Management Training And Business Simulation

Skills Required for Management of Business Activities

In the current business report a particular scenario has been focussed upon as part of a business management simulation game. The business simulation is used for providing training to the management students regarding the business ethics and protocols which are to be implemented in a particular scenario. The business management simulation game is used for business acumen training and development. Some of the objectives covered under the training program are – decision making, strategic thinking, problem solving, financial and market analysis, leadership and teamwork. The word simulation can be further referred to as the processing and analysis of a problem situation to find out the correct alternative.

The skills required for management of the business activities can be divided into a number of steps and procedures such as evaluation of the information sources, collection and presentation of the data, balancing of the emotional intelligence while working with others. One of the most important aspects of conducting a business project is conducting market analysis about the different risk factors which might affect the success of the business plan.  Therefore, working as a part of a team in a business management simulation game I need to focus upon the various internal and external factors which might affect the success of the project. For example, participants may be chosen who play the role of the founder of a new start up company in the retail sector.  Therefore, an efficient business planning requires setting up of the prices of the products, deciding upon the workforce which needs to be hired, fixing of salary and compensation packages. I also need to focus upon improving the relationships with different stakeholders by laying out a transparent profit sharing policies. For the evaluation of the information sources a wide variety of marketing tools could be used such as the porter’s competitive forces, PESTLE analysis etc. Additionally, I could also conduct a PESTLE which would help me in identifying the effect of different political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors which influences the success rate of a start up. As reported price shifting in the global market influences the rate of purchase of the end products. The inflation has a significant effect on the prices of the raw materials which goes into making the final goods. Therefore, a significant rise in the prices of raw materials will also increase the price of the final goods.

Importance of Working Effectively in a Team

For conducting the business management simulation game specific group students have been further divided into teams.  Some of the students have been asked to play the role of stakeholders. The stakeholders play a crucial role within the context of a business organization. It is necessary to discuss the marketing plans with the stakeholders. The stakeholder group consists of the management, investors, distribution partners as well as the customers.  During undertaking the business game project I have realized the importance of the data collection and presentation process. In order to collect the data we have used a basic survey process where a certain fraction of the students were to participate within the survey process as the target customer group. Their responses were collected through the survey and the statistically significant data were used in formulation of important results and alternatives. Here, questions were drafted by my team and I pertaining to the benefits and losses of different changes brought about within retail market. The benefits of availability of packet ready foods versus the health hazards caused by them and the preferences of the customers were used   for drafting a research question such as – “Do you think the availability of packet foods saves time out of your daily schedule?”…. “Do you think consuming packet ready foods is good for your health?”. The link to the question was provided in Google forms to the participants. The responses were analyzed for arriving at significant statistical results. The results were further discussed with the accessor where each of the students was invited to express their views regarding the results.

Another important aspect in the development of necessary skills and business acumen is working effectively within a team.  I need to focus upon the aspect of development of team skills such as effective communication for transmitting as well as understanding the grievances faced by my respective team members. I need to focus upon building my emotional intelligence for communicating effectively with my peers within the group.  The emotional intelligence refers to the aspect of understanding one’s own feelings along with those working along with him to find out an agreed way of problem solving. For reflecting upon my management skills and approaches in can use the Gibb’s reflective cycle. The Gibb’s reflective cycle consists of a number of components such as –description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and action plan. Initially to start with I can discuss the problem situation with my peers which will help in developing a clear understanding within the management trainees regarding the future marketing and business trends.  As a team lead I also need to take into consideration the feelings of different members within my group. For the purpose of which I will need to develop my emotional intelligence further. A discussion of the evaluation might be carried on which helps in focussing about the different strengths and weakness of the research methods employed. The analysis can help in the development of risk management skills which can sharpen the business ethics sense within an individual.

Evaluating and Presenting Data

Figure: Gibbs’ reflective cycle

Self Assessment	Cooperation	Creativity	Effort	Reliability	Total
Name Team  Leader	4	3	4	3	12
Justification of final mark for self assessment · As I was starting out new as a team leader of a business management simulation game I lacked certain amount of knowledge and skills required for effective team guidance and planning f future alternatives. · Therefore, I lacked on the creativity parameter.
Team Members’ Name	Cooperation	Creativity	Effort	reliability	Total
1.	2	3	4	5	14
Justification of final mark for 1. · There was sufficient lack of cooperation from the end of the particular team member. · It was not clear that whether the team member was facing any difficulty in understanding the objectives of the assignment or ·  Simply lacking interest in the process build up as there was lack of attention within the specific team member.
2.	2	1	3	2	8
Justification of final mark for 2. · The team member   performed poor in all the parameters. · Therefore an analysis was conducted which reflected that the team member had difficulty in following up the different steps of the  study Study. · The reason being language incompetency which made it difficult for the management student to follow the different approaches   taught within the game.
3.	3	2	3	5	12
Justification of final mark for 3. · The team member relatively low on creativity · The same could be attributed to the  lack of  sufficient knowledge and  skills  within  a beginner
4.	2	2	3	4	11
Justification of final mark for 4. · The team member scored low on cooperation and creativity · Therefore, lack of team working spirit  and  sufficient amount of expertise affected the productivity of the particular team member
5.	3	4	2	3	12
Justification of final mark for 5. · The particular team member lacked  in the effort part · Therefore, the team leader needs to redirect the team members in developing sufficient motivation for contributing in making the   end products of the business management game better.

