Corporate Simulation

For our Understanding Organizations course, we were involved with an all day corporate simulation, which many other MBA's do as well. Each person received the company's 10k, and each individual took a role that was no less than a Senior VP. Before the simulation, each student received a set of email correspondence between their role and other VP's; however, this also meant that we all had a different set of knowledge and priorities.

Overall, I thought the day was particularly useful and relevant. Everyone worked hard to analyze what the primary issues with the company were (product sale slumps, poor budgeting in R&D, production and warehouse issues and marketing to the right audiences). Because we had to pitch our top recommendations for 2010 to the board of directors, I thought, as a group, we worked quickly and efficiently, and I anticipated more clashing priorities and personalities. However, we all seemed to agree and most conversations were really amicable - so much so, that we all thought it was a bit odd.

I took my ideal position of VP of Sales & Marketing, which was particularly interesting because the company faced issues with products and how they were marketed. In terms of the products, some consumers looked for a 'healthy' option, while others preferred taste. Even a 1% change in sodium consequently would change sales. We decided that we would revamp one of the products for a 'lite' choice, and an 'original' option - similar to the Coca Cola Classic marketing harkening back to the original formula versus the new one with artificial sweetener. Additionally, the company used general messages when advertising globally, and some messages were not appropriate to certain audiences. We decided that we'd take a more localized marketing approach to specifically reach the target consumers. Devising a plan that took all of the facets of the business was exciting.

However, one thing that stuck out to me from the simulation day was who 'held' the weight when it came to the presentation. The other VP of Marketing and I sat as we watched 6 members of our team present and noticed it was comprised of all alpha males and one female. At first I didn't think much of it, but then started questioning why the SVP of International was presenting on Marketing, and why the Marketing VP's weren't discussing the implications of the new marketing strategy. When it came time for the debrief, this exact point was discussed, and it apparently hadn't even crossed the mind of these alpha males.

Besides this situation, I found the day useful and hope that we'll actually be doing more of these. I think they are important reminders of situations that we could face in the near future.