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Mobile Phone Subscribers Microworld
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General information
Versions available
Key learning points
Download a demo or a personal licence for the Mobile Phone Subscribers Microworld
Mobile Phone Subscribers Microworld - General
information
This simple Microworld is set in the context of the Mobile phone industry which,
since its establishment as a seriously practical service in the 1980s, has gone
though a number of stages of development. However a feature at all stages has
been the tendency of these markets, once started, to reinforce their own
growth.
There is a counteracting challenge arising from this very growth – namely the
critical need for network operators to provide enough capacity to cope with the
rapidly increasing demand. In this simple simulation your role is to build the
customer-base of subscribers as rapidly as possible, and to ensure this growth
is matched by increases in the capacity of the network to meet the demand. You
have two main items are under your control - marketing and the ability to
increase network capacity.
Although very simple the microworld illustrates important dynamic concepts and
the tutorials and challenges provided with it help to draw these out. This is a
small simulation, supported by a short description of a common situation,
rather than a full Microworld, which would be a larger simulation with
extensive case material.
Authors: Kim Warren and Christina Spencer
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Download a demo or a personal licence for the Mobile Phone Subscribers Microworld
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| Mobile Phone Subscribers
Microworld - Versions available |
| The Mobile Phone Subscribers Microworld is a PC based
simulation, running on Windows 95 and above. It requires less than 5 Mb disk
space and will run on PCs with 32Mb RAM although performance is enhanced on
higher specification machines. There are three types of licence: |
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Demo Version |
The demo version consists of a link to the software for download
and an introductory user guide. |
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Single User Licence |
The single user version is licensed for personal use only and may
not be used in training or consultancy. Purchase may be made online. The
software is the same as the demo version so there is no additional download to
be made. You will be provided with the link to the software, an unlock code and
a learning guide. |
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Site Licence |
The software for the site pack for academic or corporate use is
the same as for the single user version. Site packs contain additional
materials (slides, slide handouts, and annotations) to enable front-of-class
delivery. The cost of site packs includes copy permissions for the materials as
well as software usage fees. If you would like further information on site
packs and prices please
contact us stating which product(s) you have an interest in,
the type of organisation that the product would be licensed to (academic,
corporate, executive education) and the size of group with which it might be
used.
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Download a demo or a personal licence for the Mobile Phone Subscribers Microworld
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Mobile Phone Subscribers Microworld - Key Learning Points
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Accumulation and depletion (building and losing) of a customer
base (or other resource) over time
Reinforcing feedback drives growth from word of mouth
Balancing feedback limits growth, due to capacity limits
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| Context: exploiting a finite pool of potential
subscribers to a mobile phone service |
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Contexts where similar generic issues arise - customers accumulate in virtually
every business context; word-of-mouth drives customer growth in many
industries, customer growth is limited by the business's capacity to support
sales or service in many cases.
Contexts where similar specific structures arise - exploiting a potential new
market for any capacity-limited service (internet services, travel, leisure,
business services etc.).
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Exclusions: |
This simple microworld does not include rivalry or soft factors (such as
reputation). |
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Decision inputs: |
New subscribers per month from marketing
Target new capacity after 6 months' lead time
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Performance outputs: |
Subscriber base and quality (revenue per subscriber)
Subscriber churn (loss rate)
Earnings |
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Challenges: |
3 challenge games are supplied offering a range of
challenges to test your understanding of the resource system. |
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Teaching uses: |
Strategy Dynamics course -
resource-building and attrition, with feedback (reinforcing and balancing).
Strategy courses or workshops - basics of resource-based view
(RBV): connection between resources and performance.
Systems thinking courses or workshops - resource-building and
feedback (reinforcing and balancing).
Marketing courses or workshops - basics of
customer-acquisition and retention, driven by marketing and limited by service
capacity. |
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