I need to find a source of challenging role plays simulations (as in training
materials)to train senior managers in small (50-100 staff) and medium
(100-500) enterpriese.Freebies even better.
Management skills stuff.
Exercises lasting from 1 hour to half a day

Greetings Unico67:

I have located some resources for you including a CD series for $29.95
that may be of interest.  The URL
http://www.getahead-direct.com/Overview.htm offers an example of the
interactive design and the page at http://www.getahead-direct.com/
shows the different courses available.  From the example of the
computer simulation on the Overview page, it seems that many ideas
could be gathered from the training on the CD and applied to corporate
role-playing activities.


From the site http://sol.brunel.ac.uk/~jarvis/bola/cases/, the
Business Open Learning Archive (main page is
http://sol.brunel.ac.uk/~jarvis/bola/), I found several case studies
and one well-defined role-playing activity:

Case Study/Role Playing Exercise - What are they saying about me?
http://sol.brunel.ac.uk/~jarvis/bola/cases/saying.html

Paul Jenkins - Constructing a dismissal - case study
http://sol.brunel.ac.uk/~jarvis/bola/cases/jenkins.html

There are other case studies (many with tutor's notes) on the
http://sol.brunel.ac.uk/~jarvis/bola/cases/ web site that you may be
able to tailor as role-playing activities like the "What are they
saying about me?" example.  Also, most of the case studies have a link
to each usage in an exam.  You could draw your specific questions for
players from the exam notes.


The site, Management Learning at http://managementlearning.com/ offers
free registration for access to their materials.  I signed up to view
a behavior exercise titled "The Enneagram" which consisted of
questions regarding behavior in certain business situations.  I feel
that site may be very helpful to you in formulating role-playing
activities.  Their list of exercises is at
http://managementlearning.com/exercises/index.html

They offer:

Knowledge exercises
http://managementlearning.com/exercises/invk/index.html

Activities
http://managementlearning.com/exercises/acti/index.html

Self-discovery exercises
http://managementlearning.com/exercises/invs/index.html

Learning Pathways
http://managementlearning.com/exercises/path/index.html


OTHER LINKS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST:

From Entreprenuer.com at
http://www.entrepreneur.com/Magazines/Copy_of_MA_SegArticle/0,4453,302365----1-,00.html,
I located an article titled "New Perspective
Role-playing can help you see the future through someone else's eyes."

I also located a book from McGraw-Hill that may be of interest.  The
table of contents may be viewed at
http://www.mhhe.com/catalogs/0256117357.mhtml and shows some
simulation headings.  It is for studies in Human Resources Management
skills.


Should you require clarification of any of the links or information I
have provided, please request it and I will be happy to respond.  I'll
also be happy to conduct additional searches on any buzzwords related
to the specific training you seek for your employees.


SEARCH STRATEGY:

"role playing" management exercises
"role playing" management skills
"role playing" management simulation

Thank you for your rating and I hope your training sessions are a success.  :)

Here are a couple more resources for you.

www.nasaga.org the north american simulation and gaming association
connects trainers educators and researchers using simulations and
games for learning. Membership is free and you can participate in an
ongoing community that helps one another to locate the kinds of
resources you are seeking.

www.absel.org is the Association of Business Simulation and
Experiental Learning. This group is a bit more focused on management
education. Many university participants.

http://sg.comp.nus.edu.sg/ SGX - Simulation/Gaming eXchange
The Internet Clearinghouse for Simulation/Gaming Resources Has a
variety of resources on role play games.