Experience Business Using A Simple Business Simulation 320 | Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 36, 2009  EXPERIENCE BUSINESS USING A SIMPLE BUSINESS SIMULATION   David A. Jordan Geneva College dave@bussim-ed.com This simulation teaches the relationships between five simple Business Decision variables in a typical manufacturing business environment. It simulates 20 quarters of business operation. Accrual accounting methods are used. Each period an Integrated Financial Statement report is provided. The simulation begins in Quarter 1 with production of 15,000 units of product. Each unit currently sells for $30. Price may be changed to reflect new business strategies. The Budget expenditures (Marketing, Quality, Technology and Incentives) are represented as a percent of revenue. These decisions may be changed from their initial values by pressing the up/down arrows in each decision block. How each of these variables affects the simulation is described below. Decision Variables • Price -- Affects product demand and sales. • Marketing -- Affects product sales. • Quality -- Affects product sales. • Technology -- Affects product cost of production. • Incentives -- Affects actual production and cost to produce. The model in this simulation compares demand (desired units) to supply (available units) and determines the units sold, revenue, expenses and resulting profit for each quarter’s operation. Each quarter’s earnings are converted to cash as collections (current and receivables) are received. Inventory can be a big user of cash. If cash goes below zero, a loan will automatically be made to bring cash to zero. Stock Value changes as a result of earnings and dividends paid during each quarter. Stock Value is the performance metric used to measure success in this simple model. This simulation can be played with one player or many players. They play against the computer, not each other. The simulation can be played in 5 minutes, but is meant to be played several times while evaluating improvement. An hour session is sufficient to begin seeing the relationships between the decision variables. This game is played on a Flash Player in a Web Browser in local or Internet mode so the player will need a laptop with Web Browser and Flash Player installed. This game can currently be played at www.bussim-ed.com/mini3.htm. mailto:dave@bussim-ed.com http://www.bussim-ed.com/mini3.htm Table of Contents Volume 36, 2009 Protecting Academic Integrity: Student Assessment In The Online Environment Pedagogical Shift: Teaching Report Writing For Accountants Online Increasing Student Learning In An Investment Management Course Through The Innovative Use Of Experiential Learning Pedagogy A Moral Development Unit For Business Courses Dividing Up Grandma’s Things: A Multifaceted Exercise In Critical Thinking Application Of Haekel’s Thesis To ABSEL Development Linking Stories With On-Line Threaded Discussions For Critical Thinking In Management Curriculum Why Have We Neglected Vicarious Experiential Learning? A Triadic Multi-Disciplinary Approach To Enhancing The Efficacy Of Experiential Learning Movement Toward Increased Student Roles In The Design Of Experiential Exercises Ready-Mix Concrete Company: An Experiential Exercise In Management Theory Using Portfolio Theory In A General Management Simulation An Experimental Analysis Of Advertising Strategies And Advertising The Relationship Between Goal Orientation And Simulation Performance With Attitude Change And Perceived Learning Beyond The Profitable-Product Death Spiral: Managing Product Mix In An Environment Of Constrained Resources Online Marketing Control With The Strategic Business Unit Analysis Package Beat The Market Game Creating Decision Support Systems In Business Simulation Games The Use Of Computer-Assisted, Interactive Role-Play Simulation In China Asia Marketing: An International Business Game An Empirical Test Of “Behavioral Immersion” In Experiential Learning Existing And Emerging Business Simulation-Game Design Movements Computerized Business Simulations: A Systems Dynamics Process Service Launch Evaluating Business Plans In A Simulation Environment Teaching Software Development By Means Of A Classroom Game: The Software Development Game Group Decision Experiments Using Business Game - Problem Solving With Conflict Luna: A Role Play Game For Learning Incoterms 2000 Entrepreneurship: A Game Of Risk And Reward Phase I -- The Search For Opportunity The Wee Game: A Pre-Game Learning Inhibitors In Business Simulations And Games New Version Of An Old Simulation Helps Build A Perfect Capstone Course Project Competitor: A Simulation Game For Project Management With 2 Models And 2 Modes Mitigating The Winner’s Curse In The Auction Market Of A Computer-Assisted Business Gaming Simulation Evaluation Of Collaborative Filtering By Agent-Based Simulation Considering Market Environment Marketing Simulation Game Decision Making Experience And Its Impact On Indecisiveness Among Introductory Marketing Students Individual And Organizational Learning In A Top Management Game In Pursuit Of Stockholder Value: Reinforcing Core Concepts In A Business Strategy Simulation With A “Shadow” Stock Market Competition The Simplicity Paradox: Another Look At Complexity In Design Of Simulations And Experiential Exercises In Search Of The Ethnocentric Consumer: Experiencing “Laddering” Research In International Advertising The Paradise Islands Revisited: Trouble In Paradise Developing And Assessing Student Information Literacy Competency Do First Mover Advantages Exist In Competitive Board Games: The Importance Of Zugzwang The Natural Debriefing Approach: A Case In A Simple Business Game Pursued For Perfect Communications New Product Development Simulation Dominance In On Line Business Games Competitions Cooperative Business Game With Framing Effect Experiential Exercises In The Online Environment Enhancing Web-Based Simulations With Game Elements For Increased Engagement The Ginseng Game Experience Business Using a Simple Business Simulation