© SimTeam

CrisisManagementtrainingwithSimTeam

Whatisacrisis?Acrisisisacriticaleventorpointofdecisionwhich,ifnothandledinanappropriateandtimelymanner, may turn into a real disaster. When unexpected events endanger the company’ssurvival,themanagementmusttakeurgentandunprecedentedactionstosavethebusiness.

When a company faces high magnitude of unexpected events, a special form of changemanagement is necessary. Business change is a complex issue because of the relationshipsamongthebusinessenvironment,theorganisation,itspeopleandsupportingtechnologies,andit requires that multiple business functional areas co-operate and make decisions together.Change can be instigated fromwithin the organisation or imposed by external factors. Eitherway,managingsuchcrisesisamustforsuccessandisvitalforrevenuesandreputation.

Unlikeriskmanagement,crisismanagement isnotplanning foreventsandpreparingwiththenecessary actions when these events occur, but it covers reacting to an event once it hasoccurred. There are some common characteristics in the twomanagement fields, though. Forexampleyoucanprepareforacertainkindofmarketevent,butthemagnitudeoftheeffectortheeventitselfcangreatlyaffectthepreviouslycreatedactionplans.

UsingaSimTeamsimulationforcrisismanagementtrainingsSimTeamisaweb-basedsimulationplatform,whichmodelstheoperationofknowledge-basedenterprises.Duringthesimulationtheparticipantsformteams(virtualcompanies)andcompeteforprojectsandemployeesonthemarket.

The simulationplatformhelps to connect theorywithpractice.During the courseparticipantsworkonacasestudythatisfocusedoncrisismanagement.Theyneedtomakedecisionsquicklyandreacttomarketeventsappropriately.Thetrainercanselectfromvariouscasestudies,evencustomize themorbuildupaunique structure to simulate thedesiredmarket conditionsandevents.

#Ourpartnerscancustomisethecourseobjectives, the listof focustopicsandparticipants’learningoutcomesaccordingtothefocusoftheircourse.

© SimTeam

Changes in the labour and projectmarkets can create difficult situations for the participatingteams.SimTeammakes iteasier for theparticipants tounderstandhowcertainmarketeventsaffecttheircompany’soperationalperformance,andhowtomakethebestdecisionspossiblefortheircompany.

ParticipantlearningoutcomesAfterusingthesimulationparticipantswillbeabletodothefollowing:

§ Understandthefundamentalsandcoreconceptsofcrisismanagement,

§ Knowhowtoanalyseandassesspotentialrisksforthebusinessandhowtoidentifyacrisis,

§ Acquireknowledgeandtoolstohandleunexpectedthreats,§ Knowhowtoassemblerelevantdataandinformation,andmake

effective,cooperativedecisionsinashortperiodoftime,§ Knowhowtohandleakeystaffmember’sdeparturefromthe

companyorthelossofanimportantclient,§ Knowhowtomakeacrisismanagementplanforthecompanyto

ensurebusinesscontinuity,§ Knowhowtoadapttonewtechnologiesortrendsonthemarket,§ Knowhowtoprepareforsignificantchanges,andhowtomanage

andcontainthem.

With their newly acquired knowledge and experience, participants will have increasedprobabilityofsuccessfullyembracingchangesduringacrisis,makingthebusinessmorelikelytosurvive.

Whoshouldattend?Crisis management trainings with SimTeam are ideal for business continuity professionals,managers, management teams, entrepreneurs, business owners, risk and crisis managementteammembers,oranybodywhoisresponsiblefortakingstrategicandtacticalstepsordecisionswhenitcomestocrisismanagement.

© SimTeam

At business schools and universities: students who attend management courses and needexperienceinchangemanagementorcrisismanagement.

SuggestedoutlineThesimulationcanbeintegratedintoacrisismanagementtrainingcourse.IfthetrainerstartsthetrainingprogramwithaSimTeamsimulationanddoesnottellparticipantsthatunexpectedmarketeventsandbusinesscrisesarecoming, thereforethetrainercanseeandcomparehowthe participants perform in these situations. After the simulation, the trainer can analyse theparticipants’reactionsandresultsandprovidefeedbackabouttheirperformance.

