A COMPUTER SIMULATION INTERFACE FOR COMPETITIVE AND FIRM ANALYSES Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 17, 1990 221 A COMPUTER SIMULATION INTERFACE FOR COMPETITIVE AND FIRM ANALYSES Charles K. Woodruff, Winthrop College ABSTRACT A computer simulation interface procedure is described whereby the Business Management Laboratory business game was modified to generate data records compatible with dBASE III Plus microcomputer data base software. The data base schema consisted of 108 variable data values which were produced for each firm participating in the business game for each decision cycle. An alternate version of the database was produced as a Lotus 1-2-3 electronic spreadsheet. Students in a graduate business policy course were instructed in the utilization of the database as the source of data for two major analyses. The first analysis effort was a competitive analysis of the industry environment as simulated in the business game. The second analysis effort was an in depth analysis of the student team’s own firm in the business game. Student evaluations of this approach have been very favorable. INTRODUCTION As the primary educators of future business executives, business schools frequently teach strategy formulation in their business policy courses by utilizing the case method. Cases describing typical business situations offer numerous benefits to the educational environment; however, deficiencies of the case method tend to handicap the teaching of strategy formulation, For example, business cases generally require the student to accept the factual data (e.g., financial statements) without challenge of the data source or an understanding of the underlying transactions. SIMULATION GENERATED DATA The author teaches a graduate business policy course which emphasizes strategy formulation. Business cases typically found in most available textbooks failed to provide adequate sources of data to analyze. A more dynamic and ongoing data source was needed to teach strategy formulation. Attention turned to the possible use of a business game simulation as the mechanism from which to generate the needed data. Selection of the business game was based upon three requirements: (1) it must be capable of producing a competitive environment scenario that would be sufficiently comprehensive to be realistic and challenging, (2) the typical student must be able to grasp a basic understanding of the business game within a relatively short time period, and (3) the logistics of running the business game would permit a short turnaround time to the student. The Business Management Laboratory (BML) business game of Jensen and Cherrington was selected based on these three requirements. A decision was made to approach strategy formulation by partitioning the analyses into two components: one an analysis of the industry competitive environment; two, an in depth analysis of the student’s own firm. In order for BML to provide the data needed for the competitive analysis and the firm analysis, it became apparent that a rather extensive database had to be established and maintained. A data base schema of 108 variable data values was defined. Since microcomputers were readily available, dBASE III Plus was selected as the software to manage the database. The command structure of dBASE III Plus provides quick access to the database as well as user directed screen and hard copy output. An alternative version of the same database was provided as a Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet. INTERFACING THE SIMULATION AND THE DATA BASE Availability of the source code of BML for the microcomputer BASIC language version permitted a new subroutine to be written to generate records for the database. The physical format of the generated records conformed to the system data format (SDF) of dBASE III Plus and were produced in the BASIC subroutine by PRINT USING statements. Sequence pointer files (NDX) files were created and updated on each decision cycle. The Lotus 1-2-3 version of the database necessitated a somewhat cumbersome procedure during which a copy of the full dBASE III Plus database was translated by means of the Lotus 1-2-3 utility program. Copies were made of both data base versions with the sequence pointer files to floppy disks for distribution to the individual student teams. COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS The primary purpose of the competitive analysis was to provide a mechanism whereby the student teams could access the data base produced from the decision cycles of BML and analyze significant strategic factors that define the nature of the competitive forces existing among the firms managed by the individual student teams. In order to provide for some direction and consistency of analysis, students were required to follow a standard analysis procedure furnished to the students in an outline form, Emphasis was placed on the use of graphs which facilitate the analysis of numerous interacting strategic factors. FIRM ANALYSIS The primary purpose of the firm analysis was to focus on the specific strategic factors for the student’s own firm. Written instructions outlined a standard analysis procedure based on the Dupont formula. Again emphasis was placed on the use of graphs. Strategy implementation was approached from three functional perspectives: (1) marketing and sales, (2) plant and production, and (3) finance and administration. CONCLUSION Analyses of the competitive environment and the firm using data generated by the student themselves have significant meaning to the students. Rather than being obscure topics mentioned briefly in business policy textbooks, competitive analyses and firm analyses can become a hands on, lasting experience. Table of Contents Volume 17, 1990 The Impact of Decision Support Systems on the Effectiveness of Small Group Decisions - Revisited The Relationship Between Financial Performance and Other Measures of Learning on a Simulation Exercise Use and Effectiveness of an Analogy-Based Expert System Suggestions for Computerized Business Authors Dealing with Power: An Experiential Exercise Using Movie and Personal Diary Analysis Techniques A Model for Developing Student Skills and Assessing Outcomes Through Outdoor Training Computer-Aided Exercises Versus Workbook Exercises as Learning Facilitator in the Principles of Marketing Course An Exposition of Guilford's Si Model as a Means of Diagnosing and Generating Pedagogical Strategies in Collegiate Business