Gameplay Report: Root Beer Distribution Game
SEB223 2014 – Assignment 1
The Root-Beer Distribution Game
A Report on the Gameplay Experience of the Author and its Use of Complex System Management Principles
Introduction
The Root-Beer Distribution Game, as played by the author and used as the basis for this report, is an on-line adaptation of the Beer Distribution Game originally created in the 1960’s by Jay Forrester, et al, of the MIT Sloan School of Management.
A pioneer of computer engineering and considered the founder of System Dynamics, Forrester and the MIT Systems Dynamics Group devised the Beer Distribution Game as method of demonstrating the dynamics of complex systems and illustrating the behaviour of those systems when interacting with human involvement.
This report presents a discussion of the system theories upon which the game is based, an identification of the process and simulation modelling utilised and a description of the game’s behaviour. It will conclude with an analysis of the gameplay experienced by the author and the results generated.
Background Theory
The Beer Distribution Game is both based on, and exemplifies, a number of theories concerned with complex systems. If any oversimplification by the author of the complexities of these theories might be forgiven, then the primary theories at work in the game can be briefly described as follows:
Systems Theory
Systems Theory defines a scientific cross-discipline method for analysing the mechanisms of how complex systems operate and for understanding the behaviour they exhibit.
To begin with a base working definition, a system is a collection of interacting or interdependent “elements” that form an integrated whole, and where an element itself can be anything from a simple process to a complex sub-system.
In the context of Systems Theory, such a definition of a system is generally regarded as exhibiting the following (simplified) characteristics (summarised from Cavenett, 2014):
A system has a requirement for input,
The Root-Beer Distribution Game
A Report on the Gameplay Experience of the Author and its Use of Complex System Management Principles
Introduction
The Root-Beer Distribution Game, as played by the author and used as the basis for this report, is an on-line adaptation of the Beer Distribution Game originally created in the 1960’s by Jay Forrester, et al, of the MIT Sloan School of Management.
A pioneer of computer engineering and considered the founder of System Dynamics, Forrester and the MIT Systems Dynamics Group devised the Beer Distribution Game as method of demonstrating the dynamics of complex systems and illustrating the behaviour of those systems when interacting with human involvement.
This report presents a discussion of the system theories upon which the game is based, an identification of the process and simulation modelling utilised and a description of the game’s behaviour. It will conclude with an analysis of the gameplay experienced by the author and the results generated.
Background Theory
The Beer Distribution Game is both based on, and exemplifies, a number of theories concerned with complex systems. If any oversimplification by the author of the complexities of these theories might be forgiven, then the primary theories at work in the game can be briefly described as follows:
Systems Theory
Systems Theory defines a scientific cross-discipline method for analysing the mechanisms of how complex systems operate and for understanding the behaviour they exhibit.
To begin with a base working definition, a system is a collection of interacting or interdependent “elements” that form an integrated whole, and where an element itself can be anything from a simple process to a complex sub-system.
In the context of Systems Theory, such a definition of a system is generally regarded as exhibiting the following (simplified) characteristics (summarised from Cavenett, 2014):
A system has a requirement for input,