This management game can be very effectively used by you- the program leader or faculty member- in the programs or workshops on customer orientation, customer satisfaction, value for money concepts, quality, TQM etc.
Before starting the actual game, request for two volunteers from the participants to act as shopkeepers. These volunteers will be seen as owners of their departmental stores from where they sell variety of goods to their customers. The rest of the participants of the program will be their prospective customers. Choose a product that you will like them to sell. You can arrange for an actual object that they should sell.
For example, you may choose candles to be sold by them. So arrange for numbers of candles which will be twice the number of the participants minus the two volunteers. Suppose there are total of 22 participants in your workshop. Of these, 2 become the shopkeepers. So, arrange for 40 candles. All the 40 candles should not be of the same quality. Choose half of them i.e. 20 candles as excellent in quality and other half (20 candles) with some defects. Give candles of excellent quality to one of the volunteer (first shopkeeper) and the defective ones to the other volunteer (second shopkeeper). These two shopkeeper will stand with the candles to be sold by them in the two corners of the seminar room. The price per candle to be sold by each of the two shopkeepers will be the same i.e. one coin of the same denomination.
Distribute a coin each to the rest of the participants who are acting as the customers. Instruct them to go to both the shops, inspect the candles thoroughly, decide from whom to buy the candle and then actually buy one candle by giving one coin to the respective shopkeeper. Shopkeepers will collect the coins for the number of candles sold by them.
After all the 20 customers bought the candles, find out the number of candles sold by each shopkeeper and number of coins collected by each of them (number of coins will be equal to number of candles sold by them).
It will be quite revealing to see that the shopkeeper selling excellent quality candles would have sold far greater numbers of candles as compared to the shopkeeper who was selling defective candles (in some groups you may even find that no one in the group bought the defective candle at all). It brings home the point that quality is always so very important to any customer. The shopkeeper selling bad quality stuff will have to wind up his shop pretty soon as his earnings and profits were dwindling.
Take participant feedback on their experience and learning points in carrying out this exercise. Then give your own observations, analysis and sum-up.
One more thing- do not forget to collect the coins and candles from the participants.
Before starting the actual game, request for two volunteers from the participants to act as shopkeepers. These volunteers will be seen as owners of their departmental stores from where they sell variety of goods to their customers. The rest of the participants of the program will be their prospective customers. Choose a product that you will like them to sell. You can arrange for an actual object that they should sell.
For example, you may choose candles to be sold by them. So arrange for numbers of candles which will be twice the number of the participants minus the two volunteers. Suppose there are total of 22 participants in your workshop. Of these, 2 become the shopkeepers. So, arrange for 40 candles. All the 40 candles should not be of the same quality. Choose half of them i.e. 20 candles as excellent in quality and other half (20 candles) with some defects. Give candles of excellent quality to one of the volunteer (first shopkeeper) and the defective ones to the other volunteer (second shopkeeper). These two shopkeeper will stand with the candles to be sold by them in the two corners of the seminar room. The price per candle to be sold by each of the two shopkeepers will be the same i.e. one coin of the same denomination.
Distribute a coin each to the rest of the participants who are acting as the customers. Instruct them to go to both the shops, inspect the candles thoroughly, decide from whom to buy the candle and then actually buy one candle by giving one coin to the respective shopkeeper. Shopkeepers will collect the coins for the number of candles sold by them.
After all the 20 customers bought the candles, find out the number of candles sold by each shopkeeper and number of coins collected by each of them (number of coins will be equal to number of candles sold by them).
It will be quite revealing to see that the shopkeeper selling excellent quality candles would have sold far greater numbers of candles as compared to the shopkeeper who was selling defective candles (in some groups you may even find that no one in the group bought the defective candle at all). It brings home the point that quality is always so very important to any customer. The shopkeeper selling bad quality stuff will have to wind up his shop pretty soon as his earnings and profits were dwindling.
Take participant feedback on their experience and learning points in carrying out this exercise. Then give your own observations, analysis and sum-up.
One more thing- do not forget to collect the coins and candles from the participants.
Get Hold of the Related Books
You can order the following books on "management games and icebreakers" as printed books and eBooks from Amazon online:
- Classic Management Games, Exercises, Energizers and Icebreakers
- Classic Management Games, Exercises, Energizers and Icebreakers (Volume 2)
- Classic Team Building Games, Exercises, Energizers and Icebreakers
- 101 Classic Management Games, Exercises, Energizers and Icebreakers
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