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Business games in road transport

23rd February 1968
Page 64
Page 64, 23rd February 1968 — Business games in road transport
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

BUSINESS GAMES are a new feature of management training in the UK and were only introduced in the modern form at the Harvard School of Business in 1958. In spite of some derision at the outset of this development, the concept has grown enormously and the business game now has a firm place in nearly all management training programmes. Indeed the business game is a feature of the work of many management courses in technical colleges, has a refined form in the new University Business Schools in London and Manchester and is part of a lengthy project at the British Transport Staff College in Woking.

What exactly is a business game and, most important, has it any relevance to training management in road transport? "A dynamic training exercise using a model of a business situation" is probably the most succinct definition.

In the conventional form the game is played by groups, each one representing the management of a particular company with responsibility allocated to each member. General information about the progress of the company (budget, sales forecasts, levels of production, etc.) is given at the start of the game. During each "playing" period which normally represents one-quarter of a year, complications are brought into the picture—wage increases, and upward or downward movement of sales due to economic changes are typical variations.

In the classic game, teams have to decide how much production to put in hand, the calls each of the company salesmen have to make and how many salesmen to put into training. Normally the game is played over a weekend but it can be compressed into a day. A final critique session is most vital in endeavouring to understand why some groups have been successful businesses while others have come to the brink of liquidation.

The activity has been remarkably successful in management training largely, I feel, for three reasons:—

(a) it can assist in selecting likely management material for it is a training exercise that does simulate a real situation;

(b) much useful experience is gained in the problems of budgeting and costing; and finally, most important—

(c) it is a painless experience; one can make mistakes without paying any price. To learn in an actual situation can be a most costly method of "training".

Can these benefits be applied to road transport management? At present there is no game specifically geared to road transport and to repair this omission the firm of transport consultants, Davies and Robson, is devising a game specially for the road haulage manager.

This firm, from its Croydon head office, has a good deal of experience of road transport management training and is arranging for a full day's session to take place on March 20. The venue is the Charing Cross Hotel, London, where a special game, based on road haulage, will be played followed by a critique in conclusion.

The firm of Davies and Robson feels strongly that the technique can be translated to road transport management with great benefit. For the purposes of March 20 game syndicates will work out methods of distribution of a fictitious food product with warehousing and numerous wholesale depots being involved. Each syndicate will make decisions on transport choice and how to cope with unexpected changes which will be presented in each playing session.

Transport managements have already expressed great interest in the project which is quite novel. It is a sign that road transport management training is moving on to a more sophisticated level.

I only wish that the word "game" had not become such common currency for this activity. "Playing games" is open to so many unfortunate interpretations!


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