Education Formal Planning and Simulation Team Performance: A Cross Sectional Approach Cases: Real Organizations in Real Time in the Classroom An Empirical Investigation of the Internal Validity of Marketing Simulation Game An Empirical Evaluation of the Pedagogical Value of Playing a Simulation Game in a Principles of Marketing Course Factors Affecting Effective Teaching of Strategic Planning: Some Preliminary Evidence An Experiential Exercise for Learning About the Relationship Between Organizational Form & the Project Management Process Accounting Communication Skills can be Taught in the Auditing Course Modeling Cost Functions in Computerized Business Simulation: An Application of Duality Theory and Sheppard's Lemma A Life Cycle Analysis of Decision Making for a Strategic Management Team What's the Problem? A Dynamic Model for Teaching Problem Solving Skills Experientially International Currency Fluctuations: Money$im, A Simulation Superstores: A Specialized Retailing Simulation Within a Specialized Marketing Curriculum Factors Affecting Student Perceptions of Learning in a Business Policy Game VC + EL = VL The Name Game: An Experiential Exercise in Intergroup Relations The Effects of Experiential Accounting Work Experience on Student Performance in Intermediate Accounting Courses The Results of Using the Experiential Activity Group Performance Evaluation in a Business Policy Setting Using a Legal Database to Describe the Legal Environment of Marketing (and Business) Matching Environmental Uncertainty and Organizational Configuration An Instructional Computer Simulation of Tampering in QC Executive Evaluation of Student Learning in the Looking Glass Simulation Group Personality Composition and Total Enterprise Simulation Performance An Expert System for Selecting Analytical Techniques for Analyzing Marketing Research Data Effects of Cognitive Styles on Responses in an In-Basket Simulation A Psychometric Analysis of Kolb's Revised Learning Style-Inventory Selecting and Developing Experiential Exercises Using Movies Application of a Real-World Strategic Management Model in the Classroom Demand Equations which Include Product Attributes Consumption as the Objective in Computer-Scored Total Enterprise Simulations The Effects of Decision Format and Evaluation on Simulation Performance, Decision Time, and Team Cohesion The Effects of Computer Related Assignments on Student Performance in Business Administration The Money Game: A Dynamic Simulation Including Random Shocks for Money and Banking Courses Methods for Evaluating Performance on Business Simulations: A Survey The Effects of Synergogy on the Policy Course: Significant Improvements in Student Learning and Teacher Evaluation Conditions and Outcomes of Trust in a Two-Person Bargaining Exercise Bankgame Enhancing Computer Business Simulation with the Use of VGA Graphics An Experiential Approach to Entrepreneurship An Advanced Simulation Method (ASM) for Multiple Objective Problems The Influence of Experiential learning Techniques on Student Recognition of Non-Primary Learning Styles Negotiating Mergers and Acquisitions: A Cocktail Napkin Approach Identification of Unintended Effects in Experiential Laboratory Exercises An Experimental Comparison of Paper and Pencil and Computer Aided Decision Support Tools Porting a Simulation from the IBM World to the Macintosh World A Transaction Cost Analysis of Experiential Learning The Development of Experiential Exercises for Courses in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management The Assessment Center as and Experiential Classroom Exercise Pricing Strategy Algorithms for Playing Business Simulations Organizational Structures for International Operations: An Experiential Activity Simulation Emphasis in the Business School Capstone Course An Integrated Approach to Computerizing the Business Curriculum Cross-Cultural Business Negotiations Exercise Organizational Socialization and Gender Differences in Students at Work Understanding Student Work Experience: A Content-Analytic Approach Introducing Executive MBA Programs with Management Games An Analysis of Improvement in Business Decision Outcome with Sequential Use of Two Simulation Games Teaching Business Policy Utilizing Mass Lecture and Individual Case Labs Potholes Along the Road to Evaluating Learning Outcomes: The Case of Outdoor Management Training Experiential Learning for Interior Design Students: Using CADD, Lotus 1-2-3, and Wordperfect Cognitive Learning Using a Computer-Based, Qualitative Interactive Business Simulation Sex Discrimination: Does the Woman get the Job or Does the Best Man Win? A Search for Visual Aids to Support Experiential Learning Through the 1990's An Experimental Analysis fo the Effectiveness of Student Role-Playing in Sales Training How to Have Students Learn from their Term Projects Self-Evaluation Exercise (SEE): An Assessment of Class Contribution A Study of the Influence of Team Formation on Attitudes and Performance in Management Games A Hardware Based CIM Simulation Laboratory Model Test Substance Abuse in Organizations Micro Computer Training Models Teaching Forecasting, Cash Budgeting and Inventory Model Building Using SBTools A Comparison of the Effects of Experiential Learning Activities and Traditional Lecture Classes An Adjunct Writing Instruction Assistant, The Computer; With an Illustration Classroom Software for ABC Analysis Utilizing Information Processing Technology to Enhance the Business Policy Simulation Experience Progressive Cases Realistic Job Previews Vs. Traditional Job Previews: Experiencing the Differences and Understanding the Consequences Investment Analysis Using the Pragmatic Multiplier Approach A Computer Simulation Interface for Competitive and Firm Analysis Self-Assessment of Ethical Decision Making Predispositions Preparing Managers for Overseas Assignments An Inquiry into Japanese Marketing: Workshop on Teaching Japanese Marketing The Performance Appraisal Feedback Interview: A Role Play for Human Resources Management Teaching Counselor Selling techniques Using Experiential Techniques to Teach International Topics International Management Simulation Gaming: Current Status and Future Developments A Realism Comparison of Simulation Technologies/Methodologies A Time-Efficient Game to Illustrate Concepts Taught in Management Courses and Management Development Programs Teaching the Management of Technology The Concept of Face and the Applicability of Experiential Exercises in an Oriental Culture's