Topic outline

  • General

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    Page last updated Monday, 4 March 2024

    Please, note that it is still possible to enroll to the course. The enrolment was mistakenly closed too early in Sisu, but it is open again.

    The spring 2024 course is being offered exclusively face-to-face. However, if a student is experiencing flu-like symptoms or has concerns about attending face-to-face due to the risk of spreading viruses, remote participation is possible. This is to ensure the health and safety of all participants. Please note that viruses can easily spread in the computer lab, so we strongly urge anyone who is feeling unwell to stay home and participate remotely instead.

    Feedback on the course from previous years:

    • "A fun way to implement academic strategy knowledge into practice"
    • "This course is absolutely fantastic. It amazed me how polished and developed the whole course is; from the materials in the booklet to the software through the process by which the game was run. If I have to point one thing that stood out then it would be the 15 minute round reviews between seasons in the game where the teacher explained what happened in the markets ,the behavior of the companies and what's important to note from the season."
    • "Overall, the simulation was excellent and I learned a lot in this course. Playing remotely did not hinder the performance at all, so in case needed, this course could be easily arranged remotely in the future as well. Solving problems in small teams with constant time pressure was really rewarding and receiving feedback after every playing round provided a good learning environment."
    • "It was a very different learning experience than any other I have participated in. I feel like I learnt a great set of diverse things."
    • "The organization of the course is good: study in advance the context, prepare and decide a strategy and then implement it and experience the real-life constraints (time, competitor, unexpected events...)."

    In principle, attendance to every session is mandatory for completing this course. However, with very good study-related reason (like exam), it is possible to be absent few hours. This needs to be agreed beforehand. Furthermore, each group must have at least 2 members present all-the-time. This means that you need to coordinate possible absences when setting up the groups.

    TU-C3050 - Business Game is an intensive 3 credit course, in which student-led teams compete against one another with simulated startups in a business simulation program. The course does not have prerequisites, but basic knowledge about business finance (understanding balance sheets), operations and R&D can be highly beneficial. 

    Course attendance (Mandatory)

    • Introductory lecture: 27.2.2024 10:15-12:00, AS3 Saab Space - 1021-1022, Maarintie 8

    • Edited recording from the previous course (2022-2023 course):  
      https://aalto.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=ed89052b-cf02-4c2f-84e4-af3c011b21bb&start=2
      The content of the spring 2024 course is about the same, but observe the correct location and deadlines from this www-page. All possible remaining references to remote game are faulty. The spring 2024 course is face-to-face only (except if someone gets sick, remote participation option will be organized).

    • The game takes two 10 hour days and is organized in the computer lab:
    • Business Game Day 1: 8.4. 10:15 - 20:00, L208 - Väre. 
    • Business Game Day 2: 9.4. 10:15 - 20:00, L208 - Väre. 


    Forming a team

    Teams will be formed at the latest during the opening lecture. 

    Please, note that you may (and are encouraged to) form teams already before the lecture.
    Record your team in the "Groups " wiki. 

    Communication with other teams & materials

    Materials will be available in MyCourses in the "Materials" section. 

    Assignments

    Each team will submit one Business Plan and one End Report

    AI Policy

    These are exciting new tools with both strengths and limitations. AI tools are allowed to be used in the business plan and end report exercises. However, if you decide to use the tools, it is mandatory to include an additional appendix that explains in detail how you used them and the impact they had on your submitted assignments. This appendix will not affect your grade and is not included in the page count; it is simply for the instructor(s) to understand how AI was utilized and if it was helpful. 

    Especially the business plan exercise is an excellent opportunity to evaluate the tool's advantages and limitations. This same applies to analysis report but the tool is probably more useful in business plan exercise. You can easily enhance your writing and style, making your proposal more appealing to venture capitalists. There are a few things to keep in mind when using AI for this exercise. You will be surprised how proficiently AI summarizes the case material if you ask it to do so. However, do not copy-paste the summary. This is not beneficial, you should be able to go beyond that and extract the useful points out of the material. Just summarizing the material is recipe for low grades. Additionally, if you try to go beyond summary and ask AI, for example, to analyze the material in academic Porter's style, it may even generate the five forces model with credible points. However, a significant portion of the analysis may be faulty, and it can be challenging to discern the correct answers without prior knowledge. Furthermore, the references or quotations provided by AI are often fabricated, despite appearing genuine. Overall, AI is inadequate at providing accurate analyses and citations.

    Remember, if you decide to use AI and submit its results, you assume all the responsibility – you may not blame AI for the mistakes.

    I tried to use AI to improve this policy, but it did not help much though it provided some useful style and wording suggestions.

    Software

    Game software is available under Software -section. Access is restricted and you must be logged in and enrolled to the course.

    Course staff

    • Professor Juuso Töyli - juuso.toyli at aalto.fi