From Guild Leader to Team Leader: The Re-invention of Management
This paper starts with a couple of friends 25 years-old
playing Strategic Cards in a quiet Café in the City Centre District of Glasgow.
As I am currently doing a research on the benefit of
gaming, I want to know their insights on my next article.
After introducing the subject which is Do Good video
gamers make Good manager?, they first seem surprised as there is no obvious connection
between gaming and managing , which is a surprise to me.
However, after few minutes of reflexion, the girl
started to say that Games such as Video game or Strategic Card games allow the
player to organise and to control ones game, meaning strategically and
environmentally speaking. It gives the player a sense of completion and a
feeling of satisfaction.
She added “When People gets home after work, it gives
the player to leave the real world determined by the Workplace to create
something else”.
Like every type of
research, this article starts with a question or a hypothesis. This article tries
to understand the paradox enlightened here:
How attributes
created and invested within a Virtual world such as Videogame can improve human
relations in such a reality as the workplace.
Is it because People
– aka Staff flee the Workplace environment by immerging themselves within the
Video game virtual world that it is assumed that the virtual world that will
bring back the staff to the Workplace reality and formality.
Introduction
Wikipedia defines “video game” as an electronic
game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual
feedback on a video device such as a TV screen or computer monitor. The word video
in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but as
of the 2000s, it implies any type of display device that can produce two- or
three-dimensional images. The electronic systems used to play video games are
known as platforms, such as personal computers (desktop or laptop), video game
consoles, smartphones, etc. “
10 years ago, anyone
who would have read the title of this article would have been surprised or
intrigued, but since then, many Academic researches have made the link and have
erased any conceptual barriers that
could remain between two separate universes or activities:
Playing videogames
and being a Manager.
Therefore, the
purpose of this article is less about recent discovery than to describe the
very specific factor that make a “good” video gamer” a “good” manager.
Moreover, what in the videogame constructs a good Management Strategy?
I. Guild Leader in a World
of Warcraft
Everyone knows that playing
videogame can boost a career
In a recent article published in Forbes, Elliot
Noss, chief executive of domain name provider Tucows , told about he has
spent the past five years training to become a better leader.
The answer is by playing “World of Warcraft” for
six to seven hours a week.
The World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft belongs with the Warcraft
Universe. It is a franchise of video
games, novels, and other media created by Blizzard Entertainment. Warcraft is
mainly a series of five core games: Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, Warcraft
II: Tides of Darkness, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, World of
Warcraft, and Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. The first three games
belongs with Real-time strategy genre, where opposing players command virtual
armies in battle against each other or a computer-controlled enemy.
World
of Warcraft (WoW), the one that drives our interests is the
fourth and best-selling title of the franchise, released in 2004. Compared to
the previous core games, WoW is a massively multiplayer online role-playing
game (MMORPG) In WoW, players control their character and interact with each
other in a virtual world.
Most of the Warcraft Universe is set on the planet
of Azeroth, in extended universes such as Northrend, Pandaria, Draenor (and its
Outland), Argus, K'aresh, Mar'dun and
Xoroth.
MMORPG?
Behind this barbaric anagrams, massively multiplayer online
role-playing games (MMORPGs) is one of the key to our
analysis. A MMORPG is a combination of role-playing video games and massively
multiplayer online games in which a very large number of players interact with
one another within a virtual world.
MMORPGs are distinguished from single-player or small
multi-player online role playing game by the number of players able to interact
together. With a peak of 12 million subscriptions in October 2010 and
Blizzard's final report of 5.5 million subscriptions in October 2015, World
of Warcraft remains the world's most-subscribed MMORPG, and holds the
Guinness World Record for the most popular MMORPG by subscribers.
In MMORP, the game's world is persistent, meaning that
continues to exist and evolve while the player is offline and away from the
game.
WoW: Team up with a large variety of Characters
Like in all role-playing videogames, the player assumes
the role of a character and takes control over many of that character's
actions. In the case of the fantastic universe of the Warcraft series,
the player can endorse many fictional races and factions: Humans, elves, ogres,
dwarves, gnomes, orcs, and trolls (see the complete list below).
It is pointless to
describe every single characters of this vast universe; although, anyone
familiar with the Fantasy Literature such as Tolkien or more recently J.K.
Rowling can easily overview the large spectrum of Warcraft characters.
A vast range of complex identities
The key factor that
makes WoW the ideal environment to build a complex management strategy relies
on its vast range of complex identities.
It is essential to
understand that every races, factions, groups, clans, groups come with a sum of
identities and statuses, rules and rulers, customs and beliefs, organic and
mechanistic structures. This is also one key to understand the foundations of
this article. Like any other Role-Playing games, such combination implies a
certain complexity that can implement regular Management Strategies.
Wikipedia gives a clear
overview of these ethnicities by dividing the Warcraft people into 5groups:
The Alliance : Humans; Draenei; Dryads;
Dwarves; Gnomes; High elves; Keepers of the grove; Night elves; Tushui
pandaren;Worgen. The Alliance are the
protagonists of their campaign, and are one of the two main protagonist
factions in World of Warcraft. The Alliance has evolved over the course
of the franchise, losing allies and gaining new members.
The second main faction is the Horde and they are mostly made of the orcs under the command of the
Burning Legion and are enemies of the Alliance.
Besides the Orcs, there are all sort of
characters: Blood elves; Forsaken; Goblins (Gilgoblins and Hobgoblins); Huojin pandaren; Ogres; Tauren and Taunka; Trolls. The Horde is led by a
warchief[1] (i.e., warlord of the
Horde).
Introduced in Warcraft
III, the Burning Legion have become the main villains of the series.
Founded by the rogue titan Sargeras, the Burning Legion includes many demonic
races: the man'ari eredar (such as Archimonde and Kil'jaeden), nathrezim (such
as Tichondrius) and annihilan (such as Mannoroth), Annihilans; Mo’arg; Gan'arg; Nathrezim; Satyrs;
Shivarra; Terrorfiend; Voidwalkers.
Member races are either
subjugated and absorbed as slave races or enticed into joining the Legion. In a few rare cases the
races have joined of their own accord, such as with the nathrezim who saw an
opportunity to feed on more souls.
The Scourge is an army of undead created by the Lich King to destroy
all life on Azeroth. It includes undead humans, elves, nerubians, and several
other assorted races.
Other races such as Arakkoas;
Centaurs; Ettin; Faceless Ones; Furbolgs; Gnolls; Grummle; Harpies; Hozen; Jinyu;
Kobolds; Magnataur; Makrura; Mantid; Mogu; Murlocs; Naaru; Naga; Nerubians;
Pandaren; Pygmies; Qiraji; Quilboar; Saurok; Tol'Vir; Tuskarr; Virmen; Vrykul;
Wolvar; Yaungol.
Most
of the primary protagonists of the series belong to either the Horde or the
Alliance. However, there are a variety of neutral races and factions, who are
either friendly or hostile to both the Horde and the Alliance. All player
characters belong to either the Horde or the Alliance, with a character's
faction decided by its race. One exception is the pandaren, who can choose to
become members of either faction.
The Rules
Among many information, latest
updates and news, the website www.worldofwarcraft.com provides the first-steps
rules of the game.
First, the website is the very
proof that every MMORPG is first a Community game that implies Consistent and
Unified objectives, Persistent Interaction among participant, Global immersion
within the game, Global updating and multiple channeled communication. Playing
such a game is like being part of Community that leads at one point to a form
of Alienation and Assimilation. It is no wonder that a player is someone whose
commitment is valuable.
The game starts with the
appropriate choice of a Character
When the player enters the game for the first time,
the player needs to create a character for him/herself. This will be his/her
avatar in WoW.
The player must choose a race (which determines what
the character will look like) and then a class (which determines what the
character can do). Every character is provided with a Spell book that helps the
player to keep track of abilities and skills.
Every players must select the
class for the character, with choices such as mages, warriors, and priests
available.
