In June 2012, April Training ran a simulation event at Liverpool University as part of the MSc Management degree, involving the use of Executive to illustrate some of the key business ideas that made up part of the academic study for the course. It was run with over 400 students simultaneously, with participants split into small teams, which competed in leagues of 8 or 9 teams.

The aim of the simulation was to consolidate the business principles taught by the lecturers through active learning, using a realistic model of the current car manufacturing industry as a base. Before the simulation began, the students researched a real manufacturer in detail with focus on its business strategy and company image, in order to gain an appreciation of the industry. The students created posters to present their findings.  They also developed a business plan and strategy for the company they would create within the simulation environment.

The simulation event began with a trial run  to enable the students to get used to the functionality of the software and test out some initial ideas.  With the students confident in using Executive, the real simulation event was launched and the competition began!

Students set up a company from a greenfield site and built up the business over four years (each simulation round is equivalent to one year).  By using a start up scenario participants had free rein to use their ideas for business strategies and see how they played out over the years.  The exercise allowed them to put into practice the skills they had learnt over the degree course, as well as applying their own business intuition and acumen to find innovative solutions. The results were very interesting, with all teams submitting sensible and well thought-through decisions that led to most companies prospering, despite the intense competition within most market sectors.

Congratulations must go to the staff involved at Liverpool University for the superb organisation and smooth running of the programme, despite the large number of students. The simulation will be run in a similar way with next year’s cohort, with numbers set to increase substantially.

For those of you taking part in the Executive business training simulation, and for those of you looking for ways to succeed in both real-life business situations and realisitic models, here is another tip from the creators behind Executive on how to get the most out of your experience and create a successful company with viable business propects.

In the real world, no business exists without some form of competition; these days there are many similar companies offering the same types of service or products. This charactistic of the current business climate is modelled in Executive through the use of competing teams in the same marketplace or ‘world’. A successful business will differentiate itself from the other corporations in the same sector through use of marketing, product differentiation and product placement. The same is true within a business simulation, where, just like real-life, the markets can become saturated and it becomes very difficult to squeeze out a profit.

With this in mind, our top tip for you is to differentiate your company. Whether you do this by company image and branding, targeting specific market sectors or offering exclusive features, find a way to make your business stand out from the crowd. Just like car manufacturers such as Porsche, Ford and Jeep, find a niche that your company can fill and there are high profits to be made.

If you are currently taking part in an Executive simulation; whether as part of a university course, corporate training or within a school or sixth form, this post will give you another handy hint from the creators to help you on your way to business success. As everyone knows, a key aspect of a viable business is profitability – no-one will think you’re a good businessperson if your company doesn’t have the capacity to make money! If you want to succeed in Executive, a clear monetary strategy is vital and will set you apart from your colleagues. So, when you’re planning your route through Executive, make sure you think carefully about margins, as these will unlock the potential to achieve great results.

In order to get the maximum results from the company you build up, make sure to keep a good record of all costings; don’t just rely on the system but work it out for yourself. This will make sure that you stay 100% on top of all your spending throughout the simulation. It’s easy to let costs run away from you, and this can have disastrous consequences for your finances at the end of the round. Keep a tight hold on the reins and you’ll sail through each round with ease.

Executive is a very realistic business simulation, so when your group are making decisions, make sure to plan your finances carefully. You could even appoint a specialist ‘Finance Manager’ to make sure that your team keeps an eye on this crucial aspect throughout the course of the simulation. For many instances of Executive, the overall placements of teams are heavily influenced by the financial performance of their companies throughout the rounds (check your briefing documents for more details and specific information for your programme), so this is a very important part of running a successful company.

Good luck! Check back soon for more handy ideas.

