Simulation as a pedagogical tool for managerial decision-making in a transition economy

Eastern European countries are undergoing a transition from centralized economic planning to more open economic systems. A team of Bulgarian and US researchers collaborated to study this problem, using a Bulgarian winery as the focus of their research. The study resulted in development of a business simulation of the winery, with the purpose of generating a pedagogical tool for knowledge acquisition by winery management as well as Bulgarian business students. This paper discusses the concept of simulation as a pedagogical tool, outlines the purposes of this simulation, reviews the development of this model using soft systems approaches, and suggests its applicability for any pedagogical learning situation but more specifically to the general operations of the firm at the microeconomic level of decision-making.