Most classes are limited to particular races.
As characters become more developed, they gain various
talents and skills, requiring the player to further define the abilities of
that character. Characters can choose two primary professions that can focus on
producing items, such as tailoring, blacksmithing or jewel crafting or on
gathering from resource nodes, such as skinning or mining. Characters can learn
all four secondary skills: archeology, cooking, fishing and first aid.
Characters may form and join, allowing characters within the guild access to
the guild's chat channel, the guild name and optionally allowing other
features, including a guild tabard, guild bank, guild repairs, and dues.
Players can make new characters
on all realms within the region, and it is also possible to move already
established characters between realms for a fee.
To create a new character, in
keeping with the storyline of previous Warcraft games, players must
choose between the opposing factions of the Alliance or the Horde. Characters
from the opposing factions can perform rudimentary communication, but only
members of the same faction can speak, mail, group, and join guilds. The player
selects the new character's race, such as orcs or trolls for the Horde, or
humans or dwarves for the Alliance.
Each
character is a set of capabilities
Using abilities consumes the Character’s resources that
the character uses to fuel spells and skills. A good understanding of the
Character’s special resource and knowing how to pace attacks in combat is a
relevant advantage. This is one factor that explains why piloting such
character implies Strategy; Anticipation and Time Management; Resources
Management, how to Skills and how to use in an appropriate manner.
Fox example, Mages have a resource called mana. Every
spell they cast cost mana; once they run out, mages need to wait for it to
replenish. Rogue uses energy instead of mana. Energy replenishes quickly but it
also runs out quickly, giving rogue combat a very distinctive rhythm. Warriors
use rage to drive their special attacks. Rage builds up as the warrior deals
and receives damage, and some warrior abilities generate rage rather than
consume it. It is necessary to try different classes to learn what their
resource types are.
The
quests are a constant search for objectives and rewards
When you enter the World, the player will find other
characters who will have something they need the player to help with – a quest.
Thanks to a map, the player will track the quest. Once the objectives of the
quest completed, the player will have to turn it in and collect a reward. Very
often, the player will to return to the character that originally gave the
player the quest.
The game
implies Resource Management and Logistics
During the game, the player will notice that his/her
bag is full, and that he/she will have to store the content of his bag, mostly
in a bank that he/she will find in a capital city.
For instance, at level 20, the player will be able to
learn the riding skills. Among other skills, the character can learn different
professions for fun and also profit. Capital cities are the ideal place to gain
new skills.
Every town has a vendor that will purchase whatever
items the player have. The WoW website advises to visit vendors to unload any
item that the player could have any use for.
The player should also keep inventory to ensure that s/he has enough room to pick up valuable items. The players can also buy and sell useful item, such as profession Item or to upgrade the Characters gear, in Auction Houses.
The player should also keep inventory to ensure that s/he has enough room to pick up valuable items. The players can also buy and sell useful item, such as profession Item or to upgrade the Characters gear, in Auction Houses.
Gamers
are lifelong learners
Any characters can learn a profession like
blacksmithing, tailoring, engineering and many more.
Playing WoW is an ongoing lifelong training. This
pursuit of skills, power and knowledge is self-motivated for both “gaming” and
personal reason. It enhances Inclusiveness, Active empowerment, personal
development, as well as competiveness and a certain sustainability.
Professions let the player collect resources on their
travels and use them to craft items. Blacksmiths, for example, can craft
weapons and armour; alchemists brew potions and tinctures; engineers build
amazing gadgets and devices and so on. Professions are also an excellent way to
make gold by selling items players craft to other players.
The lifelong learning/gaming aspect of the game is not
only strategic wise but a relevant factor of the liability of any gamer. The
sustainability of the game is not only base on a constant search for quests,
and a constant fight against enemies, but a informal framework for improving
knowledge, skills and competences within a personal, social and
capabilities-related perspective. Somehow; this justifies the employability of
gamer.
Otherwise players can also trade directly with other
players. To do so, the player should target the person he/she would like to
trade with.
Team-up
in Constructive collaboration
The article aims to approach the hypothesis that a
Video player makes good Manager. The subtitle of this article being From Guild
Leader to Team leader is in itself self-explanatory
In fact, as the player progress within the game, s/he will
need to collaborate/ team-up with other player in order to achieve quests.
To do so, the website recalls some rules that every players
needs to consider: for instance, Tauren and Night Elves don’t actually get
along. Therefore, it is strongly advised
against approaching the opposite faction for help.
Among other rules, the basic one is that a group is
generally composed with up to 5 team members.
Furthermore, the website also reminds the fundamental
rule of cooperation/co-working; the outcome of every team achievement and gains
resulting from every successful quest are ought to be shared.
Here will comes the time in the game when the player
will get access to the so-called Dungeon
Finder. As soon as the player reaches a dungeon of her/his choice; the
dungeon finder will match the player with other players also queuing for the
same dungeon and put them in a group.
The
virtue of building a team
This very basic rules of how Teams are built in the
game enhances the Foundation of Management strategy, as the player rarely knows
who s/he is going to team up with. Team management is the ability of an
individual to coordinate a group of individuals to perform a task. However, the
group’s performance depends on how effectiveness the collaboration is.
To build a team involves to enhance social relations,
to determine roles (consensually!). Team building is essentially distinct from
team training, which is designed to improve efficiency, rather than
interpersonal relations.
Like any other team building exercises which
foundations are based on Organizational development, the WOW team-based
environment can be applied at many occasions within the game:
“Up to five players can play together in a dungeon.
Each player has specific roles to play. A typical group is composed of one
Tank, one Healer, and Three Damage dealers. A tank’s job is to get monsters to
focus their aggression on him or her. Healers keep tanks alive by using
abilities to heal and support them. Damage dealers exists to kill monsters. It
takes teamwork to take monsters down.[2]”
The WOW includes:
-
Aligning
around goals, such as quests, fighting against monsters, etc.
-
Building
effective working relationships based on the aggregation of characters with
additional skills
-
Reducing
team members’ role ambiguity by dividing parts
-
Finding
solutions to team members.
In WOW, the team is built on various virtues.
The
virtue of knowing her/his part
The website worldofwarcraft.com gives precious advices
on what players should do and should not do when in the Dungeon.
-
For
instance, the player need to make sure that every team member has the right
quests, and share quest as needed.
-
The
player, especially the leader need to remind everyone’s role. In the same way,
should the player needs to be sure of what he/she is supposed to do, the player
would better ask.
-
For
example, tanks are expected to initiate the fights. Ideally, no other player
should engage until the tank do it first.
-
The
healers make sure to let the Tank know if he/she needs a break from combat to
recover mana
-
The
Damage Dealers wait for the tanks to initiate combat before attacking.
The
virtue of fair game
Worldofwarcraft.com insists on the fact that in the
eventuality that everyone in the group dies which is called a “wipe”, the
leader should not feel guilty and “beat himself/herself up”, and more
importantly, the leader should not give the other players in the group a hard
time; and “if a player is pulling more than his or her weight, it never hurt
anyone to give props where props are due.”
The
virtue of Competing
Once the player has proven himself/herself fighting
monsters, the player should consider to try a Player vs Player (PvP) and fight
the Arena “for Glory and the thrill of Battle”, engage the enemy in
Battlegrounds where strategy and teamwork are every bit as important as twitch
reflexes and battles prowess, or seek out one of the big World PvP targets and
introduce a little anarchy“
The
virtue of sharing resources
Guilds are like permanent groups of players that band
together to on adventures. If a player join a Guild, the player will get access
to a shared guild bank where all members of the guild can pool their resources
and your own guild channel.
Good
Management is P2P shared technicalities
The forum of Worldofwarcraft.com shows how the
Community of players interact with each other. If playing Worldofwarcraft
builds a set of Management skills, it is interesting to remember that most of
those MMORPG are based on the cooperation of Multiplayers; which eventually
improve the common shared technicalities on the game. Therefore, a good team
leader is also the one who outsource his knowledge within the vast community of
his/her peers.
