By: Martuk
Can you become a better leader for playing games like Lord of the Rings Online? Can these virtual environments aid you by improving skills you aren't even aware of? According to several studies they do just that. Seriosity and IBM released a report in 2007 detailing the similarities in leading a business and leading a group or guild in an MMORPG. According to Seriositys report leaders in MMORPGs are sometimes extraordinary in their approach to problem solving, are more comfortable with risk, learning from their mistakes, and improving rapidly. This has become the subject of study and much fascination with businesses such as IBM.
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Byron Reeves PhD, the Paul C. Edwards Professor of Communication at Stanford University and director of the Stanford Media X Partners Program believes that modern online gaming is very similar to modern business. While not a perfect match it does bare amazing similarities with todays business world. He states in the report
MMORPGs mirror the business context more than you would assume. They presage one possible future for business, one that is open, virtual, knowledge driven, and comprised of a largely volunteer or at least transient workforce.- (Reeves, 2007)
It almost sounds like they want to use gamers as a free work force, but the comparison between the business world and the gaming world is a very real one. Countless businesses and even the military use simulation and virtual training for their employees and this form of interactive entertainment could indeed become a business model for the future. One day in the near future having MMOs like Lord of the Rings Online on your resume might actually help you land that job youre after. Playing MMOs could even become a required part of the job. One can only hope.
The benefits of leadership through online gaming have been studied by Nicky Yee of the Daedalus project as well. In his study Learning Leadership Skills, he proves that a person can learn leadership skills through online gaming. The study results were released in 2003 and showed that more than half of the participants felt they had learned at least some new leadership skills when placed in the role of a virtual leadership role. The general leadership criteria used for the study focused on Mediation, Persuasion, Motivation, and Overall Leadership. Over half of all participants felt they had learned or improved these skills after being in a leadership role in an MMORPG. The study was one of many that proves online gaming can be used for learning as well as entertainment.
The IBM/Seriosity study compared the structure and leadership in most guilds to a business setting by comparing the guild leader to a company head and the other guild members as his subordinates. The delegation of duties such as leading groups, raids, and other activities were compared to the delegation of work to supervisors. The comparison line goes even further by comparing the need for quick decisions that can make or break a guild during a raid to the demanding need for fast paced, risky decision making in modern business.
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Leadership is not the only benefit to gaming. Other studies have shown that gaming can improve your hand/eye coordination, increase your reflexes, and even make a person more alert and perceptive. Gaming has been adapted in many forms by businesses and the military because of its benefits in these areas. Simulation gaming is used for training, but the virtual economy also provides a rich new training ground for businesses. Part of the IBM/Seriosity study focused on the virtual economy and how it can be beneficial in training its people for the real market. Virtual markets change rapidly much like the real ones and the benefits of using a virtual market for training is well noted in the study.
IBM has implemented several training programs and business methods that are modeled after online gaming. Most people dont even realize how playing a game like Lord of the Rings Online might actually be beneficial to them in the long run. This study shows that businesses are looking at this as a serious and potential learning tool. Online leaders might one day find that those MMOs they played were a defining factor in landing a job or getting a promotion. Though the media tends to look down on gaming the obvious benefits keep coming in study after study. We live in a digital age of virtual wonders and the times keep changing. While the business world becomes more digital our skills as gamers are becoming more desirable. Strange though it may be, it is a fact of the modern world.
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Yee, N (2003, February 11). Learning Leadership Skills. Retrieved August 5, 2007, from The Daedalus Project Web site: http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/000338.php
(2007). Virtual Worlds, Real Leaders. Retrieved August 5, 2007, from Seriosity Web site: http://www.seriosity.com/downloads/GIO_PDF_web.pdf
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