Students in a core Master’s of Public Administration (MPA) course were taught to model and simulate selected business processes of government agencies and nonprofits with Rockwell Arena software. Each student or pair was asked to document an existing government process, in order to model and simulate a variation of the process, with a goal of improving service quality and/or lowering costs. Students found it challenging to make the transition from a simple model, taught as an example, to modeling and simulating real processes on the computer. Experiences are reported and suggestions are provided to others who may want to use Arena software to introduce process modeling into the Public Affairs and Administration curriculum.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AlessiS.TrollipS. (2001). Multimedia for learning: Methods and development (3rd ed.). Needham, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
2.
AltiokT.MelamedB. (2007). Simulation modeling and analysis with Arena. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
3.
AndersonD. F.BrysonJ. M.RichardsonG. P.AckermannF.EdenC.FinnC. B. (1994). Integrating modes of systems thinking into strategic planning education and practice: The thinking person’s institute approach. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 12(4), 537–555.
4.
AndreskiS. (2008). Max Weber on capitalism, bureaucracy and religion. New York, NY: Routledge.
5.
BrewerG. A.NeubauerB. J.GeiselhartK. (2006). Designing and implementing e-government systems: Critical implications for public administration and democracy. Administration & Society, 38(4), 472–499.
6.
ClarkR.VoogelA. (1985). Transfer of training principles for instructional design. Educational Communication and Technology Journal, 33(2), 113–123.
7.
CoaseR. (1937). The nature of the firm. Economica, 4(16), 386–405.
8.
DawesS. (2004). Training the IT-savvy public manager: Priorities and strategies for public management education. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 10(1), 5–17.
9.
DownesL.MuiC. (2000). Unleashing the killer app: Digital strategies for market dominance. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
10.
DettmerW. (2007). The logical thinking process: A systems approach to complex problem solving (2nd ed.). Milwaukee, WI: American Society for Quality.
11.
FairaA. J. (1998). Business simulation games: Current usage levels — an update. Simulation & Gaming, 29, 295–308.
12.
ForresterJ. F.ForresterJ. W. (1969). Urban dynamics. Waltham, MA: Pegasus Communications, Inc.
13.
HammerM.ChampyJ. (1993). Reengineering the corporation: A manifesto for business revolution. New York, NY: Harper Business.
14.
HarmonP. (2007). Business process change: A guide for business managers and BPM and Six Sigma professionals (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Morgan Kaufmann.
15.
JonassenD. H. (2006). Modeling with technology: Mind tools for conceptual change. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.
16.
KellerJ. M.SuzukiK. (1988). Use of the ARCS motivation model in courseware design. In JonassenD. H. (Ed.), Instructional designs for microcomputer courseware (pp. 401–434). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Elbaum.
17.
KeltonD. W.SadowskiR.SturrockD. T. (2007). Simulation with Arena (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill Higher Education.
18.
KeysJ. B. (1997). Strategic management games: A review. Simulation & Gaming, 28(4), 395–422.
19.
KolibaC. (2004). Assessing reflection assignments for public affairs courses: Implications for educating reflective practitioners. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 10(4), 295–309.
20.
McLaughlinD. B.HaysJ. M. (2008). Healthcare operations management. Ann Arbor, MI: Health Administration Press.
21.
MaloneT. W.LepperM. R. (1987). Making learning fun: A taxonomy of intrinsic motivations for learning. In SnowR. E.FarrM. J. (Eds.), Aptitude, learning, and instruction: Cognitive and affective process analysis (pp. 223–253). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Elbaum.
22.
O’TooleL. J.Jr. (1997). Treating networks seriously: Practical and research-based agendas in public administration. Public Administration Review57(1), 45–52.
23.
SeilaA.CericV.TadikamallaP. (2003). Applied simulation modeling.Pacific Grove, CA: Duxbury Press.
24.
SeppanenS. K.KumarS.ChandraC. (2004). Process analysis and improvement. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
25.
ShangrawR. F.Jr.CrowM. M.OvermanS. (1989). Public administration as a design science. Public Administration Review, 49(2), 153–160.
26.
SimonH. A. (1969). The sciences of the artificial (1st ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
27.
SmithA. (2003). The wealth of nations (KruegerA. B., Introduction). New York, NY: Bantam Classics. (Original work published 1776).
28.
SpencerE. P. (1999). The reengineering concept: A graphic model. Journal of Business Education, 74(5), 311–315.
29.
VygotskyL. S.ColeM.John-SteinerV.ScribnerS. (1978). Mind in society: Development of higher psychological processes (14th ed.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
30.
WhiteJ. D. (2007). Managing information in the public sector. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.
