EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - Management Madness! – Simulation game teaches entrepreneurial skills

Management Madness! – Simulation game teaches entrepreneurial skills – Brussels, BE

Introduction

In the Brussels inner city municipality of St-Gilles, unemployment rates are over 25 per cent. With little local economic activity in the area, the solution to tackle unemployment is sought in encouraging self employment and entrepreneurship. To activate St-Gilles culturally diversified population, an innovative approach was very much needed. The solution was found in a business simulation game developed in South Africa, which teaches entrepreneurial skills and invokes a business spirit. The practice has proven its transferability. The results seem promising.

Problem

In St-Gilles over 25 per cent of the population is unemployed. With little room to attract large employers the only option for economic development seems to be to encourage small business start-up and growth.

Description

The J’entreprends@Bruxelles initiative makes the idea of running your own business sound more appealing, and attainable. The initiative is managed by the association Groupe One. It uses a business simulation game developed in South Africa. The simulation game method is now marketed by Making Cents, an enterprise consultancy based in Washington, DC.

Approach

The game has four modules. Each of the modules takes three hours to play and is followed by a so-called debriefing. In the debriefing the participants internalise the newly acquired skills and information.

The four consecutive modules address issues that a starting entrepreneur will meet. The level of business complexity increases with each module:

Module 1: Experience the Life of an Entrepreneur! Learning the key elements of a manufacturing business

allocating income
selling on credit
managing cash flow
record keeping
coping with unexpected events

Module 2: Bigger and Better! Expanding a Small Business

understanding supply and demand
effective business planning
costing & pricing
negotiating
financial planning
maximising strengths of team members

Module 3: Marketing Mania!

using the “4 Ps” of marketing
advanced record keeping
business planning
the division of labour

Module 4: Management Madness! Running a Complex Business

expanding the product range through diversification or specialisation
gaining confidence in decision-making
making decisions with numerous variables
operating in a changing market

The method is based on experiential learning: the group participates in a simulation of real life and then derives key concepts from their experiences. Participants develop interpersonal skills such as teamwork, communication, organising and negotiating. Participation in the training game is offered for free to interested people living in St-Gilles.

Groupe One also offers follow-up business support to those trainees who decide to go into business, through the St-Gilles Local Economy Office (guichet d’économie locale). Groupe One also manages the St-Gilles Business Centre, which provides premises for 40 or so start-up companies, as well as a local development fund called Village Finance.

Results

In the 2005-2006 period 465 hours of training were delivered to 828 trainees. Over 70 per cent of the participants say that they are more interested in self-employment as a result. The scheme is intended to be expanded to reach 1,500 people a year.
Being based upon a method developed in South Africa, the simulation game has proven its transferability. Furthermore, a similar initiative, J’entreprends@Wallonie has been set up in partnership with FOREM Conseil, a department of the Wallonian regional employment office.

EU involvement

The initiative is part of the Brussels URBAN II programme.

Contact info

Groupe One – J’entreprends@Bruxelles
Mr Alexandre Bertrand (Programme manager), tel. +32 2 543 4418

Project start date

01/01/2005

Links

Visit the Groupe One website Visit the Making Cents website

Document type

case

Themes

Urban Policy > Economy knowledge & employment > Urban economy

Keywords

Business support