Impact of ERP Courses with Business Simulations on Decision Making Abilities of Management Students

Abstract

In business, managerial decision making is considered as synonymous to management. Management Guru Drucker (1955) argued that whatever a manager does is through decision making. Management is always a decision making process. Any educational institution imparting management education should have this as central objective. There are two major approaches in management education: one is case method and second for want of a better term is the theoretical approach. This research study proposes a third and mixed approach in management education; that of theoretical subjects as taught currently and simulation of business processes and transactions in small groups (generally termed as simulation based training (SBT)) in an enterprise resource planning system (ERP) and reflections in class rooms which would take the management student closer to the actual managerial practice in decision making. A research study was carried out to learn the impact of ERP courses taught with Business Simulations as part of curricula in management education. Pre and post surveys were carried out to review change in the understanding of decision making abilities of management students in an educational environment. A comprehensive instrument containing six sub-domains and bi-polar scale was used to check and review the understanding of managerial decision making. Improvement or Change must be related first to the individual self and then to the group. Hence, test of proportions: Z-Test-of-Proportions was used to establish significance and review change. We observe that in all six sub-domains there is a significant change in rating by the management students post simulations based ERP Courses. Significant number of Students' ratings has moved from satisficing to maximizing behaviours.