Falksonomy

Mark Bell today proposed an idea to me which I’m going to try to persue in a more in depth sense for an upcoming panel discussion. We talked about World of Warcraft and its ability to train management skills through normal game play. Though here I will use the terms “manager” and “leader” interchangeably, I am aware of the differences in what they mean.

 It has been said that games are viable as teaching tools (Gee), and I believe this can be true. Not every game teaches us something that can translate into our lives and careers, but some of them, such as World of Warcraft, certainly do. I would argue that any situation in which you must rely on a social network to increase personal gain and wealth can and will spawn life lessons.

How does this relate to management? As a player levels through the game, a portion of time is generally spent grouping with other players; Even if a player is not the group’s designated “leader” there are still plenty of aspects of management and leadership that each must go through, especially in situations where one is unfamiliar with the players surrounding her. This is directly parallel to entering a new workplace, or from a management perspective, gaining a new employee.

For some players, in raiding guilds specifically, the parallels are even more distinct. One cannot last in charge of 25-40 players in a highly charged and focused raid setting without being an effective leader. Time and time again guilds and groups fail due to poor management. Sometimes, however, regardless of a rough start, these poor managerslearn the skills to become effective ones, and prosper in future endeavors.

Studying this phenomenon implicates much further research. As an example: What are the impacts of differing levels of emotional intelligence (Goleman) on successful in-game management relationships?