Abstract:

The main objective of this paper is to analyze the use of business management simulators in university teaching. It identifies the main advantages and disadvantages that the simulators offer to students in the framework of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). This constructivist approach to learning uses the business simulation experience to enable students to achieve the ultimate objective of directing their knowledge base.

Simulators have been used in many research areas, including industry, medicine and even in military tactics, but it is higher education where many practical experiences have been conducted or demonstrated.

The use of simulators in the classroom encourages autonomous learning, collaborative work, problem solving, responsibility analysis, and the development of specific social and personal skills that are crucial in the formation of future professionals.

This paper is divided into three sections. First, the importance of simulation games as tools that complement traditional classroom teaching methods is reviewed. Then, simulator operation in marketing management decisions is described. Finally, the benefits that both students and teachers gain from integrating these technologies into education systems are analyzed. In this case, Simbrand software was used in the Marketing Strategies course for the Diploma in Business Studies at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Granada, during the second semester of the 2010/2011 academic year.

A questionnaire was administered at the University of Granada to 104 male and female students who had used the business simulator during the 2011/2012 academic year. The written questionnaire was administered in their last class day at the Faculty.

Data analysis was done using SPSS version 18. Various statistical techniques (exploratory factorial analysis and linear regression) were applied.

In this study, overall assessment of business management simulators in university teaching is measured by students' intention to use simulators in the future. Specifically, the results show that the success of this tool stems from its ability to generate and improve skills in a fun way, and from the university professor’s ability to explain the use and operation of the tool, as well as his or her work motivating students throughout the whole simulation.

Keywords:

European Higher Education Area, Business Studies, SIMBRAND, simulators.