On Thursday the 1st of April 2010, Steven Gain from Smartsims International hosted a corporate training session for MAHLE Industriesin Novi, Michigan. The training session was part of MAHLE’s Management Development Program in which the finance department used our Strategic Management Simulation, MikesBikes-Advanced.

Ralf Roeske, Senior Director of Finance, chose the MikesBikes Business Simulation as it tied in all of the functional areas of a business, and encouraging a better understanding of how these functions are important in the efficient running of a company as a whole. Through experiential learning, MikesBikesprovides participants with the unique opportunity to evaluate, plan, and implement strategy as they manage their own company.

Participants have full control of their own bicycle manufacturing company and are responsible for the overall strategy of the firm, as well as all the key decision making areas. They compete in team against other teams for control of the market. The competitive nature of MikesBikes makes the simulation so enjoyable.

The day began with an introductory session, followed by two practice decision rounds to get a feel for the simulation. After the practice rounds and a Q&A session, the competition round began with six decision periods which were conducted over the day.

MAHLE are the worldwide leader in automotive parts. They supply an extensive range of high quality components and systems to the best known manufacturers of internal combustion engines throughout the world. In North America, MAHLEhas 22 locations with more than 5,500 employees.

The second corporate training session for the MAHLE Management Development Program is scheduled for the 8th of June, which will again integrate MikesBikes, this time with a group from the Tennessee Filter Systems location.