Bringing Reality to “Real Options”: An Experiential Exercise

Abstract

Issues surrounding the contextual environment in which strategic decisions are made are difficult concepts to grasp, particularly for undergraduate students with little business experience. They are also problematic for graduate students that have not been called on to make such decisions within their career. The authors propose an exercise that blends many elements of decision making under uncertainty and risk. Students are placed in an environment in which their own choice may differ from that of the team, but in which the team's performance will have explicit implications on their individual performance and rewards. The exercise incorporates team dynamics and problem-solving capabilities in a temporally and competitively constrained environment.

Keywords:

• experiential exercise
• gain context
• loss context
• pedagogy
• risk