The University College Leuven-Limburg (UCLL) uses the business simulation TOPSIM – Universal Banking each year in its International Week. How can participants with totally different backgrounds be brought together and profit from each other?

Customer’s Challenge

• The UCLL is one of the major universities of applied sciences in Flanders with over 14,000 students and 9 campuses.

• As part of the international week the UCLL wants to offer students the possibility of a different way of learning and a great experience in a foreign country at the same time.

• Therefore the seminar concept has to be adjusted to different languages, cultures, understandings and experience levels of the international students. Through a diversified seminar concept, the different  target groups and special needs are all addressed with one of our TOPSIM – Simulations.

Our Solution

• The UCLL uses the competitive banking simulation game TOPSIM – Universal Banking during the course „Management with a focus on Finance and Insurance“.

• In one week, students get a realistic insight in Banking Management paired with exciting talks from guest lectures for topics like finance or insurance.

• The special thing about this concept is the international orientation and the focus not only on
  theories or the business simulation.

• In the international teams the participants can profit from the different experience levels and backgrounds of their team members while playing 4 rounds of the simulation TOPSIM – Universal Banking.

• In addition to the simulation, they get the chance to train their soft skills and communication while doing sports or getting to know Leuven together.

The value generated for the customerIn the advanced, modular, wide-ranging management
simulation TOPSIM – Universal Banking the students learn to:

• Understand the overall business situation in a bank

• Interpret market situations and market results using managerial accounting tools

• Use strategic analyses and select competitive strategies for a range of products, markets and target groups

• Understand and assess bank-specific indicators

• Compare and select financing options in the light of regulatory requirements

This competitive banking simulation game effectively teaches the international students how theory and practice relate because they act as the executive managers, taking key strategic and operational decisions.

Our client Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Mumbai, India. The company has business interests across industries focusing on heavy engineering, construction, manufacturing, information technology, and financial services.

Client Challenge

L&T believes in a strong learning culture and designs a vast variety of interventions to improve employee management capabilities in their high potentials. The organization, however, did not want to restrict such interventions to only their leaders and wanted to be more inclusive. Comprised of more than 125 sub-entities like subsidiaries, associates, joint-venture and joint operations companies, L&T aimed to offer a high-quality and uniform learning experience spread out across business entities and multiple geographies. Designing a learning solution that was both effective and inclusive across multiple target groups was the primary challenge facing L&T.

Our Solution

Our intervention showed employees that a business should be run like a marathon: shifting focus from a short-term mindset to maintaining stamina and sustaining momentum leads to long-term success. To achieve the learning objectives, 189 employees from 13 businesses across 36 locations competed in and learned from TOPSIM – easyManagement. During a week-long, online simulation game, learners ran a virtual business over five simulated financial years. Each learner is challenged to act as the CEO of their virtual company. They make decisions across all divisions – Sales & Marketing, Procurement & Production, Human Resource and Finance. An exhaustive set of reports allows participants to track their performance and KPIs. This solution design taught learners how to sustainably and progressively improve their decision making and operational effectiveness.

Value for the Client

• Our solution allowed the participants to take part in a valuable learning intervention without requiring them to be away from their regular work for an extended time. Since the solution was online and device-independent, they could access it while on the go, from their home and even from their personal mobile handsets, thus ensuring on demand learning.
• Independently of their department or level, participants gained a deeper understanding of management concept and the importance of collaboration thanks to the realistic challenges they faced.
• Due to the high participant engagement, the value it generated, and overall success of the event, L&T has decided to make this a yearly event.

The used car market is very important for securing brand strategy for OEMs. How can this goal be reconciled with the short-term sales orientation of Chinese sales managers?

Customer’s Challenge

A German sports and luxury car manufacturer wants to adjust the orientation of its local portfolio. A focus on the used car market in China is necessary to ensure long-term competitiveness. The company would like to make the most important trends tangible for the relevant stakeholders (investors, traders, top managers) through a Strategy Summit. For the end consumer, the purchase of used cars represents a risk (“loss of face”). However, the consequences of ignoring this Chinese used car market for the OEM business are: Loss of potential customers to third parties, risk of image damage as quality of third-party products cannot be controlled and impairment of profitable parts business.

Our Solution

• Realistic representation of the Chinese used car market.
• Integration of real data to develop a customized TOPSIM – Automotive Strategy Simulation.
• Execution of the simulation as part of a comprehensive training for managers, traders and investors.
• Use of wargaming elements within the simulation allowed new strategies to be tested for their resilience.
• Exchange between managers about neglecting the used car business and its impact on the business model.

The value generated for the customer

• The stakeholders worked together to develop a comprehensive strategy for the future of OEM business in the Chinese market.
• Supporting car dealers’ strategic processes to understand the importance of the used car market:
• Team members learnt the dynamics of various different and disruptive strategies.
• The dominant growth strategy became evident and was experienced by the participants themselves.

One of the largest car rental companies in the world is aiming to enter new markets. How can strategy development and complexity management be communicated through an interactive leadership development program?

Customer’s Challenge

A leading international mobility service provider operating in the Vehicle Rental and Leasing Businesses wants to leverage its global footprint in over 100 countries. As part of the Leadership Excellence Program, the company is seeking a way to interactively train its executives in the areas of strategy development, value driver and complexity management. The target group (executive manager) should be prepared to assume additional responsibility and be motivated to stay with the company. The focus of the training is in the area of ​​strategy development and strategy implementation. The executive managers should experience the link between operational and strategic company management in a realistic and practical way and thus improve their decision quality.

Our Solution

The TOPSIM – Leadership & Strategy Simulation, which depicts business processes and business metrics as well as makes them playable and accessible. In addition, the participants were encouraged to think and act entrepreneurially in a team setup. The executive managers team up to run individual (virtual) companies and drive global expansion.

The value generated for the customer

• Targeted application of company-relevant indicators and performance measures.
• Impact of short and long term investment decisions on business performance.
• Complete implementation of a strategy development and transformation process using TOPSIM – Leadership & Strategy Simulation.
• Linking leadership, complexity management, team dynamics and corporate governance.

The digital business model of an online comparison portal requires the tactical and strategic farsightedness of executives to a great extent. The innovative learning concept of the TOPSIM – Strategy Simulation makes experiencing multiple futures possible and prepares the participants for future management tasks.

Customer’s Challenge

An Internet company with over 800 employees helps consumers compare telecom, insurance, travel and energy providers. In addition to the fundamentals of financial management, the potential carriers should also learn the interplay of management tools and apply them. Another focus is on the holistic design and control of market entry processes. In addition to the product development, the implementation steps of the market entry should also be considered. An interactive seminar concept aims to train holistic thinking and acting in a multi-period decision-making process.

Our Solution

Based on the TOPSIM – Strategy Simulation, an individual blended learning seminar concept was developed, consisting of two face to face days and five cloud-based online modules. As part of this individual strategy simulation, employees met as company board members and took decisions in different business areas.

By analyzing different financial ratios, the virtual enterprise is realigned in a volatile environment and in direct competition with colleagues. Due to the increasing complexity of decision-making during the course of the game, the participants also have to decide on expansions to other regions of the world, various distribution channels and utilization planning.

The value generated for the customer

Globalization strategies were developed on the basis of SWOT, environment and location analyzes. By using strategy tools, participants learnt to recognize strategic potential and to derive the right measures. The participants deepened their knowledge in strategic controlling too. With the help of key performance indicators (KPIs) and performance measures, they analyzed and interpreted the short- and long-term effects of their entrepreneurial activities. The participants got to know the success factors of market analysis, market selection, market entry, market positioning without risk and thus prepared themselves for future management tasks.