UnEARTHing Iowa, College of Growth in Iowa
 Megan McMahon |
Main Page
| Jennifer Doak 
|
Danielle White |
The simulation was honestly a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be. I really got into it towards the middle and just really wanted to have my business succeed. The simulation taught me how equities, earnings, and market share can dramatically control the market itself as well as how successful your business is. I learned how to read the data and interpret it to a choice that needed to be made to make us more successful. It was also a great team working exercise because you needed to state your opinion fast enough that your teammates could express theirs in time to make an opinion. Stress or an intense environment makes me work harder and more efficient on my tasks that is why I believe our team excelled. What I learned about myself was nothing new exactly more so it reiterated my beliefs on strengths within a group. I do believe I have different strengths between working by myself compared to as in a group. During this simulation I was much better at communicating my ideas and strategizing with the group than I thought I was which was probably the most interesting part for me seeing myself become more comfortable expressing ideas with the group and standing by them.
Zeta Company was very successful throughout the simulation because we bought market share in the middle of the listed prices such as dairy and pizza. We then worked on controlling those markets before moving on to some of the other markets. After the midpoint or two year time period we chose to hold all changes for two quarters to increase earnings enough to buy bio-fuel allowing other companies such as Sigma to catch up to us. We then quickly realized we needed to do some things differently otherwise we would be taken over in all markets. We invested in some other markets that our leading competitors were handling fairly well and tried to attack their market share. We had a difficult time of what to spend our earnings on, whether we should reinvest inventory into our current markets or the ones of our leading competitors. I do believe our company had a good handle on the operation itself are biggest challenge was the timing of things.
Although, my other team members excel in my weaknesses making us a very strong team, I do not understand the strategy component of the simulation whether you should be positive, even or negative on the issue at hand. I have taken accounting and finance classes these last two years yet still don’t understand the meaning of the debt ratio or earnings before interest and taxes. I understand that they need to increase or decrease depending on what you want to accomplish in your company but I don’t understand the full meaning of why they need to do that, you may or may not be able to explain this to mean but is something I struggled with completely grasping all day. |
Aug 11, 2009 8:42 AM
| Add a comment
|
 |
Leadership Iowa University is a program of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) Foundation. The program is designed to bring together two ABI Foundation programs, Leadership Iowa and Business Horizons, to create a unique opportunity for college students. Leadership Iowa University will educate, inspire and develop young leaders as the foundation for Iowa’s future economic growth and encourage their on-going involvement in local communities and the state to create a better future for all Iowans. |  |
