Business Performance Game Simulation Overview

1. Intro to BPG Overview of simulation Briefing on company organization task Intro to BPG

2. Simulation overview • A business competition among teams in your World (section) • Each company manufactures and sells a consumer durable product in 4 market areas, e.g., toaster, inside/outside thermometer, etc. • Your product directly competes with the products of other companies for consumer $ • Each firm makes quarterly decisions on marketing, production, and finance Intro to BPG

3. Decision form Intro to BPG

4. Simulation overview--continued • The BPG then simulates the competitive results based on the decision input, and • Produces quarterly reports for the industry and your company • Your access to the BPG program is through Sun Global Desktop on the CBA site Intro to BPG

5. Tools to know how you are doing • Financial statements • Summary industry and competitor data • Your company’s financial statements • Income • Balance sheet • Cash Flow • Operating reports for industry and company • ProScore • Shows performance relative to other teams • Is the basis for team scores at the end Intro to BPG

6. Quarterly industry report • Industry environmental data • Financial market data: GDP, CPI, interest rates, RGDP, • Real GDP forecast • Exchange rate forecast • Comparative company data • Financial performance & condition • Sales, market share, pricing, & product characteristics Intro to BPG

7. Company operating reports A detailed report of financial, marketing, and production results for your company--available only to you • Income statement • Cash flow analysis • Balance sheet • Production cost analysis • Output, inventory, & sales analysis • Standard cost per unit • Sales force analysis • Latest decision inputs Intro to BPG

8. Your challenge • Organize your team to be successful • Designate functional roles and overall leadership • Assign decision responsibilities—operational & strategic • Define team expectations of members • Develop goals, objectives, strategies, policies for your company • Develop supporting functional objectives, strategies, and policies • Plan your work flow • Coordinate the work to successful completion • Manage (control) your performance • Estimate results • Measure actual results vs. your estimate & act • Monitor competitive position & performance • Understand why others do things better • Identify how you can do better • Reassess/confirm strategy Intro to BPG

9. Performance evaluation • Competency tasks—Team tasks for from 10-40 points • Sales order forecast • Product cost • Capacity evaluation • Justification for investments in capital • Cash planning • Operational statement analysis • Financial statement analysis • Competitive analysis • Management tasks—Team tasks for from 40 to 100 points • Strategic planning: mission, overall objectives, business strategy • Strategic management: hierarchy of objectives, strategies, and policies • Control: analysis of financial and operating results, determine need for operational and/or strategic change; then, implement the changes • Competitive results • Multiple dimensions of financial results, many of which are driven by net income • Reported on the ProScore report annually Intro to BPG

10. ProScore report • Click for Sample ProScore report. • Note the factors and their weights may be changed before we start the competition. Intro to BPG

11. Peer evaluations • Individual grades for team assignments may differ greatly from the team’s grade depending on peer inputs. • Peer evaluations are confidential; they become the property of the instructor and will not be divulged to team members. • Additionally, the following factors may affect individual grades for team work. • Non-participating team members, i.e., those whose names are not listed by a team on the submitted copy of an assignment, receive no credit. • Teams may terminate their association with members whose contribution is unsatisfactory; however, they must do so professionally and obtain the instructor’s prior approval. • Students terminated from a team will be dealt with on an individual basis, with at least a one-letter grade penalty. Intro to BPG

12. BPG resources—from web site • BPG • A Player’s Tutorial and a Quick Start reference guide are available from the Help menu in the BPG • The printed manual is available in Support Services (Room 229) for $12 • View a pdf version of the Players'Manual at the BPG aurthor’s website:  http://www.eskimo.com/~bpg/. Select Players Area and login: username =  player; password = swb30oss  (case is significant) • BPG simulation • Introduction to BPG initial decisions • Items affected by exchange rate fluctuations • Key to  history report file names • Sales forecast blank form Intro to BPG

13. Team organization & decision responsibilities • Due Wednesday • Team roles • Operational decision responsibilities Wednesday: Team roles due by email Wednesday: Indicate responsible person in cells on decision form Next week: Strategic decisions for each role Next week: Specify general and expert manual knowledge expectations by role. Intro to BPG

14. The BPG simulation: An opportunity • To bring together the knowledge & skills from each CBA discipline to • Apply strategic management concepts • Integrate the decisions of each functional area to achieve organizational effectiveness • See how the decisions of one function affect the performance of others and the entire firm • Appreciate the importance of each function to successful operation of the business Intro to BPG