Business Consultancy Simulation

Overview of Simulation

In the Business Consultancy simulation, students act as 'consultants' for a failing company that is on the brink of collapse. Working in teams, students are tasked with turning the business into a profitable, stable company within 5 years (each year equivalent to one simulation round). This begins with an internal and external analysis, followed by an action plan determining the steps required to turn around the company.

Students Become Business Consultants

Once the student consultancy teams have been arranged, it's up to the team to determine which consultant role each team member will play. Roles are typically arranged by departmental function such as marketing, operations and procurement, HR, finance, as well as overall project management for the consultancy project. Once their team has been assembled they need to formulate an action plan to turn around the company. During each round they need respond to news events and fluctuations in the market, making strategic decisions to adapt to these new conditions. 

The 'Process' below outlines the steps students need to take throughout the business simulation exercise. 

pROCESS

1. Student consultancy teams conduct an in-depth internal and external analysis for their failing company. 
2. They develop an action plan and present that to the company's owner (lecturer).  
3. The consultancy teams become the interim management team and put their plans into action. They manage the companies for approximately 5 years/rounds. 
4. After the final simulation round, they present the results of their action plan to the owner (lecturer). 

Points are awarded at the end of each round for those consultancy teams that have had the greatest impact on improving company performance. 

Learning Outcomes

• Students create an effective action-plan designed to increase revenue, cut-costs, and create sustainable profits.
• Students gain a greater understanding of the role of business consultants in driving cultural change and organisation design. 
• Students develop effective team-working, analytical, strategic, and leadership skills.
• Students understand and value the importance of key departmental functions across an organisation, what their remits are and how they interact to meet corporate objectives.

Assessment ideas and examples

The Business Consultancy simulation is usually assessed in several ways. Below you will find the most popular options:

• Individual students provide a reflective report on their role within the simulation, highlighting areas of strength and areas for improvement, decisions that went well and decisions that did not go well and how they would do this differently next time.  
• Students conduct a 360 Peer Assessment in which students have to allocate a hundred points among their fellow team mates based on their contribution.
• Students deliver a “Dragon’s Den” elevator pitch to a panel of ‘investors’, played by the other student teams or Lecturers.
• Students provide a growth strategy for the upcoming financial year based on their company's performance in the simulation.