Joan G. Dahl

We are currently in the midst of the age of the personal computer (PC). PC's have caused a revolution in management education across the country. PC labs are now a common fixture of the business school environment. Course outlines, homework assignments and entire curricula have been affected by PC's (Render, 1985). Initially PC's were used extensively in quantitatively oriented courses such as statistics, operations research and accounting (Render,1985). Courses in management and organizational behavior have used a variety of PC-based computer applications. Bigelow (1986) reports PC programs used in OB classes as personal assessment tools to determine stress levels or personal learning style. He also discusses what was in 1986 a promising new development in personal computer applications for the management classroom, interactive personal computer cases (IPCC's).

Interactive personal computer cases seek to develop diagnostic and application skills, action skills that are essential to effective management. Boyatzis (1982) demonstrated the importance of diagnostic and application skills in a study involving over 2,000 managers from both public and private organizations. He identified "Diagnostic Use of Concepts" as an action skill that is significantly related to effective managerial performance and serves to distinguish superior performers from poor performers. The Diagnostic Use of Concepts skill involves the diagnosis of a situation to enable an effective response through the application of appropriate theories or models. The opportunity to sharpen this skill is, in essence, what interactive personal computer cases are designed to do.

Interactive personal computer cases provide the student with the experience of having to "live with" the managerial decisions they make. The cases themselves rest on a series of decision points with each decision changing the subsequent situations or alternatives given to the student. Students must diagnose the needs of the situation and apply course material to arrive at a solution. Diagnostic and application skills are sharpened through coaching provided by the computer whenever the response given is suboptimal. Unlike the conventional cases that are often used in management and organizational behavior courses, interactive personal computer cases provide students with direct and instant feedback as to how well they diagnosed and dealt with the situations presented.

Interactive personal computer cases have been available commercially since 1988. To date, little has been written about the use of this type of case in management and organizational behavior courses. This chapter reports the author's experience with IPCC's in principles of management courses. First, student responses to interactive personal computer cases are examined. Then, the advantages and limitations of using IPCC's in teaching diagnostic and application skills are discussed.

A total of 61 college business students enrolled in an upper division principles of management course completed interactive personal computer cases as a class requirement. They worked on the IPCC's outside of class, either in one of the university's personal computer labs or on their own personal computer at home. The interactive personal computer cases chosen for the course required dealing with situations covering a variety of topics such as; planning, motivation and group dynamics. Successful resolution of a case depended upon the student's diagnostic and application skills. At the end of the term, with the professor absent, students completed an anonymous questionnaire in which they were asked to assess their overall experience using the IPCC's and the extent to which they felt it provided a valuable learning experience. Completion of the questionnaire was strictly voluntary.

On five point Likert scales, students rated several different aspects of their interactive personal computer case experience over the term. The first measure asked to what extent they felt the cases provided a challenge to apply the material they had learned in the course. Next they assessed the extent they found the IPCC's to be a valuable learning experience, as compared to the rest of their learning experience in the course. In order to obtain a measure of the extent to which they found working on the IPCC's an enjoyable experience, the students were asked to rate how much "fun" the cases were (assuming any homework assignments could be considered fun). Two measures assessed frustration in completing the computer assignments. The first dealt with frustration arising from disagreement with what the computer gave as an optimal answer. This was used to indicate the extent to which creativity in applying course material was felt to be thwarted by the computer's supplying an "optimal" answer. The second assessment of "frustration" sought to determine the extent to which equipment failure or technical problems were encountered in running the IPCC's on the computer.

Means, standard deviations and frequency distributions were computed for all the questionnaire variables. Intercorrelations were calculated to determine the relationships among the questionnaire variables. The results reveal an overall student reaction to the interactive personal computer cases that was quite positive in nature. Students found the cases to be an interesting and involving experience. The data indicates few problems were encountered in the mechanics of running the cases on the computer. Frequency distributions show the extent to which students found the cases to be a valuable experience. Means, standard deviations and highlights from the frequency distributions for the variables are presented in Table 1. Intercorrelations are given in Table 2. The results are discussed below.