Thesuggestedstructureofthecourse:

§ Introductiontochangeandcrisismanagement,§ Explanationoftherulesofthesimulation,introductiontothelearningenvironment,§ Settingtargetsfortheteams(andperhapsindividuals),§ Thesimulationcanbesupplementedwithfocusedtopicaltasks(e.g.:communication

exercisesorpresentationsamongteammembers),§ Assessmentandfeedback.

Thesuggestedlengthofthesimulationis0,5–1day.

Thesimulationmightalsobeintegratedintoalongertrainingprogramasademonstrativecasestudy.

ThebenefitsofusingasimulationThe prime reason for using the simulation is toexercise the new knowledge presented on thecourse. Simulations enhance the learning process.Unlike lectures, where it is difficult to reflect andstill listen to the lecturer, simulations provideopportunities for reflection with participantsmovinginandoutofthediscussionasrequired.

Simulations are motivational events andparticipantsareveryinvolved intheprocess.Thisis because participants usually see simulations as

© SimTeam

competitions. Thismotivates in-depth discussion among them, ensuring deep processing andthereforeassimilation.

Studies showthatdifferent learningapproacheshavedifferentretentionrateswithpracticebydoing(throughsimulation)deliveringaseventy-fivepercentretentionrate.("Learningpyramid"-MotorolaUniversity:CreatingMindwareforthe21stCentury,CorporateUniversityXchangeMay/June1996,Vol2No 3.). Simulations can be used to "revitalise" and motivate the group. This will also have apositiveeffectontheparticipants’absorptionofknowledge.

Simulations can help linking theory with practice: the theoretical content must becomplementedbysessionswhereparticipantstesttheirskills.

When combinedwith traditional learningmethods, business games increaseefficiency of learning and help studentsmake the connection between theoreticalknowledge and professional challengesthey will face in the real business world.Participants can experience the decision-making role of managers. As participantsmake actual business decisions and dealwith the consequences of their mistakes,their knowledge retention increasesexponentially.

Thesimulationprovidesaninteractiveplatformwhereparticipantscanlearnthetechniquesandmodels of strategic management, experience characteristics of different strategic focus areas(e.g. market strategy, HR strategy) and face lifelike challenges without the risk of real-lifestrategicdecisions.Bytheendofthecoursestudentsshouldbeabletoanalysetheorganisation,determine strategic goals anddirections, anddefine actions that lead to reaching those goals.Butapartfrombasicstrategicplanningtheparticipantscanalsolearnmoreaboutpreparingfortheunexpectedandhandlingcrisissituations.

AboutSimTeamsimulationSimTeam is a business simulation platform that models the operation of project-basedenterprises. During the simulation participants form teams representing different modelcorporations.Theparticipantsactindifferentmanagerial roles inside the modelcorporations. The software simulates acompetitive market where the modelcompanies compete. In the course of thecontest the participants learn how toformulate a corporate strategy and how tocreateaneffectiveandefficientorganisationtoachievetheirstrategicgoals.

SimTeam has automated financialfunctionalities(generalledger;balancesheet,profit and loss account, cash flowoverview)according to generally accepted accounting

© SimTeam

rules.

Each team operates a model corporation, where this they will face immense market driven(external) challenges (which vary in the different case studies) and operational challengesarising from their available manpower and their cash flow situation. The trainer can assignindividualmissionsandpersonalgoalstotheparticipantsbasedontheirmanagerialroleinthesimulatedorganisation.Theseindividualmissionsandgoalscanbeconflicting,whichcouldleadtoargumentsamongtheteammemberssimilarlytoareallifechangemanagementsituation.The trainer can also provide exercises for the teams (e.g. review andpresent strategy) in thecourseofthesimulation.

UsingcasestudiesduringthesimulationDuring the training, the trainers can use different case studies. Case studies are preciselyconstructed educational programswith specific starting positions for the teams, pre-recordedmarketevents,anddefinedgoalsfortheparticipantsduringthewholesimulationprogram.

Using different case studies, thesimulationcanbeused inbothsmallandlargegroupsessions.Teamsdiscusstheirvirtual company’s strategy and decisionsinsmallerteamsof4or5persons,butincertainscenarios theycanalsocooperatewith other teams, building a greaterdiscussion among participants, thusfurther stimulating the decision makingprocesses

Thefollowingcasestudiescanbeappliedtocrisismanagementfocusedtrainings:

- Casestudieswithchangingmarketconditions(CaseStudy1,2,4,7,8,10)- CasestudieswithHRchallenges(CaseStudy3)