No Two Teams Are The Same: Our Advice To
Mikes Bikes Students
SPEX Bikes
Diane Lavelua Ah Mu
Vivian Cheng
Cheryl Courtney
Casey Morris
Xuan Wen
Shelby Wilson
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Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3
Section A ....................................................................................................................................................... 4
I.
Team Dynamics ................................................................................................................................. 4
II.
Strategy ............................................................................................................................................. 5
III. Learning ............................................................................................................................................. 6
Section B ....................................................................................................................................................... 8
Chief Executive Officer .............................................................................................................................. 8
Marketing Director.................................................................................................................................... 8
Human Resources Director ....................................................................................................................... 9
Director of Operations Advice .................................................................................................................. 9
Chief Financial Officer Advice ................................................................................................................. 10
Research and Development Director ...................................................................................................... 10
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 11
Reference List.............................................................................................................................................. 12
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Introduction
Dear future Mike’s Bikes students,
There are no right answers- that is the main thing that you will learn. This also means that there is no
one correct way to be a successful team or firm. From our experience as a team, we do not think there is
a direct link between being a successful team and a successful firm.
What we aim to provide you with is a set of examples that were unique and distinct features of our
team. The advice in this guide is based on what we, as a team, consider to be important factors for
success. We viewed success as an increase in learning about our respective functional areas, and how
we could work together effectively to learn as much as we could about being a competitive firm in the
simulation. Based on our definition of success, we believe that we achieved these team goals. Every
aspect of your team can be your biggest strength and your biggest weakness. We hope to demonstrate
this, so that you will better understand your team, and therefore identify what your advantages and
disadvantages are.
This guide contains two sections: A and B. Section A focuses on factors that we thought were
significantly important and how we think they should be approached. Section B is about the importance
of team collaboration and specific advice for each role within the Mike’s Bikes simulation.
Good luck,
SPEX Bikes
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Section A
I.
Team Dynamics
Every team has a unique culture. This culture, or team dynamics, will influence how your team will
interact, make decisions and solve problems. For us in team SPEX, we identified two key aspects that
made our team different to any of our competitors: we were all female and we were all conscientious.
We think that being an all-girl team impacted on how we acted as a team and a firm. This unique
dynamic had both positive and negative implications that we became aware of during the course of
Mike’s Bikes. For example, it is common that women leaders are more likely to encourage participation,
sharing, and enrich other’s self-worth than male leaders (Rosenberg, 1990). We found that these
processes were evident in our team, as we had a strong culture of participation and self-confidence. This
meant that we had an extremely supportive environment that we feel brought the best out of every
team member. Research supports our argument in that the presence of females has been found to
create a more supportive environment for both males and females which enhances performance
(Raghubir & Valenzuela, 2010 ). Furthermore, groups with males and females have been found to
facilitate male achievement while limiting female achievements (Raghubir & Valenzuela, 2010). A
practical example of this theory is the increasing push for single sex schooling to provide enhanced
learning opportunities for both sexes.
In saying that, our all-female composition also had negative consequences for our team. We felt that
while we had more confidence, our decision-making ability was lower than teams that were mixed-sex.
We felt that we were quite narrow minded and conservative when it came to decision making, and this
was partly due to the lack of male influence. This is supported by findings that problem solving ability is
higher for heterogeneous groups than homogeneous (Hoffman & Maier, 1961). One successful way to
achieve this heterogeneity was to have mixed sex teams (Hoffman & Maier, 1961). Therefore having a
homogeneous team is likely to provide too many similar perspectives on a problem, reducing the
number of perceived available solutions, and we believe we experienced this in our team. Given your
team composition is not something you can control, many teams would not think about what their team
dynamic means for them. Yet this is an oversight as it has significant implications.
Another characteristic of our team was that we are all highly conscientious people. This again had
positive and negative outcomes. Positive consequences were that we were all motivated to succeed, all
attended meetings, did our required tasks, and participated equally. This meant that we worked well
together as a team, and had a fairly good performance considering that we made several errors and had
a very conservative strategy. This is reflected by research findings that conscientious teams are rated as
having better performance, more workload sharing, better communication and less conflict (Barrick,
Stewart, Neubert, & Mount, 1998). Our team found that all of these were evident in our team
interactions, meaning that our high levels of conscientious had benefits for how we worked as a team.
However, performing well as a team does not necessarily translate into gaining high results. While we
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believe we performed well as a team, our final shareholder value (SHV) was not great. This reflects
findings from other simulations, that teams who had individuals with high achievement motivations did
not perform better than teams who had less motivated members (Butler & Parasuraman, 1977).
