The Parkside Hotel class at Aurora Alternative High School is offered as a collaborative effort between a team of researchers at IU and the high school. We have worked with two different teachers at Aurora during 3 quarters, two of those qua rters were centered around The Chelsea Bank and the last quarter around Parkside. The Parkside Hotel is a computer-based workplace simulation designed to develop problem solving skills and raise business awareness among at-risk populations. Our classes ar e generally 12-15 students in grades 9-12.

We were fortunate to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with both the teacher using Parkside and the principal at Aurora Alternative High School. One of the principal’s primary goals for the school is to teach the students the probl em solving skills that they will need to survive in "the real world". Parkside fits into this agenda perfectly. After one quarter of using the program, the teacher was so pleased with it that she extended the class to cover two quarters. This meant that s tudents would be able to complete all of the scenarios in the simulation – something that was impossible in one quarter.

In addition to completing the activities in the teacher’s handbook, the students were able to try out some of the activities presented here. These enrichment activities were designed to further their understanding of business and how a professiona l behaves and why. Their role in the simulation is to act as the general manager of the hotel and most of the enrichment activities require them to stay in this role.

While an outline of the entire semester is provided, the individual lessons cover only the last half of the simulation. These activities are original material – much of which is based on the materials presented in the Classroom, Inc. Te acher’s manuals.

The follow-up and discussion questions would not necessarily appear on the students’ handouts, but would be given to Jan on the activity sheet. (By putting them on the sheet it prevents accidental loss of one more piece of paper and provides a qui ck cue about which activity the questions go with.)

The activity information sheets each present information about the activities as well as the goals for the activities. Many of the activities emphasize not only critical thinking skills, but also creative thinking skills.

Description: Have students evaluate a decision from the perspective of each of their advisors and discuss the pros and cons of each of the decision choices or of following any single advisor’s advice.

Methods: This activity requires a variety of critical and creative elements. It requires the students to put themselves in the role of their advisors. (Note: the advisors are the group of characters that inform the hotel manager about the decisions to be made. They are each a stereotype of the type of person they are – for instance, the accountant always says that we have to lower costs.) The students then using a chart to rate what would be good, bad, and interesting about the different decis ions they make as each advisor. This should be done as a small group activity with a whole-class discussion to debrief following the activity. The debrief should emphasize the idea that it is always a good idea to see a situation from a variety of perspec tives.

Purpose: We want the students to learn to see things in different ways. For instance, a big issue in this simulation is customer satisfaction – we emphasize the students thinking about how they would react if they were the customer. This is th e same goal, just with a twist. It is also designed to help the students see the value in collecting information from a variety of people.

Variations:

• Having the students act as the advisors in the role play may also be effective. The students really grow to like or hate the different characters and having them act out these roles may foster a deeper level of understanding about where the advisor is coming from. It may also serve as an outlet for some of the deep emotions the students form about the characters. (For instance, they hate the accountant so having someone play the accountant in a way that people can laugh at him or her might be effectiv e.)
• Another idea is to have each group member choose a different advisor to think about (or two people in the class take one advisor). This way the group members will have something to share with each other and discuss.

 

You are your own advisor

Pretend to be each of your advisors. How would Louis say to work through the situation, or how would Ray advise you?

Using the attached chart, fill in the decision you think each of the advisors would have made in this case. You also need to write why you think they would make each decision.

Once you complete the matrix, rate each of the decisions as "good", "bad", or "interesting". We will discuss what you think about each decision once everyone has finished.

You are your own advisor

Use this sheet to write what each of your advisors would think in each situation.

Description: The students will do Scenario 14 which deals mostly with communication skills.

Methods: When the students worked through a scenario, the same basic procedure was followed. The teacher introduced the scenario by reading the description from the teacher’s manual to them. Then, she provided them with data collection shee ts such as those found in A Teacher’s Guide to Teaching Problem Solving Skills with Classroom, Inc. Simulations. Finally, the class would debrief, usually using the questions provided in the Parkside teacher’s manual. When done thi s way, each scenario lasted two-five class periods.

Purpose: The scenarios are the nucleus of this course – they tie all of the other learning experiences together. By forcing the use of evidence sheets and reflection on why each decision was made, we support critical thinking. We also worke d with the teacher to promote more interaction during the scenario. We mostly focused on having her ask "fat" questions and model active listening and group interactions.

