Improve Education
“If you tell me I will forget, if you show me I can remember, if you involve me I will understand.”
Chinese Proverb
With the increase in the number of managers trained with different training techniques before and during business life, the difference in the approach of the new generation to the business phenomenon is even more striking. The use of workshops and outdoor trainings as well as classical knowledge transfer methods for the development of hard-to-transmit competencies such as teamwork, leadership, problem solving, and strategic thinking is an indication that participatory training is also adopted by companies. There are two different periods that create the difference in the approaches of game generation managers who are more creative, courageous, enterprising and quick to make decisions: Periodic Education Period and Continuing Education Period.
Periodic Education Period: The extracurricular activities that students participate in during the school years, when general information in different fields are acquired and the outlook on life is shaped, is the kick start of the competencies that can be acquired. Programs for high school and university students under the title of “Club Activities” are the places where students first meet with “business life”. Business life, economy, international relations, etc. Individuals who learn through games can see work itself as a game during their working life and can offer relatively more creative solutions.
JA (Junior Achievement, Young Achievement): It is a program that was started in 1919 by an American businessman to make his son love the business world and the economy. Today, it provides pre-university economics education to an average of 6 million students in 112 countries, and teaches how to establish and manage companies practically. Students who establish a real company, sell stocks for the required capital, market a real product, pay taxes and distribute the profits as dividends, gain experience in how to manage a company in every aspect years before they start their business life. In addition to these activities, it has been observed that students who receive information about different professions behave more consciously about their career choice, according to a study conducted in the USA.
MUN (Model United Nations): A copy of the United Nations, apart from being a “game”, MUN creates an environment for high school and university students where each group represents a country and real political issues are discussed. Students who are trying to convey the values that their "country" defends in an environment where the current issues being discussed are handled with very different perspectives, have to think strategically in order to influence the outcome and shape the report that will be written at the end of the meeting in the way they want.
Team Sports: Sports that enable the development of competencies such as teamwork and leadership ensure that requirements such as time management and goal setting are performed at an early age.
Continuing Education Period: Unlike the periodical education period, it takes on a more participatory structure with the workshops held in the business life, where the education is given according to the constantly changing business needs. Outdoor training programs that encourage different thinking rather than providing information on a certain subject are the presentation of real-life problems to employees in a different atmosphere. Depending on the aim to be achieved with the training to be given, both models have their strengths. Classical training techniques are a method aimed at informing employees about a particular subject and the results of which can be turned into benefits in the short term. Outdoor trainings, on the other hand, encourage employees to think differently in situations that require creative solutions, instead of sticking to written texts, and to overcome problems in dynamic environments where mutual interaction is experienced. For this reason, game-based training is part of a long-term strategy that can lead employees to success in business life, whether in the period of continuous education or in the period of continuous education.
Managers who are trained with different and participatory training techniques during the period of periodic education and continuous education are able to comprehend the whole more easily and offer more creative solutions. The fact that the knowledge or competence desired to be conveyed in participatory training is approached from different perspectives creates a multiplier effect and ensures that the training given is more efficient in the long run. In summary, game-based training is not only more enjoyable, but also offers an opportunity for more effective preparation.