Additionally, our conscientious nature meant that we were all high achievers who were used to
succeeding. Hence, in the practice round we did not experiment or take any risks, instead we played it
safe to achieve a high SHV. In hindsight, we missed out on a chance to learn more about the simulation
through trial and error, and we suffered as a result in the competition round. As a result one piece of
advice is to use the practice round as an opportunity to try out different tactics.
Our lack of gender diversity and conscientious nature had many positive benefits for our team culture
and performance. However it is also likely that this restricted our decision making ability. Therefore this
is an example of how certain characteristics of a team can influence how they think and behave. While
your team may not be all female and conscientious, it may be dominated by males, risk seekers, or
alternatively, too diverse. Our advice is that it is important for you as a team to acknowledge and
understand the team dynamics, in order to enhance your team’s advantages while minimising the
disadvantages.
II.
Strategy
Our first advice in regards to strategy is to learn to be an ambidextrous organization. To be
ambidextrous as a firm is to have the ability to balance the seemingly incompatible paradox of
evolutionary and revolutionary change. To manage this paradox, we constantly referred to the overall
organizational strategy, while also being prepared and having an open mind-set required to make the
changes required to match the dynamic environment. Initially our team agreed to focus on launching
only one bike into three market segments. Our success in the early phase of the game was a result of
launching desirable products, as well as ensuring congruence between our strategy, structure and
people. There was a shared belief that we should approach the simulation in a cautious manner, evident
in the launching of bikes one at a time in order for a more predictable result. However, with the
environment becoming increasingly dynamic with fierce competitors capturing more market share by
targeting minor niches, a strategic change was vital. We decided to launch several bikes in just one
rollover, which contradicted the cautious approach we initially wanted to take. The course we took
during the simulation demonstrates how evolutionary change is often punctured by the revolutionary
change. What allowed us to be successful was the ability to be ambidextrous; employing both types of
changes simultaneously (Tushman & O'Reilly, 1996). Recognising the need to introduce radical changes
at the right time allows for better firm performance. Tushman and O’Reilly support this argument and
believe that incremental change is not sufficient for long term success. We suggest that it is important
for the firm to reorient themselves by updating the organisational strategy and structure in order to
comply with the environment at appropriate times.
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In learning how to balance radical and incremental change in our strategy, our second advice is to
develop a proactive strategy that would promote more flexible decision making. Our team began the
simulation by charting goals based on where we wanted our firm to be by the end of the simulation. We
then made ‘yearly’ decisions which were influenced by our strategy chart, our resources, and the
dynamics of our world. Several times during the simulation, we found ourselves questioning how we
could be less reactive as a firm, and instead become more proactive in the development of our strategy
and decision making. Instead of acting after a threat or opportunity has already occurred, we needed to
be more proactive by avoiding potential threats, as well as capitalise on prospective opportunities. As a
firm, we needed to take a more confident stance as to what we thought was likely to happen. Kandemir
and Acur (2012) state that factors influencing proactive strategies that allow for flexible decision making
include having a long term focus, strategic planning, team commitment, and an innovative institutional
climate. Our team has experienced being both reactive and proactive. As mentioned previously, we
came to a realisation that we could no longer expect to reap additional profit from having only one bike
in each of the markets. After evaluating potential options to combat this issue, we decided to stick to
the overall strategy we had set in keeping in the markets we had selected. However we quickly
discovered that ‘high quality’ could no longer be our point of differentiation. We felt this was
reactionary as our competitors had already developed and launched several bike models in various
markets. Despite the initial deviation from the expected results, we started to appreciate the late-mover
advantages our firm capitalised on, including an increase in knowledge of technological or market
uncertainties, and incumbent inertia (Zhu & Xu, 2011). In order to develop proactive strategies that
allow for flexible decision making, we advise future teams to acknowledge the importance of flexibility
in the creation of a long term focus, as well as flexibility in strategic planning.
III.
Learning
Learning was crucial to our success as a team and in our performance in Mikes Bikes. As a team we were
constantly learning to improve our decision making by learning from our mistakes and recognising that
trial and error can be a source of knowledge.
Decision making was a key element in our team and whenever we met discussions were centred on
what actions we had to take for the upcoming rollovers. Over the process of the simulation our decision
making skills became refined. Central to our improved decision making skills was learning from our
mistakes, and we found this to be a great source of learning (Hui, Tjosvold & Yu, 2004, p. 1223). In
Teaching Smart People How to Learn the author explains that learning is not just about identifying and
correcting errors, it involves critically addressing our behaviour and changing how we act (Argyris, 2002).
