How to invite people to play the Beer Game

["John D. Smith"]

Thinking that how people are invited sets the stage and the expectations for
the game, Ive written the following invitation. The scenario is that Im
writing to people who have the choice whether to participate or not (as
opposed to a class-room setting where participation would be required).

If anyone has comments on setting the stage, on whether Im over- or
under-promising, Id be really interested.

This is the current draft of my invitation:

-----------------------------
IRM is sponsoring a simulation and discussion called "The Beer Distribution
Game" on Wednesday March 12 from 1 to 4 in the 3rd floor conference room at
Perl 1. Ben Levi, a Boulder conultant in environmental and systems
thinking, will co-facilitate along with me.

"The Beer Game" was developed more than 30 years ago at MIT and has been
played by thousands of people all over the world since then, ranging from
high school students to CEOs of major corporations. It is used as an
introduction to systems thinking, systems dynamics, computer simulation, and
new ways of thinking about management.

This game and the ensuing discussion will NOT provide "the answer" in any
sense. Instead, it suggests a different way of thinking about the world
that looks for links between individual events and behavior patterns and the
structure of a system (whether communications or organizational) which
surrounds us. This approach is valuable whether we are trying to make sense
of "apparent craziness", trying to speed up the cogs, or trying to
completely redesign a systems.

The game raises some fundamental questions about the interpretation of data
and all of the signals that are passed along within a system. Hopefully,
with your involvement, the ensuing conversation will demonstrate the power
of human conversation to deal with difficult and complex issues.

Since we need to set up the game boards and order the treats, we need an
accurate count. Please let me know if you want to and can participate. If
you cant participate this time but are interested, let me know because
well probably produce the event again in the future.

John
John.D.Smith@cusys.edu

-- http://www.cu.edu/~irm/pers/jds/ -- voice: (303) 492-9473 FAX: 492-9981
* John D. Smith, Info Resrce Mgmt, CB 50, U of Colo, Boulder, CO 80309-0050
* "... such terms are metaphors. Organizations do not literally remember,
* think, or learn." -- Argyris & Schon, 1978.