Genta, Peter J. with Neville Sokol, "A Microworld of Exploration and Development: Creating a Learning Laboratory for the Oil & Gas Industry", 1996
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Much has been written of the use of computer simulation coupled with an interface as part of learning laboratory. Thorough the use of a fun and easy-to-access interface participants can explore the system principles at play in their own work environments in a structured workshop setting. But do these learning laboratories bring about change in the way managers make decisions? The authors will discuss the success they have had in introducing teams of managers to the concepts of system dynamics through the use if computer simulation. Over the past four years, the authors have worked with six teams within two separate oil and gas companies. These efforts have led to significant changes in the way the team members look at their business and the choices they have made to prepare themselves for the future. This cumulative experience has provided the foundation for the release of a commercially available "Microworld" which allows the user to experience the dynamics of running an oil and gas exploration and development company. This software eliminates a good portion of the up-front time and expense needed to get to a meaningful system dynamics model of a business. It is expected that incorporating this simulator in a workshop setting will provide a quick and effective method to introduce the concepts of system dynamics to an industry that is in the midst of a great deal of change.