In the product development section we experienced errors that saw unsuccessful projects. To learn
from this mistake we didn’t just attempt to fix it but looked at how we could change what we were
doing to ensure better results next time. As a result we started planning out the course the product
specifications were undergoing and based developments on this. By looking beyond the surface of the
issue to the cause of the problem we learnt how to better undergo project developments. Learning from
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this mistake was crucial to our success as a team in the simulation and feel you should also look at
mistakes as potential new knowledge. To make sure that mistakes are learnt from, we had to put aside
any defensive behaviour that often stands in the way of learning from mistakes (Hui, Tjosvold & Yu,
2004, p. 1223). As a team, to enable learning from our mistakes we had to put aside any predispositions
we had to blame others, be defensive of our actions and not make excuses for the mistake so that the
real cause of the problem could be identified. Do not dismiss your mistakes as just bumps on the road;
evaluate how they can help you make better decisions. You find that you are new to the simulation and
had not met each other before so the experience was new, this means you may be faced with
insufficient information and are often making guesses as to what would work the best. This trial and
error style of learning was undergone by our team in the early stages. Bringham and Davis describe trial
and error learning as “the process by which firm executives undertake a course of action and the
consequences of that completed action lead to a change in the firms actions or knowledge base” (2012,
p. 612). As a team we took actions in the simulation and were learning how to best structure our firm
based on what we learnt from our completed actions. We underwent trial and error and learnt quickly
how to master the simulation and therefore be successful in that regard. To be successful we believe
you need to recognise the potential learning capability that trials and errors provide, do not dismiss the
consequences of your actions and use new knowledge gained to prepare yourself for future challenges.
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Section B
This section will outline the importance of team collaboration and specific advice for each role in Mike’s
Bikes. Each team member was assigned a specific role and functional area to oversee, however our team
decided to approach the simulation as a collective, and to make decisions in collaboration with one
another. This enabled the team to make decisions in a holistic manner, as we were aware of how
decisions made in one functional area affected another. We felt that working in this manner led to
better team performance, and increased knowledge of the firm as a whole; however we were aware of
the potential problems that could arise. When making decisions collaboratively, we acknowledged that
we may not have an in-depth knowledge of each other’s roles when discussing possible decisions;
however this process enabled each team member to rationalise their decisions. The following sections
are specific advice for each role, as well as recommendations for better team and firm performance.
Chief Executive Officer
As the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), it was my responsibility to oversee the functional areas, coordinate
decisions and track the firms’ performance through the company shareholder value. To facilitate an
environment in which all team members could share ideas and opinions openly, it is important for the
CEO to be open themselves and to encourage team members to play an active part in the decision
making process. It is also important to create a strategy that all team members agree with, as well as
ensuring that the team understands the strategy throughout the course of the simulation. Additional
advice to a future CEO is:
 Encourage all members to play an active part in strategy planning and development
 There is a certain level of trust involved in allowing team members to make decisions that you
may not have an in-depth understanding of; learn to trust the team and to encourage an
understanding that in taking risks, there is also an element of failure which cannot be avoided
 Each team member has their strengths and weakness; draw and focus on the synergy that can
be developed through the collaboration of strengths
Marketing Director
As the marketing director, I was responsible for delivering the product to customers effectively through
appropriate channels. An important piece of advice is that the information provided is for the major
niche market so not every product needs to match the value given. More importantly, you should
always be aware of the industry average and compare how much you are spending on advertising
compared to competitors. This does not mean you should compete on having the highest values on
marketing because after a certain point extra money invested will have no effect.
Additional advice:
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●
●
●
●
There is a rollover effect, so even if no money was invested into marketing in one roll over, it
will still increase
You don’t have to spend any money on PR for commuters as they are more sensitive to
awareness
Higher expenditure on marketing does not mean it will increase your sales
Increasing brand awareness increases the awareness of all segments so you don’t have to
increase the advertising for each product which waste money
Human Resource Director
As the HR director I was responsible for assisting the CEO to co-ordinate the team. This involved helping
other team members with their roles, mainly the Operations manager who I worked in tandem with. I
adapted my role to my strengths which meant that I took responsibility for estimating our production
numbers and employee and factory capacity. Some of the things that I have learnt throughout the
course of Mike’s Bikes are:
● Ideally your firm’s capacity should be as close to what is required as possible. Too much and you
are wasting money and will likely have idle time. Too little and it is likely that you will have lost
sales.
● Production rates can alter +/- 20% depending on demand: this is useful to remember when
estimating production numbers as it gives you some leeway.
