The chapter aims to analyse and discuss the role and the implementation of Virtual Words (VWs) such as Second Life (SL) in the education area concerning the managerial culture development by applying the enterprise simulation and business networking for SMEs’ start up. The concept of Virtual Worlds is relatively a new phenomenon that emerged from the recent developments in computer graphics and technological platforms for online game and social network. VWs can be defined as shared, interactive and immersive environments where participants can communicate, collaborate, innovate and trade. Although the criticisms about the role and implementation of SL in education field and its high versatility owing to the rapid changes in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), the high diffusion of VWs and enterprise simulation in Higher Education Institutions pushed towards a their increasing implementation for testing new teaching and research methodologies. These issues will be discussed by analysing the experimental experiences carried out by Bologna University - Forlì Faculty of Economics laboratory for managerial culture development to support the enterprises’ start up mainly in transition countries. The case Perting, the first simulated enterprise established in an italian University, that delivers consulting services to the other simulated units of Network EUROPEN together with KK Personal Robe of fashion sector in Shkoder University (Albania) will be examined. The start up of this last entrepreneurial initiative represented a result of an international project realization for SMEs development in transition countries managed in recent years by Bologna University - Forlì Faculty of Economics. The advancements of the technological platforms as VWs in the enterprise simulation implementation determined the start up of the experimentation in SL with the New Fashion Perspectives (NFP) of fashion sector as a relevant entrepreneurial initiative supported by Perting on October 2008 and guided by the real enterprise ETNI. The experimentation in SL provided relevant materials that confirmed this platform as a powerful tool for achieving added value in the educational activities implementation. After the description of the enterprise simulation methodology and of the entrepreneurial cases, the study points out the diversity of the learning principles applied in laboratory and SL. In the first case the application of the learning by doing principle allows the participants to acquire skills, competencies and knowledge on “how to do a job”, while in SL this is based on the realization of 3D operations in the process of graphical visualization making the learning more instinctive.
L. Tampieri (2012). Second Life as Educational Space for the Simulation of Enterprises’ Start Up and for Managerial Culture Development. NEW YORK : NOVA Science Publisher.
Second Life as Educational Space for the Simulation of Enterprises’ Start Up and for Managerial Culture Development
TAMPIERI, LAURA
2012
Abstract
The chapter aims to analyse and discuss the role and the implementation of Virtual Words (VWs) such as Second Life (SL) in the education area concerning the managerial culture development by applying the enterprise simulation and business networking for SMEs’ start up. The concept of Virtual Worlds is relatively a new phenomenon that emerged from the recent developments in computer graphics and technological platforms for online game and social network. VWs can be defined as shared, interactive and immersive environments where participants can communicate, collaborate, innovate and trade. Although the criticisms about the role and implementation of SL in education field and its high versatility owing to the rapid changes in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), the high diffusion of VWs and enterprise simulation in Higher Education Institutions pushed towards a their increasing implementation for testing new teaching and research methodologies. These issues will be discussed by analysing the experimental experiences carried out by Bologna University - Forlì Faculty of Economics laboratory for managerial culture development to support the enterprises’ start up mainly in transition countries. The case Perting, the first simulated enterprise established in an italian University, that delivers consulting services to the other simulated units of Network EUROPEN together with KK Personal Robe of fashion sector in Shkoder University (Albania) will be examined. The start up of this last entrepreneurial initiative represented a result of an international project realization for SMEs development in transition countries managed in recent years by Bologna University - Forlì Faculty of Economics. The advancements of the technological platforms as VWs in the enterprise simulation implementation determined the start up of the experimentation in SL with the New Fashion Perspectives (NFP) of fashion sector as a relevant entrepreneurial initiative supported by Perting on October 2008 and guided by the real enterprise ETNI. The experimentation in SL provided relevant materials that confirmed this platform as a powerful tool for achieving added value in the educational activities implementation. After the description of the enterprise simulation methodology and of the entrepreneurial cases, the study points out the diversity of the learning principles applied in laboratory and SL. In the first case the application of the learning by doing principle allows the participants to acquire skills, competencies and knowledge on “how to do a job”, while in SL this is based on the realization of 3D operations in the process of graphical visualization making the learning more instinctive.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
