Can Business Simulation Really Help?

There was a knock at the door and Doris, his long suffering secretary, entered the room.

"Acme wants 50,000 more widgets by Tuesday", she exclaimed.

Mickey felt like his head was going to explode. He had no way of knowing if he could meet the order so, as usual, he delegated the decision to Doris. "Yes, please take care of it," he said gruffly.

Fortunately for Mickey, Doris had studied Management Science at Business School where she had been introduced to IndustryPlayer, a business simulation game that creates a virtual world of commerce. Players from all over the globe to compete against each other in a range of different scenarios. Indeed at any one time as many as 500 people may be found competing with each other, whilst learning the valuable lessons of business, and business simulation. Doris had once been addicted to it!

Doris knew that IndustryPlayer couldn't simulate the conditions of Mickey's company, but wondered if there was a reliable software application that might help her determine if the new order could be delivered on time, and importantly how many extra temps Mickey would have to employ to make it so.

She told Mickey what she had in mind and Mickey listened attentively. He slowly began to open his eyes to a slew of business possibilities.

Mickey's problem is that he was afraid to take risks. He felt that if he made a mistake, the entire business would crash around him. What's worse, it would not only be his personal failure. He would have failed his father and grandfather as well as other relatives who depended on the family business. Most of all, Mickey was afraid he would fail his wife and kids. He constantly worried about the future. This fear prevented him from focusing fully on the business. “If only there was a way to look into the future then I would be better equipped to manage the risks,” Mickey told himself.

Now, with Doris of all people showing him the way, Mickey discovered the answer to his prayers -- business simulation. By using the right business simulation software, he could see how his business would fare under different conditions and how his own initiatives would pan out.

Mickey scoured the market for what was available and studied his new business simulation program diligently. It took several weeks but Mickey finally felt he was ready to put what he had learned into action.

To be effective, Mickey knew he had to focus on the four key facets of business stimulation -- data warehousing; business analytics and data visualization; data, text and web mining; and business performance management.

Mickey held a series of meetings with his key executives and other company personnel. First, he concentrated on data warehousing or organizing the data in his organization with an eye towards making the company's best practices available to all in the quickest time possible. Collating all that data was a tremendous task, but also an invaluable learning experience for Mickey. He was surprised at the sources of some of his data, which came not only from his key people but from rank and file personnel as well, like Doris.

Next, he concentrated on business analytics, particularly monitoring his competitors' attempts to acquire and use competitive intelligence. Business analytics and data visualization allowed Mickey's company to measure itself against the competition and to pinpoint the strengths and opportunities that the company could tap and which others could not. Mickey felt that, for the first time, he had a firm grasp of the strategic considerations of his business. More importantly, he learned that he had a strong company on his hands, capable of competing against anyone else on equal footing.

Mickey also used his newfound knowledge of data, text and Web mining to find critical information from within his system and from the Internet. There were so many valuable nuggets of information that was found. Armed with stacks of valuable facts and figures, Mickey and his key personnel now had a clear-cut idea of the specific operational areas where he had an advantage over the competition. He was also able to identify the specific consumer niches in the market where the greatest growth potential could be found.

Finally, it was time to streamline the company through business performance management. Mickey was able to identify operational areas were wastage was high and were resources were poorly allocated. He was also able to effectively synergize the company's various departments to focus on the areas he identified for future growth. Through a compelling audio-visual presentation, Mickey presented to his key executives a corporate-wide scorecard which showed their strengths and their position in the marketplace. More importantly, his presentation showed everyone how to maximize their strengths and reinforce their position to meet the challenges of the future.

Eventually, Mickey also shared his business simulation software with his key executives. Now all of them are equipped to chart the possible course of the business. It’s also a lot easier to agree on strategies and tactics since everyone spoke the same language. Today, his executives are just as addicted to simulations of Mickey's family business as Doris once was to IndustryPlayer.

While everyone in the company realizes that business simulation has its limitations and cannot be relied upon totally to achieve business objectives, Mickey and his people have also recognized that business simulation is an invaluable tool in planning and strategy formulation.

Today, Mickey is slowly beginning to teach his younger relatives all about business simulation. As long as the family paid close attention to the lessons of business simulation, Mickey now feels confident that the family business will be in good shape to pass to the next generation.