International Sales Module I

Umfang	5 ECTS, 1 Modulbestandteil
Dozenten	Dr. William Cron, Professor Emeritus an der Texas Christian University
Ansprechpartner	Kiram Iqbal
Art und Dauer	Blockveranstaltung
Zeit und Ort	31.05. bis 03.06.2023 Zeit: tba
1. Veranstaltung	31.05.2023
Weitere Informationen und Anmeldung	Moodle Kurs: International Sales Module I (074516-SoSe23)

Modulinhalte:

Overview

In this course you will be a member of the executive team of a start-up organization and asked to make decisions typical for this level in an organization.  You will formulate and defend a strategic vision for your firm and integrate the various functional areas so as to successfully implement this vision.  Importantly, you will need to achieve your objectives within a set of financial constraints and imperatives, which will require you to make trade-offs in an effort to optimize your firm’s performance.  As a manufacturer of carbon fiber bicycles using 3D printing technology, you will be competing in a dynamic market and competitive environment.  Not only will you formulate your firm’s strategy, but will review and modify your strategy as needed, thereby gaining greater insight into what it feels like to be a member of the executive team of a firm.

Simulation

Rather than starting in the middle of the story (a mature firm), we use a venture situation to start at the beginning of the story. You will see how various tools and ways of thinking become useful as the firm expands its operations and must take on new tasks and responsibilities. In this way, the logic of our business practices will become more intuitive.  Through computer simulation, you will be placed into a very realistic international business setting.  You will be responsible for making decisions relating to all aspects of the business, including operations, forecasting, marketing, IT, accounting, finance, supply chain management, e-business, HR, social media, and so on. 

You will be competing against other start-up companies in the same industry.  The consequences of your decisions are quickly revealed in the simulated marketplace. Players learn to adjust their strategy to become stronger competitors by studying end-user opinions, smart competitive moves, and their own operational and financial performance. Over the course of the entire exercise, your understanding of the linkages among the functional areas of business will grow at an exponential rate.
The learning strategy is to gradually build the business and thus, gradually introduce new issues, which must be mastered by you and the other players. Each quarter or decision period has a dominant activity and a set of decisions, which are linked to it. These dominant activities take you through the business life cycle from start-up, to development, to growth, and ultimately to near maturity. As you work through the business life cycle, new decisions and managerial content are phased in as they become relevant to the current decisions.

Each quarter’s activities result in new material not only being introduced, but also builds on the prior content so that there is considerable repetition. Business activities such as cash flow planning, value creation in product design, production scheduling, profitability analysis, and strategic planning require repetitive exercise in order to set them into your natural thinking.

Here is a list of what you will do:

• • Analyze market research data

• • Plan and roll out a marketing campaign

• • Design and price brands to appeal to different market segments

• • Select and develop distribution channels

• • Devise advertising, search engine, and social media marketing campaigns

• • Allocate scarce funds to R&D, manufacturing, advertising, and distribution

• • Select and prioritize R&D projects, leading to new product features

• • Negotiate strategic partnerships with competitors for new technology

• • Initiate and defend lawsuits over false advertising

• • Hire employees and set competitive compensation packages

• • Schedule production and manage plant capacity

• • Manage cash

• • Negotiate equity and debt financing for new business development

• • Compete head-to-head with other business teams

• • Adjust strategy and tactics in response to operational and financial performance, competitive tactics, and customer needs

The specific goal of the exercise is to develop your management skills by giving you an integrated perspective of the entire business operation. In terms of specifics:

• • Develop strategic planning and execution skills within a rapidly changing environment

• • Crystallize the linkages between business decisions and financial performance

• • Instill a bottom line focus and the simultaneous need to deliver customer value

• • Internalize how important it is to use market data and competitive signals to adjust the strategic plan and more tightly focus business tactics

• • Develop teamwork across functions, opening up new communication links

• • Promote better decision-making by helping you see how your decisions can affect the performance of others and the organization as a whole

• • Facilitate learning of important business concepts, principles, and ways of thinking

• • Experience the challenges and rewards of the entrepreneur by starting up and running a new business venture

• • Build confidence through knowledge and experience

Ausführliche Informationen zum Kurs als PDF

Grading

Skills Assessment	15%
Final Team Report	15%
Peer Evaluation	10%
Simulation Performance	60%
Total	100%

Sprache: Englisch

Teilnahmemodalitäten: Nur Masterstudierende. Teilnehmerbegrenzung: 20

Termin der Abschlusspräsentation: 03.06.2023

Anmeldung: Only 20 students can participate in the module. Hence, a binding application is obligatory.

Please submit your application until April, 30th, 2023 in Moodle

Ansprechperson