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| "For the first time SCA Packaging in Italy has participated in business game training organized by Business Game Factory. We would like to mention a few aspects of the business game which we found important and where we were able to improve our skills. Learning to analyze and take into consideration all details of financial reports is one area where we felt we were able to improve our skills. The training was interesting also from a team-building perspective; we saw improvement in our teamwork as the game wore on. Since this was a business game tournament with participating teams from different countries, we also found it very interesting to be able to compare our skills to people from different cultures and mentalities. Marketing, investments and pricing are areas where we see we can apply some of the learning that took place during the training." |
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Claudio Romiti
Managing Director Italy
SCA Packaging |
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| "Based on a very positive experience from our previous participation, we decided to take advantage of this training tool to develop even further a new group of key people in Kappa St. Petersburg. Our aim as in the previous year was to expose our organizational talent to the big picture of business. The development areas with our teams have been in the understanding the importance of cross-functional cooperation, the impacts of effective departmental budgeting and outsourcing decisions; returns on investments and competitive strategies have on a company's performance and bottom line results. We have also had the pleasure on both occasions to beat the competition and go through to the semi-finals." |
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Andrey Zalessky
Operations Manager
Kappa St.Petersburg A/O |
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| "My department has used BGF business games for years for developing business understanding, and we will use them during the year ahead also. The people who have participated have improved their understanding of how different decisions are related to each other, and how the decisions as a whole influence the destiny of the company managed. The experiences having been very positive, I strongly believe in this learning tool, and I warmly recommend it." |
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Harri Turunen
CFO, Metsäliitto Osuuskunta
Metsäliitto Group |
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| "When participating in the training, our idea has always been to improve the business understanding and managerial skills of high-potential people in the organization with the help of a tool that enables learning to take place in an atmosphere of excitement. A key area has been seeing how different decisions affect each other and the bottom line. This is certainly a good and flexible way to improve managerial capabilities." |
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Heikki Tarvonen
Managing Director
Stora Enso Sachsen GmbH |
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| "We have used the BGF business game several times as a tool for improving general business understanding and team related skills. In the game teams operate, in a setting not very far from reality, as top management teams, analyzing the market, forming strategies and making concrete decisions. They see what is important and how things relate to each other. Members of a team learn from each other, everyone having different ideas and perspectives. The training is not only effective but also flexible, and it being in the form of a competition helps boost the level of motivation. We have been happy with the game itself, with the materials, and the customer care provided. This is something to be recommended, and we now have another team waiting for their turn." |
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Jan Kivioja
CFO
Metsähallitus |
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"The BGF business game is a perfect training tool for high potential people. The participants learn to widen their business view. They learn to understand the impacts of disparate inputs on the business in a quickly changing environment. They learn to analyze the business environment and to utilize the know-how of every team member, each having different backgrounds and working in different functions.
We are very happy with the results, and the members of the team warmly recommend participation and training of new teams with excited mindset: Tomorrow we would like to perform better than yesterday." |
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Yrjö Olkinuora
Vice President and General Manager
UPM-Kymmene, Rauma |
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"In real life one never gets the whole picture unless you're in top management. This BGF business game gave us a good helicopter view, and we were able to visualize how the different areas impact on each other and on the business as a whole. We got an insight into decision making from top management's perspective and the importance of putting to use available and reliable information.
Nevertheless one never knows everything for sure, you also have to relay on your experience and instincts. In this business game I clearly noticed that, as in real life, the most important matter was communication. A constant dialogue with your colleagues gives great synergy, every individual contributes with his/her own views, resulting in new thoughts and ideas being born." |
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Henrik Kass
Product manager
Upm-Kymmene Jakobstad |
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| "The BGF business game is an excellent training tool for potential leaders within our company. Participants get the helicopter view that is so important in our daily business, and teamwork and team spirit are also improved. Players being faced with fluctuations in demand and all kinds of market information leads to team discussions, new ideas, and new ways of doing business." |
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Henrik Østerbye
Sales Director
UPM - Kymmene A/S
Denmark |
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"The BGF game is an excellent tool for training people in strategic thinking. In the game people form the top management team of a company, and as we worked on the game enterprise's strategy, we were able to learn to see how different parts of the company (such as its functions) were interconnected. It became evident how the decisions made can lead to healthy growth or disaster, or something in between.
