Games in career guidance: Effectiveness of using a SmallWorld simulation to develop social skills in the workplace

Sucess in the workplace in highly dependent on social skills. Nevertheless, although games are a fun and effective way to trigger learning, there appears to be a lack of realistic educational games which develop an awareness of the advanced of social skills needed to succeed in one's career. In particular, young people, many of whom play video and computer games on a daily basis, should be highly receptive to a computer-enhanced approach to learning about effective social interactions in an organizational context, such as that found in the learning-by-doing management simulation experience which we describe in this paper. Although this simulation was initially developped for experienced managers, our quantitative research on a group of 14-17 years old showed a significant measurable increase in their awareness of many advanced social skills in the workplace.