Project 4: Simulation as a Tool for Strategic Decision Making—Part 2

MBA 670 Project 4

Individual Analysis

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Step 7: Submit Your Work

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Step 2: Decide on a Global Strategy

Starting from scratch, your team will make decisions about how to run your client’s company, which designs, manufactures, and sells genetic testing devices—this time by following a global strategy. As you pivot to a global strategy, you will examine the elements of  target market selection to ensure you choose a strategy that is suitable for MediCorp. Also review the blueprint for international expansion laid out in the article, “ Going International.”

Recall the  eight strategies in Capsim. Your team will pick one of the four  global strategies and use the same global strategy for the four rounds in this project. No two teams can use the same strategy in the same project.

Reserve your team’s choice of global strategy for Project 4 in the Strategy Selection discussion area by 11:59 ET on Tuesday of Week 6. Strategies will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Then continue to the next step, where you will apply your strategy to make key decisions for MediCorp.

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Step 3: Make Your Decisions

Your team is now ready to help MediCorp compete in the genetic testing device industry by making strategic decisions through the Capsim platform. Your decisions will direct four calendar years of your client’s operations. On December 31 of each year in your simulation, Capsim will produce a report that reflects the results of your decisions. Your team will use these reports to make further decisions for the following calendar year. First, consult your Round 0 Report to understand the starting position of MediCorp’s business. Use  How to Find Reports in Capsim to locate the Round 0 Report and reports for all subsequent rounds. Then, begin making decisions for your client, consulting  Capsim: A Systematic Approach to Making Strategic Decisions for direction.

Tips

· Teams should make their decisions in the following order: (1) R&D, (2) marketing, (3) production, and (4) finance. In this simulation, your team is unlikely to be successful if it makes decisions in a different sequence. However, coordination between the four areas during all decisions is also critical, and you may have to revisit decisions based on input from other departments.

· For your own benefit, it is advisable to individually take notes on the decision-making process, which may help you analyze your team’s results later in this project.

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Project 4: Simulation as a Tool for Strategic Decision Making—Part 2 Start Here

Scenario

Everyone in the office has been buzzing about your team’s leadership and efforts on the MediCorp project. As a result, the CEO, Jillian Best, brings the team together to discuss the next steps. The decisions you made through Capsim were constructive in understanding MediCorp’s approach to local markets, and Jillian would now like you to examine the client’s potential for business success on a global scale. “MediCorp has been very impressed with our work thus far,” she says. “Let’s keep up that momentum. China and Germany have emerged as excellent options for growing MediCorp’s business internationally. Your teamwork, projections, and analysis will be very useful as we help this client navigate these markets.”

Jillian requests that you continue working on the same team and using Capsim to evaluate MediCorp’s potential international markets. The meeting concludes, and you return to your office feeling rejuvenated with your sights set on global success.

Introduction

In Project 4, you will continue to work on the same team as in Project 3. Again, you will turn in your own analysis at the end of the project for an individual grade. Starting from scratch and choosing a new strategy—a global strategy—you will use the Capsim software to simulate a real-world environment in which you not only make strategic business decisions for MediCorp but see the results year after year. Your team’s simulation results for MediCorp are not graded or assessed. Rather, your project grade will be based on the quality of your individual analysis of the simulation results and your ability to interpret the results as a consequence of the team’s decisions. To get started, click Step 1: Discuss Entry Strategy.

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Step 1: Discuss Entry Strategy

As you prepare to choose a new strategy—a global strategy—to direct your client’s business decisions, it will be useful to think critically about  international strategies,  modes of entry, and  globalizing the management model.

Before you and your teammates settle on a strategy, Jillian Best has asked you to meet and discuss the various factors that influence an entry strategy.

Based, on your readings, respond to at least one main topic by Saturday midnight; respond to the second main topic and a minimum of two posts from your classmates (at least one in each topic) by Tuesday midnight of Week 7.

Discussion Topic 1: What are the factors that influence an organization’s choice of entry mode in a country? Discuss how the chosen mode fits with an organization's goals and objectives.

Discussion Topic 2: What are the country factors that influence an organization’s decision to enter that country? What is the impact of the culture and geography on the organization’s value-chain activities being relocated to the country?

Review the  MBA Discussion Guidelines for instructions on participation in discussions. Also, abide by the following guidelines:

· The titles of your main postings should indicate the discussion topic number (e.g., #1, #2).

· In your discussions, cite examples when you describe theories from your reading and research. You may use examples from your organization or industry, current or recent newsmakers, or other reliable sources. Support your work with scholarly and reliable non-scholarly sources.

After the discussion, proceed to the next step, where your team will select a global strategy to guide your business recommendations for your client.

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Step 6: Analyze Your Team’s Decisions and Results

INBOX: 1 New Message

Subject:  Report From:      Jillian Best, CEO, MCS To:           You

Hello, I think we’ve learned a lot about MediCorp’s capacity to compete internationally. Well done. Let’s take a moment to reflect on what we have learned by employing a global strategy for our client. Again, I have compiled some key questions about how the decisions you made for MediCorp affected the company’s performance. Please use the attached template and prepare an eight- to ten-page analysis for me by the end of the week. Type your answers directly in the template. Thanks, Jillian

Attachments:

Project 4 Analysis Questions

You have now finished working with your team on implementing a global strategy for MediCorp. At this point you will transition into an individual role of an analyst for MCS. Each person on the team will do his or her own analysis of results without any consultation with other team members or with students on other teams.

Submit an analysis of Rounds 1 through 4 of the simulation by answering the questions provided in the Project 4 Analysis Questions template. Link to the Learning Topic from MBA 620 in Question #6 can be found  here. Your report should be eight to ten pages (approximately 250 to 300 words per question), double spaced, excluding cover page. Any tables, graphs, and figures should be included in the body of your answers. Your report should have one-inch margins and be double spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font. In-text citations and references should abide by APA format. Do not delete the questions as you complete the template.

Along with your analysis, submit your Team Decision Record. Thus, you will submit two files to the dropbox located in the final step of this project.

Fill out a Capsim Decision Record at the conclusion of each round. This document will serve as a record of your thoughts and decisions in each of the functional areas.

The next step provides recommended delivery dates and file-naming protocols for Project 4 deliverables.

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Step 4: Save Your Decisions

When your team is satisfied with its decisions, the team coordinator will submit the final decisions to Capsim. Your Round 1–4 results will be available immediately after the round is processed as per the deadline in the table below.

Classes in Europe and Asia will follow the schedule set by their faculty.

Only one set of decisions needs to be made by each team. All team members will have access to the decision areas for all other members. You only need to make decisions for your assigned area, but you can see what decisions other team members are making, if needed. For example, before making decisions in marketing, where you have a primary role, you can click on the R&D tab to see what decisions have been made.

When you are done, be sure to select File, then Save Decisions from the dropdown menu when you are done, or else your team members will not be able to see your decisions. You must select Save Decisions and exit Capsim before your teammates can view your decisions. If you decide that you need to make a change, you can make the necessary adjustments to your decisions and select File and Save Decisions once again to overwrite the previously saved decisions. Choose Exit to return to the Participant Dashboard.

Once a round is processed, you can then begin to make decisions for the next round. If you miss the deadline, your round will be processed with the decisions from the past round, unchanged, or with any partial decisions your team has made.

After Round 4, your team role ends, and you will begin your individual analysis of the decision-making process spanning the past four rounds and the outcome of those decisions.

Proceed to the next step to begin analyzing your contribution to your team as well as your team’s results.

MBA 670 Project 4

Individual Analysis