Examples of posts on the forum are mostly on
technicalities and bugs, but it mainly underlines the idea that in somehow a
MMORPG is Community owned, and therefore, the player as
Stakeholders/Shareholders are the one who implement better functionalities and
technicalities.
In her 02 Jan. 2017 post, Angelîna posted “Found what I think is a glitch or bug, just
wanted to be sure it’s a known issue, as a Druid when getting the guardian
artefact claws, cannot be sheathed, even when T mog to something else stuck out
no matter what, only seems to shealth while in a dungeon”.
Tiriance in his 15 Jan 2017 post advised that “random disconnects has me falling in Azsuna
upon disconnecting. Since the patch I have been experiencing random disconnects
when I click Aerylia to leave my class hall and travel to Dalaran. It’s
happened several times now, but the baffling part is where I end up. When I go
back in, instead of remaining either in my class hall or in Dalaran, I will
find myself falling, and landing in Aszuna near Chillaine’s flight path. It’s
happened once when I travelled to Stormheim as well.”
Augurian posted on the 15 Jan 2017 that “Male night elf players are getting a FEMALE
metamorphosis proc from the trait.”
II. From Guild Leader to Manager IRL[3]
Elliott Noss who is CEO of TUCOWS
clarified in an article the influence of gaming in Management[5].
The article actually inspires this paper.
There, the CEO of TUCOWS tells Oliver Chang and the
readers about his experience of the game, and how this experience impact IRL.
He explains that in WoW there are a variety of events that are very
leadership-driven. E. Noss is CEO of TUCOWS[6],
a company that provides a wide range of Digital Services. That can explain the
acquaintance of its CEO with WoW;
He adds that “for example, when you’re in a raid
that’s poorly led, it’s really easy to see how valuable are skills like
managing the social dynamic, making sure there was the right level of
preparation and making sure that there was a clear hierarchy in terms of who is
performing what roles.” In “World of Warcraft,” each action, even a small task
like hunting an animal, has a purpose and fits into a broader framework”[7].
Similarly, Noss has built the framework that allows
TUCOW’s employees to understand how day-to-day tasks impact the company. For
instance, he gives employees a broader overview and global understanding for
their work.
Noss organises regular lunchtime meeting called “Tucows
Lore.” Where around 20 employees come to
each session. The Internet chief-executive plays the company poet, telling
tales of Tucows over the years–its heroes, villains, battles with large
telecommunications companies or the early days of the domain registration
market. As expected from such entertainment, the feedback is good as this helps
employees to feel they belong to something bigger.
This staged and entertaining way of building a team
has been paying off. The satisfaction of the employees arose and the turnover has
decreased by a noticeable percentage.
To be fair, videogames have long been thought of as
distractions to work and education, rather than aids. But there is a growing
school of thought that says game-playing in moderation, and in your free time,
can make you more successful in your career.
What makes a good Manager?
In order to conclude with this chapter, it is essential for the reader to remember what the intrinsic qualities of good a Manager are.
The website entrepreneur.com[8] classifies 7 basic key qualities that draws the profile of a good manager. It is remarkable how those qualities reflect on what to expect from Guild leader or a Warlord in WoW .
1. Managers have great attitudes.
A good manager knows that her/his energy and attitude sets the frame of the workplace and the pace for the entire team. A great manager knows when to act with lightness, in order to remain approachable and human, and when to drive certain situations with a high degree of urgency and proficiency. Her/his communication has to be readable and easy-to-understand.
2. Managers are transparent
Following the first key factor, Manager must know how to speak to his/her collaborator, mainly through reports in a way that is direct, factual and straightforward -- especially when it comes to bad news, to difficult decisions to take, or during momentum of high peak activity.They get to the point quick and with no transition into solution-based thinking. The transparency is a trait that drive away any potential misunderstanding, and it makes easier for people to give meaningful real-time feedback.
3. Managers demonstrate maturity.
As great manager means to representing and serving as an example of the company’s values. This implies to handle this responsibility with a high degree of character and maturity. Internally, exceptional managers consistently fly above the noise and don’t lose their cool in the office.
4. Managers remain flexible.
A good manager know that in difficult time for the organisation, they need to embrace the pressure and to make others comfortable in dealing with change. S/He takes into account that every employee is a singular individual. Therefore, a good manager take the time getting to know what motivates and challenges people, so s/he can setup a working relationship that is tailored to the specific needs of an employee.
5. Managers reinforce accountability.
Remarkable managers are obsessed with accountability. They hold regular one-on-one meetings with their direct collaborators and reinforce the outcomes the team are responsible for. They are vested in driving solution-based cultures and strive to build an environment of continued learning.
6. Managers get their hands dirty.
Great managers are not only leaders but teammates. They implement solutions. They are very realistic when setting objectives. Along the way they get involved and put in the work to ensure their direct collaborator are setup for success.
7. Managers develop great talent.
The main benefit for a company having great managers is they develop great talent. They are able to get the right people in the right roles at the right time. They do this through the encouragement of mentorship opportunities and the implementation of a proactive plan for addressing career development interests, needs and desires.
The Minecraft index of Management qualities
To better understand what build a core of Management Skills when playing MMORPG, I analysed hours of live stream videos (YouTube video) of players.
To do so, I followed a YouTube Channel from YogsCast. In the videos (average12 to 15 min), you can watch Video gamers playing different type of games. I decided to watch videos of MINECRAFT.
The viewing of the live stream games allows me to understand why gamers are ought to make good managers. After viewing hours of live stream video, there are some common factors and aspects that enlighten the concept of effective leadership:
What makes a good Manager?
In order to conclude with this chapter, it is essential for the reader to remember what the intrinsic qualities of good a Manager are.
The website entrepreneur.com[8] classifies 7 basic key qualities that draws the profile of a good manager. It is remarkable how those qualities reflect on what to expect from Guild leader or a Warlord in WoW .
1. Managers have great attitudes.
A good manager knows that her/his energy and attitude sets the frame of the workplace and the pace for the entire team. A great manager knows when to act with lightness, in order to remain approachable and human, and when to drive certain situations with a high degree of urgency and proficiency. Her/his communication has to be readable and easy-to-understand.
2. Managers are transparent
Following the first key factor, Manager must know how to speak to his/her collaborator, mainly through reports in a way that is direct, factual and straightforward -- especially when it comes to bad news, to difficult decisions to take, or during momentum of high peak activity.They get to the point quick and with no transition into solution-based thinking. The transparency is a trait that drive away any potential misunderstanding, and it makes easier for people to give meaningful real-time feedback.
3. Managers demonstrate maturity.
As great manager means to representing and serving as an example of the company’s values. This implies to handle this responsibility with a high degree of character and maturity. Internally, exceptional managers consistently fly above the noise and don’t lose their cool in the office.
4. Managers remain flexible.
A good manager know that in difficult time for the organisation, they need to embrace the pressure and to make others comfortable in dealing with change. S/He takes into account that every employee is a singular individual. Therefore, a good manager take the time getting to know what motivates and challenges people, so s/he can setup a working relationship that is tailored to the specific needs of an employee.
5. Managers reinforce accountability.
Remarkable managers are obsessed with accountability. They hold regular one-on-one meetings with their direct collaborators and reinforce the outcomes the team are responsible for. They are vested in driving solution-based cultures and strive to build an environment of continued learning.
6. Managers get their hands dirty.
Great managers are not only leaders but teammates. They implement solutions. They are very realistic when setting objectives. Along the way they get involved and put in the work to ensure their direct collaborator are setup for success.
7. Managers develop great talent.
The main benefit for a company having great managers is they develop great talent. They are able to get the right people in the right roles at the right time. They do this through the encouragement of mentorship opportunities and the implementation of a proactive plan for addressing career development interests, needs and desires.
