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This paper describes the use of simulation in a large manufacturing organisation and analyses how it could have been used more fully. Although the benefits from using simulation were clear, it was seen that the technique could have been deployed more effectively by considering the organisational context of the use. From the analysis of the case study, certain recommendations are made on how to maximise the benefits from simulation within the organisation, thereby extending the benefits from what is often a considerable investment in developing a simulation model. Recent developments in simulation software in terms of improvements in usability and integration with organisational data are seen to increase the feasibility of a wider role for simulation if the organisational barriers discussed can be overcome.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive survey of the literature about the use of agent-based simulation (ABS) in the study of organizational behavior, decision making, and problem-solving. It aims at contributing to the consolidation of ABS as a field of applied research in management and organizational studies.

The authors carried out a non-systematic search in literature published between 2000 and 2016, by using the keyword “agent-based” to search through Scopus’ business, management and accounting database. Additional search criteria were devised using the papers’ keywords and the categories defined by the divisions and interest groups of the Academy of Management. The authors found 181 articles for this survey.

The survey shows that ABS provides a robust and rigorous framework to elaborate descriptions, explanations, predictions and theories about organizations and their processes as well as develop tools that support strategic and operational decision making and problem-solving. The authors show that the areas that report the highest number of applications are operations and logistics (37 percent), marketing (17 percent) and organizational behavior (14 percent).

The paper illustrates the increasingly prominent role of ABS in fields such as organizational behavior, strategy, human resources, marketing and logistics. To-date, this is the most complete survey about ABS in all management areas.

Discusses “organizational learning”, and the contribution of simulations and system dynamics to the improvement of managers′ “mental worlds” in accelerating anticipatory learning.

This paper aims to explore organizational structure, efficiency and evolution, and its relationship to bureaucracy. A new mathematical model is utilized to generate theoretically consistent relationships between economic performance and organizational scale and structure, and to develop a taxonomy of organizational structure.

A systems approach is used to model structural evolution and generate consistent, testable hypotheses concerning organizational sustainability and financial performance. This theoretical treatment seeks to reconcile contradictory views of bureaucracy, modeling both positive and negative impacts on performance and behavior. A variant of agency theory is used as an organizing paradigm, based on three competing organizational needs: control, autonomy and ownership of consequences.

Simulations reveal that organizations evolve through five stages of development: from an entry (flat/parallel) stage, through a hybrid or mixed stage, to the massively serial (hierarchical) stage. As firms evolve, the risk/return ratio first falls as employment expands, but later rises as higher levels of hierarchy appear. Eventually, organizational complexity rises sufficiently to produce lower levels of managerial ownership of consequences and professional autonomy, as well as higher levels of control, leading to a collapse of organizational efficiency. A subtle variation of agency theory is revealed: upper-management may maximize organizational depth, increasing salary differences between levels.

This paper uses an internally consistent, deductive framework to elucidate relationships between task complexity, skill level, industry life-cycle and firm age – providing the first known attribute-based metric for organizational complexity. This approach is reminiscent of Perrow’s (1999) non-mathematical treatment of organizational systems complexity.

The main purpose of this paper is to explore the current practices of simulation exercises in Korea and to make desirable recommendations for the future of Korean simulations to increase their learning effectiveness.

This paper employs a case study strategy, and the data collection methods include documentary research, qualitative interviews, and participation observation. Three representative simulation exercises were observed: the Keungogae Subway Counter Terrorism Exercise 2009, the Safe Korea 2010 Earthquake Exercise, and the Safe Korea 2010 Subway Fire Exercise.

The current practices of simulation exercises in Korea can be categorised into four main themes: top-level commitment and support; repeating training through rehearsals; box seats, ill-structured scenario scripts, and a lack of adaptation; and podium and speech-based debriefing.

Korean simulation exercises need to allow adaptation and diversion to take place, encouraging communication and discussion between exercise players. Furthermore, ensuing after-action reviews (debriefs) should be a discussion-orientated rather than evaluation-orientated to promote individual and organisational learning. The empirical findings and resulting recommendations of this paper can help Korean exercise planners to change their current flawed practices into evidence-based ones, setting a new direction for an effective simulation exercise model.

This study is the first empirical research to investigate simulation exercises in Korea and to highlight their problems.

Sectors with high transport volumes face the challenge of reengineering existing processes. Furthermore, new models that support transportation processing are required. One possible model would be a fourth party logistics service provider (4PL) approach in order to increase the efficient use of resources. The purpose of this paper is to describe a method for reengineering a transportation handling process using the 4PL approach.

Based upon a case study approach existing processes for transportation handling are modelled. Specifications of and definitions for the 4PL approach are compiled and analysed through a literature review. With the help of expert interviews essential functions are identified and the target model is validated.

The results of the effort demonstrate that the application of a 4PL approach facilitates an improved transportation process. This may be due to the modification of the IT and communication technology (ICT) that have been applied. Based upon expanded planning horizons an improved planning of orders, a strengthening of the competencies of the involved actors were observed.

Transportation handling in the agricultural sector is of increasing importance in light of the need to feed a growing global population under the condition of limited productive land for agriculture. This paper describes the alterations in the ICT infrastructure as well as the resulting organisational and technical implications, if a 4PL is used.

The 4PL approach is an issue that is increasingly discussed in scientific publications. Furthermore, this approach has experienced new opportunities for implementation due to recent developments in ICT.

It is argued that training programmes about strategic decision making tend to take an analytic approach. In doing so, they simply overlook the surprises and chaos that often characterises strategic discussions; they imply they are not important. Yet it is this discussion process itself that may be most in need of managing. Several behavioural simulations now existing are described which provide a structured context wherein participants can get insights into how executives reach agreements about strategy.

This study reviews and evaluates the use of a business simulation, specifically the hotel operational training simulation (HOTS) as it applies to tourism and hospitality education. An extensive self‐report survey was used to examine the participant’s experience. The questions were categorized into three dimensions: learning experience, alternative method of instruction; and critical and analytical thinking ability. In addition, there were questions relating to the participant’s overall satisfaction with the learning experience, and a further evaluation based on the participant’s level of involvement in the simulation. The simulation as an alternative form of instruction, the learning experience outcomes and critical and analytical thinking were found to be significant predictors of participant’s satisfaction. Further, the results suggested that there was a significant difference between the responses of those who felt they were highly involved and those who felt they were less involved in the simulation.

This exploratory study seeks to examine the impact of an organization's experiential change program (ECP) on participants' affective outcomes. Considering the design and learning objectives of the research organization's ECP, it aims to examine five affective outcomes: organizational alignment, organizational engagement, organizational identification, motivation to change, and job motivation.

Pre‐ and post‐assessments were completed by mid‐level managers at the research organization. Scores were examined to measure any significant differences between their affective outcomes before and after participating in the ECP.

Results revealed significant increases across all five affective outcomes with organizational alignment demonstrating the largest change. The theoretical and practical significance behind these findings is discussed.

This study extends the landscape of literature on divergent types of implementation methods used to bring about organizational change. Further, this exploratory valuation study offers preliminary evidence underscoring the utility of ECPs.

Among the general training issues featured in section one are: an analysis of the factory as a learning laboratory; advice on improving your training environment; a look at training schemes for the homeless; and an explanation of the importance of debriefings in training exercises.