Microsimulations for Business Education

New training tool for your classroom: Microsimulations for Business Education

What are the Microsimulations?

Microsimulations are optional skill-and-drill exercises that students can use within a Marketplace® Live Simulation. Each exercise takes between 10 to 25 minutes to complete.

What is the purpose of the Microsimulations?

Production Scheduling Microsimulation by Marketplace Simulations
Production scheduling – set your operating capacity and see how it affects inventory and stock outs

Over the years, our simulations have been able to provide us with valuable insight regarding the difficulties that students are having in mastering critical business skills such as customer value creation, resource management, evidence-based decision-making, operations management, strategic thinking, and financial accounting. To address these difficult business issues, we are creating a series of Microsimulations that will allow your students to explore these difficult business concepts at a more fundamental level.

The first three Microsimulations focus on value creation in brand design, profitability analysis to improve resource allocation, and production capacity planning in running the factory. And the fourth Microsimulation focuses on the principles of accounting.

How are the Microsimulations structured?

The Microsimulations have a highly visual and interactive format. They begin with an animated lecture that explains the principles. Students are then given an interactive challenge that allows them to practice the lessons to be learned.

The exercises are designed to be short, game-like, and fun. They take a complicated part of the simulation—a challenging business concept— and break it down into the basics of what the student needs to understand and do.

Product Design Microsimulation
Product design – matching product features with benefits

The skill and drill exercises can be played multiple times until the student gets a 100% on the score. The scores are not currently designed for assessment or grading, but rather to motivate students to keep trying until they understand the concept and can get it right.

Students can do these exercises on their own or within their team.

We have seen positive results in student thinking and decision-making in early classroom tests of the Microsimulations.

How do I preview the Microsimulations?

To access the samples, click the link below, sign in as an instructor and then pick a Microsimulation you’d like to preview.

View Sample Microsimulations

How do I include Microsimulations in my Marketplace Live game?

You will need to check a check box labeled as “Add Microsimulations” in the first screen when you are designing your game. The check box will appear right below the option to add chapters from our online textbook.

How will my students access the Microsimulations?

Students will see hyperlinks to the Microsimulations when they reach a quarter of the game that is relevant to the microsimulation.

Timing and availability:

If you decide to include the Microsimulations in your game (by clicking the check box during game design), each Microsimulation will become available to your students in the quarter where it is most relevant for the particular simulation you are using.

For instance, the Product Design Microsimulation will appear in the quarter in which students can first design brands. The Production Scheduling Microsimulation will appear in the quarter in which they can start scheduling production. The Profitability Analysis Microsimulation will be available in Quarter 4 for 4-quarter games, in Quarter 5 for 6-quarter games, and in Quarter 6 for all other games.

The Production scheduling Microsimulation will not appear for games that do not contain the manufacturing module (marketing simulations).

 

Product Design Production Scheduling Profitability Analysis Fundamentals of Accounting
Introduction to Marketing Q2 N/A Q5 N/A
Strategic Marketing Q2 N/A Q6 N/A
Advanced Strategic Marketing Q2 N/A Q6 N/A
Business Fundamentals Q1 Q2 Q4 Q3
Introduction to Business and Strategy Q1 Q2 Q5 Q3
Venture Strategy Q1 Q2 Q5 Q3
Strategic Management Q1 Q2 Q5 Q3
Conscious Capitalism Q1 Q2 Q5 Q3
Strategic E-Commerce Q1 Q2 Q5 Q3
Strategy and Business Policy Q1 Q2 Q5 Q3
Business Management Q2 Q3 Q6 Q4
Integrated Business Management Q2 Q3 Q6 Q4
Extended Integrated Business Management Q2 Q3 Q6 Q4
Strategic Corporate Management Q2 Q3 Q6 Q4
Extended Strategic Corporate Management Q2 Q3 Q6 Q4
International Corporate Management Q2 Q3 Q6 Q4
Advanced Strategic Corporate Management Q2 Q3 Q6 Q4
Fundamentals of Supply Chain Management Q1 Q1 Q4 Q2
Supply Chain and Channel Management Q1 Q2 Q5 Q2

 

Other things you may need to know:

–        Each Microsimulation stores student decisions as (s)he progresses through the exercise. Decisions are saved automatically anytime a student submits an answer. If a student exits the Microsimulation and returns to it later, (s)he will resume where (s)he left off.

–      Students progress through the Microsimulation in sequence – they can’t skip forward without viewing all previous slides. However, they can come back to revise their answers as many times as they wish. The Microsimulations are designed to help anyone (who is willing to invest the effort) to work through the assignment until they provide all the answers correctly.

–        Your students can start over and complete each Microsimulation as many times as they wish.

 

We have two new Microsimulations on Internet Marketing

For more information, please contact the support team at [email protected].