The Minecraft index of Management qualities
To better understand what build a core of Management Skills when playing MMORPG, I analysed hours of live stream videos (YouTube video) of players.
To do so, I followed a YouTube Channel from YogsCast. In the videos (average12 to 15 min), you can watch Video gamers playing different type of games. I decided to watch videos of MINECRAFT.
The viewing of the live stream games allows me to understand why gamers are ought to make good managers. After viewing hours of live stream video, there are some common factors and aspects that enlighten the concept of effective leadership:
·
Simultaneity
and Anticipation: In every game, the
action and the tactics are coordinated in very short laps of time. Obviously,
the reactiveness comes with the experience and a solid knowledge of Videogame’s
narrative. An experienced player use to proceed with a certain repetition; and
they anticipate every actions based on their expertise.
·
Resourcefulness:
Players use the means and the resources available in their bank or in the
immediate environment. The player use their resources as fast as possible
considering the time available,
regarding the objectives and the target
to achieve, based on prior experience and
expertise of games.
·
Constant
communication. The most striking detail when you watch video gamers playing in
team is a constant stream of communications, and comments. Although the players
are in the same location (example the same village), they happen to be
separate, therefore, they have to describe the environment; they have to report
the action or the task (or quest) they have to operate; they ask for feedback,
insight and answers to the questions or enigmas they have been asked….most of
the time with a sense of humour and familiarities. Even though the lightness of
the situation, Video gamers playing in team are in a constant brainstorming
mode.
·
Immersion
within Meta-information: Every player master the sum of data provided within
the game. Therefore, they utilize the information and all material provided
from the map to the inventory (e.g. A spell
book); the analytics of the games; the statistics; any information they have
been given while playing. They also search for information on forums (e.g. WoW
forum)
·
Sense of
lightness: In most of the on line Role playing game, the game is interacted
thanks to Dialog Boxes. Some situations requested to select one answer out of
several possibilities, by choosing one answer, the player anticipate the multiple
options and occurrences. Every answer is a good answer. Actually, in a
Questions with 2choices, there is most of the time one very formal answer and
one answer funnier or ironic (out of the box or unexpected).
Example: As you
walk alongside the shore of the lake, a giant clam comes out from the water 1/ what
is happening? 2/ Oh damn me, you are a gigantic fellow! Video players usually
go for the 2nd answer.
·
Sense of
Team playing and relative hierarchy: As the team is a same area, but separated
in different spot, each of them are responsible for the tasks/quests that might
come up. Some tasks are obviously more important/ relevant/ challenging than
others, however, it is up to each team player to succeed in the task even the
smallest , in order for the whole to go further in the game
The performance
in the game
To understand how gaming makes a good leader, the
reader has to re-consider the videogame through 2 different perspectives: its
narrative and its performativity.
Jean-François
Bélanger-Gagnon explains in his thesis that "video games featuring
extensive stories usually offer fewer opportunities for interaction with the
player, while those that expose him to more action often have a low content
Narrative”[9]. The author has observed a
common difficulty in many video games to conjunct between the narrative and the
performance in a videogames (J-F. Bélanger-Gagnon, 2010, p2).
This confers a
perspective on the question that is ours; namely, how gaming induces new
managerial behaviors, how new skills are induced by video games.
There is an
opposition between the story told in the game and the active engagement /
participation of the player in it.
A videogame is a good story that teaches
you
The challenge,
according to the author, is therefore to imagine various ways of integrating a
“good story” into a video game while preserving its performativity. You don’t
want to bore the player, you want him/her to play!
John Hagel III, co-chairman of a tech-oriented
strategy centre for Deloitte says “We’re finding that the younger people coming
into the teams who have had experience playing online games are the
highest-level performers because they are constantly motivated to seek out the
next challenge and grab on to performance metrics”. Hagel has been studying the
effect that playing videogames has on the performance of young professionals in
the workplace.
This example shows that the video games ought to
provide an entertaining environment in order to motivate individual and to
enhance ones capabilities.
Hagel mentions Stephen Gillett, a gamer who became
chief information officer of Starbucks while still in his 20s. By playing
“World of Warcraft” Gillet developed the ability to influence and persuade
people through leadership rather than trying to order them around.
In “Your
Career Game”[10], the authors discuss how
online Xbox games like “Modern Warfare 2″ can teach players about game theory.
The game narrative teaches strategies the gamers can learn, such as:
-
interacting and
competing with others in games,
-
assessing
different motivations and finding; and
-
utilizing
mentors
Deloitte’s Co-Chairman Hagel explains how the
videogame can help employees get ahead in the workplace or help job-seekers get
an edge in their search. He also says games can cultivate “dispositions” that
are valuable in a corporate setting.
Trial and error
based narrative
The narrative of Videogames is based on trial-and-error
processes where players become accustomed to failure, and learn from it.
Games can also present players with unexpected
challenges and new situations. Gamers learn to respond to, and even seek out,
new challenges in order to progress. They also learn to improvise, and are thus
more likely to be able to solve problems creatively when there is no solution
to be found in a manual.
Games can train you to manage and organize high
volumes of information. Luis Corujo, an archivist at the Portuguese National
Archives and a professor at a private university in Portugal, credits playing
history game “Europa Universalis 2″ with helping him learn how to research
historical information and sift through archives.
A Player vs. self
- based narrative
Games are competitive. “There’s a player-vs.-self
aspect: ‘I want to beat my high score or keep the streak alive,’” says Ross
Smith, director of product testing at Microsoft’s Unified
Communications Group. Smith says he has seen some impressive productivity gains
using games as a way of motivating product testing teams.
To become
entrepreneur
Videogames can also inspire entrepreneurship. In
2004 then 22-year-old David Storey entered the Guinness World Records as having
bought the “most valuable object that is virtual,” a virtual island in the
online game “Project Entropia,” for $26,500. Far from being a digital sucker, Storey
had moneymaking in mind: He now runs the island as a virtual game preserve,
making $100,000 a year from taxes he charges hunters on his island. Being a
virtual property owner, says Storey, has taught him a lot more about business
than he ever thought a game could.
How to balance fun and performance in the
construction of Management strategies
It is now proven
that the high-performance participation and the commitment of the player gives
him a certain managerial capacity. The video game that develops this type of
capabilities / skills is then an instrument of the performance of companies. It
is therefore quite logical to ask what game for which future manager? What
narration for what performance?
Narrative is by
definition the sequential representation of events[11] (Molino, Lafhail-Molino,
2003). Thus, a proportion of video games integrate stories more or less
expanded.
The narrative
question in the videogame has opened the debate between narratologists[12]
(Murray, 1998; Ryan, 2001) who perceive video games as a new medium for telling
a story, And on the other hand the ludologists[13]
(Aarseth, 2004; Frasca, 2003; Juul, 2001) who consider that video games, unlike
literature, theater, cinema, etc. are not a narrative media, and therefore the
theoretical aspects applying to literature, cinema, theater, cannot be
transposed to the video game.
Nevertheless,
the multiplication of recent Hollywood productions based on “stories” based on video
games demonstrate that videogames with strong performative connotations have a
narrative quality strong enough to allow the production of 2 hours
blockbusters, or even a series of Films (the best example being the Tomb raider
Series featuring the adventurer Lara Croft incarnated on the screen by actress
Angelina Jolie).
A HR Approach of videogame
A third
participant to the debate between Narratologists and Ludologists can come from
HR consulting firms. More pragmatic, the HR approach sees video games as an
instrument that creates new behaviors (including managerial behavior).
If the
narratologists have identified the potential of video games to stage a story,
and if the ludologists underline the Performative singularity of the media,
Audit and Consulting firms emphasize the ability of games to create and to
provoke innovative behaviors useful in Business strategy.
