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MANAGEMENT |
CONTENTS
Total Instructional TimeLesson: Recruiting, Resumes & Hiring
Lesson: Employee Opinions
Lesson: Employee Supervision
Lesson: Strikes, Unions & Collective Bargaining
Lesson: Management Accounting
Lesson: Pricing & Sales
Lesson: Operations Management
Lesson: Business Plan Math
Lesson: Risk Management & Insurance
Lesson: Forms of Business Ownership
Lesson: Management Mogul - Unique City Per Class
Lesson: Extra Credit: Turnaround
Lesson: Extra Credit: Management Mega Mogul
Total Instructional Time
The instructional time for MANAGEMENT ranges from 24 hours (simulation exercises only) to 34 hours (simulation exercises, reading assignments , reading quizzes, and math quizzes). You can configure your course to include or exclude reading assignments (3.3 hours), reading quizzes (1.7 hours) and math quizzes (5 hours). For instructions on how to configure your course, click here to access a series of videos to help you get your classroom up and running with Virtual Business.
Prior to beginning work with MANAGEMENT, students should sign in to their account at vb.KnowledgeMatters.com and go through the Tutorial.
back to topLesson: Recruiting, Resumes & Hiring
DESCRIPTION
In this lesson, students explore ways to recruit, screen and hire employees. They begin by posting a job on a simulated “free” website patterned after Craigslist.org. They use filtering tools to screen their applicants for relevant experience. Next, students read applicant resumes and find some with obvious spelling errors. They further narrow their search by checking references. Students then set a wage level and hire a candidate. Finally, students try to hire several additional employees to increase their business’s production to a target level. If they cannot get enough skilled applicants through the free website, they are given the choice to recruit employees through “pay” website, patterned after Monster.com.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Explain why recruiting and selecting good employees is so critical to a business
- List alternative Internet and non-Internet recruiting options
- Understand the importance of an error-free resume
- Be able to review a resume effectively
- Evaluate applicant references and explain the importance of references
- Use their recruiting knowledge to hire employees and increase business output
TIME
Reading: 20 minutes (optional)Reading Quiz: 10 minutes (optional)
Math Quiz: 30 minutes (optional)
Simulation Exercise: 45 minutes
PROCEDURE
Students sign in to MANAGEMENT at vb.KnowledgeMatters.com.Students complete the reading assignment (optional).
Students take the reading quiz (optional).
Students take the math quiz (optional).
Students click Run SIM and follow the lesson instructions.
Student progress and grades may be tracked from the Instructor page.
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Lesson: Employee Opinions
DESCRIPTION
In this lesson, students explore why it is critical to be open to feedback from their employees. They begin by taking a survey of their employees. The use segmentation tools to understand which employees feel most overworked. They visually observe these employees and then take steps to hire additional employees for that task. They confirm through observation that employee workloads have dropped. Finally, they use surveys, visual observation, and hiring to reduce workloads for employees to sustainable levels.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Appreciate the importance of getting feedback from employees
- Understand how to act based on employee feedback
- Use surveys to determine employee satisfaction
- Use data segmentation techniques to get usable information from data sets
- Use visual observation to diagnose and eliminate workplace problems
- Improve employee job satisfaction
TIME
Reading: 20 minutes (optional)Reading Quiz: 10 minutes (optional)
Math Quiz: 30 minutes (optional)
Simulation Exercise: 45 minutes
PROCEDURE
Students sign in to MANAGEMENT at vb.KnowledgeMatters.com.Students complete the reading assignment (optional).
Students take the reading quiz (optional).
Students take the math quiz (optional).
Students click Run SIM and follow the lesson instructions.
Student progress and grades may be tracked from the Instructor page.
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Lesson: Employee Supervision
DESCRIPTION
In this lesson, students begin by observing their employees producing bicycles. They note that some employees work very slowly. Students quantify the difference in production rates between employees. They then issue warnings to the lower producing employees. One employee responds positively and increases production. The other employee responds negatively, and students are given choices for further action. Finally, students use their supervision options to try to increase daily production to a target level.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Understand the concept of employee supervision
- Be able to identify management actions that supervisors use
- Use positive and negative feedback constructively
- Identify legal and ethical risks in managing employees
- Use supervision principles to be able to improve business outcomes
TIME
Reading: 20 minutes (optional)Reading Quiz: 10 minutes (optional)
Math Quiz: 30 minutes (optional)
Simulation Exercise: 45 minutes
PROCEDURE
Students sign in to MANAGEMENT at vb.KnowledgeMatters.com.Students complete the reading assignment (optional).
