Of Capsim Challenge V

The curtains come down and i would not say that i was completely happy with myself.. the final score for me was 867 out of a possible 1000.. in a way, i knew it somewhere around Round 5 that i would not make the cut for the finals..

While there is no point crying over spilled milk, i'll just complain a little about how i didn't really have the luxury of time to strategise my moves due to the sudden surge in workload in my job..

there.. really just a little complain

In terms of world wide ranking, i stand at a poor 110 amongst the 727 that signed up.. and i was quite a distance away from the top scoring team, which managed an impressive 970 against my 867..

it was also interesting that 2 people that i have no idea who they were found my blog becaused i blogged about it and they left comments about their performances etc.. a "new friend" from Curtin (i assume its Bentley campus in Perth) and another canadian chap that's studying in the US

All well ends well, a pity i would not be able to test myself against real people

Who dares Win

Congralutations and Best of luck to the 6 finalists, you have earned your place

Of Capsim Challenge III

Ah, 737 participating teams for the Capstone World Wide Fall 2008 Challenge and i'm one of them, no. 265 to be exact.. some numbers for toto perhaps?

Round 2 was completed last night, as of now, its a 24-hour window to make decisions, a more hectic schedule awaits those who get into the finals, and more importantly, a berth to play against other teams instead of just programmed bots..

Already, the bots are showing to be smarter, by having different companies focus in different market segments, higher resources are available to compete for a same market share.. so for someone that me who is banking on a Broad Cost Leadership Market Strategy, the difficulty becomes fighting 5 bigger guys in each specific segment then..

Allow me to defend my strategy though.. a simulation like this judges based on a number of factors.. and these factors are reflected in a balanced scorecard or BSC. That means that a company must do well in ALL aspects of the business in order to obtain a good BSC score. My strategy involves keeping my 5 products in all 5 segments throughout the 8 years, this meant that despite spreading my resources across 5 products for Research & Design, Marketing, Production and general spending on Total Quality Management and Manpower Investments. The strategic benefit of this strategy means that i have 5 products fighting in all markets, maximising my potential to earn in each market, that would also mean that my competitors will have me and a competitor in all segments, fighting for a piece of the pie

I'm sorry if i bored you with my strategy, it can change as the game changes over time.. let's see how my strategy changes for this challenge then

Now for Round 2, i have made progress in terms of sales and market share, however, in terms of earnings, i still lag behind my competitor bots:

 

I'm loving this phrase more and more: WHO DARES WIN

Of Capsim Challenge II

And so it has began, the Capstone World Wide Fall 2008 Challenge is in progress

Decisions for Round 1 has been uploaded and the scores on the proforma didn't look good enough to win, its a long race against computer bots though and the tortoise might just win the hare..

having said that, there are distinct differences between a Tortoise, Turtle and Terrapin even if they all start their names with a T and share a somewhat common scientific name in some part of their .. eh.. scientific name

Tortoise are your flat footed, tree stump foot kind of animal which munch mainly on vegetation and can grow to a sizable.. eh.. size, just think the Galapagos tortoise

Turtles, however, have feet that are suitable for swimming and spend most of their time in water.. these are also the ones that seek the same beach they were both in to give birth again, the males.. they don't really bother to return, the mating is done out at the seas and the female makes the swim back up shore.. turtles are also made famous by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.. which i suspect aren't really turtles.. how? blame the rate for calling them wrong names then

Terrapins, finally, is also the love of one of the ladies in the blogs i read column.. to be exact, the terrapin is the author of the blog, not my friend.. so oh well.. back to terrapins, the red eared slider is the most common breed found in Singapore, that means almost every aquarium who are selling baby/youthful terrapins and also the ones that are abandoned in our local reservoirs, lakes, ponds and anywhere else barely habitable for these creature.. so the next time you think you want to get one from the pet shop for yourself or that kid who doesn't really know about caring for these creature, please, think again

Oh and yes, the capsim challenge, results for Rd1 decisions are out.. on profits alone, i'm in 4th place out of a total of 6 teams in the industry(other 5 are bots)..







