Products Simulation: Building Business Acumen for Long-term Success
In the Products Simulation, participants manage a fictional company for long-term success. The classroom program provides direct experience of the difficulties and challenges faced by a products-based business in a competitive environment. The result: Enhanced business acumen that is applied back on the job for improved performance.
During the simulation workshop, participants work together in management teams to overcome their company’s poor record of financial and operating performance. They define a mission statement, develop broad-based objectives, identify goals, and create business strategies to accomplish these goals—all from a senior manager’s perspective.
Throughout the simulation, participants make decisions in every area of business operations from marketing to operations to finance. Decisions are based on previous years’ results, strategic and tactical plans, and participant analysis of the competition and marketplace.
Annual reports, trade journals and pro-forma financial statements are also produced to help participants analyze their decisions, take corrective actions, and examine their industry stance.
Building Business Acumen Skills Through Realistic Business Scenarios
By experiencing Products Simulation, participants build business acumen skills. They explore new ideas and implement different decisions in a variety of realistic business scenarios. Through discussion and rapid feedback, they immediately see the impact of their strategic and tactical decisions on company operations, refine their analytical skills, and practice planning and problem-solving techniques.
- Begin Building Business Acumen in a
Product-Based Business
- Download this page
as a PDF
Key Simulation Challenges
- Product differentiation
- Resource management
- Cost reduction
- Debt/equity financing
- Pricing
- Market expansion
- Total quality management
- Cross-functional issues
- Service management
- Capacity planning
- Cash management
- Product mix
- Promotion
- Customer focus
- Vendor selection
- Begin Building Business Acumen in a
Product-Based Business
- Download this page
as a PDF