Students take the reading quiz (optional).
Students take the math quiz (optional).
Students click Run SIM and follow the lesson instructions.
Student progress and grades may be tracked from the Instructor page.
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Lesson: Strikes, Unions & Collective Bargaining
DESCRIPTION
In this lesson, students assume the role of managers in a unionized plant. They begin by running time forward and experience a worker strike due to pay grievances. They enter negotiations with the employees and make a wage increase offer which is rejected by union vote. They eventually increase their offer, and this time the union accepts it. Finally, students switch to another factory they own where employees have also gone on strike. They examine their Income Statement to see how much room they have to increase wages without eliminating profits. Armed with this knowledge, they negotiate with employees to get them to back work at a wage level that will still allow the company to make a profit.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Explain the role and importance of unions in America
- Argue the side of a union in a labor dispute
- Argue the side of management in a labor dispute
- Define a labor strike
- List ways in which strikes can be avoided or ended
TIME
Reading: 20 minutes (optional)Reading Quiz: 10 minutes (optional)
Math Quiz: 30 minutes (optional)
Simulation Exercise: 45 minutes
PROCEDURE
Students sign in to MANAGEMENT at vb.KnowledgeMatters.com.Students complete the reading assignment (optional).
Students take the reading quiz (optional).
Students take the math quiz (optional).
Students click Run SIM and follow the lesson instructions.
Student progress and grades may be tracked from the Instructor page.
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Lesson: Management Accounting
DESCRIPTION
In this lesson, students begin by reviewing an income statement--exploring revenue, expenses, and profit. They use percentages to understand how profitable their business is. Students then check their balance sheet to understand their cash position, inventory levels, and liabilities. Finally, students make use of their financial statements to identify and reduce expenses that are too high. By doing so, they pursue a specific profit goal.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Understand the components and purpose of an income statement
- Can explain revenue, expenses, and profit
- Calculate percentages to analyze financial statements
- Understand the components and purpose of the balance sheet
- Find major assets and liabilities from a balance sheet
- Use information from financial statements to improve the profitability of a business
TIME
Reading: 20 minutes (optional)Reading Quiz: 10 minutes (optional)
Math Quiz: 30 minutes (optional)
Simulation Exercise: 45 minutes
PROCEDURE
Students sign in to MANAGEMENT at vb.KnowledgeMatters.com.Students complete the reading assignment (optional).
Students take the reading quiz (optional).
Students take the math quiz (optional).
Students click Run SIM and follow the lesson instructions.
Student progress and grades may be tracked from the Instructor page.
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Lesson: Pricing & Sales
DESCRIPTION
In this lesson, students learn how to price jobs, bid on them, and deliver successfully. This is a critical part of businesses from landscapers, to contractors, to major manufacturers. Students begin by looking at a list of open Requests for Bid. They bid on a large project and try for a sizable mark-up on their costs. After losing that bid, they bid again on a smaller order and bid a more reasonable price. They win the order but find they cannot deliver on time, resulting in the loss of that customer for at least six months. Students are then challenged to win bids with quantities and delivery dates that they can satisfy. By doing so, they build their profits to meet a specific goal.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Understand the concept of bidding on jobs
- Be able to price jobs appropriately, based on cost and other factors
- Understand deliver capacity, quantities and due dates
- Accept only jobs that can be successfully delivered
- Combine price and bidding decisions to improve the profitability of a business
TIME
Reading: 20 minutes (optional)Reading Quiz: 10 minutes (optional)
Math Quiz: 30 minutes (optional)
Simulation Exercise: 45 minutes
PROCEDURE
Students sign in to MANAGEMENT at vb.KnowledgeMatters.com.Students complete the reading assignment (optional).
Students take the reading quiz (optional).
Students take the math quiz (optional).
Students click Run SIM and follow the lesson instructions.
Student progress and grades may be tracked from the Instructor page.
