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Welcome to BADM 489! My name is Dr. John Girard and I will be your host in this journey of
discovery as we, together, consider the exciting domain of management in action. This is the
capstone course for the Management Program and as such, our focus will be on applying
the knowledge you have gained in other courses. There will not be much new material in this
course, but rather, you have an opportunity to put into practice many of the theories
you studied. This course will be very different from others
you have taken in the Management Program, as we will use a business simulation package
called Capstone® as the vehicle to apply your skills. As part of team, you will operate
a high technology company; you will be responsible the management functions of planning, organizing,
directing, and controlling. The business decisions you make will have a direct impact of the
viability of your company. I think you will find this simulation both challenging and
exciting. To make it even more interesting you will be competing against other teams
armed with exactly the same information that you have. You and your teammates will be assessed,
in part, based on how well you do compared to your peers. This might be a new concept
for some of you, that is, competing directly with your classmates; however, this is commonplace
is the business world. OK so that is what lies ahead; however, before
we start the simulation, we have some work to do. To ensure the competition is fair we
must learn how to plan the “game” as this is not meant to about how well you play the
game but rather it is about the quality of your business decisions.
I want you to take the first few days of the course to become an expert in the online domain.
Even if you have taken online classes before there are likely some things that we will
do differently. For example, team communication will be extremely important during the simulation.
Your team’s success will be based on a large part in how well you communicate. To assist
you there are a number of tools to use, the most important of which are:
Live Classroom. This is a live, virtual environment that we will use as our “Board Room.”
Each team should plan on meeting in this room at least once a week to coordinate their decisions.
As soon as you are assigned to a team you should start thinking about the best time
to meet on our Board Room. Voice Email. I will use this tool to communicate
with you. I will record comments and email a link your my.minotstateu.edu email account.
Once you receive the email you can click on the link to hear my comments. Please make
sure that you check your my.minotstateu.edu regularly.
The course is divided into 14 modules. The first module, the one you are completing now,
is the course introduction and although it contains a wealth of important information
there are no graded assignments. Each of the remaining modules includes some sort of graded
deliverable, many of which are graded satisfactory or unsatisfactory. Essentially if you complete
the assignment your will earn the points; however, it is very important to remember
that these assignments are designed to ensure you have the knowledge and skills to be successful
in the competitive rounds of the game. The time and energy you invest now will pay dividends
later. The course modules are: Module 1 is the Course Introduction – that
is what you are doing now Module 2 is a Simulation Overview – you
will learn how the simulation works Module 3 is a Strategy Review – we will
review the work of Henry Mintzberg as well as six basic strategies you might wish to
consider during the simulation. Module 4 is a Solo Rehearsal Simulation –
you will have an opportunity to learn about the simulation, on an individual basis, with
the assistance of a virtual coach Module 5 is about the Capstone Courier –
you will learn how to interpret the Capstone Courier, which is our equivalent to the Wall
Street Journal Module 6 focuses on Team Development –
a key to success in this course is teamwork so we will spend some time analyzing how successful
teams operate. Module 7 is about Forming a Company – As
a team you will develop an organizational architecture and conduct “practice rounds”
that will help you learn about the game but will not count toward your final grade
Module 8 is a Situation Analysis – as a team you will conduct an analysis of the environment
and develop a vision statement Module 9 is a Business Plan – before we
commence the competitive rounds of the simulation, it is important that you and teammates agree
on the way ahead, in other words develop a business plan. Once that is complete then
the “game” will go live for the first of two games. In each game, there will be
a number of rounds, each of which represents one year. Each round will last one week so
it is important that you are organized and efficient. The first team game will not count
toward your final grade; however, the second game starting in module 12 does count.
Module 10 is about the Competitor Analysis – after each round it is important that
you conduct a competitor analysis – In this module you will complete a formal analysis
and then make decisions for the next round Module 11 is about Performance Measures –
by this point you will you will be an expert in the simulation so now the time right to
decide what should be the measures of success. You and your teammates will review eight performance
measures and make recommendations to your Board. The agreed measures will be used, in
part, to determine your final grade Module 12 will be Competition Rounds –
we will continue the simulation for a number of rounds, probably six or seven
Module 13 is the Stockholders’ Final Debrief – once the simulation is complete your
team will conduct a stockholders’ final debrief Module 14 is the Final Assessment
– this will be an individual simulation exercise. If you have participated fully in
simulation so far then this will be an straight forward exercise . . . if not this then this
will be a very difficult exercise. Well there you have it. That is the plan for
the semester. I look forward to working with you during the semester. Please feel free
to contact me if you have any questions. Until next time this is Doctor John signing
off