Finance can be seen as a dry and potentially dull topic by even the most enthusiastic of students and employees, but accounting and financial skills are essential to succeed in any area of business. It is for this reason that the Business Simulation “Executive” has an additional financial module that can be activated, allowing participants to get more of a feel for how to manage the money side of running a business. This is unique in the work of business simulations, making Executive one of the most desirable training simulation games around!  The extra functionality provided by the add-on means that it is a great way to educate students and company members of any level about both the world of business and management and the area of finance and economics specifically. 

The Finance module of Executive proves that numbers can be fun, with opportunities ranging from investment purchases and share-trading with other teams in the simulation and and even company take-overs to keep everyone on their toes and all the teams continually interacting. This gives an exciting new dimension to the business simulation and encourages maximum involvement as well as a healthy amount of competition between teams, which mirrors the real world of business.

Dividends can also be paid and additional finance raised by share issues. These relatively complex concepts are made easy to understand with handy hints available throughout the simulation, as well as the results of decisions being clearly shown, allowing students and employees to learn and develop their own entrepreneurial skills and ideas related to finance. This idea of learning-by-doing is one of the key aspects for any simulation and is a fantastic way for anyone to gain experience in the running of a business, in a risk free environment.

Business simulations need not only teach beginners; they can be used with anyone eager to experience the world of business and management, whether they be secondary school students, middle management, senior managers or even MBA’s. The Finance module is a great addition to Executive, and is a new innovative way to learn the principles behind company finance, economics and accounting.

April Training are running an event at Liverpool University starting on Friday 10th June, which involves the use of our Executive business training simulation, aiming to give students a new and exciting insight into the world of business and entrepreneurship. This will give the students the chance to test out their business skills and try some new ideas in order to attempt to build up a successful company in the European car manufacturing business. They will use real-life current market data to make the simulation as realistic and believable as possible, and their performance will be assessed by tutors, along with associated paperwork.Executive is designed to be competitive, which increases motivation of the students at Liverpool University, as well as giving them even more reason to carefully their decisions and make sure that their team follows good business principles. They will be competing against 8 other teams, so the students are separated into ‘worlds’. This prevents the markets from becoming saturated and gives everyone a better chance of success.

The simulation programme is intense, lasting just over week, meaning that students only have a short time to get to grips with the principles behind the simulation, as well as learning how to input data and making use of the what-if facility built into Executive. However, the short time period increases engagement with the simulation, and gives the students some experience of the time pressures commonly found in a business environment. It will also test their organisational, time-keeping, teamwork and communication skills; all of which are essential for success in the world of business.

Our team here at April wish them good luck, and as always will be on hand to provide both technical support and a helping hand to any teams who find themselves in difficulties.

The aim of business simulations is to gain a better understanding of how it feels to run a corporation and attempt to produce a retained profit. Unfortunately that’s not as easy as it sounds, so here is a list of 5 top tips to do well in any business simulation:

5. Understand as much of the terminology as possible before the simulation starts. This will give you more time to concentrate on planning your decisions rather than attempting to decipher unusual business terms. Help is available, so use it wisely!

4. Make a business plan to give your team a definite strategy. This will make sure that all your decisions have sound logical reasoning behind them, and allow you to get the most out of the simulation in terms of understanding and knowledge.  Also, know what you’re trying to achieve. This will help to start the ball rolling, so make a list of core values that your company should have and design your products and marketing strategies around this. This is a good stepping stone on the way to building a company image.

3. Do some research. Investigating the current real-life market can give you clues and insight into how the simulation will progress, giving you  the opportunity to get ahead with sales and profits.

2. Read up on the facts and how the simulation works. If you know what information you have been given and how to use it, you are guaranteed to avoid silly errors that can creep in through lack of understanding. This will allow your team to concentrate on a cohesive business strategy to build up your business.

1. Most importantly, communicate with your team members! This is vital for success in simulations just as it is in real-life situations. If you consult other members of your team and make decisions diplomatically based around as much knowledge as possible, you are far less likely to make mistakes. This will result in a far more successful business as well as encouraging team spirit and good working relationships.

Good luck!

