AREA OF EXPERTISE > Financial Literacy and Business Acumen

Zodiak®: The Game of Business Finance and Strategy
Industry Version

How do you develop the financial literacy of your employees and/or improve the business acumen of your managers? In today’s business environment, both can be critical to your success.

Manufacturing companies, utilities and other industry sector organizations face ever-changing business challenges: pricing decisions, new product development options, efficient production and inventory management processes, capital investments, shareholder returns and many more. Their financial success depends on flexibility, effective decision making, efficient execution…and the commitment and involvement of employees.

That’s where Zodiak: The Game of Business Finance and Strategy can help. Financial managers and employees who play the game develop financial literacy and business acumen that they can use in the real world to impact organizational success.

Call it a sophisticated business simulation…an exercise in experiential learning…or a board game. Whatever you call it, it’s fun, it’s fast and it makes a difference in the world of business.

Overview

The Business Simulation

Zodiak, a four- to five-hour classroom business simulation, quickly immerses participants in the world of business. They become new owners of Zodiak, a high-quality manufacturing organization facing increased competitive challenges. They sign for a bank loan, attract investors, purchase materials and begin producing products. Over a simulated three-year period, they handle problems, make decisions and — at the end of each year — prepare and analyze income statements and balance sheets to help them understand the impact of their choices.

In small teams, learners experience the adrenalin rush of business ownership: 

• Invest in new products
• Manage inventory
• Make equipment investments
• Purchase materials
• Respond to quality challenges

And most important, they realize the importance of these critical business acumen fundamentals:

• Making a profit
• Generating cash
• Increasing shareholder value

Connections — Bridging to Your Organization

Connections exercises create a bridge from the classroom simulation to the participants’ organization. As they explore company strategies, financial concepts and critical metrics, learners develop a “big picture” understanding of the business and realize how their everyday decisions affect the company’s financial health.

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. A high-impact visual modeled on the Zodiak game board can highlight your company’s financial operations. Laser-focused exercises can deal with such company-specific business challenges as pricing, product mix, productivity metrics, personnel issues and company initiatives.

Connections exercises help guide employees toward discovery of their personal impact and toward a commitment to action.

Uses

Consider using Zodiak:

• As part of a leadership curriculum for managers and supervisors
• As a “finance for nonfinancial managers” course
• To help line personnel and supervisors understand how their actions affect the company's financial health
• To accelerate major change efforts by developing a “big picture” perspective
• As a company-wide initiative to establish a common foundation of business understanding
• As a boost to employee ownership and/or profit-sharing programs
• At a departmental or company “event” to improve business literacy
• And more

Target Audience

• Managers and supervisors
• Individual contributors/employees

Time Frame

• One day: four- to five-hour Zodiak game; 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. It’s your choice!

Maximize the Results of Zodiak in Your Organization

Z Plus provides online access to ideas and ready-to-use materials to help spread the word about the power of the Zodiak program to your employees and managers, provide you with tips on how to make Zodiak more effective, and offer ideas to help maximize your investment in the program. The collection of tools will continually grow and develop, and access to Z Plus is available at no charge to all Zodiak customers. Click here to learn more.

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