" has made the advantages of computer
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`mediated conferencing systems even more appealing in
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`the education of managers, since future managers will
`function in a more and more automated office
`
`environment.
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`REFERENCES
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Bouton, Clark and Russell Y. Garth (1983), "Learning
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`in Groups. New Directions in Teaching and Learning",
`
`
`
`
`Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1983.
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`"The
`Greenlaw, P. S. and F. P. Wyman (1973)
`
`
`
`
`
`
`teaching effectiveness of games in collegiate business
`
`
`
`
`
`
`courses. " Simulation and Games 4 (2): 259-264.
`
`
`
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`
`Hiltz, Starr Roxanne (1988a), "Leaming in a Virtual
`
`
`Classroom - A Virtual Classroom 0n EIES: Final
`
`
`
`
`
`Evaluation
`I," Computerized
`Report,
`Vol.
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`
`
`
`Conferencing and Communications Center, Research
`
`
`
`Report # 25, 1988.
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`Hiltz, Starr Roxanne (1988b), ”Teaching in a Virtual
`Classroom - A Virtual Classroom On EIES: Final
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`
`
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`Evaluation
`Report,
`2, " Computerized
`Vol.
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`
`Conferencing and Communications Center, Research
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`
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`
`Report # 26, 1988.
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`
`Hiltz, Starr Roxanne (1989), "Collaborative Learning
`
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`in a Virtual Classroom: Highlights of Findings,"
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`
`
`
`Proceedings, Second Conference on Computer
`
`Supported Cooperative Work, Portland, Oregon,
`1989.
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`
`
`Hsu, Enrico (1989), "Role-Event Gaming Simulation
`in Management Education: A Conceptual Framework
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`
`
`
`
`
`
`and Review", Simulation and Games, Vol. 20 No. 4,
`
`
`
`
`December, 1989. pp. 409-438.
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`
`
`
`
`
`
`Hsu, Enrico and D. 'I‘. Geithman (1988), 'Expen'ential
`Learning in Management Education: Virtual Lab’,
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Management Games and Group Decision Support
`
`
`
`
`
`System," Proceedings of Sixth World Productivity
`Congress, September, 1988, pp. 507-531.
`
`
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`
`
`Turoff, Murray; John Foster; Starr Roxanne Hiltz and
`
`
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`
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`
`
`
`
`
`Kenneth Ng (1989),
`”The TEIES Design and
`
`Objectives: Computer Mediated Communications and
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Tailorability", Proceedings, Hawaii
`International
`
`Conference on System Sciences, January, 1989, pp
`403-411.
`
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`
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`Wolfe, Joseph (1985) ’The