RedRoundStrategyBriefPaper

15points.Due:PRIORtoyourfirstofthreesimulationruns.

Purpose:
Tohelpyouandyourteammatesthinkthroughtheimplicationsofchangesintheindustry,
consumermarketforecasts,yourexistingpaststrategiesandtheresultingfirmperformance,
andcompetitiveproductsasyouplanyourstrategyforthenextthreeyearsoftheRedRound.
Process:

ItmaybehelpfultoreviewthevideofromtheWednesday,May17th7pm,Zoom
sessionentitled,SimulationReport,Forecasts,CompetitionOverviewVideolocated
undertheGettingReadyfortheSimulationheadingofModule2.
Logontothesimulation.ClicktheAccesstoBOSWebSimulationLink
EnteryourPAK,selectyourteamnamefromthedropdownlist(ifitdoesnotdefaultto
itafteryourfirstlogon)andenteryourteampassword.
Exploreonline(ordownload)thevariousreportscontainedunderthefollowing
headings:
o ReviewAnnualReport:Companyscores,Profit&lossstatement,Profit&lossy
country,Productionreport,Feedbackmessages(basedonthelastyears
performance),announcements.
o AnalyzeMarketStudies:CompanyKPI,Offeringcharacteristics,Benchmarking,
Customerpreferences,Sales&marketshares,Marketforecast.
NOTE:YouwillbeabletoaccessinformationundertheReviewAnnual
ReportandAnalyzeMarketStudiesheadingsonceyouindividuallysign
ontothesimulation.Onlypartialaccesstoinformationisavailableunder
InputDecisionsuntilALLteammemberssignontothesimulationand
activateyourteam.
o InputDecisions:PastDecisions,Errors/Warnings/Highlights
NOTE:TheREDBOXDecisionslinkiswhereyouandteammemberscan
playwithenteringdifferentvaluesonceyourteamisactivated(e.g.,all
membershavesignedon)thenusetheCheckYourBudgetlinktoseethe
impactofthosechangesontheoverallbudget.
Onlyonepersoncanbeincontrolofthedecisionmakingonlineatany
singletime.Itispossibletotakecontrolawayfromanotherplayer.
Refertoyourparticipantguide.DonotRUNyoursimulationuntilthe
strategybriefhasbeensubmittedandthefinaldecisionshavebeen
entered!

StrategyBriefPaperRequirements

Length:aconciselywrittenpapershouldbeintherangeof24pagesofTYPED1or
doublespacedcontent.Thispagelengthrangeexcludesthetitlepage,andany
graphics/reportimagesimportedfromthesimulationintothepaper.(NOTE:Importing
imagesisNOTarequirement.)
Margins:1inchoneachside.
Font:PleaseusetheTimesNewRomanfont.IfyoudonothaveTimesNewRoman,
selectaseriffontascloseinstyletoTimesNewRomanthatyoucanfind(itmaybe
somevariationoftheTimesname.)
o This paragraph is written using the Times New Roman font note the overhangs
at the top and bottom of each letter. They help to enhance the readability of
words in the body copy.

T he circles show serifs

Fontsize:12point.Headingsvarybypositionwithinthepaper,notbysize.
Linespacing:Either1&ordoublespacing.
Writingstyle:Usefullsentencesunlesslistingisappropriate(e.g.SWOTMatrix),but
someexplanationorjustificationwouldstillneeded.Whilethepaperwillgenerally
followAPAwritingstandards,Iamnotrequiringtheabstract,mainbody,and
referencesheadings.Instead,Ivecreatedacustomtemplateadaptedtothe
requirementsofthestrategybrief.(SeeAppendix)
Forthepurposeofthestrategybrief,youareNOTrequiredtocitetheinformation
foundinthevariousreportsprovidedbythesimulation.
PointofViewandVoice:NormallyIpreferbusinessreportstobewritteninthethird
persontense,e.g,Thecompanysmarketshare...vs.Ourteamsmarketshare,but
thissituationisalittledifferent.Youshouldapproachthesimulationandthusstrategy
briefasifyouareanemployeeofthefirmbriefingyoursuperior.Fromthat
perspective,ourteamsmarketsharedoesnotevenmakesense;instead,youwould
selectthealternatephrasing,orperhapsevenchangeittoRedboxsmarketshare...
(Redboxisyourproduct).Conversely,Itwouldbeappropriatetoincorporatethe
teamaspartofyourphrasingwhendiscussingthedecisionsthatweremade.

NOTE:TheAppendixprovidesdetailedinstructionsregardingthecontentexpectations
fortheRedRoundStrategyBrief.



 AppendixA


CustomizableTemplateandInstrucationsforStrategyBrief

Runninghead:TEAMBASSREDROUNDSTRATEGYBRIEF 1
TherunningheadislocatedattheverytopofthepagebutNOTintheheading.Notethatyou
actuallywriteRunninghead:followedbythetitleofyourpaperinallcapitalletters.Thepage
numberisflushright.

Remembertoeraseanyinformationhighlightedinyellowwhenyoucustomizeyourreport

BassTeamRedRoundStrategyBrief

KarenJames,KevinVanDam,DaroldGleason,MarcJames

LSUShreveport

NAMESARECRITICAL!!Youwillbepenalizedifyoufailtolistyourteammembernames.
Trytocenterthisinformationbothverticallyandhorizontallyonthepage.
InthelatestversionofPCWord,whenyouselectFILE>PRINT,youwillseethefirstpage
displayedinthePRINTERselectionwindowandcanusethismethodtovisuallygaugeif
yourpaperiscenteredwithoutphysicallyprinting.
Remember,thetitlepagedoesNOTcounttowardthesuggestedpagelimit.


TEAMBASSREDROUNDSTRATEGYBRIEF 2
Notethattherunningheadcontinuesinallcapitallettersoneverypage,asdoesthepage
number.However,theRunninghead:portionisdeletedforthe2ndthroughremainingpages.

TeamBassRedRoundStrategyBrief
CentertheMainTitleinUpper/LowerCaseandCapitalizeImportantWords.
Noticehowthemaintitleabovesimplyrepeatsthepapertitle

Youmayormaynotwishtowriteanythingunderneaththemaintitle.Ifyoudo,indent

thebodytextinchforeachparagraph.Remembertousedoublespacingor1linespacing.

Analysis
Sectiontitlessuchastheoneabovearesetflushleft,withonlythefirstwordcapitalized.Again,
theparagraphunderneathwillbeindentedbyainch.Sectionheadingsareusedtoprovide
overallorganizationtothepaper.

InstructionsforthissectionSynthesizethefirmscurrentstrategy,performance

(overallandinlightofthecompetition),andindustryforecasttothebestofyourability.Start

byreviewingthePastDecisions,foundundertheInputDecisionsmenu.Dontstopat

reviewingthesimulationdecisionsmadeinyear40,youreallyneedtoreadallofthereportsto

putthedecisionsmadeandthefirmsstrategyintocontext.Forexample,reviewtheCustomer

PreferencesandSales&MarketSharedataundertheAnalyzeMarketStudiesmenu.Note

thatyoucanchangebetweenyear39and40tolookforchangesthatoccurredbetweenthe

twoyears.

Analysisimpliesthatyouthinkaboutthisinformationandthedegreetowhichitmakes

goodbusinesssense.SOMEofthequestionsyoumightaskyourselfaspartofthisprocess

include,Isthereconsistencybetweenthetargeting(segmentation),productdevelopment,

geographicalexpansionanddistributionstrategies?Ifnot,whatdoesnotseemfitandwhy?

Recognizethatyoumayhavetoundertakesomenumericalmanipulationsonsomeofthedata.
TEAMBASSREDROUNDSTRATEGYBRIEF 3

Forexample,whenanalyzingtheProfit&LossbyCountryreport,foundundertheReview

AnnualReportTab,itmightbeusefultocomparethevariouslineitemsonapercentagebasis.

IFyoudontunderstandtheinformationyouseeonareport,referbacktotheparticipant

handbookforanexplanation.

Noanalysiswouldbecompletewithoutdescribingchangesinthefirmscosts,revenues,

profits,marketshareandEBITbetweenyear39and40.Youranalysismustalsotakenoteof

themarketforecastasthismayplayheavilyintothestrategyyouchoosetoformulate.

Finally,createaSWOTmatrixgridsummarizingthefirmandproductsstrengths,

weaknesses,opportunitiesandthreats.DisplayyourSWOTinthegridshownbelow.Addor

deletebulletpointsasneeded;singlespacingoftheSWOTitemsisfine.Dontbetoocryptic;

yourbulletpointshouldbeaphraseashortsentencethatoffersenoughinformationtoclearly

makeyourpointunderstandable.Competitionasathreatcouldusealittlemoredetail.

Whataboutthecompetition?Whichone?Whatdoyouknowthatacompetitorisgoingto

do?WhatMIGHTtheydothatcouldimpactyoursales?

Strengths: Opportunities:
X X
X X
X X


Weaknesses: Threats:
X X
X X
X X

TEAMBASSREDROUNDSTRATEGYBRIEF 4

Strategy

Instructionsforthissection:Asthenamesuggests,thissectiondescribesandjustifies

yourproposedstrategyfortheupcomingthreeyearsoftheRedRound.Youcansummarize

yourstrategyinaparagraphratherthantreatingeachdecisionindividually;justmakecertain

thatyouprovideadequatejustificationforyourstrategy.

Youwillbemakingdecisionsrelatedtothefollowingareas:

Whetherornottoupgradeyourproduct;ifsowhatfactorswillyouupgradeand

why.Thesimulationwillcomputetheunitcostoftherevisedproductplusthe

R&Dcosttodevelopthenewfeatures.Thisiswhytestingdecisionsandusing

theCheckyourbudgetlinkissoimportant.Isthecostgoingtobeworthwhile

inlightofeverythingyouhavelearnedaboutthemarket,customers,

competition,andforecast?

ProductionPlan:Unitstobeproducedforyear41andproductionwillbe

forecastgoingforward

Pricing:Thepriceoftheproductwhensoldtothedistributorandhowpricing

adjustmentswillbemade.

Marketingbudget:Thisisactuallyanadvertisingbudget.Themoneyisusedto

buildandmaintainendusercustomerawareness.

 TEAMBASSREDROUNDSTRATEGYBRIEF 5

Segmentationstrategy:Determinesthepercentageofthemarketingbudget

directedtowardseachsegment.Togetheritmustequal100%.Whatisyour

initialstrategyandwillitremainconsistentthroughouttheRedRounds?

Geographicalexpansion:theportionofeachcontinenttobecovered.

Roundlandisthehomeforyourcompanyandyourcompetitors.Whatwillit

beforYear41andgoingforward?

Distributioncoverage:Determinesthepercentageofstoreswithineachofthe

threedistributionchannelswhereyourproductwillbesold.Whatsyourplan

andwhy?

CorporateProjects:Youhavetheopportunitytoinvestinuptotwointernal

projectsineachround.Projectsmayrelatetoincreasingproductivity,reducing

cost,improvingorganizationalcapabilities,etc.Thisisanoptionaldecisionbut

youreallyshouldtaketimetoexploretheprojectsavailabletoyouandthink

throughyourstrategycarefully.

Contingencies

Instructions:Idontexpectyoutodevelopanentirebackupplanifyouryear41

resultsturnoutpoorly.WhatIdowantisforyoutorecognizeandacknowledgethemostrisky

element(s)ofyourstrategy,andthepotentialnegativeconsequences.Forexample,ifyouare

raisingpriceinahighlycompetitivemarketwithnonotableupgradestoyourproductand

expectingtosellasmanyunitsaslastyear...hmmm,yourpricingstrategyisriskyandcould
TEAMBASSREDROUNDSTRATEGYBRIEF 6

definitelyresultinpoorforecastingrequiringtheautomatedproductionfunctiontoalter

productiontomatchdemand(whichincurspenalties),alossofmarketshare,revenue,EBIT,

shareindex,andalowermarketingbudget.Yougetthepicture.

ReminderThestrategybriefisdueBEFOREyourunyoursimulationdecisionsforYear41.

YourteamwillsubmitaSINGLEpaperthroughMoodle,anditwillbecheckedforsimilarityby

Turnitin.ThefinaldeadlineforthestrategybriefsubmissionisSunday,May28th.Pleasedo

NOTwaituntilthelastminutetodoyourbrief,andrunthreeroundsofthesimulation.Teams

thatareobviouslynottakingthisassignmentseriouslywillbepenalized.