The Effectiveness of Personal Computers in Operations Management Education

Examines the pervasiveness of personal computers (PCs) in business which has encouraged expanded use in the business‐school environment. Although the incorporation of computers in education increases realism and facilitates computation, there are divergent views on the extent to which their use enhances learning. Considers issues relevant to the introduction of personal computers in the college teaching environment and reports results of a study which evaluated learning outcomes of groups using traditional methods and those using personal computers in the teaching of production operations management. No differences in learning outcomes were found, suggesting that caution is in order when considering the nature and intensity of PC implementation programs in the education setting.