The mean for the first measure, the extent to which the cases were a challenge to apply course material, was 3.43 with a standard deviation of .98. This is interpreted to mean that to some extent the cases required the use of application skills. It is interesting to note that 47.5% of the students felt the cases required the use of application skills to a great extent or a very great extent. Only 14.8% of the respondents overall felt the cases provided little challenge to utilize their application skills. This response could perhaps be attributable to a belief that the cases were not reflective of course materials, thus required little use of application skills. As this was an introductory course, an alternate explanation may be that these students' diagnostic and application skills were insufficient to allow them to see the relevance of the cases to the course materials.

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The IPCC's were felt to be to a valuable learning experience by the majority of the students. Nearly 61% reported ratings of 4 or higher, indicating "a learning experience to a great or very great extent". The mean for this variable was 3.73 with a standard deviation of .94. Conversations with students indicated they gained new insights and felt their diagnostic skills were sharpened through the use of the interactive personal computer cases. The immediate feedback helped them to identify weaknesses in their application skills and conceptual areas where additional study was warranted.

Fully 82% of the students reported having fun to some extent with the cases. Nearly half of the respondents (49.2%) rated the cases as fun "to a great or very great extent". The mean for this variable was 3.43. As an aside, while it is not necessary that students have any fun when learning diagnostic skills, application skills or any skills (for that matter), a strong case could be made linking greater enjoyment of an activity with greater motivation. For the professor, greater motivation on the part of the students often results in the class being more enjoyable to teach!

Students, on the whole, didn't seem to feel stifled by the computer supplying the "optimal" answer to each of the situations presented in the case. The mean for this variable (frustration because of non-agreement with the computer) was only 2.4. Only 11.4% of the respondents reported frustration to a great or very great extent. Apparently, the students didn't find the learning experience diminished by being provided with a "right" answer, even if they didn't agree that it was correct. However, it should be noted that this finding could be due in part to the introductory nature of the course.

One possible problem of any skill teaching method that is equipment dependent is obviously equipment failure. The final measure of the questionnaire sought to determine the extent to which equipment failure or technical problems running the interactive personal computer cases detracted from the overall experience. Students were asked to rate the extent to which they were frustrated due to computer problems. This was of special concern since several of the students completed the IPCC's on their own computers at home as opposed to the supervised personal computer labs on campus where trained technicians were readily available. Only 3.3% of the students reported great or very great frustration in using the computer cases. The mean (1.6) for this variable indicates few problems were encountered by the students. The results for this variable could be attributable to a combination of factors. The university's personal computer labs are staffed with highly trained technicians who are extremely competent in a variety of different software applications. Additionally, the students in the principles of management and organizational behavior courses tend to be a computer literate group due to prerequisite courses involving computer work that they encounter early in their university careers.

Not too surprisingly, some of the variables were significantly intercorrelated. Students who felt the IPCC's provided a challenge to utilize their application skills also felt the cases provided a valuable learning experience (r=.66, p<.001). From this we can conclude that students value the individualized opportunity to sharpen their application and diagnostic skills that the interactive personal computer cases provide. It could readily have been predicted that feeling the cases were "fun" would be significantly correlated with several variables. The correlation between "fun" and "application challenge" was .51 (p<.001). Between "fun" and "valuable learning experience" the correlation was even higher (r=.60, p<.001). "Fun" and "frustration with running the IPCC's" were negatively correlated (r= -.23, p<.05). Thus being challenged and having a valuable learning experience is considered enjoyable, while frustration over trying to run an uncooperative computer program is not enjoyable. There was a significant correlation between frustration in running the IPCC's and frustration over not agreeing with the computer's "optimum" answer (r=.29, p<.05). This can perhaps best be explained by one frustrating experience begetting another.

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Bigelow (1986) raises the question of what kind of learning is accomplished when computer applications are used in management education. Interactive personal computer cases such as those used in the present investigation tend to excel in giving students practice and drill in developing diagnostic and application skills. These programs require the student to diagnose situations and apply the concepts that are pertinent to resolve the problems presented.

Additionally, Bigelow (1986) questions whether computer methodologies allow the student to learn to interact effectively with complex situations. IPCC's are much more reflective of the complexity of human interaction than are more traditional case materials. With the traditional case materials, students deal with the case situation as a whole, rather than as a set of interrelated incidents that are unfolding before the student's eyes. This serial aspect of the interactive personal computer case forces the student to take responsibility for the decisions he or she makes as he or she has to deal with the consequences of those decisions in later situations. Traditional case materials often do not have this serial option. The student using an IPCC has the advantage of frequent feedback and reinforcement for his or her work. Often with more traditional methods of skill acquisition, individual reinforcement is not so immediate.