Since Executive on-line went live mid-2010, we have had loads of  requests from students for records of their decisions made.

Of course these details should be recorded at the time they are made but quite often they are not. Now the latest version of Executive on-line has the option to print out decisions made. To see and print them out go to the decisions box at the top of the page, use the drop down menu to locate “Decisions”.  The left hand decision box shows the previous year and the right hand box the current year.  Always keep a file or printed copy.

April simulations are a great way to increase interest and generate enthusiasm for business and management across the board, thanks to their involving nature and exciting edge over lectures and other traditional methods of teaching. All three products can be used to give students and employees a new perspective on learning and entrepreneurship.

Executive is a large simulation run competitively with up to 9 teams. It is a great way to encourage team participation as well as provide greater experience in the world of business. Reports are generated at the end of every round which track on the candidates’ progress in relation to their competitors, and encourages everyone to go for it and think seriously about the decisions they make. For more information see our main website.

Retailer is also a large simulation that can be run competitively. This gives it similar advantages to Executive in that it actively engages participants and encourages a ‘can-do’ attitude throughout the simulation process. With ranges of different decisions from marketing to operations to be made every round, everyone will get involved with this interactive simulation. For more details see our site.

Entrepreneur is a smaller-scale business simulation than our other products, working best with small groups or individuals. It is non-competitive, but there are still plenty of challenges to keep everyone entertained! Ideal for giving a small group an insight into how a business functions in a hands-on and practical way. For more information, visit the page on our main website.

If you are currently taking part in an Executive simulation, whether from a corporate or academic background, look out for our handy hints to help you on your way to becoming a business star!  Executive is based on the current European car industry, meaning that it’s a dynamic and competitive training simulation.  Results depend on good business decisions, which is what makes it such a brilliant learning experience for students and employees alike. Our number 1 tip for how to succeed in Executive is to make use of the “what-if” facility. This handy tool is a brilliant way to investigate the impact of your decisions on the scenario and give you a hint as to whether the current round will be a profitable one. However, please keep in mind that this is a prediction tool only, and other events can occur to change your results (sometimes drastically); also the decisions made by other teams will also impact on your projections when they are included in the processing. Many tutors also charge teams for the privilege of using this facility, so make sure to check your briefing document before using excessively. Overall, “what-if” is be a useful way to test your strategy as it gives you the opportunity to tweak and edit their decisions before finally submitting them to the simulation for processing.

Check back soon for another hint from the experts!

Executive is the best-selling business simulation from our range, so we thought that it was time to explain a little bit more about it and what it can do for you.

Executive is a simulation based around the European car industry, that can have up to 9 competing teams in each session of the simulation (often known as leagues). Because multiple leagues can be run at the same time, Executive can be used for any sized group, and we regularly run large-scale projects with 200 or more participants. This is particularly useful when April organise simulation projects to fit in with a university module as part of a business or finance degree.

Companies across the world also find Executive very useful for training and education, and it can be insightful for any employees; from shop-floor workers to senior managers! Our simulation is the perfect way to enhance a course of lectures to make the participants interested in and inspired by the world of business and entrepreneurship. It can increase competency in areas such as marketing, finance, business strategy and team-working, which are all vital skills for any member of an organisation.

Executive is fully customisable with three different modules that can be added in any combination onto the basic simulation. These modules are:

1. the Finance module – more depth into the world of accounting and more decisions relating to shares, gilts and dividends
2. the Operations module – further details to do with workforce management and production
3. the Marketing module – more choices on product and company image as well as marketing strategies.

These options allow for even more flexibility when it comes to our training simulation and allow us to tailor an event especially for you. We can also arrange trainers to come to your organisation to give a demonstration and explain the ideas behind Executive, or we can even train members of your own staff to act as tutors. This has proved very successful in the past, and many universities and industrial companies take advantage of this service as a cost-effective and time-saving solution.

If you would like any more information about Executive, or would like to order any of our simulations, please email us.