Mount Everest
http://forio.com/simulation/harvard-everest
© 2007 Robert H. Smith School of Business
University of Maryland
Outline
• Introduction to the simulation
• Learning objectives
• How the simulation was used and
implemented
• Issues with the implementation
• Learning outcomes
• Student Feedback
© 2007 Robert H. Smith School of Business
University of Maryland
What is the simulation?
• Web-based simulation
uses the context of a
Mount Everest expedition
to reinforce student
learning in group
dynamics, decision
making, and
communication.
• 5 students on a team
trying to summit to the top
• A series of activities that
require various degrees of
teamwork, problem
solving, collaboration,
cooperation, and open
communications.
© 2007 Robert H. Smith School of Business
University of Maryland
What Does the Team Need To Do?
• Analyze information on weather, health conditions, supplies,
goals, or hiking speed, and determine how much of that
information to communicate to their teammates.
• Team will collectively discuss whether to attempt to reach the
next camp en route to the summit. The team must decide how
to effectively distribute supplies and oxygen bottles needed for
the ascent--decisions which affect hiking speed, health, and
ultimately the team's success in summiting the mountain.
• Strike a balance between individual and team goals
• Failure to accurately communicate and analyze information as
a team has negative consequences on team performance.
© 2007 Robert H. Smith School of Business
University of Maryland
• http://forio.com/simulation/harvardbusiness-school-everest-leadershipsim-demo
© 2007 Robert H. Smith School of Business
University of Maryland
• Link to videos by Harvard Business
Publishing:
http://
harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.ed
u/hbsp/educators/article/webarticle.jsp?
webid=04-02-08.131014
• Link to Chris Warner lecture at Google
https://www.earthtreksclimbing.com/chriswarner.html#video
© 2007 Robert H. Smith School of Business
University of Maryland
Learning Objectives
• To learn about how to build, participate in, and lead
teams more effectively.
• To learn how teams can solve problems and make
decisions more effectively in difficult situations when
members have different information and opposing
interests.
• To examine how teams can improve the way that they
make decisions.
• To explore how different leadership approaches can
affect team performance in situations with time and
competitive pressures.
© 2007 Robert H. Smith School of Business
University of Maryland
Timeline
• First trial: Winter ‘08 Term
• Has been used in every BMGT364
class since
© 2007 Robert H. Smith School of Business
University of Maryland
Implementation
• Students came in for one 2-hour session; this was equivalent to
spending the week in class
• Roughly 40 people per session, totaling about 8 groups. With
roughly 400 students per semester, 10 different sessions were
held
• Each group completed 3 rounds of the simulation; the first round
was based on achieving individual goals, while the following 2
rounds gave the group the chance to earn their best overall
score
• Grading
© 2007 Robert H. Smith School of Business
University of Maryland
Issues with implementation
• Technology
– Accessing website (http://forio.com/simulation/
harvard-everest/login.htm)
• Must be typed in normally, cannot access
through BlackBoard or the Smith Portal
• Scheduling
– Scheduling times other than class time; make-ups
• Processing a large # of students
– Scheduling labs, significant # of administrators
and helpers
• Dealing with difficult students
© 2007 Robert H. Smith School of Business
University of Maryland
Learning Outcomes
• Information and Interest Asymmetries
• Leading Teams to Reduce Process
Losses
• Information Processing Challenges
© 2007 Robert H. Smith School of Business
University of Maryland
Student Feedback
Teams were asked to analyze their performance by
answering these questions in a 4-5 page single-spaced
written response:
1. 2. 3. 4. Assess the team’s effectiveness in solving conflict/
problems, making decisions, and dealing with process
losses
What were the strengths and weakness of your team’s
process for making key decisions?
What are the required leadership skills in team
situations when people have conflicting information and
goals?
What lessons does this simulation suggest to managers
when leading teams?
© 2007 Robert H. Smith School of Business
University of Maryland
Assess the team’s effectiveness in solving conflict/
problems, making decisions, and dealing with
process losses
“Even though the leader (Billy) ensured that we all voiced our opinion
before every decision we made, we as a team overlooked individual
information”
“One of our problems, which we determined after the simulation was
over, was that we only shared facts that we thought were relevant,
instead of all of our information, with the group”
“It was challenging to determine how to achieve our team goals as well
as each of our individual goals, since some of the roles’ goals conflicted.
Therefore, we had to discuss and decide which goals were more more
important according to point value and how they would affect the
team’s ability to reach our goals as a whole”
© 2007 Robert H. Smith School of Business
University of Maryland
What were the strengths and weaknesses of
your team’s process for making key
decisions?
“We wrote down and compared everyone’s individual goals as a
percentage of their total individual goals…the leader helped members
decide which goals were most important, therefore ensuring a high
individual level of success for every member”
“What was extremely frustrating was because no one knew how to
derive information to accurately decide these tasks, we felt that
‘guessing our way up the mountain’ was the only way to do the
simulation”
“…failing to record observations, notes, or results during our many
attempts resulted in time wasted on problems that had been previously
solved”
© 2007 Robert H. Smith School of Business
University of Maryland
Lessons Learned
“This simulation definitely fine-tuned our abilities to work in a team
environment. It revealed both our strengths and weaknesses.
Overall, it was an experience that will certainly prepare us for future
real-life projects.”
“The Everest simulation effectively demonstrates the importance of
establishing a clear direction, working towards a shared goal,
understanding each other’s roles, and building trust with one
another”
“Although it is easy to learn and remember what traits contributed to
a team’s downfall or failure to overcome a challenge, it is only though
actual experience and reflection that we can learn from our
weaknesses and improve them in the future”
© 2007 Robert H. Smith School of Business
University of Maryland
Questions?
© 2007 Robert H. Smith School of Business
University of Maryland