Classification of Games
Caillois demonstrates
six formal characteristics; the game is:
(1) Free: the
player cannot be obliged, otherwise the game immediately loses its nature of
entertainment;
(2) Controlled: the
game is defined within precise and fixed limits of space and time;
(3) Uncertain: the
course of the game cannot be determined or the result acquired beforehand. This
enhances the initiative of the player;
(4) Genuinely not productive:
The game itself does not produce wealth (from an economic perspective). Exception
with the use of Bitcoins or with examples of virtual ownership;
(5) Regulated: the
game is subject to conventions which suspend the ordinary laws and which
establish momentarily a new set of rules;
(6) Fictional: the
game is a second reality detached from the everyday life (Caillois, 1967, pp.
42-43).
The Game aims to a playful continuum
between 2poles
Agon, Alea, Mimicry and Ilinx
From these
characteristics, Caillois (1967) proposes a classification of games in
four categories to which he gives the names of Agon, Alea, Mimicry and Ilinx. The first, Agon,
refers to the competition, while Aléa
refers to luck. The name Mimicry is linked
to the simulacrum[14] and, finally, Ilinx corresponds to the strong
sensations.
Paidia and Ludus
The author also
mentions the presence of two poles corresponding to the manner of approaching
the game, which he calls paidia and ludus. The paidia refers to the spontaneous
manifestation of the instinct of the game or to the "primary power of
improvisation and joy" (p.75), whereas the ludus refers rather to the
pleasure of solving a difficulty or, in other words, to the "taste for
free difficulty" (p.75). The ludus
is in a way a metamorphosis of the paidia,
a more disciplined version of it.
The more the
situation of the games deviates from the paidia,
the more the simple pleasure of solving a difficulty is felt. Indeed, the ludus "provides the opportunity for
training and normally results in the conquest of a certain skill, the
acquisition of a particular skills, or the satisfactory aptitude to solve problems
(Caillois, 1967, 80). The ludus is
omnipresent when the game involves a winner. It is actually what distinguishes Ludus from Paidia.
According to
Caillois (1967), some combinations between play categories and paidia and ludus
poles are more natural, while others are almost contradictory.
Ludus + Alea
For example, Ludus and Aléa are difficult to match. The pure decision of
fate cannot agree with the aspirations linked to this Ludus pole. For such an
alliance to exist, the player should have in his hands a minimum of power to
influence the final result, even though the latter is mostly the result of
chance.
Paida + Alea
On the other hand, paidia, which is "tumult and exuberance"
(p.83), is also opposed to a combination with Aléa, because of the
"passive expectation of randomness.
Ludus + Ilinx
In the same way, the calculation-characterized ludus cannot easily be
understood with the overwhelming excitement that defines Ilinx.
Agon + Ludus
Agon and Ludus have a rather natural relationship. Indeed, the pleasure of
overcoming an arbitrary difficulty is quite compatible with the concept of
sport, for example, which is an obvious manifestation of Agon.
Paidia + Agon
Ludus + Mimicry
Similarly, Ludus and Mimicry combine quite easily, thanks to theatrical scenario
that enrich and disciplines the performance.
A
combination of qualities
This feature
places World of Warcraft on the Paidia side. However, the presence of many
implicit goals in the game, such as dominating in the arena, inclines towards
the Ludus. Moreover, the trend towards this pole is reinforced, since the
outcome of the fighting necessarily gives rise to a winner and a loser. This
finally places WOW at a joint position between the two poles. Although
videogame is not the only media allowing designers to combine the various types
of game, it seems particularly favorable to this kind of manipulation.
Such a combination of factors and
poles mean to emphasize the intrinsic characters of a leader. Narrative and
performative mechanisms of any game tend to search a certain equilibrium among
common leader’s attribute.
It is as if the best way for a
game to make a good manager is when it comes to enhance a sum of capabilities
and abilities needed in Leadership.
These are positive and negative
attributes that might be dompted:
The Duty Fulfillers are serious individuals and believe in honesty and a peaceful environment. Such individuals are responsible citizens who abide by the rules. They adopt an organized approach towards work. They also show a strong inclination towards creativity and aesthetics.
The Mechanics are inclined towards machinery/mechanisms and are interested to know why and how certain things function. Theories do not interest them, as they need practical application. Such individuals have a strong power of logical reasoning.
The Nurturers are individuals who strongly consider happiness an important value. They search for the best out of people around. They have a positive approach in life and want to believe only the best of people.
The Artists have an eye for creativity. Rather than worrying about future, they believe in living for the moment. Such individuals are extremely cool headed and do not get into unnecessary fights and troubles. They aspire to create a style of their own.
The Protectors are systematic individuals who want the best system to get things done. They often think irrationally. They are pessimists who find a problem in every situation. Such individuals do not trust others and only believe in themselves.
The Idealists have strong set of values and ethics.
The Scientist believe in careful and strategic planning. They are good observers who believe in constantly gathering information and upgrade their existing knowledge. Scientists have a very sharp analytical mind.
The Doers believe in quick actions and immediate results. They enjoy taking risks in life and fulfill tasks assigned to them in the shortest span possible.
The Guardians are perfectionists who ensure that everything everywhere is going on smoothly. They are mature individuals who have a clear set of standards.
The Performers strive hard to grab attention of others and love being the centre of attention. They enjoy fun and excitement in life.
The Inspirers are talented individuals and often act as a role model for others. They have great people skills.
The Givers enjoy being part of a team.
The Executives love taking charge and are good decision makers.
III. Gamification in Leadership Development
In a recent communication entitled “Gamification in Leadership Development[15]”, Jeanne Meister explains how companies build their Management strategies using gaming. The actual subject is how gaming build Leadership.
Like Noss did before, World of Warcraft is one of the videogame she mentioned in her introduction. However, she also take Angry Birds as another example. The second example is an interesting choice because the author moves the scope from a Worldwide known Role playing game to a Worldwide known Smartphone apps. Therefore she draws the attention on the fact that it is not only the Team-playing factor that articulates the renewing of Management Strategies.
In fact, before the obvious argument of team playing, there are the sense of personal accomplishment and the level of commitment. This is the Ludus pole of game.
“Have you ever watched someone play Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, or World of Warcraft? They are totally absorbed in the moment. What are they playing for, you might ask? Often, it is just the sense of personal accomplishment in reaching a new level. Now imagine if you could harness this same level of engagement and apply it to critical problem-solving, innovating new products or services or learning new skills at your company”, explains the author.
That is the reason why Companies such as System Integration Company NTT Data and Consulting firm Deloitte use gamification to re-enhance the sense of leadership.
Jeanne Meister defines Gamification as “taking the essence of games—attributes such as engagement, transparency, design and competition—and applying them to a range of real-world processes inside an organization, like marketing, call centre management, and– most recently – leadership development.”
But don’t get it wrong! Far from the 20year old millennials who plays 6 to 8 hours to WoW and develops enough skills to become a Next generation start-up Team Leader, the key question here is less how gamification evolves a fun way to engage employees than to provide a precise tool that drives higher levels of business performance and employee engagement.
In fact, her studies is partly based on a Gallup survey that reports that “employee engagement levels are once again below 30 percent, with that number even lower for staff in the Boomer generation, despite those employees often being the ones in leadership positions.”
Moreover, the 18 % of the workforce “actively disengaged” are so unhappy that they undermine their colleagues’ work and cost U.S. businesses up to $550 billion annually.
So, Companies (e.g. NTT Data or Deloitte) have investigated the field in order to re-imagine new patterns of leadership.
NTT Data
At NTT Data, the use of gamification to develop leaders has shown encouraging business results.
The company’s Chief Technology Officer, Imran Sayeed, believes that Leadership cannot be taught, but experienced. Consequently, Naureen Meraj, Head of gamification at NTT Data has developed a game that allows our employees to fully experience a variety of immersive leadership scenarios.
The purpose of this Leadership game is to learn more about new management subject areas, and about a role they aspire to within the company. It allows NTT Data leaders to collaborate with each other online, get instant feedback from peers, and be recognized for their game play.
