Assignment for "The Think Tank" = PharmaSim

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The following assignment, to be completed in your PharmaSim teams, is designed to introduce you to the research and information available to you in the PharmaSim game.  That information is important to your ability to make good marketing decisions.  HINT: You should "buy" the surveys and information offered in the PharmaSim game menu at a "price."  The cost is charged to your company budget, not to you personally.  The cost is minimal compared to the learning you receive that will help you make better marketing decisions in the game.  Some of the information you need to complete this assignment (competitor and channel information) is found only in the Student Manual or may be integrated into other reports and surveys on the game menu.  This assignment is due by the end of week 1 (Sunday, 11:30 p.m.) and is worth 20 points.  Your team leader must submit the assignment by the deadline by uploading it in the assignment upload area.

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Welcome to Allstar Brands!   As a new Marketing Assistant Trainee you have a lot to learn before you can take over management of one of our most important brands, Allround.   One key to developing effective marketing strategies is to make informed decisions based on thorough analysis of research information.   Your first assignment introduces you to the research reports that we use on a daily basis.   

You will have access to many market research reports in the navigation buttons on the left side of the PharmaSim Simulation screen (at  interpretive.com).   There are only a few reports covering the "Channel" category (and they are interspersed in the Market and Survey menu items) but, much more "Channel" information is found in the Student Manual (accessed in the "Resources" button on the PharmaSim home page).  The following category reports are organized in PharmaSim in the following  five categories:

1. Company:   Provides detailed information about company performance.

2. Market:   Provides information on overall market performance and trends affecting the simulation environment.

3. Competition:   Provides information necessary to understand what competitors are doing, and if they are succeeding.

4. Channel:   Provides information about the distribution channel.

5. Survey:   Provides information about consumer buyer behavior.

There is much information presented in these reports.   The primary objective of this assignment is for each team member to become familiar with the depth of information available to them to make marketing decisions, and to accomplish that without information overload.  Therefore, each team member will develop an understanding of the research reports available in a particular category of reports.  The team leader will then collate and upload the team members' insights.   In that way, the team members can then read the insights of the other members of the team to develop a deeper understanding of the reports available to them beyond the category they studied.

Each team must assign each member of the team the responsibility to read, understand and describe ONE (1) of the 5 categories of research described above.  Teams with 5 or more members should do all 5 categories.  Teams with 4 members can pick 4 out of the 5 categories.

The reports are generally found in the PharmaSim Simulation navigation button menu.  Some reports aren't available there until later in the game.  To find those reports  consult the PharmaSim Student Manual.  The Manual can be accessed on the PharmaSim home page at the bottom of the page. 

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After finding the reports, each person should learn about the kinds and depth of information provided by reports in the category they are reviewing, and then write a one page summary of their insights.  (A 5-person team would turn in a 5 page report.)  The summary should include the following information and analysis:

1. Type and source of Information:   Internal information that comes from company control reports; Environmental information that comes from syndicated market research firms, industry associations, or government sources; or Consumer  information that comes from survey research.

2. Interpretation:   Describe the data contained within the report and interpret the meaning of the information or numbers presented in ONE (1) of the reports within the category.

3. Use:   Describe how the information would be used to make marketing decisions.

The assignment will be graded based on: 

1) completion of all individual assignments and posted on the team's private discussion board for other team members to review, and

2) completeness of information and description in the assignment.

Here is a link to the PharmaSim Case: http://app3.interpretive.com/psf14/doc/case.pdf