Sunpower
Phoebe015
SunPowerSimulationWorksheet1.docxMGT 690 2/14/20
Sun Power Simulation
This document is a quick starter guide to the interface and how you will run each of the unique “worlds” in this exercise. You will play in each world for 18 simulated years.
Starting
The Sun Power simulation can be accessed here: http://forio.com/simulation/mit-sloan-solar
Click “Play as part of a class”
For “Choose a Screen ID” enter your initials
For “Class code”, enter “MGT690_01”
Interface
The first page is the Dashboard where you can see high-level information about your own market share, solar panel price, cost, etc. and how that compares to all other solar. More detailed information is available through the panels on the left (some will not be populated with useful information until a few years into the simulation). There is a link to the case at the bottom of the screen.
Decisions
In this simulation, you have two choices: price of the module and investment in process improvement.
Pricing – You can either manually set a price, sell for a set percentage below the average of your competitors, or a percentage markup of your cost.
Process improvement – You set the percentage of revenues that will be invested in improving the efficiency of your solar panel manufacturing process.
Years to advance – Leave this at 1 year for the purpose of the class, you can set higher values if you wish to run the simulation on your own.
Once you have made a decision, press the “Advance” button to go to the next year. Do not press “Start Over” – it is best to learn from your mistakes as they happen.
Exercise Timeline
Begin with MGT690_01, once you finish the 18 year simulation, record your performance (press the “Copy to Clipboard” Option above the dashboard table to save your data). Consider the questions.
After the discussion, press “Logout” in the top right, press “Play as part of a Class”, enter the same ID, and then enter the class code MGT690_02. Answer the questions on the following page after finishing.
If you want to play around with different settings, you can click “Play as an individual” and select “Settings”.
World 1 (MGT690_01):
1. What strategy did you use? Was it effective?
2. What were your outcomes? Percentage of market share and cumulative profit?
3. What happened in the world? How did you react to it?
World 2 (MGT690_02):
1. What felt different about this world?
2. What were your outcomes? Percentage of market share and cumulative profit?
3. What happened in the world? How did you react to it?
