Everest - a Virtual Simulator

Everest Report

Assignment 2 (30%)

University of New South Wales

Name: Georgia Meagher

Student ID: z5059346

Executive Summary

Everest is a virtual simulator designed by Harvard Business School, promoting active learning through a group dynamic. It focuses on how to build, participate in and lead effective teams, with focus on communication in decision making and conflict management, as well as leadership approaches and their effect on performance in situations with time and competitive pressures.

For the Everest Task students arranged into groups of 5, assigned unique and specific personas, and given the task of summiting Mount Everest while navigating information on weather, health conditions, supplies and hiking speed and negotiating conflicting personal and team goals.

Everest I was conducted individually, using the simulators chat window as the only medium of communication. As a result of this, teams were confronted with various challenges, both collective and unique, which impacted information sharing, decision-making and conflict management, reflected in the final score where only 54% of all team goals were achieved. Everest I was characterised by communication issues purporting to the use of digital communication, ambiguity as a result of a lack of preparation and organisation and ineffective leadership.

Everest II was conducted face-to-face, as all members were present in a room during the process. In the month between both attempts, a formal team contract with formed, which aimed to highlight responsibilities, roles and other protocols to be followed during Everest II.

Improved communication as a result of change in medium and increased understanding and preparation, as well as improved leadership saw an improvement in team result with 65% of team goals being achieved.

Everest, as a simplification of organization models, teaches principles of effective management through communication and leadership through key managerial frameworks and theories.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary ………………………………………………………………………   2

Table of Contents …………………………………………………………………………   3

Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………….   4

Section I: Everest Issues ………………………………………………………………….   5

            Communication …………………………………………………………………….   5

        Leadership ………………………………………………………………………….   6

        The Value of Simulators as Learning Tools ……………………………………….   6

Section II: Analysis of Learning ………………………………………………………....   7

        Communication ……………………………………………………………………   7