EE204: Business Management for
Electrical Engineers and Computer Scientists

Back Bay Battery Simulation

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  1. Back Bay Battery Simluation

Case Summary

You are the president of Back Bay Battery, a $240 million company, which is a division of a larger $40 billion consumer electronics manufacturer. Back Bay Battery sells two types of batteries: Nickel Metal-Hydride (NiMH) batteries have been a mainstay of the business and currently make up 80% of your revenue. The newer ultracapacitor batteries make up the remaining 20%. You sell your batteries to businesses that produce consumer electronics. Your three primary markets are:

Your two products vary in their performance across five technology features. The features are: energy density, recharge cycles, self-discharge to 50%, recharge time, and price. Your markets vary by the features they desire.

Back Bay Battery Instruction Sheet

Watch the Back Bay Battery instruction video at http://forio.com/simulation/harvard-innovation-demo/#page=intro_videos

  1. Make a group of four to six students. Meet students during the class reception and team building meet and greet on Tuesday, 4/10/12. If students do not have a team by Thursday, 4/12/12, they will be assigned to a team in class that day.
  2. Register your team name and its members by signing up at the class reception or by emailing Blair (blairbo [at] stanford [dot] edu).
  3. Go to the prepare tab, watch the video and read http://forio.com/simulation/harvard-innovation-demo/downloads/BBB_foregroundreading.pdf
  4. Go to the analyze tab to figure out Back Bay Battery's situation and advance rounds by investing the company's money in the decide tab Hint: Don't forget to take a look at research opportunities at http://forio.com/simulation/harvard-innovation-demo/#page=scenario
  5. Each set of 2008-2016 rounds can be played three times - two trials and one commit. Evaluate your team's performance for each of the trial rounds and change your strategy accordingly for the final commit.
  6. The simulation ends on Wednesday, 4/18/12, at 6:00pm. The team that maximizes cumulative profit in their highest of the three rounds wins. The winning team will be notified Wednesday night and will be asked to present their strategy in class on Thursday, 4/19/12.

Grading

The simulation counts toward your classroom participation. It is worth twice the normal classroom participation grade for the day. Every person on the team gets the same number of points. The winning team scores 6/6 points.

Demo Link

http://forio.com/simulation/harvard-innovation-demo/login.htm

Purchase Back Bay Battery Simulation for your team

Students need to purchase one copy of the Back Bay Battery simulation per team. The cost of the simulation is $12.50 and can be split among team members.

Purchase simulation