Business Gaming for Organizational Research

A non-computer business game is described which can be used to test hypotheses about the effects of different organizational structures on material and social psychological outcomes. The competitive game requires firms of about 15 men each to compete in a common market. But, only one-third of the organization is allowed to meet face-to-face. Tangible products are produced out of IBM cards by cutting, assembling and fastening processes. Markets are based on managerial decisions of the competing firms. In the first three competitions, it was observed that the simpler organizational structure served more adequately than the more complex hierarchy that was designed for the problem. Whether or not a radically different structure, without a hierarchy, worked well, depended upon the extent the real-life managers operating the organization had been indoctrinated sufficiently into the rationale behind the innovation and had accepted it as desirable. Subsequent experiments are in progress using the game.