Business Acumen Training for Managers and Employees

Zodiak for Government Product Overview

Learning Objectives

The Business Simulation
Zodiak: The Working Capital Fund is a four- to five-hour classroom business simulation, which quickly immerses participants in the challenge of managing the financial and strategic operations of Zodiak, a critical municipal department. They must immediately address these issues:

  • Demands for services that exceed appropriations
  • Deficits and budget cuts
  • Inventory turnover
  • Vendor relationships and purchasing impacts
  • Cash flow
  • Personnel disengagement
Over three years of play, learners review budgets, determine labor and supply needs, make difficult decisions and experience the ups and downs of using a Working Capital Revolving Fund. By the end of the game, strategies pay off, costs are under control and learners have discovered what it takes to run a financially sound and operationally effective “business.”

Connections — Bridging to Your Organization
Connections exercises create a bridge from the classroom simulation to the participants’ organization.

You can use the exercises provided with the program, or work with Paradigm Learning to customize Connections for an even closer fit with your issues and your audience.

Uses

    Consider using Zodiak to:
  • Boost your current leadership curriculum
  • Teach finance to non-financial managers
  • Help employees understand how they impact company's financial health
  • Accelerate major change efforts
  • Establish a common foundation of business understanding
  • Improve employee ownership and/or profit-sharing programs
  • Enhance a business literacy “event”
Target Audience
Managers, supervisors, individual contributors and employees.
 

Time Frame
One day - 4- to 5-hour Zodiak game and 1½- to 2-hour Connections session.

Training Delivery
Paradigm Learning can train your own in-house facilitators or provide experienced discovery learning facilitators to conduct your sessions.

Learn More About Business Acumen

Learn More About Zodiak for Government

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