MIke bikes
MikesBikes Lessons Learned
During a MikesBikes wrap-up session, students offered these “lessons learned” to future players. The number of “votes” recorded for each suggestion is used to rank order of the items.
General Strategy
During the simulation, use the off-line rollover in the multi-player version (88)
Research your markets, sensitivities and thresholds, then get off to a quick start: dominate new markets early (29). Late entry into crowded markets is a poor move (11)
Plan all of your decisions ahead of time (29)
Stick to your chosen markets (15)
Do continual calculations (14) such as unit costs, how much can you sell, plant efficiency.
Don’t get too big, too fast (10)
Use the player’s manual (7)
Good team communication is very important (4)
Don’t go into every market (3)
Porter’s 5 forces is very important (2)
Marketing
Reduce retail margins (53)
Don’t overprice (1)
Finance
Sell shares at the beginning to raise capital (23)
Tracking cash flow is very important (18)
Investor relations is an important expenditure (14)
Re-purchase your shares (9)
Pay off your debt (4)
Operations
Improve your quality (17)
Strive for a high efficiency plant and increase batch size, lower visual inspections, and increase prevention type expenditures (4)
New Product Development
Continually consult the perceptual map and modify your bikes accordingly (14)
Selected Quotes from MikesBikes Final Reports – Lessons Learned Section
Permissions were obtained to use the following quotations from the Lessons Learned sections of MikesBikes Final Reports. They are organized by category.
On the MikesBikes Business Simulation
“MikesBikes was a very meaningful and practical experience.”
“MikesBikes is an interesting, fun, and effective way of simulating some of the real-life management decisions required to run a business. The software is easy-to-use- and allows the user to analyze individually the decisions that
During a MikesBikes wrap-up session, students offered these “lessons learned” to future players. The number of “votes” recorded for each suggestion is used to rank order of the items.
General Strategy
During the simulation, use the off-line rollover in the multi-player version (88)
Research your markets, sensitivities and thresholds, then get off to a quick start: dominate new markets early (29). Late entry into crowded markets is a poor move (11)
Plan all of your decisions ahead of time (29)
Stick to your chosen markets (15)
Do continual calculations (14) such as unit costs, how much can you sell, plant efficiency.
Don’t get too big, too fast (10)
Use the player’s manual (7)
Good team communication is very important (4)
Don’t go into every market (3)
Porter’s 5 forces is very important (2)
Marketing
Reduce retail margins (53)
Don’t overprice (1)
Finance
Sell shares at the beginning to raise capital (23)
Tracking cash flow is very important (18)
Investor relations is an important expenditure (14)
Re-purchase your shares (9)
Pay off your debt (4)
Operations
Improve your quality (17)
Strive for a high efficiency plant and increase batch size, lower visual inspections, and increase prevention type expenditures (4)
New Product Development
Continually consult the perceptual map and modify your bikes accordingly (14)
Selected Quotes from MikesBikes Final Reports – Lessons Learned Section
Permissions were obtained to use the following quotations from the Lessons Learned sections of MikesBikes Final Reports. They are organized by category.
On the MikesBikes Business Simulation
“MikesBikes was a very meaningful and practical experience.”
“MikesBikes is an interesting, fun, and effective way of simulating some of the real-life management decisions required to run a business. The software is easy-to-use- and allows the user to analyze individually the decisions that