Mike’s Bikes Business Simulation Assignment St. Francis Xavier University

Purpose St. Francis Xavier University To explore the various facets of making decisions in a business To develop effective team skills To develop analytical skills To develop business report writing skills St. Francis Xavier University

Format St. Francis Xavier University 20 pages, double-spaced, 12 pt font, Times New Roman, 1” margins, bound Tips on Content Title page with company logo Letter to Shareholders Performance Analysis Recommendations St. Francis Xavier University

Content St. Francis Xavier University Title page Letter to Shareholders Overviews report (written last) Highlights key results Important challenges facing your firm Selected recommendations “Sign off” St. Francis Xavier University

Content St. Francis Xavier University Performance Analysis Recent and current results (3 pgs) Finance (I/S, B/S, SHV, Sources of Cash) Marketing (all product details, market share) Operations (capacity, production, wastage, idle) Complete an analysis of your results (12 pgs) Crunch numbers, relate to “norms”, complete trend analysis Financial statement analysis Marketing mix analysis  connect results to target market Operations analysis St. Francis Xavier University

Content St. Francis Xavier University Performance Analysis Competitive Analysis How does your firm compare to your competitors? FSA Selected marketing and operations indicators (e.g. industry bench, all product details) Conclusions Identify favourable and unfavourable performances/trends Identify key determinants of success/failure Identify strengths and weaknesses St. Francis Xavier University

Content St. Francis Xavier University Recommendations for Future – 2 year plan Challenges (opportunities and threats) Positioning Map (optional) Objectives* Recommendations* *See Note on Planning, Course Materials Package for the substance and structure of setting objectives and making recommendations St. Francis Xavier University

Content St. Francis Xavier University Recommendations for Future – 2 year plan Challenges (opportunities and threats) Opportunities Threats New product Failure of competitor Unmet demand (market space) Strategic re-positioning Competitor’s positioning, product launch and/or performance Clustering of competitors St. Francis Xavier University

Content St. Francis Xavier University Recommendations for Future – 2 year plan Challenges (opportunities and threats) Positioning Map St. Francis Xavier University High Price A A D B Mountain Road Youth D C E C E Low Price

Content St. Francis Xavier University Recommendations for Future – 2 year plan Objectives* Given scarce resources, which challenges will be targeted “Where do we want to be”?  desired results “What changes are required to achieve desired results”? Objectives are Specific Measurable Time bound Challenging but “doable” *From Note on Planning, Course Materials Package St. Francis Xavier University

Content St. Francis Xavier University Recommendations for Future – 2 year plan Objectives (example) General Management To increase company sales by 10% by the end of 2011  5 yrs of 8-10% annual growth  unmet demand  continued decline in sales of competitors, coupled with multi-year losses  success of advertising campaign based on awareness rating St. Francis Xavier University

Content St. Francis Xavier University Recommendations for Future – 2 year plan Recommendations* Recommendations are what managers plan to do – decisions to allocate scarce resources – to achieve objectives Example – to achieve 10% increase in sales Reposition bike in the higher quality / higher price segment capitalize on opportunity in both Mountain and Road Target 20 new retailers to access unmet demand *From Note on Planning, Course Materials Package St. Francis Xavier University

Content St. Francis Xavier University Recommendations for Future – 2 year plan Recommendations* Example – to achieve 10% increase in sales Marketing Increase Road retailer margin to 39% Increase Road retailer support by $10, 000 Increase magazine P.R. by $80,000 See Note on Planning for format *From Note on Planning, Course Materials Package St. Francis Xavier University

Tips St. Francis Xavier University Content -- be critical analysts not advocates Style Use tables for numbers, bullets for lists, paragraphs for description Sell your report – bind, color, graphics Organization should be structured yet fluid St. Francis Xavier University

Next Two rollovers remaining: Next class: Friday March 24 4:00pm (2008) Sunday March 26 4:00pm (2009) Next class: Capital markets