Strategic Plans

When our group first started planning our strategy to win the second Littlefield simulation game, it was evident that the goal of the game was to maximize profits. We were competing against 18 other teams, but we knew with correct system capacity management and correct inventory management we could be the number one team. Even though we made correct decisions overall, we ended up in second place again with a cash balance of $2,660,393 and remaining inventory of 52 kits. Although we were a little disappointed again, we were very satisfied with what we have learned and the important operations management concepts we used such as capacity management and lead-time and inventory management throughout both of the Littlefield simulation games.

After having run through the simulation, what elements of that strategy would you have changed and/or what strategy do you intend to pursue in the group simulation?

I believe that this simulation was a great tool in helping us as MBA candidates to see just how companies succeed and/or fail to achieve their growth targets in revenue and profitability. However, an organization heightens the probability of achieving profitable growth whenever it has a clear expansion strategy and a strong execution infrastructure. One without the other impairs the probability of success. I conclude that there are two main reasons for such: 1) inadequate consideration of opportunities within the core business, adjacent to the core business or within new customer sub-segments; 2) an organizational infrastructure that cannot support successful execution.

Our initial strategy to split the strategic decisions per region created company instability in the first couple of BSG simulation years. We found that a single regional misalignment could cause a significant impact on the overall performance of the company. After the first couple years of decisions, the team decided to work together to analyze the previous year’s results and reach a consensus on the next year’s strategic goals and the decisions necessary to reach our competitive goals.

Second, our team would have decreased our sales force even more (i.e. the number of sales staff). Each decrease in sales staff would have given us $50,000 additional money to use elsewhere in our budget...or not. We could have simply kept the cash on hand to go to our bottom line and increase profitability. Segment A had concerns around customer service and the ability to interact more with our sales engineers. To address segment A’s concerns, we would have shifted the allocation percentage of the remaining sales staff more to that segment. Totally cutting the sales force from segments C and D was the plan our team discussed and would have implemented. Lastly, the simulation is set up to make adjustments on a quarterly basis, our team decided we would not be as reactive to customer feedback. Making changes every quarter to address customer complaints and or concerns meant that we could potentially change an input too soon before realizing its true overall impact to our metrics. We agreed that we would have let some of the changes materialize over multiple quarters to see if there was a true

During this round of the simulation DTL strategically leverage the cost and benefits of various

Over the course of the simulation we learned a lot of lessons about running a business. We learned how to develop effective advertising, leaned how to adapt to changes in markets, and learned how to develop effective products along with lots of other things. This was all with the goal of becoming the most successful firm in the emerging microcomputer industry. Success wasn’t immediate but in the end we lead the Fox League in market share at 31% and were one of only two teams in the league to turn a profit over the 18 months we were in business. However, as we have leaned in Sustainable Business Practices this semester it is not just about the money, it is about taking care of your employees, the environment, and those around you. This is

Before the simulation started our group decided that we wanted to put customer satisfaction as our top priority, over market share and profit. After our first quarter, we began to panic because every

Once the game started I was encourage on teammates on what to set the prices to because we went the first 4 days without selling any inventory, so for the first 4 days we still have a 6,000 bottles of water in our inventory. I told to lower the prices then the products started to fast but we knew the goal was to make the largest profits so I tried to think of equilibrium price so the number of sell could reach their potential max profits. My team member ending up changes the prices till we sold out of product 3 days before the deadlines. The event was fun, but what I didn’t like was the teachers were giving everyone around us valuable tips but we were the only team at a disadvantage already with three members. In all, my team came in third place, I wish we had more time to replay the simulation because I would told to the team to try out my strategies. After the game was over everyone started to tell their procedures to generate the most profit for their team. I am glad I went to this because it introduce me to a S.A.P a software that most company uses around the world. I plan on doing S.A.P simulation in my spare time to get more familiar with the

My goal at the beginning of the simulation was to gain $4,000 by the end of my senior year to buy a car. My strategy to meet this was to invest in the consumer goods sector, as I was guessing that with the holidays coming up, the increased sales would drive up the stock price. I also invested in the transportation industry (i.e. automakers and aerospace/defence corporations) as there is always a demand for transport on all levels from personal cars to airliners and I knew that several new car/concepts would be released near the end of the simulation due to the Detroit auto show.

Strategic planning can dictate the success of any organization if properly planned as well as the failure of an organization if not implemented as planned. Strategic planning is all about making choices. It is a process designed to support leaders in being intentional about their goals and methods. Simply stated, strategic planning is a management tool, and like any management tool, it is used for one purpose only—to help an organization do a better job. This portion of the strategic plan will explain why an

The strategy I chose for the simulation is “Niche Cost Leader." First, with the key focus being value, this strategy will challenge me to keep costs at a minimum and force me to streamline overall costs to produce a valuable commodity that, in turn, will generate financial success that can be shared with internal and external stakeholders. Second, as the success of this strategy primarily relies on the existing product line being prosperous, I will be able to practice and hone my forecasting skills based on one product. Though I eventually will produce more than one product, most of the simulation will be conducting under making the primary product as successful as it can be, and reliable forecasts are

Even though; I was pleased with the results, it could had been much better. However, I believe this simulation has teach me a great value of how to succeed in the workforce. The reason why is because it taught me to make concise and careful decisions without jumping into conclusions. It is never a good idea to make reckless decisions, since it will always lead to problems. I also believe this simulation allow me to expand my thinking skills more in-depth. When I was looking over the performance summary, I had to think about the possibilities of what could happen in the future. I had to understand each of the elements that a company had to acquire. However, I realized when you are running a company, nothing will always be perfect. Sometimes in life, you need to take risks to achieve a set of goals. This is what the simulation for April has taught

The most significant events that affected our company and market was our initial opening of only one sales out let in NORAM. Our financial and market performance experienced major challenges primarily due to results from our Sales outlets. At the beginning of the simulation our company’s only sales outlet was from our webcenter

The customer simulation exercise of Minnesota Micromotors Inc, was a very intriguing one. It exposed me to a variety of moving pieces that enable a successful business performance across different objectives and parameters.