Introduction

Simulation manager games represent one of the most important so called active teaching methods (other are e.g. case studies). A typical feature of those is the team character of these games. The players are divided into separate teams – fictitious companies. Within these companies, they act in certain roles. It is mainly the necessity to perform these roles within the game that mediates experience to the students and allows them to apply theoretical knowledge in practice. At the same time, it makes students to apply an active approach when dealing with any problems.

From the team characters of managerial games stems the emphasis on mutual interaction. On one hand, the interaction is represented by active cooperation of team members in preparations of strategy variants and in accepting decisions; on the other hand it is outside interaction created by relationships between the individual teams. Simulation management games allow to acquire important experience and skills from the field of communication and team work, all that in an environment of cooperation and competition.

The last important feature of management games is their stage character. Every run of the game is divided into several stages representing a certain time period (in our game it is one year). This gives the participants the possibility of feedback. Decision for another stage follows only after results of the previous stage are published. Based on analyses of those results, the teams can adjust their strategies for future stages.

The course of the management game can be divided into three stages:
During the preparatory stage, the participants are thoroughly acquainted with rules of the game and with the institutional environment in which the game will take place. Possible ambiguities are removed during a discussion with the teacher of the game. During this stage, the individual entities of the game (teams) are established. Organizational and personal preparation is taking place within the separate teams so that at the beginning of the actual run, the competence and responsibility of individual persons or functions in exact and clear.

The run of the game is divided into a certain number of stages (rounds of the game). Every round also includes an analysis of the previous periods, preparation of various strategies and a consequent decision and realisation of the individual strategies. Results of individual business on the market simulated by computer technology then form a basis for a new analysis within the next round.

In the assessment stage, the success of separate group as well as of every participant as an individual is assessed. Players aim to achieve as high profit as possible for the given period; profits from employment, deposits and securities.

The final assessment stage also gives a possibility to present and compare strategies of the individual teams in the light of the results achieved. The individual strategies are commented on and justified by leaders of the individual teams.

Concrete application of this general policy also brought a simulation management game into existence whose parameters and exact rules are described in the following chapters.

The competition takes place on two levels. On the first level, the playing subjects represent mainly groups of persons – teams – presenting production businesses and banks. On the second level, it is all the physical persons that participate in the game. This group includes also owners of businesses and banks and members of collective entities. Therefore, every participant of the game is contesting as an individual and in most cases also as a member of a collective. Specific position of a non-competitive entity is occupied by the stock exchange whose activities are organized by the teacher of the game.

The basic subjects in the game are production businesses, motor car works producing passenger cars. These entities compete with each other at the product market. The business in the game is represented by a seminar group of 20-30 persons representing the top management of the company (CEO, expert directors or other supervisors and expert employees).

Business owners are physical persons who have held significant interests of in the individual companies. Their basic function is to perform proprietary rights towards property shares they own. In the course of the game, they also enter the capital market where they trade in shares and evaluate their seed capital.
The banks compete at the financial and capital market. The provide loans and other services for companies and physical persons. The bank services are provided on a contractual basis.

The stock exchange whose activity in the game is provided by the teacher allows trade with securities – stocks of the production businesses.

Within the game, there are product, financial and capital markets realised. Only production businesses are active participants at the product market. Their customers and business associates do not appear in the game. The product market is simulated on a computer.

The financial market runs by means of providing and accepting loans. Participants are mainly businesses and banks. The capital market runs by means of sales and purchases of securities. All entities of the game can participate at the capital market except from bank owners as physical persons.

Starting conditions of all product businesses are the same. Also starting conditions of all banks are the same. Starting conditions of other entities in the game are also equal.

Přihlásit se Links Kontakty