GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT SIMULATION:
GLOBETECH-I, FALL 1995

1.0 OVERVIEW

THE GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY SIMULATION PROJECT (GLOBETECH) IS A CURRICULUM INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT (CID) TOOL UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE GATEWAY ENGINEERING EDUCATION COALITION. ITS SUBJECT: "THE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY OF CHINA, INDIA, AND SOUTHEAST ASIA - COMPETITIVE AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT ISSUES".

GLOBETECH IS CONCEIVED AS A MAJOR COMPONENT OF AN UNDERGRADUATE INTERDISCIPLINARY ENGINEERING COURSE OF GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT SUCH AS NERKEN'S EID-372. HOWEVER, PARTICIPATION IN A GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT COURSE IS NOT NECESSARY. SINCE THE SIMULATION DEALS WITH ISSUES SUCH AS: TRENDS AND WAYS TO ECONOMIC GROWTH IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE WORLD, GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS STRATEGIES, INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS, TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER, OPERATIONS' OPTIMIZATION, ETC., IT COULD BE OFFERED IN CONJUNCTION WITH MANY ECONOMICS OR ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT COURSES.

THIS PROJECT AIMS TO FAMILIARIZE THE ENGINEERING STUDENTS WITH THE REAL AND VERY COMPLEX POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND TECHNICAL ISSUES INFLUENCING GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY DECISIONS, THUS BETTER PREPARING THEM FOR A FUTURE OF INCREASED GLOBALIZATION.

2. SIMULATION SCHEDULE

THE FALL 1996 SIMULATION IS SCHEDULED TO START ON OCTOBER 14, 1996 AND FINISH ON DECEMBER 9, 1996. BESIDES THE WEEKLY COMPUTER INTERFACE BETWEEN THE PARTICIPATING STUDENT TEAMS, THE SIMULATION WILL ALSO INCLUDE TWO SATURDAY "ON-LINE" CONFERENCES (10 A.M. -12:30 P.M.) ON THE FOLLOWING PROPOSED DATES: NOVEMBER 02 AND 16, 1996. THE SIMULATION IS FREE OF COST TO ALL PARTICIPANTS.

3.GLOBETECH'S MAIN FEATURES

DEVELOPS CROSS-CULTURAL AWARENESS SKILLS AMONG THE STUDENTS, WHO MIGHT PORTRAY IN THE SIMULATION UNITED STATES OR FOREIGN DECISION MAKERS SUCH AS PRIVATE COMPANY MANAGERS OR GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES.
EMPHASIZES THE CROSS-DISCIPLINARY NATURE OF GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT THROUGH THE TECHNICAL, ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND SOCIAL BACKGROUND RESEARCH STUDENTS HAVE TO UNDERTAKE TO PREPARE FOR THE SIMULATION.
DISSEMINATES NEW LEARNING METHODS BASED ON THE USE OF MODERN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO ALL PARTICIPANTS.
DEVELOPS STUDENTS' LEADERSHIP, TEAM WORK, AND INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATING SKILLS THROUGH THE INTERACTIVE SIMULATION PROCESS.
OPENS THE DOOR TOWARDS GREATER INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION THROUGH DIRECT FACULTY AND STUDENT CONTACT WITH FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES WHICH MIGHT WANT TO JOIN THIS PROJECT.

4. PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

TWO MAIN AREAS WERE DEVELOPED FOR THE 1995 PILOT SIMULATION:

SIMULATION STRUCTURE AND CONTENT
COMPUTER SOFTWARE INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT THE SIMULATION

LETS DISCUSS IN SOME DETAIL EACH OF THESE TWO AREAS:

A. SIMULATION STRUCTURE AND CONTENT

THE FOLLOWING MAIN SIMULATION PARTS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED IN DETAIL:

