The purpose of the research project was to teach the management of perpetual and periodic inventory systems to university students in the field of food systems management through the use of a microcomputer software program developed for this purpose. The objective of the study was to determine the classroom simulation's effectiveness in enhancing students' understanding of inventory systems management. The population sample consisted of 68 students enrolled in a senior level food systems management course at Oregon State University. Simple random sampling was used to divide the population sample into two groups: an experimental group and a control group. All the participants completed a pretest to measure existing knowledge of inventory management concepts. This was followed by two fifty-minute classroom educational modules on the management of perpetual and periodic inventory systems in foodservice facilities. The members of the experimental group participated in using the microcomputer simulation program of food item inventory systems after the classroom modules. All the participants of the experimental and control groups completed a posttest approximately three weeks after the pretest. The difference in pretest mean scores between the experimental and control groups was not significant (P [less than or equal to] .05) as determined by the student's t-test. This indicated the two groups were similar to each other in previous knowledge of inventory management. The difference in posttest adjusted mean scores between the experimental and control groups was significant (P [less than or equal to] .05) as determined by analysis of covariance. Therefore, the microcomputer simulation was effective in enhancing students' understanding of the management of the perpetual and periodic inventory systems. / Graduation date: 1986