The purpose of the follow-up discussion was multifold. First, it served as another kind of reflection activity and pushed the students’ thinking a step further by featuring "What if..." questions and other open-ended questions. Often the quest ions required creative thought as much as critical thought. Second, the discussions offered a sense of closure to the scenario. Students often need something to tie what they have just done all together. Also, they sometimes need a chance to share their p erspective with the whole group. This is especially true when there are issues of discrimination involved in the scenario.

Description: Individually write a letter to the VP explaining how you handled the incident with Mr. del Rico and why you chose to handle it that way.

Methods: The incident with Mr. del Rico, who is a foreign diplomat, required a special kind of handling. He owed a large amount of money to the hotel and he is a man with a high power position. Therefore the students need to consider the appropr iate way to tell Mr. del Rico that he needs to pay his debt. Once the decision has been made and the feedback received, the students have an opportunity to explain to their boss (the V.P.) why they decided to handle the situation the way they did. This is a creative writing, interpersonal communication, and reflective activity. It should build an awareness of appropriate business letter style.

This activity can be done either individually or in the workgroups.

Purpose: Part of the goal for this course was to raise the student’s business skills. One of the most important skills a person can develop is writing good business letters. By choosing this incident, we also promote reflection and help tie together the learning activities.

Variations: This could be used anywhere in the course where we wanted to have the students work on business letter writing, forming written rationales for decisions, and communication skills.

 

Scenario 14: Mr. Del Rico

 

Background:

Your boss has heard about the incident with Mr. del Rico. She always seems to have questions about the choices you make as the hotel manager, and this situation is no different.

Prepare a memo that addresses the situation with Mr. del Rico and answers all of your boss’ questions. Be sure to explain why you made your decision and how the situation turned out.

Description: Design the new shopping plaza for the hotel. (What kinds of businesses, how many of each, what kind of clientele, etc.)

Methods: This activity should begin as a whole class discussion. The class should brainstorm different elements that need to be considered in the design of the shopping center. Once the students have a list of considerations and their instructions, they should work in their workgroups to design the shopping center for the hotel. This is a creative activity that should involve creative writing, drawing, or otherwise conveying the layout of the center. It is a critical thinking activity in that stude nts will have to decide from many options by weighing the evidence they are able to find.

As with all of the creative activities, this one should end with the students presenting their projects. This presentation should include a description (possibly a sharing of artwork, if any has been produced) and a rationale for the design as well as the kinds of businesses the shopping center will attract. There should be a few reflective questions asked of each group in order to help them transfer what they have just been through to their deeper understanding of how businesses work.

Purpose: This activity serves a few purposes. First, it is a creative activity allowing the students the freedom to create anything they want. In our interviews of one class of students, a similar activity found in the Classroom, Inc. manual was reported as being the students’ favorite for the quarter. They reported that it made them understand more about what it takes to open a business and that it involved a lot more decisions than they originally expected. With the freedom to do an activ ity like this two times (once in the first quarter and once in the second), we will further develop their decision making skills as well as provide a creative outlet for the students.

The design of the shopping center includes many aspects of design such as determining appropriate size and tenants. The ultimate goal of the shopping center is to benefit the hotel. What can the students do in their design that will benefit Parksid e?

Variations: Cost issues, unfortunately, are not implicity accounted for in this unit. It would be an interesting extension on this learning to include a portion on determining how much to charge for rent as well as determining how much it would cost to build the complex. This would involve the students in interviewing, doing math (since cost is often by the square foot - how big is one store?), etc.

In a recent executive meeting, it was decided that we will be adding on to the Parkside Hotel. The plans include the addition of a conference center and a shopping center. Because we, the executives, know that you have a better understanding of your customers and location, we would like you to do the initial designs for the shopping center. We would like a formal proposal submitted in the form of a business letter by next week.

In designing this center, we ask that you consider the following:

1. How do we help our clientele grow through this center?

2. How large should the center be?

3. What kinds of businesses should the shopping center include?

4. Any other issues you and your advisors deem important.

In addition to the written plan, we would enjoy seeing your drawings of this shopping center if you generate any. Also, remember that the center will need a name!

Description: Do scenarios 15 and 16 and the follow-up discussion for each.

Description: What makes a good employee? Demographic charting of the Parkside employees. Write an employee manual.

Methods: These 3 activities only go together in that they are short activities dealing with employee issues.