Being part of a community of gamers within the workplace gives a chance to every staff member to become more visible to the organization as potential leaders. In this case, the game purpose is to develop five key skills for leaders, such as negotiation, communication, time management, change management and problem solving. The game is aligned to the Company’s employee engagement framework. Jeanne Meister affirms that the game provides managers with the opportunity to identify who these potential leaders are in the organization based upon their game play.
So far the investigation has brought promising results:
A total of 70 leaders have completed NTT’s gamified training program. 50 employees took on team leadership roles, which was 50% higher than had done so through traditional training and coaching methods.
Newly developed leaders proposed 30 new ideas to assist in current projects, as part of the ”Smart Idea Challenge.” This generated $1 million in revenue, as well as cost savings for current clients. Employee referrals among those who completed the game increased by 30 percent, which reduced recruiting costs by $500,000 in the first year alone.
Finally, “graduates” of the Leadership Game together have generated 220 new ideas in the customer organizations, which led to a 40 percent increase in employee satisfaction and helped to lower attrition by 30 percent.
Deloitte
As for Deloitte, the game called Leadership Academy is less a game than an Online Curriculum Platform like a Moodle alongside video lectures, in-depth courses, tests and quizzes. This Game/Moodle promotes the skills most important to the arsenal of future company leaders at Deloitte through missions, badges, and leader boards.
At Deloitte, there are no Community of gamers but learners, whose first step as they start the program is to complete a On board Mission; meaning they have to watch a 3minutes video, sort of tutorial that explains how to use the website and how to personalize the site to their learning priorities. And only then, learners receive a badge for their on boarding mission and then have the option to connect to their personal networks on LinkedIn and Twitter so they can upload their profile and photo. “This required first step helps ensure the multi-platform engagement of users, and the level of customization deepens that engagement.”
Far from World of Warcraft, indeed!
However, Deloitte utilizes principles of gamification and behavioural science to motivate learners to achieve their learning goals. Every completed module is rewarded with a badge to mark one’s achievement. Most of those badges are given out as a result of achieving straightforward competencies, but the platform offers ‘secret’ badges, dubbed “Snowflake” They are created to surprise and delight learners and are unlocked only by achieving certain goals. For instance, if all members of one department watch the same video during the same week, they all receive a snowflake badge. The Company admits that these surprise rewards have been great motivators.
Since the integration of gamification to Deloitte’s Leadership Academy, there has been a 47 percent increase in the number of users returning to the site each week. Many users have gone from mediocre users to super-users (30 badges in a few weeks.) Finally, anecdotes abound about Deloitte employees using the site because they don’t want the person who sits next to them getting above them on the leader board! So old-fashioned peer competition appears to be driving greater levels of engagement in learning & development!
Jeanne Meister concludes her paper by explaining that both companies have used game mechanics to drive greater levels of engagement and employee motivation. Obviously; these examples showed that Gamification is not be just about fun; but It should be both companies have developed tools consistent with the organization’s analytics-driven approach to workforce management and aligned to the business goals.
She adds “As learning becomes a lifelong imperative in all our businesses, being able to motivate and engage employees to participate in career development programs will only become more important as companies prepare for the future workplace”.
Jeanne Meister gave 3 key lessons in using gamification in the workplace:
1. Think Strategy: Identify and articulate what the business objectives are and how you will measure progress towards a desired business outcome. The game has to be based on analytics to determine whether a game is successful or not, and also how it can be modified for changing business objectives.
2. Create the right environment for a game to succeed. The construction of the game has to take into account the demographics and behaviour patterns of the gamers, as well as putting into place the right extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. Sometimes the best reward is simply greater visibility for the winner in a large organization or the flip side, ensuring a coveted top spot on the game leader board.
3. Use design thinking before you build or buy. To be successful, a game has to be contextual and relevant for the community. It has to have the right visual and sensory appeal, as well as a relevant storyline. This requires designing the game with a strong behavioural mind-set. Imran Sayeed pointed out the best proof of how important the company thinks games are, “our Gamification leader, Naureen, is not a technologist but a behavioural psychologist! She understands what motivates our employees and clients and how to design a game that fits well within the culture of the organization.”
Conclusion: the re-creation of Management Strategy
Video game is becoming more and more professional, more and more technical and more and more marketed, along with the success of on-line poker, scrabble e-community, or in a more general the so-called e-sport.
eSport is a form of competition that is facilitated by electronic systems, particularly video games. Most commonly, eSports take the form of organized multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players. The most common videogame genres associated with eSports are real-time strategy, fighting, first-person shooter (FPS) and multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA).
Tournaments are numerous; such as The International, the League of legends World Championship, the Battle.net World Championship series, the Evolution Championship Series, the Intel Extreme Masters, and the Smile World Championship.
In 2013, it was estimated that approximately 71, 5 million people worldwide watched eSports. Demographically, Major League Gaming has reported viewership that is approximately 85% male and 15%, with a majority of viewers between the ages of 18 and 34; The Global eSports audience in 2015 was 226 million[16].
By becoming more and more professional, videogames turn out to be a profitable and lucrative business; no wonder why the Gaming culture interacts with more formal industries like Internet start-up, Finance, Consulting Firms; with the business culture; and with theories such as Business Management, Theory and Sociology of Organisation;
In the meantime, Companies have been searching for very long time, the best strategy to renew their organisation in order to maximize their administration, to improve their productivity; or to better off their public relations. Most of all, Managers and executives, Theoreticians of organizations, Management studies academics, professionals from any organisations, everyone tries in its own way to balance Capital, Productivity and Human Capital.
The actual question behind this paper is not whether playing videogames develops certain skills that will make a good leader, but how Video gaming can implement new management strategies. What is in the game that allows to bound Human Capital responsibilities and Economic goals, business target?
The last 15 to 20 years, Videogame has always been the platform for individuals to compete and to push the limit of their capabilities. Examples like Kasparov playing against Chess against Deep Blue, or more recently Alpha Go beating 9-dan professional Go player, Lee Sedol.
What really matters in these encounters is what Mankind can learn from the AI. How the Human emotional/Creative Experience can be enhanced by Artificial, flexible rational agent that can perceives its environment and takes actions that can maximize its chance of success at some goal, such as Human Organisation, Staff companies Industrial relations and co-ordination; and Business Management.
The central problems (or goals) of AI (research) include reasoning, knowledge, planning, learning, natural language processing, communication, perception and the ability to move/manipulate objects.
AI applications are limitless: Artificial Intelligence is breaking into healthcare industry by assisting doctors to find the right treatment and surgeons to practice critical operations. Advancements in AI have contributed to the growth of the automotive industry through the creation and evolution of self-driving vehicles. Companies such as Google, Tesla, Apple.
Therefore, playing against AI allegedly improve strategies. Then, what will implement a Computer aided/Video game based on an algorithm that relies on Rawls Theory of Justice or on Prisoner’s Dilemma Theory of Games.
Let me be more specific. Rawls attempted to solve the problem of Distributive which is the point in our research for a better human management.
So Rawls theorized that the socially just distribution of goods in a Society could utilize a variant called “Veil of Ignorance”. “Behind this veil, you know nothing of yourself and your abilities or your position in Society (Which goes against WoW rules of Guilds formation).
You know nothing of your sex, race, nationality or individual tastes. Behind such a veil of ignorance all individuals are simply specified as rational, free, and morally equal beings. You do know that in the “real world”, however, there will be a wide variety in the natural distribution of natural distribution of natural assets and abilities, and that there will be differences of sex, race, and culture that will distinguish groups of people from each other”.
According to Rawls, Ignorance of these details about oneself will lead to principles that are fair to all. If an individual does not know how he will end up in his own conceived society, he is likely not going to privilege any one class of people, but rather develop a scheme of justice that treats all fairly. In particular, Rawls claims that those in the Original Position would all adopt a maxi-min strategy which would maximise the prospects of the least well-off.”
