Managerial Simulation: A Tool for Devising Management Organization

Abstract

In ergonomics of activity, simulation of activity is a methodology for assisting in the development of new work situations. It involves asking workers to “play out” their work activity in a new prescriptive context that is represented on a simulation support. Managerial simulation consists in reproducing this device and focusing on the work of managers. This means building a simulation support capable of representing the rule and management resource system that is to be devised, and asking managers to simulate their own activity within this new prescriptive context. Such an approach provides an opportunity for collective and informed reflection on the development of managerial logics of action. To illustrate this approach, we present a mission which aimed to reorganise the management system in a packaging workshop. An initial in-depth activity analysis allowed us to characterise the work situation of the foremen. We show how the organisation of their responsibilities in the form of geographical zones (islands) impedes their transversal activities relating to the workshop as a whole. We then adopted a managerial simulation approach to build an organisation scenario that replaced the island organisation with a distribution of responsibilities allocated on a weekly basis to each manager. The simulation of managerial activity, on a suitable support, allowed us to validate the principles used and to facilitate the development of new, pertinent and efficient managerial logics.