7 rounds to go


Who Dares Win

Of 1.13am

I think i have this bad habit of working on my school work late into the night.. perhaps its the peace and quiet that i get in this late hours that provides me with the environment to sort out ideas and arguements in my head.. perhaps i'm really a night hour that works better on a quiet night..

oh well, work is too busy in recent days to sneak any school work in.. in fact, work got so tiring that i exhaust majority of my limited brain juice for it.. its not easy when you are trying to plan an event for your client and you are told to be flexible and innovative.. at the same time, you are also acutely aware that your client and your company might not be ready to engage and implement your plan, its a cliche.. but hell its really kind of a chicken and egg story.. no guts no glory perhaps..

i know that at this hour, there's another good friend that is working his ass off for in his final push for the semester, it'll all be over soon and this guy has never given up.. effort man,  effort.. its heartening that at this age of 25, a quarter of a century, the bunch of ET4E crappers are now in different stage in their lives.. but that, is another post, for another day

now, to bed..

work starts at 9am tomorrow, ends at 6pm.. hoping for good weather, an inspiring day, lightning internet speeds and less emails please

6mins of typing for the above crap

No animals were harmed for this entry

Nites.. eh... morning.. hahaha

Of Capsim Challenge

What is the Capsim® Challenge?

Fall Challenge 2008

Capsim Management Simulations Inc.® has created the Capsim® Challenge where you can compete using our business simulation games. This challenge is designed for students who have used our business simulation games. Here is more information on the Capsim® Challenge.

What is the Challenge?

Twice each year, Capsim Management Simulations Inc.® invites students to compete in the Capstone® and Foundation® Challenge. This is your chance to play again and see how you rank globally.

Who is eligible to play?

All students who have a paid registration for Capstone® or Foundation® after Aug 01, 2007 and were enrolled in a 2 year undergraduate, 4 year undergraduate, or MBA course and have not participated in a previous Challenge are welcome to participate. There is no fee.

Who wins?

The six teams with the highest Balanced Scorecard for Capstone® and the six teams with the highest Balanced Scorecard for Foundation® will move on to the Finals. Please Note: For each section, only one team per school can play in the Finals. If two teams from the same school end up in the top six, of those two, the team with the higher Balanced Scorecard will compete. The team with the seventh highest Balanced Scorecard will then be invited to the finals. In the Finals, the team with the highest Balanced Scorecard wins!

Can I compete by myself? Maximum team size?

Individuals can play without a team. 5 person team maximum.

When is registration?

Registration for the Fall Challenge starts Oct 06, 2008 08:00AM ET and ends Oct 31, 2008 03:00PM ET.

When does it start?

Qualifying Rounds begin Nov 03, 2008 11:00AM ET and end Nov 13, 2008 11:00AM ET.

When is it over?

Finals begin Nov 14, 2008 03:00PM ET and go through Nov 16, 2008 05:00PM ET with the winners being announced Nov 17, 2008 11:00AM.

Game: C9_00265

School: Curtin University of Technology

Participants: Me lor :)

Of Strag Mark

Strag Mark stands for Strategic Marketing, my final module as i have completed Business Capstone 301.

So what does Strag Mark entails?

This advanced course in marketing is primarily aimed at developing strategic decision making skills with particular reference to marketing. Modern companies in their efforts to cope with an ever changing and challenging environment use two key processes to build their future.  The first is strategic planning which enables top management to determine what business direction it wants to achieve. The second is the marketing planning which enables the company to proceed in a systematic way to identify and turn specific opportunities into profitable business. This course presents the conceptual idea of integration of marketing planning into the strategic planning process.

