TechCo - Strategic Planning

The simulation game models the operation of a company that develops and sells software. The company was founded a few years ago by private professional investors. The country where it operates is an economically developed country.

The global economy and major national markets are in a period of economic boom at the beginning of the game, within which the demand for software products is good, but can be said to vary by segment. The company must hold its own against competitors in the market; it has a few main competitors who start from the exact same position at the beginning of the game.

The most important goal in the game, which is generally also the most important for today's company leaders: the long-term increase of the company's value.

The software company's core business is the development of three types of software applications: Image Editing Programs (IE) and Graphic Drawing Programs (GD) intended for the private and corporate markets, as well as Publication Designer Programs (PD) made for professional users. The company distributes these three types of products (version 1.0 of each) across the three segments, including continuous maintenance. With additional extra research and development, more precisely after launching certain projects, it will be possible to enter the market with an upgraded product in all three areas.

Within the game, projects play a particularly important role; they have unique effects, and with them, you can make your company more efficient and unique.

How the Tech Co. simulation software works in brief:

  • Students form teams to take over the management of the virtual company modeled by the software.
  • They manage the virtual company by making strategic decisions for annual periods. The software provides a written report on the results of the decisions, and in addition, the program illustrates the main indicators (profit, cash flow, turnover…) on a graph.
  • The software settings are widely adjustable for demand, project costs, employee turnover, and many other factors.
  • The software can model up to 12 periods.

Benefits and learning points of the game:

  • The program demonstrates the diversity of management decisions, from basic economic activities, i.e., the most important strategic points derived from company management, to special situations.
  • It demonstrates the connections between traditional business decisions and the company's profitability.
  • The program is sufficiently complex to synthesize the knowledge of fifth-year students nearing the end of their studies and put it into practice.
  • Since it models the operation of a larger economic entity, the game conveys the competitive situation which - just like in real life - the players in the economic sphere can influence themselves.
  • Because participants need to extract the relevant data from various financial and commercial reports (balance sheet, income statement, cash flow, market research report), the game significantly tests and develops analytical skills.
  • As a result of the above, the effective implementation of teamwork, which is so important in real life, is essential for successful participation in the game.