Learning Corporate Management Through Competition

Management Game, Yosuke Fukao, KDDI Corporation, Enrollment for the 2023 Academic Year, Evening Course

Why I Enrolled in This Module

There were two main reasons why I decided to take the Management Game module.
First, my company has numerous subsidiaries and affiliated companies, and I could foresee the possibility of being seconded to one of them to take on a management role in the near future. By experiencing corporate management through the Management Game, I wanted to prepare myself to handle such a situation with confidence when the time comes.

The second reason was the opportunity to compete against prestigious universities abroad, such as Carnegie Mellon University, using the same curriculum. I have always enjoyed competition, and the chance to challenge myself against students from renowned institutions like Carnegie Mellon particularly appealed to me. I wanted to assess how my skills compared to those of students from these prestigious universities, which ultimately led me to enroll in the module.

What I Learned in the Module

In this module, teams of four to five members take on executive roles to manage a fictional global watch manufacturing company over a simulated three-year period. Each virtual world consists of five competing watch manufacturers, including our own. The module also includes a management simulation game in which we compete against business schools worldwide, such as Carnegie Mellon University.

One of the unique aspects of this module is the presence of a board of directors in addition to the simulation game itself. The board is composed of alumni who have previously taken the Management Game module at ABS or Carnegie Mellon. In board meetings, we are required to report our business performance and future strategies, just as in real corporate management. Every decision we make must be backed by solid reasoning and a clear explanation of our intentions.

The first month of the module is dedicated to learning the game’s rules. However, once the game begins, we must continuously produce output, including formulating business strategies, deciding on capital allocation, preparing for board meetings, and presenting reports. This required us to leverage our prior work experience and knowledge gained from modules in business strategy, statistics, finance, and accounting. I felt that my understanding of these subjects deepened significantly.

During board meetings, our decisions were critically examined, pushing us to refine our knowledge to a level where we could confidently articulate our reasoning in our own words. This module provided invaluable experience in understanding how decisions are made at the executive level, how to interact with board members as shareholder representatives, and how to navigate the complexities of corporate management.

Balancing the responsibilities of this module with my current job was incredibly challenging. However, I believe that overcoming these difficulties will ultimately contribute to my personal growth.

How I Plan to Apply What I Learned

As mentioned earlier, I aim to apply this experience with confidence when I take on a corporate management role in the future. Even in my current position, where I occasionally make proposals to the executive team, I have already found value in being able to anticipate their perspectives and thought processes.

Throughout the module, our team encountered several difficult situations. Initially, as CEO, I attempted to resolve everything on my own, but the scope of information was too vast for a single person to handle. With guidance from the board members, we shifted our focus toward collective problem-solving and team development, which ultimately led to a strong final performance.

Beyond corporate management, this experience has also been invaluable in understanding how to lead and operate a team effectively. I plan to leverage these insights to guide and support teams in real-world business settings.

Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Professor Iwai, Professor Kazue Fukui, the board members, Professor Lamont from Carnegie Mellon University, all the international students who participated in the Management Game, and my teammates who supported me throughout this journey.