Industrial Simulation Games for Executive Development: Review of the Literature and Implications for Military Applications

Abstract : A literature survey was conducted to assess the use of simulations for executive development in the industrial sector and to identify potentially useful applications for the development of the future leaders of the U.S. Army. Eighty-four relevant citations were sorted into categories, analyzed, and described in terms of approach, design, intended audience, and reported outcomes. While simulation training is widely used and growing in popularity, the focus of the training is generally on lower to midlevel managers. No specific data were found to confirm the learning value of simulation-based training. While no off-the-shelf simulations for Army executive development were identified, the survey did reveal design principles, modeling approaches, and training concepts for further analysis and research. Keywords: Army training; Executives; Computerized simulation; Training use of simulations; Executive training; Decision theory; Management; Simulations; Games.