Marketplace Community Newsletter

Vol. 3, No. 2, Summer 2008

Why You Should Choose Marketplace Simulations

When you are looking for a simulation for your classroom or training event, compare the competition to Marketplace. Here are a number of areas in which Marketplace and Innovative Learning Solutions set the standard for simulation-based training.

WE OFFER A FAMILY OF SIMULATIONS THAT CATER TO ALL OF YOUR NEEDS. Do you need a marketing simulation or maybe a strategy one? Is your focus on international management or supply-chain management? Are you teaching at an undergraduate level, a graduate level, or are you hoping to broaden the knowledge of your employees? We have a simulation to fit your needs. Our extensive family of business simulations tackles a range of business issues beyond the bounds of our competitors. Take a look at our 18 different Marketplace simulations.

REALISM. With Marketplace, students are confronted with business decisions and situations that are commonly encountered in real life. It is a deeply tactical exercise where students get to test their “street smarts.” In addition, they are challenged to think outside the box, collaborate, communicate, and adapt to the unexpected.

OUR SIMULATIONS MAKE SENSE OF IT ALL. How exactly do you discover how your functional decisions affect other functions? The answer is in playing Marketplace. Only Marketplace simulations emphasize the integration of functional tactics and their linkages to the firm’s overall strategy. Most other simulations will either lead you to tackle small isolated business issues or to make integrated decisions, but from a bird’s eye view. Marketplace simulations provide balance between tactics and strategies and are therefore closer to reality.

A DIFFERENT WAY OF THINKING ABOUT MARKETING. Our simulations are based on the theory of the means-end hierarchy. Players must ascertain which components deliver which benefits (or costs) to the target market. Students have to link the tangible with the abstract.

The means-end thought process represents good theory and good practice. Other simulations also use good theory, but those theories may not easily translate into day-to-day decision-making.

“We try to give students the kind of experience and training that will help them to run a business, not just think about it.”

EASE OF USE. Our simulation interface is one of the best that you will find in the industry. All that you need to tackle a Marketplace simulation is available within it. Moreover, students are guided by a logical, step-by-step, process with easy to follow instructions and no clutter.

Both students and instructors have testified about the ease of use and realism of our simulations.

INNOVATION IS THE CORE OF OUR BUSINESS. ILS has recently added a supply chain simulation, an outsourcing simulation, and Joe Wolfe’s “The Global Business Game” to our portfolio. In response to student and faculty feedback, we have updated our international scenario, added mouse-over explanations to all Web Instructor tools, and a peer evaluation system. We now have a comprehensive set of Assurance of Learning tools to satisfy AACSB requirements. Most excitingly, we are launching the next generation of Marketplace, a revolutionary, world-class, business simulation.

NEED SUPPORT? WE ARE THERE FOR YOU. Another very important advantage in using Marketplace is the support that comes with the simulation. When we say, “You focus on teaching, we do the rest”, we mean it. Not only do you get a wealth of instructor materials and tools, but you also get the friendly and personalized service of our dedicated team. We are there to answer your questions 24 hours a day, even on weekends, wherever you are in the world.

We have four full-time support people in Knoxville, TN and two in Europe. We also have partners around the world that can provide support in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Chinese, Slovak, and Czech.

WEB INSTRUCTOR, A SITE DESIGNED TO FACILITATE YOUR WORK. Our instructor website, which is easily accessible with a private username and password, provides a wealth of information. You can access PowerPoint presentations, coaching tips, and sample games. You can design games, monitor student activity, and launch/release peer evaluations. At the click of a mouse, you can access key simulation results, strategic highlights, and detailed graphs. And, you can evaluate each team’s strengths and weaknesses and drill down into the underlying causes. All of these tools facilitate the delivery of the course and enhance your ability to coach students to higher levels of understanding, critical thinking, and achievement.

LIVE OR COMPUTER SIMULATIONS. We offer multi-player games with live competitions (play against other students) as well as computer generated competitions (play against computer-generated teams). With Marketplace, students can play either individually or as part of a team.

FREE TRAIN-THE-TRAINER SEMINAR. Innovative Learning Solutions invites you to attend a free Train-the-Trainer seminar twice a year where you can learn more about our simulations and ask all your questions, both from an instructor's and a student's point of view.

RELIABLE INTERNET SERVICE. With our latest improvements to our infrastructure, we are able to achieve 99.5% uptime on all of our internet services. Our promise is to process all simulations within 15 minutes and never be down for longer than 30 minutes.

HASSLE-FREE TECHNOLOGY. One of the key advantages in using Marketplace is that all of our simulations are delivered, played, and processed via a fully web-based interface. When using Marketplace, you do not need to install software, use a CD, transfer files, risk viruses, or deal with firewall issues. With Marketplace, all you need is a computer connected to the Internet and a license to play.

ASSURANCE OF LEARNING. Our dedication and commitment to offer the best simulations in the industry have led us to implement several tools to address AACSB Assurance of Learning standards. In an effort to examine the knowledge acquired by students against the learning objectives of the course, we offer a set of individual and team assessment tools that will help you to gauge your students’ progress and learning during the simulation.

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Marketplace Community Newsletter, issued quarterly.