The Business Game «Joint-Stock Company»

1. Topic (problem) Psychology of interpersonal relations. «The joint-stock company» (Effective communication as a condition for group decision-making, identifying leadership patterns).

2. Concept of the game to study the process of group decision-making; to develop skills of effective behavior for reaching agreement when solving a group task; to consolidate skills in identifying the main styles of behavior in conflict, and to identify professional qualities of personnel.

3. Roles:

- shareholders of the enterprise;

- experts, 1 person per 10 game participants.

4. Expected results to practice skills of effective behavior for reaching agreement when solving a group task; to consolidate skills in identifying and demonstrating the main styles of behavior in conflict, and expert appraisals in decision-making.

Goal: To study in practice the workings of a joint-stock company – the formation of a share package, a controlling stake, the process of raising funds, the role of a shareholder in the company's work, and the process of distributing dividends.

Participants:

• «Company representatives» (JSCs) – 3 people:
• JSC «Bakery» – 1 person (shareholder relations manager)
• JSC «Oil Export» – 1 person (shareholder relations manager)
• JSC «Shopping and Entertainment Centre» – 1 person (shareholder relations manager)
• «Shareholders» – all other students in the class.

Tasks of the participants:

• «Company representatives» hold a package of shares and must attract as much money as possible.
• «Shareholders» have funds that need to be invested profitably by buying shares of the companies.

Equipment:

• play money («econs»)
• play shares of three colors
• forms for summarizing the results

Documentation:

• At the end of the game the company representatives draw up a company report.
• At the end of the game the shareholders draw up a shareholder report.

Evaluation criteria:

1. Reaching group agreement within a set period of time.

2. Demonstration of behaviors that helped the process of reaching agreement.

3. Demonstration of behaviors that hindered the process of reaching agreement.

4. Manifestations of leadership patterns.

5. Degree of participation in the discussion process.

6. Degree of influence of game participants on one another.

7. Favorableness of the atmosphere in the group during the discussion.

8. Optimal use of the group's capabilities.

9. What actions the group's participants took to „push through" their own opinions.

10. Ways of improving decision-making by the group.

Course of the game

The number of shares held by the companies is unlimited, but equal in each of the companies. The amount of the shareholders' funds is unlimited, but equal. The «company representatives» negotiate and conclude deals, and keep reporting documentation – recording all transactions. At the end of the game they calculate dividends based on the given profit of the company. The «shareholders» decide for themselves which companies' shares need to be bought. At the end of the game they calculate their income from the funds invested over the period.

Under the terms – at the end of the game the companies' profit for the period is: JSC «Bakery» – 10,000, JSC «Oil Export» – 100,000, JSC «Shopping and Entertainment Centre» – 1,000 econs.

Stage 1, preparatory.

It is proposed to organize a joint-stock company

Anyone can be a shareholder. To do this, one needs to contribute something to the founding fund: either goods, or ideas, or money. In doing so, the more highly your contribution is valued, the greater the percentage of income you can count on. Each of you must, before the next class, prepare your real proposals for your participation in the joint-stock company. What can you offer as your contribution to the joint-stock venture, and how much do you value this contribution? The ideal case is if each of you strives to obtain a controlling stake. How do you assess your contribution as a percentage? Let us set the situation as follows. You are on a desert island, preparing the possibility of living on it for at least a year and providing everything necessary for yourself and your colleagues. And after a year you create all the conditions needed to return home. The whole of this task is valued at 100%. What part of the whole task will you take upon yourself? You need to justify your claims and convince everyone present of them. So, homework for everyone: having the task of, over the course of a year, feeding and providing everything necessary for the crew of a shipwrecked vessel stranded on a desert island, and ensuring their return home after a year. The whole task is 100%. Into what components will you divide this overall task? And what part of the work will you take upon yourself – all of this needs to be prepared for our next meeting. Only now, before everyone disperses, facilitator, arrange for the distribution of the main types of activities and responsibilities to be done right now.

Facilitator: distribute the overall tasks among those present. It would be good to come up with a name for the joint-stock company.

Stage II. The game part.

We open the founding meeting of the joint-stock company. Which one? Let's hear the proposals for the name.

So, the name has been adopted. Let's formulate the overall tasks of our joint-stock company. Let's hold a competition of projects for the best allocation of shareholders' expenses. We hope the authors of the best projects will be in a more advantageous position when the controlling stake is distributed.

Facilitator: we will take the winning project of the competition as our basis. Anyone may come forward with proposals for participating in the joint-stock company. In accordance with the percentages of the general project, anyone may take part as a shareholder in implementing the project. Anyone who wishes may come forward with proposals for participating in the joint-stock company.

Recommendations for the experts:

It is useful to discuss an alternative option, that is, competitors who can take on large volumes of work for a percentage. Consider different options, they are of great interest.

Determine what percentage of income from the joint-stock activity the shareholders will receive, bearing in mind the full turnover of funds, that is, that the joint-stock company must pay for itself within a year. The shareholders decide, but everything is determined by the controlling stake.

Hear further proposals on the operation of the joint-stock company.

Summary: everyone is invited to assess their own capital. After all, shares are the same as money. Everyone should calculate their own accumulated capital.

Reflection by each participant in the game. Assessment of how the game situation's task was solved.