In the present marketing environment characterised by unparalleled technological developments and intensifying competition there are no simple correct solutions to marketing problems.  This course is therefore aimed at presenting a set of normative procedures, which may be utilised to generate a varied range of innovative strategic options and a basis to choose a rational programme for action.  For the purpose of this course, understanding the process of identification is more important than any particular solution. (Prof Ram, 2008)

I'll be really surprised if you bothered to read the whole 2 long paragraphs, i never really read the whole thing ever, that's why i'll be surprised. Haha..

Alright, its 2.20am, time for bed, work is on later as usual.. i was working on the Strag Mark report thus this weird and pointless post at this hour before i sleep..

I think i might be addicted to typing.. my fingers seem to move by themselves.. 

Of Final Show Review II

Presentation Tips:

(1) DO NOT read every digit in your profit or any other figures that go before 4-digits or even 3 for that matter.. For example, for 93mil, do not read 8 freaking digits out one after another, instead, say something simple like "ninety-three million".. cause when you do, you look really stupid and you affect the morale of the folks who are presenting after you..

(2) DO NOT appear unenthusiastic when your team is the best performing team in the industry, that probably shows why you are least likely to score well for things like peer appraisal (i regret giving you decent scores, i really do, how i understand why peer evaluations in polytechnics are done at the end of the last day, thats to keep people like you in check)

(3) DO NOT make slides that read "WE ARE CHAMPIONS" when you have done well, you are supposed to be presenting to investors, not students and lecturer (well, this little problem was removed as soon as i saw it so i guess its ok).. so "WE ARE CHAMPIONS" make no sense to anyone.. instead, you should explain what you have done to deserve the being champion..

(4) DO NOT say that people have planned for you in a very very bad way.. e.g "we did not have to sell as many as our competitors in order to bring in the profits" in a impassive, detached manner, the sentence was supposed to make you and the company look smart and add that little cheekiness into your presentation, instead, you screw it up by delivering it flatly it almost sounded like we were arrogant and insulting towards the others.. selling less and making more is a strategic benefit that was developed because the team did enough to reduce cost... be proud of that move! You could have done this better! you just didn’t bother!!!

The old me would have blasted your head off for not caring, for not trying.. you suck big time mate, you are the weakest link and i regret treating you with too much respect.. you suck! May our paths never cross again..

But this new me is way nicer to do that to you scumbag.. this new me will try to keep harmony, to keep things going, to ensure that my fuse gets longer over the years and becomes less of a fire-hazard..

Alright, i had unleashed my frustrations at the final show.. the curtains did come down, but it fell straight on my face.. it didn't really matter if i presented well or not at the end.. it was quite a disastrous team outing.. 3 folks did the job, 1 didn't.. and that worse one had to start and kill whatever momentum we ought to have.. and it leaves people like me cold.. out in the cold over a presentation that could have been much much better.. out in the cold over a presentation that should have been a farewell to raeburn park

I took the weekend off, i had my rest, now its time to focus on the strag mark report and that final paper in november.. ORD loh!

Of Final Show Review

So its finally over, 35% out of 35% in the bag, 10% group presentation, 5% for the individual presenter..

Was i a happy man?

It could have been better, it should have been much much better, it just show how much a team matters, a good team show creates that energy that lifts the entire presentation and leave people with a wow, i think these guys are good..

Alas it was not too be..

Bygones? Maybe.. maybe..

Sometimes i really hate slackers and those who can't be bothered. (Vulgarities ensued which i decided to keep out of this post for now)

PS: I'hv decided to go on a short weekend retreat, you won't find me online,  i won't be replying emails, buzz me on my mobile if you really need to, yep, need is the word

Of Final Show

The feeling is almost surreal. Tonight.

Tonight tonight.

Tonight, i finish my last ever show in MIS.

What show you say? 

Since my polytechnic days, i have always enjoyed doing presentations. Perhaps my experience in speaking to masses in a position of power in secondary school provided the backbone to my ability to speak at will in front of other people, i actually enjoy doing presentations that has more people, people that i don't know, people who have never met me...

Tonight, my presentation is for Business Capstone 301, in which readers of my blog would be familar with from previous postings. Our role in the presentation is to convince investors that we are the best company in the industry and it would make the best sense to invest in us.

4 of us are on show out of the original 6, one is in Japan for work while the other would be flying to Finland. I'm sorry to say this, but this sort of presentation would not require 6 presenters, more cooks spoil the soup and i like my soup to leave a good taste in my customers' mouth and wanting for more..

I'm sleeping this late and bloggin about this as i'm making extra effort to brew this soup, i do expect certain standards from myself and it is always easy to expect the same from others, the difficult is actually motivating others enough to take action. For the show later, i'll not be taking what i believe is the most important portion, someone has already volunteer for that. Thinking back, i could have seized that part if i wasn't sure it was someone i could trust presenting it

Having said that, i'm quite certain that the group should score a good 8-9 out of 10% for the group presentation, my standards are high and what we have produced deserve some recognition, but more importantly, our company has done very well in the stimulation and that has made our job easier.. but on the downside, people do tend to discount the top performer and sympathise the underdogs.

This is my last show

Hope i can be satisfied with myself when the curtains come closing down

Of Business Capstone VI

In a short span of a few months, Business Capstone blog post has hit a total of 6 editions, and i promise this won't be the last...

Earlier on:

Business Capstone I
Business Capstone II
Business Capstone III
Business Capstone IV
Business Capstone V

Was too busy to post every round's result

Today, the result from the final round of stimulation is out, a brief cap that was not posted, in Rd 7, our business slipped to 2nd place, 5mil behind the leader in terms of cumulative profits.

What can happen in a year of Business Capstone?

A more detailed post when i have more time, for now, I present the final results:

Of Individual Sim

The Individual Simulation is harder than i thought, some differences:

• The bots are smarter in CompXM than BizCap
  
• There are now 4 segments instead of 5
• TQM(Total Quality Management) and HR investments become more importanct
• Being graded on BSC(Balanced Score Card) means that financial results are not the only important achievement
• Bots are smarter now! They invest in Marketing and marketers do
• We have less time to do 4 rounds and simulation and answer 5 rounds or Board Enquiries, which is a very fanciful name for accounting and finance related questions posted to Marketing students
• Bots are smarter, they invest in automation, HR and TQM to lower labour and material cost!
• We can try again, results are fixed once you advance
• Numbers sucks
• Did i mention bots are smarter? They aim for specific segment and whack good investments in them
• One bot beat me by $31,239,594 in terms of cumulative profits!

Here we go, Round 4, the last stand:

Wondering what's my BSC score? 

That's for academic scoring, so don't bother yeah?

Of Curtin Results

On my last leg of studies, i shall attempt to explain Curtin's scoring system.

For my degree, the highest attainable grade is a High Distinction, the scoring is as follows:

High Distinction 80 onwards

Distinction 70-79

Credit 60-69

Pass 50-59

I have a total of 12 modules to complete after exemption, i have thus far cleared a total of 10 modules, inclusive of Marketing Professional Practice 300 which was the Curtin Study Trip.

Of the 9 modules completed previously, i have managed to hit 8 Distinctions and 1 Credit, i have was close to a High Distinction twice, scoring 78 marks for both Consumer Behaviour and Advertising Strategy.

For those who complete the degree with an aggregate of 75marks, a Degree with Distinction/Merit will be awarded, i am some 2 marks away from that 75 mark now but that means i would need to outscore 75 for my remaining 2 modules..

Self-doubt is the start of failure.. but i am just being realistic about my chances.. 

On another note, i had hoped to obtain at least 1 High Distinction through my course of study for my Bachelor of Commerce with double majors in Advertising and Marketing.

I just did that.

An 80 for my Curtin Study Trip marks my first and probably only High Distinction. 

From undergraduate to Graduate