• What makes a good employee?: This exercise could be an attribute listing exercise, brainstorming activity or idea mapping activity. It should be done as a whole class activity with students engaged in adding attributes of good employees. Once q uite a few have been offered, the attributes should be categorized and either ranked or turned into a concept map.
• Chart Demographic Information of Parkside Employees: It is important for students to think about diversity in their employee population. The students should evaluate gender and ethnicity information provided in the program, then generate graphs showing the relationships of various gender and ethnic breakdowns. (The students will have been collecting employee information during all of the previous scenarios. So, they will already have names, plus there is an employee record database available fo r the students in the program.)
• Write an employee handbook: By this point in the program, the students have encountered a number of issues that may be covered by an employee manual. Issues such as dress, language use, employee benefits, and expectations could be included. Thi s could start out in the small groups with a brainstorming activity – the students could think of issues that should be addressed with formal policies. These should tie directly with scenarios they have done. Next the students should group the ideas and use their creative and business writing skills to complete the manual.

Purpose: These three exercises are designed to raise the students’ awareness about employee issues. The ideas about what makes a good employee should translate into their immediate lives since all of them can relate to their job responsibil ities or their student responsibilities. The demographics exercise is important to get them thinking about positive aspects of diversity. Perhaps they can brainstorm ways that diversity can be beneficial. And the employee manual is a synthesis activity re quiring the students to use the experiences they have had as the manager of Parkside in order to write an original piece.

Variations: Have the students write a reflective paper describing in what ways they are or are not a good employee. For the students who do not have jobs, the question can be applied to school. Are they living up to expectations? How can they im prove?

Each of these activities are designed to help you manage your employees better.

What makes a good employee?

Now that you have completed a number of months as a hotel manager, you should be prepared to hire new employees and give raises based on performance. In order to identify what attributes are really most important in an employee, we would like you t o brainstorm a list of traits good employees have.

Once your list is complete, categorize the traits. Once you have them in categories, rank the categories of traits from most important to least important.

Go through the information you have gathered on each of the employees or look in your database to collect the information you will need. In order to help you more easily see who your employees are, we would like you to graph the number of men and w omen working for you in one graph. In a separate graph, we would like you to show how many employee fall into the various ethnicities represented in Parkside. You may make any kind of graph you would like. (Pie charts, bar graphs, picture graphs, line gra phs, etc.)

Write an employee handbook

As you know by now, sometimes it is important to have information in writing for your employees. To help any new employees who you hire in the future and to clarify any questions in your current employees’ minds, you should write an employee m anual. This manual should include not only the rules, but also information about the employees’ benefits and other information they may need to do a good job.

You may want to start this activity by reviewing previous work to see some of the questions and problems your employees have had in the past. Then categorize the information, add any other information you think your employees would find useful, and sta rt writing.

Description: Do scenarios 17 and 18 and the follow-up discussion.

Description: Newsletter to shareholders.

Methods: Each student will cover a particular aspect of what has happened in the hotel. For instance, one might cover Expenses vs. Profit, another may talk about the garbage strike, and a third may introduce the new shopping center. This is creativ e activity in which the students will be encouraged to express their piece of the newsletter in any appropriate way they choose. They will be able to create cartoons, drawings, articles, graphs, etc. Once all of the pieces are completed, they can be put t ogether using a computer and printed for distribution to all of the students in the class.

Purpose: This creative activity should be a fun way to reflect on the learning that has occurred during the second half of the simulation. (The class will do one newsletter halfway through the simulation and one at the end of the simulation.) Th e activity should help them see the big picture of the particular topic they have chosen and provide them with a unique way to express themselves.

 

Newsletter to the Shareholders

 

People who have stock in a company often receive periodic bulletins updating them about what is going on in the company. These bulletins provide a wide variety of information updating the shareholders about what kinds of things have changed since t heir last newsletter or bulletin.

Your task is to create a certain portion of the next newsletter. Start out as a class brainstorming the pieces that should be included – are the shareholders interested in hearing about the new shopping center? Would they want to read about the ne w employees? What about a financial update?

After several ideas have been generated, each student should choose a part to be responsible for. After you have chosen your portion, conduct any research you may need in order to do your section, then write, draw, or graph your information.

Creativity is highly encouraged. Remember that in some cases pictures and graphs are more powerful than words!

Once all of the pieces are done, they will be compiled into a newsletter that the shareholders will receive a copy of. Each of the contributors will also receive a copy of the newsletter.