Ingolf Ståhl

We describe in detail a business game, which has been used extensively in education for a decade. Although the business game is smaller than other games, it is fairly realistic as it includes decisions on investments, production, prices, and advertising. Furthermore, the game has dynamic properties, in that decisions and financial states of the firms carry over from one period to the next. There are not many such detailed descriptions of business games, although this is in demand. Such a complete mathematical description lays ground not only for alterations of the game, but also for developments of new games. It can also provide a link to models used in micro-economic theory.

The paper presents a specially constructed Web-based tool, WebGPSS, developed in Sweden, for teaching business students simulation. The tool includes a Java Applet that provides a Graphical Users Interface, by which the student can build a simulation model of a system, such as an inventory system. The model is then run on a remote server, which then sends result graphs and tables over the Web to the student computer. The paper furthermore discusses the experiences made when using this tool in a distance-learning course at the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH) in Bergen, in 2000 – 2002.