The feedback and reinforcement characteristics of interactive personal computer cases serve as both an advantage and a limitation in the teaching of managerial action skills. An IPCC is, after all, only a computer program. While it is more reflective of human interaction than traditional case materials, it cannot possibly replace human interaction in refining managerial action skills. The way in which the IPCC's used in this study were constructed was such that every situation had one optimal answer. While this doubtless provides an excellent tool for feedback and drill, it might also have the side effect of inhibiting growth in skill development. Once the student has learned some basic techniques for diagnosing situations, discerning possible underlying causes, and applying a variety of conceptual tools to various situations, an IPCC which provides one "optimal" answer might give the student the mistaken impression that all situations are solvable "by formula". This naive approach to human interaction could have an adverse effect on future skill refinement or additional skill acquisition. To avoid the possibility of students learning "human interaction by formula", two elements seem necessary. First, IPCC's which allow for multiple solutions should be developed. Second, IPCC's should be followed by skill practice exercises involving interaction with others.

Interactive personal computer cases provide a psychologically "safe" environment for skill acquisition. Students are free to test a multiplicity of behavioral responses with no fear of reprisals. After all, negative feedback from a computer is not nearly as potentially threatening as negative feedback from a professor or colleague. For this reason, IPCC's should be used for the acquisition and refinement of basic skill levels, with human interaction taking place after the student has acquired some level of competence and confidence with the skills being taught. IPCC's as a pedagogy could be applied to learning a variety of essential skills such as decision making, controlling, planning and organizing (Sherman, 1988).

Interactive personal computer cases have both advantages and limitations in the teaching of action skills. They provide a very efficient way for students to gain feedback regarding their own skill levels. Students seem to enjoy using the cases and there is a chance that this enthusiasm will be carried over into other aspects of their studies. The cases seem to be particularly well suited to introductory courses where practice and drill of newly acquired skills in a well controlled environment is especially important. However "single optimal answer" IPCC's as a pedagogy for the advanced student may have a possible "stunting" effect on skill refinement. Additionally, IPCC's are limited in that the situations presented occur in the rather sterile, controlled environment of the computer.

To use IPCC's most effectively, a three phased intervention seems optimal. First, students could be introduced to the action skill through classroom presentation of the concepts underlying the skill. Second, IPCC's could be used for skill acquisition, drill and refinement. When computer feedback indicates an acceptable level of competence and the student feels reasonably comfortable in his or her ability to demonstrate the skill, a third phase would be implemented. Students would participate in a specially designed in-class experiential exercise that would require them to demonstrate their skills in a "live" less controlled setting. This three pronged approach would allow students to practice and refine their newly acquired action skills in a variety of settings. IPCC's can provide drill and practice with a skill, but they are not sufficient by themselves for teaching action skills. At the very least, IPCC's should be combined with class discussion to introduce the student to the additional complexities of human nature not addressed in the computer case.

Interactive personal computer cases are a relatively new and promising method for action skill building in management and organizational behavior courses. As with any new methodology there are flaws that have yet to be corrected. IPCC's will most certainly never be able to replace human interaction in the acquisition of action skills for managers. The challenge to management and organizational behavior professors is to determine if interactive personal computer cases are a methodology they could utilize to enhance the skill learning of their students, and if so, how it might best be applied.

Application Challenge 3.43 .98 47.5

IPCC's A Valuable Learning Experience 3.73 .94 60.6

IPCC's Were Fun 3.43 1.05 49.2

Frustrating, Didn't Agree w/IPCC's 2.40 .98 11.4

Scale:

1 = to no extent

2 = to little extent

3 = to some extent

4 = to a great extent

5 = to a very great extent

Application Valuable Fun Frust. Frust.

Challenge Experience Didn't Running

Application

Challenge

Valuable

Experience ***.66

Fun ***.51 ***.60

Frustrating -

Didn't Agree .06 -.06 -.11

Frustrating -

*** p<.001

* p<.05