Правила / Rules
Management game „Stock Control“. Rules for the game.
Your task is management of a store system, which is serving as medium between a distant supplier of articles and production zone, representing a consumer of these articles. The structure of the management system (its elements and links between them) is shown in Figure 1. where:
1 – order for delivery of articles for the next week (influencing the object of management);
2 – delivery of articles (connected with transport expenditures);
3 – consumption of articles, which has planned (determined) and accidential conponent;
4 – passing on the reminder of the articles in the end of the week in the store for conservation (connected with storage expenditures);
5 – using the reminder of articles from the previous week;
6 – using the emergency rations (connected with fines);
7 – restitution of the emergency rations (obligatory in the beginning of the week);
8 – action of accidential disturbing effects from the environment on the work of the consumer
Figure1. Elements and links in the management system (the object of management)
Every week you have to take decision about the size of the order to the supplier (possible decision is not making an order), as you conform with the following conditions:
Planned consumption in the first week is 208 articles. As the time is passing it increases uniformlyand by the tenth week it reaches 280 atricles.
Factual consumption deviates from the planned because of the operation of different accidential disturbing ieffects of the environment. From the former statistic observations is determined that the deviation is in between 15% from the planned consumption during the corresponding week.
The suupplier is always proper (by contrast with the real suppliers!), i.e. every week he supplies as many articles, as he had been told the previous week.
Transport expenditures are 900 euro per course, independantly of the size of the order.
If in the end of the week in the operative storage remain unused articles, they pass on to the store for preservation.
Expenditures for preservation for one article are 2 euro per week. During the following week these articles can be used by the consumer.
If the consumption in the given week overcomes the initial articles in the store, the shortage is covered by a loan from the emergency stocks. With every use of emergency stocks you have to pay fines of 300 euro for the first loan and 1500 euro for every following one. In the beginning of next week emergency stocks should be restored by its original size.
Your aim is to use such strategy for making the orders, that can achieve minimal total expenditures (transport + storage + fines) for the whole period of the game (10 weeks).
You should not forget that:
1. If you make few orders but with huge size, you have low transport expenditures, but at the expence of this you will keep unconsumed stocks, which leads to increase of the strorage expenditures and vicе versa.
2. The presence of accidential deviations of the factual from the planned consumption gives a certain risk for fines. The increase of the stocks in store decreases this risk, but extends the expenditures for storage and vice versa.
The discribed storage system represents your object for management (management system). You manage its behavior, i.e. take role of subject of management (managing system). Therefore:
1) the aim of the management is reaching minimal total expenditures;
2) the behaviour of the object is characterised by variables like: factual consumption of articles, surplus/shortage of articles in the end of the week, fines, transport, storage and general expenditures for the week;
3) the environmental influences on the behavior of the object of management with different accidental disturbing effects (for instance, irregular supply of electric power, crashes in the equipment, diseases of the staff, etc.);
4) the subject of management (you!) has to analyse the former behavior, having in mind the activity of accidental disturbing effects (i.e. analysis and forecast are required for the expected consumption of articles or for increased storage expenditures in case of surplus of articles);
5) on this base decision for managing influence should be taken every week (determine the size of the order) in the conditions of injustice (presence of accidental disturbing effects) and taking a certain risk (for fine in case of shortage of articles or for increased storage expenditures in case of surplus of articles);
6) the decisions taken during the given period change the condition of the object during the next period;
7) the resulting management cycle repeats periodically (every week) until the end of the game;
8) the object of and the subject of management together with the links between them form a closed system for management (system with feedback), shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. General scheme for system of management
Management game „Stock control“. Regulations of the game.
1. One play of the game is taken for two school hours.
2. Prior to the beginning of the game students separate in teams of 3 – 5 people. Every such team represents the leadership of a separate store system. In the beginning of the game every team is registrated by filling in the registration blank.
3. The game is proceeding in competition conditions between the teams. Criteria for success of the strategy taken by every team are the total final expenditures from the whole period of the game.
4. The participants of every team distribute between themeselves the following posts (roles), indicated in the registration blank:
• Director – leads the activity of the team, distributes the work between the participants and represents the team during the discussion in the end of the game;
• Accountant – responsible for the exact and timely leading of the working table of the team;
• Purchaser – contacts with the central supplier and ensures the timely giving of the orders;
• Analysist – analyses the behavior of the object of management and prepares forecasts for the expected consumption during the next weeks and the size of the possible deviations;
• Inspector – checks the faithfullness of the calculations of the other teams after finishing the game (during the game decisions of every team are „secret“).
5. The subject of the management is the team as a whole. Every week, after a discussion in the group, there should be agreed decision about the size of the order.(Figure 3).
6. The game continues in 10 „playing“ weeks, each of which corresponds to 5 minutes school time (i.e. decision should be taken under conditions of shortage of time) If you do not succeed in taking decision in this time, it is considered that you do not want a delivery of articles for the next week.
7. The decision is regarded to be in order when it is given to the tutor (playing the role of the Central Supplier) before the expiration of the reglamented time and formed in appearance of correctly filled order:
8. The filling in the list for the decision is made as every digit is written in separate cell. Zeros should be crossed out with inclined line.
9. The current results of the game (i.e. behavior of the object of management) for every team are written in form of working table:
