THE BUSINESS STRATEGY GAME

Overview and Orientation

 What Is
Business Strategy Game ?

BSG
 What Is
The Business Strategy Game ?
BSG is an online exercise where you manage an
athletic footwear company in competition against
companies run by other class members.
The marketplace is worldwide production and sales
activities can be pursued in 4 regional markets:
And in each region there are 3 market segments:
Internet Segment (online footwear sales direct to retail customers)
Wholesale Segment (footwear sales to local retailers)
Private-Label Segment (unbranded sales to large retailers)
 What Is
Business Strategy Game ?
BSG is an online exercise where you manage an
athletic footwear company in competition against
companies run by other class members.
You need to be

BIG
 What Is
Business Strategy Game ?
BSG is an online exercise where you manage an
athletic footwear company in competition against
companies run by other class members.
You need to be

Leader
 What Is
Business Strategy Game ?
BSG is an online exercise where you manage an
athletic footwear company in competition against
companies run by other class members.
You need to be
On
The
Top
 What Is
Business Strategy Game ?
BSG is an online exercise where you manage an
athletic footwear company in competition against
companies run by other class members.
Only 1

Winner
 What Is
Business Strategy Game ?
BSG is an online exercise where you manage an
athletic footwear company in competition against
companies run by other class members.
You need a

Team
 What Is
The Business Strategy Game ?
BSG is an online exercise where you manage an
athletic footwear company in competition against
companies run by other class members.
The marketplace is worldwide production and sales
activities can be pursued in 4 regional markets:
And in each region there are 3 market segments:
Internet Segment (online footwear sales direct to retail customers)
Wholesale Segment (footwear sales to local retailers)
Private-Label Segment (unbranded sales to large retailers)
 What Is
The Business Strategy Game ?

4 regional markets:

3 market segments:
 Company Situation
All companies start out in the same position with equal sales volume,
market share, revenues, profits, costs, and so on.
Each decision-making round represents one year of company operation.
There are 10 years of history and you will assume management of the
company beginning with Year 11.
In Year 10 the company had:
Sales Revenues of $238 million Return On Equity of about 17%
Net Profit of $25 million a Stock Price of $30.00
Earnings Per Share of $2.50 a Credit Rating of B+
The company is in sound financial condition and is performing adequately.
 Company Situation

10 years of history

Now You: Year 11 Year 20

At least: survive, grow 10% per year

At most: champion

Rate: 20% ?
 Company Situation

6
Rev:
keys - In Year 10 the company had:
Sales Revenues of $238 million
ROE: Return On Equity of about 17%
Profit: Net Profit of $25 million
Stock: Stock Price of $30.00
EPS: Earnings Per Share of $2.50
Credit: Credit Rating of B+
 The Decisions
You Will Be Making
Each decision round (year) you and your co-managers will make
decisions relating to:
1. Corporate social responsibility and citizenship
2. Plant capacity additions/sales/upgrades
3. Production of branded and private-label footwear
4. Worker compensation and training
5. Shipping and warehouse operations
6. Pricing and marketing
7. Celebrity endorsement contracts
8. Financing of company operations
Plus, you will be responsible for annual sales forecasting and inventory
management.
 Competition
The competition among companies to sell their brand of athletic
footwear is based on 10 factors:
Price
Styling/quality (S/Q) rating
Number of models/styles
Advertising
Size of retail network
Celebrity endorsements
Delivery time
Retailer support
Mail-in rebates
Shipping charges (internet sales only)
 There Are Many
Strategic Options
There is no built-in bias that favors any one particular market or
strategic approach. There is no secret answer or approach
that will guarantee success.
Most any well-conceived, well-executed competitive approach
is capable of succeeding unless:
it is not overpowered by the strategies of competitors, or
it is defeated by the presence of too many copycat strategies that dilute
its effectiveness.
In other words, which strategies deliver the best performance
hinges on the strength and interplay of each companys
strategy and decisions against the strategies and decisions
employed by rival companies.
The Contest in the Marketplace Is a Battle
of Strategies
Following each decision round, you will be provided
with a Competitive Intelligence Report containing
information of the actions rivals took to capture sales
and market share.
With this information, you will be in good position to
anticipate some of the strategic moves that rival
companies are likely to make in upcoming years.
Just like in football or other competitive sports, you
will need to scout the strategies of rivals, try to judge
what they will do next, and come up with a
competitive strategy of your own aimed at defeating
them and boosting your companys performance.
 Its All About Developing
Winning Strategies
The Business Strategy Game is all about practicing and experiencing what it
takes to develop winning strategies in a globally competitive marketplace.
At the end of the simulation, what will separate the better-performing
companies from those with weaker

performances is the caliber of the decisions

and strate-gies that company managers have
employed.

BSG is an exercise designed to spur

competition and to get your competitive
juices flowing.
 How Your Company
Performance is Judged
Board members and shareholders/investors have set five performance
objectives for the company:
1. Grow EPS (earnings per share) by at least 7% annually through Year 15 and at least 5%
annually thereafter.
2. Maintain ROE (return on equity investment) of 15% or more annually.
3. Grow Stock Price at about 7% annually through Year 15 and about 5% annually
thereafter.
4. Maintain Credit Rating of B+ or higher.
5. Maintain Image Rating of 70 or higher
(a companys image rating is tied to the styling/quality of a companys branded footwear, market share penetration,
and its actions to display corporate citizenship and social responsibility).
 Scoring Weights
The weights that will be placed on your companys
achievement of each of the five annual performance
targets are as follows:
EPS 20%
ROE 20%
Stock Price 20%
Credit Rating 20%
Image Rating 20%
 Your Company Performance Is Measured
Against Two Standards
The Investors Expectations Standard (I.E.) Did you meet or
beat the annual performance targets for each of the 5
performance measures ?
The Best-In-Industry Standard (B-I-I) How well does your
companys performance stack up against the company with the
best EPS, ROE, Stock Price, and Image Rating and against an
industry-best A+ Credit Rating ?
These scoring standards are explained in the Players Guide and even more fully
on the Help pages associated with the Footwear Industry Report.
What You Can Expect To Learn
Managing a company in competition with rivals will allow you to experience the things you
are reading in your text about crafting and executing strategy in a globally competi-tive
marketplace:
chart a long-term strategic direction
set and achieve strategic and financial objectives
craft a strategy and adapt it to changing conditions
analyze industry, operating, and financial data
think strategically about competitive and market position
assimilate information and lessons of prior courses
better understanding of revenue-cost-profit relationships
practice in making sound, responsible business decisions
accountability for delivering good company performance
and much more
 Tips and Advice
Watch the Videos The Player Materials drop-down contains a link to the Intro to
BSG video and a link to a page of a dozen or so Video Tutorials.
Use the Help Pages Every decision entry screen and report page has a Help button.
When you need more information than is contained in a Video Tutorial, click on the
Help button.
Follow the Recommended Decision-Making Procedures click the BSG Support
button at the top of the Corporate Lobby.
Take Advantage of the Practice Round(s) the purpose of the practice round(s) is to
help you become fully acquainted with the decision entry screens and the reports
that come available at the end of each round. The more you learn from the practice
rounds, the better your chances for getting off to a good start !
 Tips and Advice
(concluded)
Manage the Company in a Serious, Professional Manner The overriding
purpose of The Business Strategy Game is to give you practice in making
business decisions, crafting winning strategies in a competitive market, and
being fully accountable for the results of your actions (just as managers in
the real-world are held accountable for the performance of the companies
they manage).
Be very wary of trying things that are imprudent, highly risky, or un-
businesslike (things that would get a manager fired in a real company) You
are not playing a game, you are running a business. This is NOT the time to
be a daring adventurer out to win some variant of a videogame by making
wild and extreme decisions. Those who approach the simulation as a game
usually end up shooting themselves in the foot.
 Your Group will include
6 Top Leaders in Business
CEO
CFO
CHRO
CPO/COO
CMO
CIO/CECO
 Your Group will
Run 250 Million Company
Competing with about 3-11 others
10 Years (in 10 days)
Group competition
Learn from Success and Failure
Only 1 Group Champion
Other compete again
Industry Champion (2014) - many
Grand Champion (2014) 5%
 To begin
Login: www.bsg-online.com
Using username/ password provided by your Instructor
Read User guide
View Video Guides www.youtube.com/ecomftu2012
Any question Email to: tttt@ftu.edu.vn
Enjoy your Game!
Thank you
Lets Go

BSG