Supporting Individual’s Learning Towards Collective Benefits: A Car-Sharing Business Game Page 393 - Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, volume 41, 2014 SUPPORTING INDIVIDUAL’S LEARNING TOWARDS COLLECTIVE BENEFITS: A CAR-SHARING BUSINESS GAME Manabu Ichikawa Tokyo Institute of Technology ichikawa@dis.titech.ac.jp Kei Aizawa Tokyo Institute of Technology aizawa12@cs.dis.titech.ac.jp Tomoya Ozaki Tokyo Institute of Technology ozaki12@cs.dis.titech.ac.jp Jiao Xue Tokyo Institute of Technology xue11@cs.dis.titech.ac.jp Hiroshi Deguchi Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan ichikawa@dis.titech.ac.jp ABSTRACT The coordination between company status and individuals is a volatile component of many corporations. A concentration in whole organization offers flexible market access, competence development for each member of organization, and a maximum collective benefit. However, such coordination often encounters a business dilemma that leads to disappointing performance. Each member achieves good results, however, the sum of all the achievements cannot maximize profit for organization. We implement a business game and suggest that experiencing this game, players can have an effective learning outcome. In the ’Condominium Building Car-sharing Business Management Game’. Each player represents an independent decision maker and plays a role in the company. There are two roles in the game: a Proprietor and a Manager. Each proprietor is in charge of one condominium building and holds the fundamental information of the building and selective business factors such as the volume of that building. Proprietors have responsibilities to decide the strategy of their building and present their consideration to support the manager. On the other hand, the manager is responsible for deciding strategies of for the whole car-sharing business. Since the manager holds the general information of the company instead of the concrete state of each condominium building. The player must make the decision from the whole point of view by considering the suggestion from each proprietor. The same as the real company, by having a meeting at each step, proprietors and managers share the information and make the decision. Finally, they achieve collective benefits of the whole organization. The game contributes to understanding the variety in business process, performance of different roles in the same business, and business longevity. From playing our game, the players can experience the joy of real business, and enhance the learning towards collective benefit. Page 394 - Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, volume 41, 2014 EXPECTED OUTCOMES 1. What lessons are to be learned by the participants when playing the game?  Main lesson of this game is the acquirement towards collective benefits in real business. 2. How can the administrator determine if the lessons of the game have been learned by the participants?  Debriefing, like discussions, with showing all other possible simulation results of this game. 3. If the game is played in rounds, what is the minimum and maximum number of rounds that need to be played?  This game has several rounds, but doesn’t have a definite number of round. 4. If played in rounds how much time should be allocated for the decision process for each round?  There are about 5-10min. between decision processes. 5. What devices are needed by the players to play the game?  Each player should have a device with web browser, which can access to the same internet. 6. What decisions need to be made by the players?  The decision depends on the different role of player. Proprietor players consider the strategies and give advices to manager player. Manager players make executable decision and the reward of proprietor players. 7. What information is provided to the players after each round?  Different roles of player access to different information. Proprietor players hold the business status of the part they are responsible for. Manager players organize the whole company appears.