The Capstone Effect

The team strategy simulation, Capsim, is integrating all facets of a business education in an attempt to provide the student with a unique opportunity to experience the challenges of the business world. The student gains a sense of what it must be like to lead a business organization-a task that requires the student to see and understand the complexity involved in the execution of numerous business functions-R&D, marketing, production, H/R, finance. The results of the simulation are affected not only by the decisions of the student but by the interplay of other student teams. This provides for a very dynamic environment resembling the typical business environment.

Overlaying the management of typical business functions i.e. R&D, marketing, production, finance, etc., is the development of business strategy. Even before the simulation begins, team members must debate overall business strategy. The question becomes how can a team develop the best strategy in a competitive environment?

First, the team must envision the kind of overall offering it hopes to make to the market. What kind of effect will the organization have on the world? Then, the team must determine whether or not such a strategy is feasible. Does the organization have the right tools to make it happen? Are there others who are trying the same thing? Are they succeeding?