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Lesson: Operations Management
DESCRIPTION
In this lesson, students explore the importance of operations management: a critical part of almost any business. Students take on the role of manager of a blue jeans factory. However, their factory floor is very poorly laid out and exceedingly inefficient. They are directed to make a specific change to the layout. Students then learn how to evaluate the effect of the change on production. Finally, students are challenged to redesign the rest of their floor to meet a specific production goal.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Define operations management and workflow
- Assess and identify workflow problems
- Take corrective actions to improve operations
- Analyze results of actions as part of a feedback loop
- Redesign complex processes to improve operations and business output
TIME
Reading: 20 minutes (optional)Reading Quiz: 10 minutes (optional)
Math Quiz: 30 minutes (optional)
Simulation Exercise: 45 minutes
PROCEDURE
Students sign in to MANAGEMENT at vb.KnowledgeMatters.com.Students complete the reading assignment (optional).
Students take the reading quiz (optional).
Students take the math quiz (optional).
Students click Run SIM and follow the lesson instructions.
Student progress and grades may be tracked from the Instructor page.
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Lesson: Business Plan Math
DESCRIPTION
In this lesson, students utilize applied math to create key elements of a business plan . They begin by analyzing a process diagram that defines their processes for building bikes. Based on a target production level and cycle times of different processes, they compute how many of each process they will need. They then combine this with space requirements for each process to compute the overall space they will need for their business. Finally, they lease the amount of space calculated and set up their production floor to meet a specific production goal.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Define a business plan and its major components
- Understand how math drives much a business plan
- Use production goals and cycle times to compute required processes
- Compute space requirements based on square footage of needed components
- Lease and plan space to meet business goals
TIME
Reading: 20 minutes (optional)Reading Quiz: 10 minutes (optional)
Math Quiz: 30 minutes (optional)
Simulation Exercise: 45 minutes
PROCEDURE
Students sign in to MANAGEMENT at vb.KnowledgeMatters.com.Students complete the reading assignment (optional).
Students take the reading quiz (optional).
Students take the math quiz (optional).
Students click Run SIM and follow the lesson instructions.
Student progress and grades may be tracked from the Instructor page.
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Lesson: Risk Management & Insurance
DESCRIPTION
In this lesson, students look at ways to reduce risk in a business. They begin by reviewing different types of insurance available for the valuable machines on their production floor. Next, they run the simulation (with no insurance) and experience a fire that destroys a machine. They shop for an Actual Cash Value policy and discover how premiums vary with deductibles. They purchase the policy, experience another loss, and compare the out-of-pocket costs to being uninsured. Next, students shop for another policy and see how premiums vary with coverage limits. Finally, they try to insure themselves to cover the cost of their most expensive piece of equipment while keeping premiums under a specified target.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Understand that all businesses have some risk
- Explain how insurance can reduce or even eliminate some risks for a business
- Define premiums, deductibles, and coverage limits
- Explain the relationship between premiums and deductibles and coverage limits
- Use insurance effectively to reduce risk in their business
TIME
Reading: 20 minutes (optional)Reading Quiz: 10 minutes (optional)
Math Quiz: 30 minutes (optional)
Simulation Exercise: 45 minutes
PROCEDURE
Students sign in to MANAGEMENT at vb.KnowledgeMatters.com.Students complete the reading assignment (optional).
Students take the reading quiz (optional).
Students take the math quiz (optional).
Students click Run SIM and follow the lesson instructions.
Student progress and grades may be tracked from the Instructor page.
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Lesson: Forms of Business Ownership
DESCRIPTION
In this lesson, students look at three similar businesses, each with a different form of ownership. One is a sole proprietorship, one is a partnership, and one is a corporation. Students look at how the choice of form of ownership affects the capital in each business. They then compare how taxes are paid by each entity. Finally, they run the simulation and witness the businesses experiencing a bad industrial accident. They then compare the owner’s liability across the three forms of ownership.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Identify the major forms of business ownership: sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation
- Compare and contrast the effect of form of business ownership on access to capital
- Compare and contrast the effect of form of business ownership on tax obligations
- Compare and contrast the effect of form of business ownership on owner’s personal risk and liability
- Be able to choose an appropriate form of business ownership for a venture
TIME
Reading: 20 minutes (optional)Reading Quiz: 10 minutes (optional)
Math Quiz: 30 minutes (optional)
Simulation Exercise: 45 minutes
PROCEDURE
Students sign in to MANAGEMENT at vb.KnowledgeMatters.com.Students complete the reading assignment (optional).
