Overview:

Today’s corporate world requires employees to have business & financial literacy, and an understanding of how they impact the bottom line. Zodiak is a Paradigm Learning International top featured product. It is a powerful platform that incorporates a fast-paced classroom business simulation, enhanced with technology components, and customized to meet audience-specific needs.

The program will guide attending participants to discover how business really works, and how they impact the bottom line. Armed with on-the-job tools, communities of resources, best practices, and targeted sustainability, learners are ready to take new actions that drive results.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this learning experience, employees will be better able to:

1. Use relevant financial data and analysis in day-to-day decision making
2. Demonstrate enhanced understanding of the organization’s strategies and financial objectives
3. Ask the right questions that clarify financial and strategic objectives when implementing new systems, processes or procedures
4. Align personal and department goals with the organization’s financial objectives and strategies
5. Use financial terminology and concepts more confidently in discussions with others

Workshop Scenario:

Part One: The Simulation

In a five hour, fast paced, thrilling and challenging simulation, in teams, attending participants will be acting in the capacity of the new owning team of the struggling Zodiak Co.. Learners will be undergoing a series of strategic business decisions to bring their business up; sign for a bank loan, attract investors, purchase equipment and materials, decide how they’ll approach the market, and deliver products and services to their customers. As they do, terms such as cash flow, return on equity, working capital, cost of goods sold, and assets come vividly to life.

Throughout the simulation, they will handle chance events, move game pieces, answer questions & concerns of the investors, and make tough decisions on investment, R&D, staffing, pricing, & more, over a course of three years of business.

Part Two: The Connections Session:

The Zodiak simulation is powerful, but what follows is what makes the learning come to life! Learners use knowledge and insights from the simulation to look at their own company & departments; they explore strategies, processes, financial concepts, terminology, profit drivers, cash flow, the competition and more. It’s here that learners also connect to their own behaviors – the day-to-day decisions and actions that impact the bottom line.

This is achieved through two things:

• Powerful engaging learning chunks
• Powerful, work-linked exercises

The main learning points that will be covered in this part will be:

• Strategy, Strategic Planning & Strategic Management
• The strategic management process
• Means of strategic analysis and environmental scanning
• How to select the right strategy
• How to develop implementation plans for strategic objectives and projects
• Risk identification and evaluation
• Strategy Evaluation

What makes this course unique?

Aside from the high adrenaline simulation, & its following insightful and action-driving connections’ session, by participating in the ZODIAK® experience:

• Post Course Reinforcement: attending the ZODIAK® experience, makes attendees eligible to be part of the ZODIAK worldwide community through Paradigm Learning “Learning Portal”. Through the portal, they will be receiving continuous updates & practices from learning professionals and business executives from all over the world, providing the chance for ongoing learning, refreshment, and update
• Each attending participant will be awarded 15 PDUs for attending the two days ZODIAK experience.

PS: PDU is a measuring unit used by many international accrediting bodies and institutes to quantify approved learning & professional services’ activities. Typically, one PDU equals one hour spent in a planned & structured learning experience or activity.

Entities & bodies that use PDU’s in their accreditation & certification processes include:

• PMI (The Project Management Institute)
• SHRM (The Society for Human Resources Management)
• HRCI (The HR Certification Institute)
• ATD (The Association for Talent Development)

Workshop Duration: Two Full Days

Number of Participants: Minimum 8 – Maximum 20