Abstract
The use of interactive gaming environments to teach systems principles has recently been gaining in popularity. One of the most promising applications of system dynamics model-based games is “learning laboratories,” workshops that blend system dynamics principles and repeated simulation game trials with ongoing conceptualization and feedback sessions to help managers gain a deeper understanding of the system within which they operate. This paper will first describe the design of such a learning laboratory, its implementation, and its use as a vehicle for learning to think more systemically. This will be followed by a discussion on how the learning lab helps unearth deep-rooted assumptions and encourages people to challenge them in a “double-loop learning” mode. Finally, the paper concludes with a brief discussion on possible future steps towards developing systems thinking skills in an organization.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Ackoff, Russell. (1981) Creating the Corporate Future. New York: Wiley and Sons.
Argyris, Chris and Donald Schön. (1978) Organizational Learning: A Theory of Action Perspective. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Beckett, John. (1971) Management Dynamics: the new synthesis. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Checkland, Peter. (1981) Systems Thinking, Systems Practice. New York: Wiley and Sons.
Churchman, C. West (1979) Systems Approach New York: Dell Publishing.
Dreyfus, Hubert L. and Stuart E. Dreyfus. (1987) Mind Over Machine. New York: The Free Press.
Kardes, Frank (1987) Sloan working paper, MIT Sloan School of Management, Cambridge, MA.
Moississ, Alexander A. (1989) “Decision Making in the Insuarance Industry: A Dynamic Simulation Model and Experimental Results.” Master’s Thesis, MIT Sloan School of Management, Cambridge, MA.
Schein, Edgar H. (1987) Organizational Culture and Leadership. San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass.
Schön, Donald A. (1983) The Relective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. New York: Basic Books, pp. 157–162.
Senge, Peter (1989) “Catalyzing Systems Thinking within Organizations,” forthcoming in Organization Development, F. Masarik, Ed.
Toffler, Alvin (1970) Future Shock. New York: Random House.
Wolfe, Joseph. (1985) The Teaching Effectiveness of Games in Collegiate Business Courses. Simulation & Games, Vol. 16 No. 3, September, p. 251–288.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1989 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Kim, D.H. (1989). Learning Laboratories: Designing a Reflective Learning Environment. In: Milling, P.M., Zahn, E.O.K. (eds) Computer-Based Management of Complex Systems. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-74946-9_34
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-74946-9_34
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-51447-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-74946-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive