Exercises for class

Global View Advanced Business Simulation  – A business simulation where teams of students compete with others around the world – building a company from start, making decisions on all aspects of business, negotiating via e-mail and chat rooms to buy and sell products. Primarily designed for a capstone business course it also contains some international components. (Format: Web Based)

Trade Balance and Exchange Rate Simulation
– An exercise that explains how exchange rate variations influence the trade balance. (Format: Web Based)

CESIM Global Challenge  
– A business simulation game where participants in a simulated mobile telecommunication company compete by making international business strategy decisions. (Format: Web Based)

Representative Templates and Methodology for Stodder’s Comparative Advantage Experiments  
– An experiment designed to explain the impact of comparative advantage theory. Students assume the roles of two countries that have to make production and consumption choices in a situation of autarky and in a situation where trade is possible. (Format: Role-Playing)

Cultural Detective  
– Seeks to develop intercultural competence, whereby students identify and explore a culture using key values as “clues” to solve cross-cultural “incidents” or mysteries and develop practical strategies for enhancing intercultural collaboration. (Format: Software)

Annamay in Mexico  
– In this exercise an American toy company is considering expanding to a Mexican Maquiladora, and three Executives travel to Mexico to investigate the possibility of outsourcing some (or all) the manufacturing to a maquiladora. (Format: Role-Playing)

Frost in France 
– A simulation designed to teach cross-cultural negotiation strategies. An electronic recycling firm is planning to enter France through a joint venture with a French company and has to negotiate with the partner. (Format: Role-Playing)

Jeneryn in India  
– A complex international negotiation scenario, where some participants play the roles of executives of a U.S. medical transcription company contemplating growth through offshore outsourcing. Other participants will be the Executives of an Indian company interested in acquiring American business. It highlights the company, country, and cultural constraints. (Format: Role-Playing)

Olin Life In China  
– A cross-cultural negotiation simulation where an insurance company is looking to expand into China. Three Executives need to go to Shanghai to begin a negotiation process with the China Insurance Regulatory Commission. (Format: Role-Playing)

Vagabonds in Vietnam
– In this exercise an American computer game company is deciding whether to outsource their programming to foreign countries (Vietnam, Ireland, Canada, India). (Format: Role-Playing)

Albion in China
– A cross-cultural negotiation simulation involving an high-tech corporation that is planning to invest in
China. The Chinese and American negotiators have already agreed to pursue a joint venture, but participants have further to negotiate before the project can move forward. (Format: Role-Playing)


Magnatel in Chile
– A cross-cultural negotiation exercise involving a team from a
U.S. telecommunications company and a Chilean team. The
US company wants to expand to the Chilean wireless market. The Americans are on a tight travel schedule, one not necessarily well suited to Chilean social and business cultures. (Format: Role-Playing)


Stalwart in Japan
– In this exercise students play the role of Executives of an American automobile company that has to negotiate and build business relationships with Japanese auto firms. The goal is to learn about culture and effective manners to deal with the Japanese Executives. (Format: Role-Playing)

WestAir in France
– A cross-cultural negotiations simulation, involving an
US airline company that has a code-sharing agreement with a French company. The
US firm is about to purchase a 49% ownership in the French company and students have to negotiate several issues.  (Format: Role-Playing)


World Energy Corp. in the Netherlands
– Students represent a US-based multinational energy company specializing in the wholesale marketing of commodity energy products. Students have to negotiate some issues of a contract. (Format: Role-Playing)

The Global Economics Game
– An exercise that simulates economic activity in a global setting. Each player is in charge of their nation’s economic policy and seeks to promote balanced economic growth without excessive pollution, while maintaining full employment without too much inflation. Students may use the fiscal, trade, and monetary policies to avoid depression, stagflation and hyperinflation. (Format: Software)

Don’t Gross Out the World
– An exercise (flash animation) showing several questions on dining etiquette in different countries. Short but effective in introducing students to the topic of cultural differences and dining etiquette. (Format: Web Based)

tele)diversophy
– Some intercultural training games, designed for teams of 3 to 8 people playing simultaneously. Students are tested on cultural facts and appropriate behavioral choices, obtain advice about the culture they are exploring, and examine the risks of living or working in a new environment or with people different from themselves.

Food for Thought
– An exercise on intercultural business. It enacts an international supply chain for fruit salads with approximately 100 participants. (Format: Role-Playing)

The Strawberry Chain
– An exercise about a supply chain in an international context with competing teams of wholesalers, bakers and retailers. In this exercise students have to deal with several chain problems that occur in international food industry chains, from a cultural standpoint. (Format: Role-Playing)

The Windmills of our Minds
– A simulation about designing a communication architecture for a multinational company, with 12-50 participants. It seeks to increase the awareness of cultural differences. (Format: Role-Playing)

Global Operations
– A strategy simulation game involving developing a worldwide presence and product offering. The participants launch a new product in direct competition with other teams and set up a factory to produce it, and have to make decisions. (Format: Software)

Intex
– The participating students manage a foreign subsidiary that is selling imported products, and need to decide whether to expand this range and set up local manufacturing for a parallel range of products. They must also decide on human resource management issues such as how and when to replace expatriate management with locals. (Format: Software)

Globalization and Nigerian Oil
– This exercise analyzes the effects of globalization through the case of
Nigeria. Students take the role of one of the parties involved in the local political economy of the
Niger River delta region (the government, an NGO, an MNC, or an ethnic group) and participate in negotiations about the future of the petroleum industry. (Format: Web Based)

Marketplace
– In this exercise students build an entrepreneurial firm and compete with others in a virtual business world. Students have to use delve into various facets of business and decision-making. (Format: Web Based)

Forad
– A computer-based learning experience conceived to help corporate executives and bankers understand what it takes to manage the financial position of a multinational industrial corporation. (Format: Software)

Intercomp
– This simulation focuses on international marketing. Students have to decide on issues such as direct exports, contractual entry (licensing) and foreign production and investment (joint ventures & wholly owned subsidiaries), but also on many international marketing issues such as segmentation, product adaptation and standardization, international product life cycles, foreign production and R&D location. (Format: Software)

An Alien Among Us
– An exercise on international human resource management, focusing on how selection processes are influenced by stereotypes and biased judgments. (Format: Role-Playing)

Barnga
– A fairly simple card game that seeks to communicate inter-cultural differences, and in particular how people of differing cultures perceive things differently or play by different rules. (Format: Role-Playing)

Ecotonos
 – Focused on developing skills of problem solving and decision making in diverse groups – monocultural groups, multicultural groups, groups with one dominant culture, and groups that are culturally balanced. The goal is to understand the influence of culture on communication, decision making and problem solving in multicultural teams. (Format: Role-Playing)

Exploring Culture
– Several cross-cultural exercises, dialogues, stories and simulations using Hofstede’s dimensions of culture. (Format: Other)

Randomia Balloon Factory
– An exercise on cross-cultural differences. In this exercise, a group of trainers representing a toy and game company from a Western Country travel to a traditional non-Western country, to train the Randomians in techniques for improving product quality and productivity. (Format: Role-Playing)

Country Manager
– In this exercise students must decide the best way to enter the Latin American market with a toothpaste brand management team. Participants decide on issues such as which country to enter, which channels to motivate, how to communicate with the customer, etc. (Format: Software)

International Operations Simulation (INTOPIA)
– An IB strategy exercise. Students must deal with issues such as negotiation, decisions for in- and outsourcing, the value chain, logistical and currency issues, for operations in the markets of Brazil, EU and the
US. (Format: Software)

Export-Import Management System Online
– Participants may conduct company situation analyses, identify and select markets, determine if the company is prepared to export, develop export-import strategies, etc. (Format: Web Based)

Global Market Potential System Online 
– Targeted at analyzing high potential country markets for selected products/services. The students have to conduct a company situation analysis, identify global market opportunities, and select the best country market through the analysis of macro, micro, and accessibility criteria. (Format: Web Based)

Global Marketing Management System Online
– A global strategic management exercise where students must make a company situation analysis, identify and select countries with high market potential, conduct a competitive analysis, chose the entry mode and develop the marketing plan. (Format: Web Based)

GLO-BUS
– In this game, students run a digital camera company in competition against other companies of other classmates. Students must make decisions in all aspects of operations, such as R&D, product line, production, outsourcing, pricing, marketing and finance. (Format: Web Based)

The Business Strategy Game
– A business strategy simulation, in the athletic footwear industry, where students compose teams that compete against other companies. The teams have to make decisions on all operational aspects of business, such as sales, marketing, finance, web sales, warehousing and distribution. (Format: Web Based)

Voyage Beijing  
– Cross-cultural game to teach about business travel to
China and negotiating with Chinese partners. (Format: Web Based)

Multinational Management Game 
– A global strategy game to engage students in domestic and international strategic management and opportunities for developing global environmental analysis skills. (Format: Software)

Redundancia
 – An exercise on simulations of a foreign language to show how speaking a language non-fluently affects inter-personal interactions in a foreign context. (Format: Role-Playing)

Bridging Cultures 
– Exercise on how cultural differences influence doing business and how personal characteristics frequently influence behavior in cross-cultural situations. How to interact in another country’s culture.
Format: Software

A Journey to Sharahad
– Exercise illustrating differences in cultural behaviors and communication barriers. Exercise available for download at no charge for educational purposes only. (Format: Role-Playing)

A Trip to Mintana
– An intercultural exercise that allows participants to experience and adjust to different cultural communication patterns and recognize intercultural barriers. (exercise in PDF) It simulates a business meeting. Exercise available for download at no charge. (Format: Role-Playing)

A Visit with the Amberana
– An intercultural exercise exploring verbal and non-verbal differences and cultural values. (exercise in PDF). Available for download at no charge for educational purposes. (Format: Role-Playing)

GEO III
– A simulation involving participants in a global economy of four nations, five industries, and eight roles. Participants can chose the fiscal, monetary, and trade policies of their nations. (Format: Role-Playing)

Corporation
 – A computer-based exercise that includes decision making and strategy feedback involving the takeover and operation of a multi-divisional multinational enterprise. (Format: Software)

The Business Policy Game  
– A strategy simulation of an entire company where students must integrate all business disciplines. (Format: Software)

BaFa ‘BaFa’  
– An intercultural simulator to increase awareness on the effects that culture plays in a person’s life, namely useful to prepare expats in living and working in another culture and to work with people from different backgrounds. (Format: Role-Playing)

Oil Producers’ Microworld
– A scenario planning and systems thinking exercise, in the global oil industry. Students take the role of the world’s independent oil producers and may experiment to see how different policies may change the future. (Format: Software)

Markstrat-International  
– In this exercise, a manager of a durable consumer goods company need to address global corporate strategy. (Software)