Consequently to Rawls approach, the interrogation remains what an AI player will learn and develop from such a game. What type of Strategies will come out from such Interface?
Should Video gamer become good manager, should AI better player, does this mean that the future of Human Organisation and Management strategies relies in the processor of Alpha Go.
[1] The Horde respects combat prowess and decisive action. Sometimes the position of warchief is earned through war and domination; sometimes it is won through duels. Other times its successor is appointed by the previous warchief
[2] www.worldofwarcraft.com
[3] IRL in the real life
[4] http://www.tucows.com/about-us/executive-team/
[5] http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/19/career-leadership-strategy-technology-videogames.html&refURL=https://www.google.co.uk/&referrer=https://www.google.co.uk/
[6] http://www.tucows.com/about-us/history/
[7] Oliver Chang, How Playing Videogames Can Boost Your Career, Forbes www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/19/career-leadership-strategy-technology-videogames.html
The Duty Fulfillers are serious individuals and believe in honesty and a peaceful environment. Such individuals are responsible citizens who abide by the rules. They adopt an organized approach towards work. They also show a strong inclination towards creativity and aesthetics.
The Mechanics are inclined towards machinery/mechanisms and are interested to know why and how certain things function. Theories do not interest them, as they need practical application. Such individuals have a strong power of logical reasoning.
The Nurturers are individuals who strongly consider happiness an important value. They search for the best out of people around. They have a positive approach in life and want to believe only the best of people.
The Artists have an eye for creativity. Rather than worrying about future, they believe in living for the moment. Such individuals are extremely cool headed and do not get into unnecessary fights and troubles. They aspire to create a style of their own.
The Protectors are systematic individuals who want the best system to get things done. They often think irrationally. They are pessimists who find a problem in every situation. Such individuals do not trust others and only believe in themselves.
The Idealists have strong set of values and ethics.
The Scientist believe in careful and strategic planning. They are good observers who believe in constantly gathering information and upgrade their existing knowledge. Scientists have a very sharp analytical mind.
The Doers believe in quick actions and immediate results. They enjoy taking risks in life and fulfill tasks assigned to them in the shortest span possible.
The Guardians are perfectionists who ensure that everything everywhere is going on smoothly. They are mature individuals who have a clear set of standards.
The Performers strive hard to grab attention of others and love being the centre of attention. They enjoy fun and excitement in life.
The Inspirers are talented individuals and often act as a role model for others. They have great people skills.
The Givers enjoy being part of a team.
The Executives love taking charge and are good decision makers.
III. Gamification in Leadership Development
In a recent communication entitled “Gamification in Leadership Development[15]”, Jeanne Meister explains how companies build their Management strategies using gaming. The actual subject is how gaming build Leadership.
Like Noss did before, World of Warcraft is one of the videogame she mentioned in her introduction. However, she also take Angry Birds as another example. The second example is an interesting choice because the author moves the scope from a Worldwide known Role playing game to a Worldwide known Smartphone apps. Therefore she draws the attention on the fact that it is not only the Team-playing factor that articulates the renewing of Management Strategies.
In fact, before the obvious argument of team playing, there are the sense of personal accomplishment and the level of commitment. This is the Ludus pole of game.
“Have you ever watched someone play Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, or World of Warcraft? They are totally absorbed in the moment. What are they playing for, you might ask? Often, it is just the sense of personal accomplishment in reaching a new level. Now imagine if you could harness this same level of engagement and apply it to critical problem-solving, innovating new products or services or learning new skills at your company”, explains the author.
That is the reason why Companies such as System Integration Company NTT Data and Consulting firm Deloitte use gamification to re-enhance the sense of leadership.
Jeanne Meister defines Gamification as “taking the essence of games—attributes such as engagement, transparency, design and competition—and applying them to a range of real-world processes inside an organization, like marketing, call centre management, and– most recently – leadership development.”
But don’t get it wrong! Far from the 20year old millennials who plays 6 to 8 hours to WoW and develops enough skills to become a Next generation start-up Team Leader, the key question here is less how gamification evolves a fun way to engage employees than to provide a precise tool that drives higher levels of business performance and employee engagement.
In fact, her studies is partly based on a Gallup survey that reports that “employee engagement levels are once again below 30 percent, with that number even lower for staff in the Boomer generation, despite those employees often being the ones in leadership positions.”
Moreover, the 18 % of the workforce “actively disengaged” are so unhappy that they undermine their colleagues’ work and cost U.S. businesses up to $550 billion annually.
So, Companies (e.g. NTT Data or Deloitte) have investigated the field in order to re-imagine new patterns of leadership.
NTT Data
At NTT Data, the use of gamification to develop leaders has shown encouraging business results.
The company’s Chief Technology Officer, Imran Sayeed, believes that Leadership cannot be taught, but experienced. Consequently, Naureen Meraj, Head of gamification at NTT Data has developed a game that allows our employees to fully experience a variety of immersive leadership scenarios.
The purpose of this Leadership game is to learn more about new management subject areas, and about a role they aspire to within the company. It allows NTT Data leaders to collaborate with each other online, get instant feedback from peers, and be recognized for their game play.
Being part of a community of gamers within the workplace gives a chance to every staff member to become more visible to the organization as potential leaders. In this case, the game purpose is to develop five key skills for leaders, such as negotiation, communication, time management, change management and problem solving. The game is aligned to the Company’s employee engagement framework. Jeanne Meister affirms that the game provides managers with the opportunity to identify who these potential leaders are in the organization based upon their game play.
So far the investigation has brought promising results:
A total of 70 leaders have completed NTT’s gamified training program. 50 employees took on team leadership roles, which was 50% higher than had done so through traditional training and coaching methods.
Newly developed leaders proposed 30 new ideas to assist in current projects, as part of the ”Smart Idea Challenge.” This generated $1 million in revenue, as well as cost savings for current clients. Employee referrals among those who completed the game increased by 30 percent, which reduced recruiting costs by $500,000 in the first year alone.
Finally, “graduates” of the Leadership Game together have generated 220 new ideas in the customer organizations, which led to a 40 percent increase in employee satisfaction and helped to lower attrition by 30 percent.
Deloitte
As for Deloitte, the game called Leadership Academy is less a game than an Online Curriculum Platform like a Moodle alongside video lectures, in-depth courses, tests and quizzes. This Game/Moodle promotes the skills most important to the arsenal of future company leaders at Deloitte through missions, badges, and leader boards.
At Deloitte, there are no Community of gamers but learners, whose first step as they start the program is to complete a On board Mission; meaning they have to watch a 3minutes video, sort of tutorial that explains how to use the website and how to personalize the site to their learning priorities. And only then, learners receive a badge for their on boarding mission and then have the option to connect to their personal networks on LinkedIn and Twitter so they can upload their profile and photo. “This required first step helps ensure the multi-platform engagement of users, and the level of customization deepens that engagement.”
Far from World of Warcraft, indeed!
However, Deloitte utilizes principles of gamification and behavioural science to motivate learners to achieve their learning goals. Every completed module is rewarded with a badge to mark one’s achievement. Most of those badges are given out as a result of achieving straightforward competencies, but the platform offers ‘secret’ badges, dubbed “Snowflake” They are created to surprise and delight learners and are unlocked only by achieving certain goals. For instance, if all members of one department watch the same video during the same week, they all receive a snowflake badge. The Company admits that these surprise rewards have been great motivators.
Since the integration of gamification to Deloitte’s Leadership Academy, there has been a 47 percent increase in the number of users returning to the site each week. Many users have gone from mediocre users to super-users (30 badges in a few weeks.) Finally, anecdotes abound about Deloitte employees using the site because they don’t want the person who sits next to them getting above them on the leader board! So old-fashioned peer competition appears to be driving greater levels of engagement in learning & development!
