Business Simulation
Objectives
This is an integrative course allowing students to put together many of the skills acquired in different courses during the
MBA.
General characterization
Code
67952
Credits
2
Responsible teacher
Paulo José Jubilado Soares de Pinho
Hours
Weekly - Available soon
Total - Available soon
Teaching language
English
Prerequisites
N/A
Bibliography
• The Business Strategy Game, Players Manual
Teaching method
The course is based on the active participation on a simulation. Students make decisions in groups and must collectively
agree on each decision and each individual is evaluated by the peers at the end of the course. These decisions can be made
during the class time and completed afterwards since the simulation runs online and has collaborative tools to allow group
members to work together while at different locations. The instructor requires teams to present quantified justifications for
some of their decisions (ex: capital budgeting of capital projects), present their analysis of the competitive landscape, justify
eventual corporate turnaround strategies, justify a financial policy and a final report on the company and the markets it
operates with a summary of lessons learned. The classes are for a general discussion of the markets and competitive
situation, for student presentations and discussions of any related topics as required by students.
Evaluation method
The course is based on the active participation on a simulation. Students make decisions in groups and must collectively
agree on each decision and each individual is evaluated by the peers at the end of the course. These decisions can be made
during the class time and completed afterwards since the simulation runs online and has collaborative tools to allow group
members to work together while at different locations. The instructor requires teams to present quantified justifications for
some of their decisions (ex: capital budgeting of capital projects), present their analysis of the competitive landscape, justify
eventual corporate turnaround strategies, justify a financial policy and a final report on the company and the markets it
operates with a summary of lessons learned. The classes are for a general discussion of the markets and competitive
situation, for student presentations and discussions of any related topics as required by students.
Subject matter
• Key success factors in global B2C markets
• Key issues in developing global brands while adapting them locally
• How to develop a global strategy in B2C markets
• How to adapt the strategy to unexpected changes in the economic, political and competitive landscape
• Marketing global B2C products on markets with different characteristics
• The development of product positioning strategies in different markets
• Set up a strategic plan and implement it
• Analyse a company's competitive position against competitors
• Relate unit costs, marginal costs and incremental costs
• The impact of worker compensation policies on productivity
• How to gather the required data to perform capital budgeting analysis and decisions
• The impact of exchange rate movements on global companies
• The impact of import tariffs and political risk on global investment policy
• The importance of developing corporate social responsibility and citizenship