THE SIMULATION BACKGROUND INFORMATION: CONTAINS POLITICAL, SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND TECHNICAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE CHOSEN TOPIC, COUNTRIES, AND COMPANIES. THIS INFORMATION WILL BE UPDATED FOR THE 1996 SIMULATION AND WILL BE GIVEN TO ALL THE PARTICIPATING TEAMS PRIOR TO THE BEGINNING OF THE SIMULATION. IT WILL CONSTITUTE THE BASIS FOR EACH TEAM'S DETAILED RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS IN THEIR AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY,
THE SIMULATION SCENARIO. CONTAINS PROPOSED ACTIVITIES AND SCHEDULES. IT WILL ALSO BE UPDATED FOR THE 1996 SIMULATION.
THE SIMULATION QUESTIONS, NEWS BULLETINS, DISCUSSION TOPICS, ETC., WILL BE DEVELOPED TOGETHER WITH THE VARIOUS FACULTY TEAM LEADERS (FTLs) PRIOR TO SIMULATION START DATE.
THE STRUCTURE FOR THE TWO "ON-LINE" CONFERENCES. WILL BE DEVELOPED TOGETHER WITH THE VARIOUS FTLs PRIOR TO CONFERENCES' DATES.
FACULTY INFORMATION; FEEDBACK INFORMATION AND QUESTIONNAIRES. PROVIDES FTLS WITH DETAILED SIMULATION MANAGEMENT INFORMATION.

THE SIMULATION PROCESS WILL CONSIST OF:

WEEKLY COMMUNICATIONS/NEGOTIATIONS VIA COMPUTER AMONG THE VARIOUS TEAMS AND FACULTY LEADERS,
TWO SATURDAYS "ON-LINE" CONFERENCE SESSIONS IN WHICH ALL THE TEAMS WILL PARTICIPATE,
TEAMS' DEBRIEFING/ FEEDBACK; SIMULATION CONCLUSIONS.

THE ABOVE ACTIVITIES WILL BE MONITORED BY A SIMULATION LEAD TEAM (SLT) OF THREE OR FOUR FACULTY MEMBERS FROM AMONG THE PARTICIPANTS, WITH THE HELP OF ALL THE OTHER PARTICIPATING FACULTY.

CLOSE FACULTY COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERFACE OF ALL THE PARTICIPATING TEAMS DURING THE SIMULATION PREPARATION AND ACTUAL RUN ARE ESSENTIAL FOR THE SUCCESS OF THIS PROJECT.

B. COMPUTER SOFTWARE INFRASTRUCTURE

THIS IS A COMPUTER SIMULATION WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE VIA THE INTERNET. THE FOLLOWING MAIN FEATURES ARE ADDRESSED:

GLOBETECH COMPUTER ACCESS ADDRESS AND COMMUNICATION LINKS
SEPARATE FACULTY AND STUDENTS FILES. BOTH WITH THEIR OWN SECURITY PROVISIONS, AND MESSAGE RECEIVE/WRITE/EDIT/ SEND/STORE/PRINT, ETC.
CAPABILITY FOR "ON-LINE" CONFERENCES VIA IRC, USING 2 OR 3 COMPUTERS SIMULTANEOUSLY AT EACH LOCATION. AGAIN, CAPABILITY TO RECEIVE/WRITE/ EDIT/ SEND/ STORE/ PRINT MESSAGES.

NOTE: THE COMPUTER SOFTWARE IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING UPDATED. DETAILED COMPUTER INSTRUCTIONS WILL BE ISSUED BY SEPTEMBER 23, 1996.

5.0 CONCLUSION:

THE GLOBETECH II SIMULATION WILL REPRESENT A VALUABLE LEARNING TOOL FOR ALL PARTICIPATING FACULTY AND STUDENTS. MORE PARTICIPANTS, MORE INTERESTING THE SIMULATION WILL BECOME. WE WOULD APPRECIATE TO KNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE IF YOUR SCHOOL IS INTERESTED TO PARTICIPATE WITH A TEAM. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION WE CAN BE REACHED AT: jacoby@cooper.edu.

Click here for the resources being used in the GLOBETECH project
Click here to see Globetech-I News
Click here for the GLOBETECH conferencing

GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT SIMULATION: GLOBETECH-I, FALL 1995