The game is also a good tool for improving one's analytical skills, and people learn from each other as in real life. After each round, we found something that could be done even better. People were highly motivated to search for the "perfect decisions." |
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Xu Ming Hui
Deputy Finance Director
UPM-Kymmene Changshu Paper Mill |
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| "Four game rounds with a lot of fun and fruitful discussions! Our team was put together with people from different divisions in the company, and it was stimulating and challenging to discuss the game from different views. I think we all got experiences useful in our future work, and I warmly recommend participation in the BGF training program." |
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Veronica Stigsson
Research Scientist
Noviant AB, Sweden |
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| "The training experience was much better than we could have imagined. Thanks to the excellent arrangements by BGF we as a team learnt a lot with an element of fun present. The program really enlightened our strategic thinking and operational understand due to some basic business concepts that are well demonstrated. The training has helped us to better understand financial reports. As a team we were all active and contributed a lot, and as such we were able to learn from each other and deepen our friendships. The key benefit from this training was an even better understanding of the company evaluation and that of our own team members. We believe that we are now able to perform better after the training in these three areas: Paying dividends rather than retaining too much earnings, the relationship between marketing and price, and the cost balance between own manufacturing and outsourcing. We are looking forward to entering the next step and are willing to join again!" |
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Xie Daorong
Fan Ze
Simon S Wang
Liang Jianwu
Wang Ping
Metso Paper China |
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| "Our PES PL team took part in the BGF Business Game Training Program in late 2004. After an exciting fight we managed to beat our competitors and go through to the semifinals. Running a virtual company has been a very interesting challenge for us. We believe that we now have a better and wider understanding of business, especially where a company’s strategy is concerned. Additionally we have had the opportunity to observe many different strategies, which various teams tried to get the best possible results. We are impatiently waiting for the semis and aim to produce a good performance." |
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Olaf Kacperski
Business Development Manager
Pan European Sales Poland
Kappa Packaging |
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| "We met physically between every round consuming between 3-5 hours of our time per round. We would like to point out some of the key benefits behind why we decided to participate in the BGF business game training: Firstly, we wanted to “sharpen the saw” regarding our financial knowledge & strategic thinking and finally to increase our team work capabilities. Now there are three areas where we are able perform better after the training: 1. we have an even better understanding of the profit & loss statement. 2. our overall understanding of risk management developed further. 3. a better understanding of the balance sheet (paying dividends etc). After all was done, we had a great time together!" |
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Harry Deng
Manager
Metso Field System
China |
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"To ensure team communication in playing the game, we used an internal program allowing us to hold a virtual meeting in an interactive way. Thus all team members were able follow interactively from their own screen the flow of the meeting and provide comments and feedbacks on the decisions via the phone simultaneously. The game was also the ideal platform to pilot the program.
I would like to share some benefits of the BGF Business Game Training Program and the take home for the participants. It became clear to us that when managing a company one should have a long term strategy that is adjustable according to the market environment. It was also interesting to observe and manage the markets influence on the chosen strategy. After a time you are able to see with clarity the key focus areas as well as the areas that are less viable. Analyzing competitors and markets, planning strategic moves and understanding what is relevant and what is not are definitely areas where participants are able to test and improve their skills and thinking.
It is important to try and anticipate your competitors' strategy, however one should remember that when you think you have an excellent idea on how to gain a decisive advantage there are most likely competitors who have seen the same potential.
It was a lot of fun and it was interesting to compete against colleagues. Very good training tool!" |
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Juha Kasslin
Business Development
Finnforest Corporation |
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| "The BGF program improved my strategic thinking, analytical skills and co-operation with respect to teamwork. Now that I have better analytical skills, and a broader understanding of general business I am more strategically focused and will be able to make a better contribution to my organization." |
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Lucy Yang
Manager
Metso Automation
China |
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| "We started the business game with a heterogeneous, and to each other rather distant group of people from sales, finance, R&D, and technical service. A group, that during the game grew into a motivated team working well together towards common goals. The members did their home work prior to the sessions, analysing game results and data, and during the meetings strategy, tactics, and especially business drivers within different business functions were discussed, and acted upon. Learning was in the form of new insight into previously less known business functions, and the co-dependence as well as linkage of management decision making between functions. Summing it up; it was a good learning experience, improved cross-departmental team work, and it was fun. All in all, it was a worthwhile exercise that easily can be recommended further." |
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Niklas Björkman
Development Manager
Stora Enso Publication Paper |
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| "We participated in BGF Tournament for the first time and it was a powerful learning experience. Normally when you participate in training programs, they tend to focus too much on details rather than the big picture. In the BGF Tournament we liked the fact that it focuses on the big picture because the main issue for any company is to see the big picture. We also liked the great competition and the fast results. As a whole we liked it and it made very complex business issues clear and understandable." |
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Henrik Larsson
Controller
Stora Enso Packaging
Sweden |
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