Dear students, the answer given here is just an example. A case study is based on different cases, so you need to understand it. Most of the time, the questions are analytical. You need to analyze and present your answers. This question comes for 18 marks, with two questions of 9 marks each. Even if you find difficulty understanding the given case at the time of examination, don't give up. Try your best to understand the case and answer the questions to the best of your ability.
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luck!
12. Read the given case and answer the following questions.
The fact that millions of people spend billions of hours playing games on their mobile devices is not lost on companies looking for ways to enhance communication with employees and customers. Whether they feature skill, chance, or compelling storylines, successful games try to engage users intellectually and emotionally--just as successful business communicators try to do.
Gamification is the addition of game-playing aspects to an activity or a process with the goal of increasing user engagement, and it's a natural fit for social media and mobile devices. Foursquare's check-in competitions, in which the person who "checks in" using Foursquare the most times during a certain time window is crowned the "mayor" of that location, were an early use of gamification. Foursquare wasn't invented as a way for people to become imaginary mayors of places where they shop or eat, of course. It is an advertising platform that relies on user activity and user-generated content, and the game clement encourages people to use the app more frequently.
Foursquare is a simple example of gamification, but other companies are pushing the concept in new ways to engage and motivate employees and other stakeholders. For example, Bunchball's Nitro software applies gamification concepts to a number of business communication platforms. On a customer-service system, the software rewards employees for increasing their productivity, meeting their service commitments to customers, and sharing knowledge with their colleagues. On several collaboration and brainstorming systems, gamification encourages people to make more connections, share ideas, and boost their influence within a community. Employee orientation systems can use game concepts to help new hires learn their way around the organization.
Gamification is also a key strategy for many companies trying to improve customer loyalty. Badgeville's Reputation Mechanics system, for example, boosts the profile of knowledgeable customers who share expertise on social media sites and other online forums. By rewarding their product champions this way, companies encourage them to keep contributing their expertise, thereby helping other customers be successful and satisfied.
Incidentally, if you are in the Millennial generation- those born between about 1981 and 1995 you're a special target of gamification in the workplace and the marketplace, given your generation's enthusiasm for video games. Don't be surprised to find more gamified apps and systems on the job and everywhere you turn as a consumer.
Questions
a. Gamification is about influencing employee and customer behaviours in ways that benefit a company. Is this ethical? Explain your answer.
b. Assume a company provides a job-search game app that helps you navigate your way through applying for a job, explore various job openings, and understand what it would be like to work there. Would the app make you feel more positively about the company, or would you find that using a game for this purpose would trivialize something as important as your job search? Explain your answer.
a. Gamification is the use of game-like elements to non-game contexts. It is a strategy for motivating and engaging people in a variety of activities. Gamification can be used to make tasks more enjoyable and rewarding, and to encourage people to learn new things or to take on new challenges or The addition of game-playing aspects (features) to an activity with the goal of increasing user engagement is gamification.
In mobile games when gamers won, they get points and are promoted to the next level. The more levels they cross the high points they get. Within this, they get trophies, badges, and positions. Although such things are not real still encourage gamers to play longer and achieve high levels. Gamers feel psychological happiness and desire to spend more time. If elements of game playing (point, competition with others, rules of play, badges, trophies) are applied to other areas of non-gaming activities then surely enrolment can be increased. Gamification is a key strategy for many companies trying to improve customer loyalty and keep employees motivated.
Gamification concepts are widely used in almost every sector, from education to online businesses, to influence employee and customer behaviours in ways that benefit a company. For example, if employees are able to sell more products, and meet their service commitments to customers they will be awarded more points and trophies. Similarly, if customers provide positive feedback, and share good opinions on social media sites and other online forums they will be rewarded. In this way, companies encourage them to keep contributing.
While gamification has been widely adopted by companies to influence employee and customer behaviors, its ethical implications depend on its implementation. Gamification can be ethical if it is used sensibly and transparently. This means that the company should be clear about how the gamification system works and that it should not exploit or manipulate people. However, gamification can also be unethical if it is used in a deceptive or manipulative way. For example, a company might use gamification to trick people into buying products they don't need or to get them to work longer hours.
In conclusion, gamification makes boring repetitive work more enjoyable for workers. Successful games try to engage users intellectually and emotionally just as successful business communicators try to do. In the same way, the use of gaming elements in work influences consumers' and employees' buying and working activities. Therefore, whether it is ethical or not to use gamification for the company's benefit depends on the company's strategies, sensibility and transparency. Responsible gamification can be a valuable tool for companies, but unethical gamification can harm both the company and its customers.
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