The 360 degree evaluation helps in understanding the different attributes which helps in effective team bonding and also in team building. In this respect, a relatively low score was observed for cooperation, effort and creativity. The lack of creativity could be justified by the lack of skills within the beginners group for undertaking sufficient analysis of the changing market domains and designing products accordingly. The personal and professional weaknesses help in focussing upon the emerging needs within the current management and marketing scenario. In order to deal with the loopholes identified a number of steps and measures could be undertaken such as provision of additional level of training to the management students. Some of the students complained that they could not understand the programs undertaken as step wise elaboration was missing. Additionally, languages differences also affected the quality of the project. Therefore, a digital interface along with step wise elaboration could be used for explaining the project in detail to the participants.

As a part of the research undertaken, I will ask my team to do specific project based research based on the theoretical concepts that is inclined to my programme. Since, my business programme is a retail based start up programme, I will mostly focus on the team based research over the theories of the organisational management that is required to host a successful start up business.

At first I will ask my team to focus on the Life Cycle Theory for the development of my retail start-ups. This theory assumes that the start up will follow a predictable pattern that can be formed in sequential stages. Me and my team will specifically work on those predicted pattern and how our business will follow or diverge from the pattern and thereby having a change management plan on order to control the deviation. I will mainly ask my team to focus on the ten-stage Milestone Model as proposed by Block and MacMillan in the year 1985. According to this model, the stage content is dependent on the development of concept and then subsequent completion of product testing. Since it is a retail business the development of concept will mainly deal with the kind of products that will be covered in the retail business on the basis of the market demand and market turnover the products. The main product testing will deal with the quality of raw materials and electronic goods and garments. After successful completion of these two stages, I will instruct my team to progress with the other stages of the Milestone Model.  Other stages of the model includes completion of the product prototype, initial financing, completion of the preliminary testing of the plant, market testing of products, proper analysis of the first batch of production, estimation of the early stage of sales value, the analysis of the first ever competitive activities, readjustment of the direction and finally the adjustment of the price band on the basis of the market demand and profit limit.

Use of Business Simulation Games

My final recommendation in this regard includes:

1. Proper selection of the product type and nature that will be included in the retail start up business: Here selection of the product will be based on the market testing of the product and its market demand
2. Adjustment of the prices: Adjustment of the price will be based on the market demand of the product. In case of the e-commerce backdrop, the product price will be based on the competitive rates prevailing in the online market. In the offline real store apart from the virtual one, the market price will be based on the nature of the customer in that particular area and their financial background.
3. Early sales: sales are an important feature in the retail business that helps to flourish in the retail market via surpassing the competitors.

In order to develop as an effective team player I need to hone my team working skills. Therefore, reflecting upon the Belbin team roles would help me in understanding my strengths and weaknesses as a team performer and also help me to enhance my team working skills for future roles. Some of the team roles can be reflected over here as suggested by Belbin’s which helped me in understanding my own strengths and weaknesses.   One of the preliminary roles is that of a resource investigator which could help me in finding out new ideas for the expansion of my business project.  I need to be optimistic and outgoing in discussing the idea with my team members and also encourage them to come up with their own ideas. The team worker aspect would help me I working efficiently within the team. This also involves the aspect of working on behalf of each other within a team. As a coordinator I need to delegate work properly within the team. This is further dependent upon effective team building and understanding. I need to weigh up the different options of the team in an impassionate way. The specialist approach helps in the development of specific skill sets within the team. I need to boost the morale of the team and keep the momentum going at the times of need. This is in accordance with the shaper perspective of Belbin’s team roles. Strategic planning is one of the important approaches which can be implemented within the team for defragmenting the business goals and reflecting upon them in a stepwise manner.

Conclusion 

The assignment focuses upon the aspect of business skills and acumen development by undertaking a business management simulation game. The purpose of undertaking the game is to develop the aspects of decision making, problem solving and strategic thinking within the budding entrepreneurs. The development and focussing upon real life situations helps in undertaking the aspects of risk management and analysis. The game also helps in highlighting the importance of team working and the affectivity of working in team within a business environment. Therefore, focussing upon the team building skills along with focussing upon the different business gimmicks and tools can help in making the project successful.

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