Benefits of Simulations in
Teaching
Mikes Bikes as an example
Presented to staff at Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade
October 2006
Frank Weterman
Overview
 Why Simulations in accounting
education?
 Mikes Bikes – overview
 Example of Results – Feedback to
students
 Student feedback
The problem
I know many accountants . . . who can
count perfectly and indeed marvelously,
but somehow very few of them have
wisdom, perhaps none. (St Augustine, 354)
W. S. Albrecht and R. J.Sack (2002) are
often quoted when relating to the
difficulties surrounding accounting
education
Underpinning logic
Grappling with the effective application of
pedagogy that includes experiential learning
activities, several authors have quoted an
ancient statement by Confucius (Kolb et al.,
1974; Specht and Sandlin, 1991):
I hear and I forget
I see and I remember
I do and I understand.
Advantages to students
 Integrate learning from functional
areas of a business
 Identify and solve problems
 Plan and be aware of the feelings
and beliefs of others
 Experiment and learn new behaviour
 Gain a top management perspective
 Make it real
 Jennings (2002)
Chinese context
 The Chinese prefer to focus primarily on
more easily quantifiable subjects such as
economics and finance. The “soft”
technologies have had substantial
difficulties in being introduced to Chinese
society. p11
 Western training principles would tend to
have the least immediately successful
application in training settings with Asian
students, Chinese students in particular.
p15

Irene Han-Siu Chow (1996)
But,
 Group-oriented arrangements will be
more appropriate. The Chinese are
believed to be more group-oriented
with more inclination to work in a
small group than to work
independently. p13
 Irene Han-Siu Chow (1996)
Using Mikes Bikes
 Class numbers are currently 50 – 60, although
the NZICA run a ‘class’ throughout New Zealand
of over 600.
 Approximately half the students are from India or
China
 Students put into groups of 4 – 5
 In our situation students have experienced Solo
Mike in a previous course – Mikes Bikes is not
new to them




Business Plan 5 – 8 pages with presentation
4 years of accounts ‘Rollovers’
Final report “How successful were we”
Individual reflection of learning – 1 A4 page.
As the simulation unfolds
 Simulation is
 Internet enabled so students can access at any
point of time
 Competitive, can therefore be repeated and
repeated with differing results ie no right
answer
 Designed to encourage ‘soft skills’ eg group
work, communication skills, presentation skills
 Integrative, so that accounting tools are linked
to marketing and production management
Student feedback
 Some like group work, others don’t
 Adjustments are required to allow for
those who are waiting for the right
answer – even those who believe
that they have an excellent course of
action
 Some take it very (too?) seriously
and complain that it takes too much
time
Student Feedback
 The most important feedback from
my perspective is that given when
students graduate:
 Whether they enjoyed it or not one
of the things which stayed with them
the most is Mikes Bikes.
Questions?
 Web site for additional information
 www.smartsims.com