Jeanne Meister concludes her paper by explaining that both companies have used game mechanics to drive greater levels of engagement and employee motivation. Obviously; these examples showed that Gamification is not be just about fun; but It should be both companies have developed tools consistent with the organization’s analytics-driven approach to workforce management and aligned to the business goals.
She adds “As learning becomes a lifelong imperative in all our businesses, being able to motivate and engage employees to participate in career development programs will only become more important as companies prepare for the future workplace”.
Jeanne Meister gave 3 key lessons in using gamification in the workplace:
1. Think Strategy: Identify and articulate what the business objectives are and how you will measure progress towards a desired business outcome. The game has to be based on analytics to determine whether a game is successful or not, and also how it can be modified for changing business objectives.
2. Create the right environment for a game to succeed. The construction of the game has to take into account the demographics and behaviour patterns of the gamers, as well as putting into place the right extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. Sometimes the best reward is simply greater visibility for the winner in a large organization or the flip side, ensuring a coveted top spot on the game leader board.
3. Use design thinking before you build or buy. To be successful, a game has to be contextual and relevant for the community. It has to have the right visual and sensory appeal, as well as a relevant storyline. This requires designing the game with a strong behavioural mind-set. Imran Sayeed pointed out the best proof of how important the company thinks games are, “our Gamification leader, Naureen, is not a technologist but a behavioural psychologist! She understands what motivates our employees and clients and how to design a game that fits well within the culture of the organization.”
Conclusion: the re-creation of Management Strategy
Video game is becoming more and more professional, more and more technical and more and more marketed, along with the success of on-line poker, scrabble e-community, or in a more general the so-called e-sport.
eSport is a form of competition that is facilitated by electronic systems, particularly video games. Most commonly, eSports take the form of organized multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players. The most common videogame genres associated with eSports are real-time strategy, fighting, first-person shooter (FPS) and multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA).
Tournaments are numerous; such as The International, the League of legends World Championship, the Battle.net World Championship series, the Evolution Championship Series, the Intel Extreme Masters, and the Smile World Championship.
In 2013, it was estimated that approximately 71, 5 million people worldwide watched eSports. Demographically, Major League Gaming has reported viewership that is approximately 85% male and 15%, with a majority of viewers between the ages of 18 and 34; The Global eSports audience in 2015 was 226 million[16].
By becoming more and more professional, videogames turn out to be a profitable and lucrative business; no wonder why the Gaming culture interacts with more formal industries like Internet start-up, Finance, Consulting Firms; with the business culture; and with theories such as Business Management, Theory and Sociology of Organisation;
In the meantime, Companies have been searching for very long time, the best strategy to renew their organisation in order to maximize their administration, to improve their productivity; or to better off their public relations. Most of all, Managers and executives, Theoreticians of organizations, Management studies academics, professionals from any organisations, everyone tries in its own way to balance Capital, Productivity and Human Capital.
The actual question behind this paper is not whether playing videogames develops certain skills that will make a good leader, but how Video gaming can implement new management strategies. What is in the game that allows to bound Human Capital responsibilities and Economic goals, business target?
The last 15 to 20 years, Videogame has always been the platform for individuals to compete and to push the limit of their capabilities. Examples like Kasparov playing against Chess against Deep Blue, or more recently Alpha Go beating 9-dan professional Go player, Lee Sedol.
What really matters in these encounters is what Mankind can learn from the AI. How the Human emotional/Creative Experience can be enhanced by Artificial, flexible rational agent that can perceives its environment and takes actions that can maximize its chance of success at some goal, such as Human Organisation, Staff companies Industrial relations and co-ordination; and Business Management.
The central problems (or goals) of AI (research) include reasoning, knowledge, planning, learning, natural language processing, communication, perception and the ability to move/manipulate objects.
AI applications are limitless: Artificial Intelligence is breaking into healthcare industry by assisting doctors to find the right treatment and surgeons to practice critical operations. Advancements in AI have contributed to the growth of the automotive industry through the creation and evolution of self-driving vehicles. Companies such as Google, Tesla, Apple.
Therefore, playing against AI allegedly improve strategies. Then, what will implement a Computer aided/Video game based on an algorithm that relies on Rawls Theory of Justice or on Prisoner’s Dilemma Theory of Games.
Let me be more specific. Rawls attempted to solve the problem of Distributive which is the point in our research for a better human management.
So Rawls theorized that the socially just distribution of goods in a Society could utilize a variant called “Veil of Ignorance”. “Behind this veil, you know nothing of yourself and your abilities or your position in Society (Which goes against WoW rules of Guilds formation).
You know nothing of your sex, race, nationality or individual tastes. Behind such a veil of ignorance all individuals are simply specified as rational, free, and morally equal beings. You do know that in the “real world”, however, there will be a wide variety in the natural distribution of natural distribution of natural assets and abilities, and that there will be differences of sex, race, and culture that will distinguish groups of people from each other”.
According to Rawls, Ignorance of these details about oneself will lead to principles that are fair to all. If an individual does not know how he will end up in his own conceived society, he is likely not going to privilege any one class of people, but rather develop a scheme of justice that treats all fairly. In particular, Rawls claims that those in the Original Position would all adopt a maxi-min strategy which would maximise the prospects of the least well-off.”
Consequently to Rawls approach, the interrogation remains what an AI player will learn and develop from such a game. What type of Strategies will come out from such Interface?
Should Video gamer become good manager, should AI better player, does this mean that the future of Human Organisation and Management strategies relies in the processor of Alpha Go.
[1] The Horde respects combat prowess and decisive action. Sometimes the position of warchief is earned through war and domination; sometimes it is won through duels. Other times its successor is appointed by the previous warchief
[2] www.worldofwarcraft.com
[3] IRL in the real life
[4] http://www.tucows.com/about-us/executive-team/
[5] http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/19/career-leadership-strategy-technology-videogames.html&refURL=https://www.google.co.uk/&referrer=https://www.google.co.uk/
[6] http://www.tucows.com/about-us/history/
[7] Oliver Chang, How Playing Videogames Can Boost Your Career, Forbes www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/19/career-leadership-strategy-technology-videogames.html
[8] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/238129
[9] Jean François Belanger-Gagnon, La conjonction de la narrativité et de la performativité dans le jeu video, Mémoire Université Laval dans le cadre du programme de maîtrise sur mesure en Design, animation et cyberculture pour l'obtention du grade de maître ès arts (M.A.)
[10] Nathan Benett, Stephen A. Miles, Your Career Game: How Game Theory Can Help You Achieve Your Professional Goals, Hardcover, Stanford Business Books, 15 Mar 2010, 272p.
Nathan Bennett is a management professor at Georgia Tech, and Stephen Miles, vice chairman of executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles.
[11] Molino, J. & Lafhail-Molino, R. (2003). Homo Fabulator : Théorie et analyse du récit. Montréal, Paris : Leméac/Actes Sud
[12] Murray, J. H. ([1997], 1998). Hamlet on the Holodeck : The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Ryan, M.-L. (2001). Beyond Myth and Metaphor [Version électronique]: The Case of Narrative in Digital Media. in The International Journal of Computer Game Research, 1(1), (Juillet 2001). Extrait le 3 juin 2009, du site web de Game Studies: http://www.gamestudies.org/0101/ryan/
[13] Aarseth, E. (2004). Quest Games as Post-Narrative Discourse. in M.-L. Ryan (Ed.), Narrative Across Media: The Language of Storytelling (pp. 361-376). Lincoln, London : University of Nebraska Press.
Frasca, G. (2003). Simulation vs Narrative: Introduction to Ludology. in J. P. Wolf & B. Perron (Eds.), The Video Game Theory Reader (pp. 221-235). New York, London : Routledge
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[14] An image or representation of someone or something
[15] http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeannemeister/2013/09/30/gamification-in-leadership-development-how-companies-use-gaming-to-build-their-leader-pipeline/
[16] « Global eSports Market Report : Audience and Revenue Figures”, Newzoo, 23 August 2016 - https://newzoo.com/resources
