Management Science and Gaming in Waste Management

Interrelationship of the numerous factors in waste management can be explored in a gaming environment. Management science aids can be introduced to guide the decision-making. An experimental game has been devised for use within IBM which implements these objectives. It is interactive, terminal-oriented, and programmed in APL. The scenario for the game treats the environmental area of solid-waste management. It is directed to players with minimal knowledge of management science. Techniques include shortest route, transportation, and maximal flow problems. More generally, the system which supports the game can be used to author other game scenarios. Features include interactive, natural language communication, and prompting.