Students take the reading quiz (optional).
Students take the math quiz (optional).
Students click Run SIM and follow the lesson instructions.
Student progress and grades may be tracked from the Instructor page.
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Lesson: Management Mogul - Unique City Per Class
DESCRIPTION
In this capstone project, students test out the management skills they have learned in the lessons. They are challenged to build a bicycle manufacturing business from the ground up. They must recruit employees, set pay levels, hire employees, supervise employees, obtain equipment, design their production floor and bid on orders. All students serve the same set of simulated customers and pursue a specific profit goal. By default, the class scoreboard is turned on so students can compare their profitability to others. The instructor can turn the scoreboard off.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Understand how to grow a start-up business
- Make good hiring decisions
- Supervise employees effectively
- Acquire manufacturing equipment based on process design diagrams
- Configure manufacturing space for efficiency
- Use common financial statements to pursue a profit goal
- Understand the challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship
TIME
Reading: 0 minutes (optional)Reading Quiz: 0 minutes (optional)
Math Quiz: 0 minutes (optional)
Simulation Exercise: 240 minutes
PROCEDURE
Students sign in to MANAGEMENT at vb.KnowledgeMatters.com.Students complete the reading assignment (optional).
Students take the reading quiz (optional).
Students take the math quiz (optional).
Students click Run SIM and follow the lesson instructions.
Student progress and grades may be tracked from the Instructor page.
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Lesson: Extra Credit: Turnaround
DESCRIPTION
In this extra credit project, students take over a struggling blue jeans manufacturer. The business has made some very poor hiring choices, and the layout of the factory is a mess! Students are challenged to find and diagnose these and other problems. They then set about correcting them. Students learn that a single correction may not produce profits if other factors are not aligned. Eventually, students work through all the issues to achieve a profit. By default, the class scoreboard is turned on so students can compete against each other for the fastest and most effective turnaround.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Identify problems within an existing business
- Formulate corrective actions
- Learn how “unmaking” bad hiring decisions is more difficult than making initial good hiring decisions
- Use financial statements and other reports to assess effectiveness of corrections
- Understand how corrections in one area of a business affect and depend on other areas of the business
- Restore an unprofitable business to profitability
TIME
Reading: 0 minutes (optional)Reading Quiz: 0 minutes (optional)
Math Quiz: 0 minutes (optional)
Simulation Exercise: 240 minutes
PROCEDURE
Students sign in to MANAGEMENT at vb.KnowledgeMatters.com.Students complete the reading assignment (optional).
Students take the reading quiz (optional).
Students take the math quiz (optional).
Students click Run SIM and follow the lesson instructions.
Student progress and grades may be tracked from the Instructor page.
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Lesson: Extra Credit: Management Mega Mogul
DESCRIPTION
In this extra credit project, students use the full power of the simulation to create their own manufacturing empire. They can choose to manufacture bicycles or blue jeans. Students can open multiple factories and pick from a range of sizes for their factories. This project is open-ended; students do not have a specific profit goal and can continue on as long as they desire. By default, the class scoreboard is turned on so instructors can use this project as a competition.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Understand how to start and grow a manufacturing business
- Compare and contrast running different types of manufacturing businesses
- Deal with managing a large scale workforce across multiple businesses
- Resolve labor disputes than may result in strikes
- Manage the complexity of running multiple businesses
- Understand the importance of long-term planning and effort in growing a large business or businesses
TIME
Reading: 0 minutes (optional)Reading Quiz: 0 minutes (optional)
Math Quiz: 0 minutes (optional)
Simulation Exercise: 240 minutes
PROCEDURE
Students sign in to MANAGEMENT at vb.KnowledgeMatters.com.Students complete the reading assignment (optional).
Students take the reading quiz (optional).
Students take the math quiz (optional).
Students click Run SIM and follow the lesson instructions.
Student progress and grades may be tracked from the Instructor page.
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