● Always pay attention to the scenario information that details the estimated potential market
size: this informs you how much room there is for your sales to increase- near the end of the
game market sizes plateau off and have little growth.
Director of Operations Advice
As the director of Operations, my key responsibility was to ensure that production was both effective
and efficient, ensuring the most productive use of limited resources. I also worked closely with the
Human Resource Director to implement an effective reward and training system as production was
closely linked with employees. I was also responsible for the development and improvement of
production strategies and processes, as well as the management of product delivery.
Here are few tips drawn from my own experience as an operation director:


Ensure your preventative maintenance is at least $600,000 from the first round and ensure that
you increase it consecutively as you increase investments made in quality. Be wary of spending
over 3 million in this area as there are no benefits beyond this value.
I found that increasing supplier relations by at least $20,000 every rollover contributed to the
maintenance of quality.
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
Batch size and set-up time reduction are significant contributors for product delivery times and
will affect your efficiency. I suggest not going beyond a batch size of 700 as it will really affect
the deliver time.
Chief Financial Officer Advice
As Chief Financial Officer (CFO) I worked closely with each member of the team throughout the entire
simulation. My role was to ensure that we were spending within our budget and getting the best ‘bang
for our buck’. I would like to disclose that I did not follow my role like this in the beginning of the
simulation as we had decided to make decisions as a team. However, throughout the duration of the
simulation I began to realise how crucial it was to have a budget and control your firms costs. An
example of this was when our marketing expenditure was exceeding our profit for each bike. I realised
this a little too late in the piece therefore did not have the amount of time required to enable our firm
to fully recover from this crucial mistake. However, this is a vital piece of advice that I am passing onto a
future CFO and that is to watch where every dollar is going as fundamentally how well you control your
costs will result in how well you do in regards to firm performance.
An extra couple of pieces of advice to a future Mike’s Bikes CFO are to:
● Start paying your shareholders very early on (as early as rollover 2). Over time you will
accumulate a significant amount of cash and as Mike’s Bikes have a cap on the dividend you can
issue, if you can issue dividends from pretty much day one, this will have a significant effect on
shareholder value over the long-term.
● As a team we decided to pay off debt earlier on and did not issue any more debt throughout the
simulation. If I was to complete this simulation again I would be a little more reluctant to pay of
this debt as early on as we did (or even go down to zero debt) as I believe for your firm to
perform well, R&D (which costs a significant amount) needs a big amount of investment at the
beginning of the simulation.
Research and Development Director
The best piece of advice I can give you as you embark on Mike’s Bikes in regards to developing bikes
would be planning. Planning the product specifications will allow you to identify patterns or trends that
can enable the projection of future product specifications. This has a significant impact on the bike’s
performance as it allows you to develop bikes for the future market and meeting their needs.
Additional advice:
 Do not be too wary about success ratings of a product. It may mean that the market is not ready
for your bike yet.
 Monitor the trends and the direction the product specifications are heading and evaluate your
bikes success based on how well your projections are meeting the actual specifications
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
If finances permit, spend at least one million dollars on the development of a product rather
than attempting to cut costs in this area
Conclusion
In summation, the Mike’s Bikes simulation has provided us with an invaluable opportunity to increase
our understanding of the interdependent components of a business. In section A, we identified several
factors that we believe to be important for future Mike’s Bikes teams to address including team
dynamics, strategy, and learning. It is important for future teams to consider the implications of their
team dynamics. A distinct feature of our team is the fact that we are an all-girl team which has its
advantages and disadvantages. We recommend future teams to discuss the makeup of their group and
to identify ways they can enhance their advantages, and minimise any perceived disadvantages. In
regards to strategy, we believe it is important for future firms to be ambidextrous. It is important to
recognise when to implement either an evolutionary or revolutionary strategy. As a firm, it was
important for us to learn how to respond to changes in a proactive manner, rather than reactive. We
advise future teams to take a more confident stance as to what they think would likely happen, by
having a long term focus, strategic planning, and team commitment. To be successful as a team, there is
new knowledge to be gained by learning from your mistakes. Take advantage of these learning
opportunities in order to be more prepared for future challenges. Because of the collaborative nature of
our team dynamic, you can find in section B that most team members worked in tandem which
enhanced their decision making. This enabled the team to think in a holistic manner, as we were aware
of how decisions made in one functional area affected another. These are the elements unique to our
team, as well as tips that we hope future teams will tailor to their team. As the simulation came to end,
we have found our team work to be successful as we worked towards a common goal: to increase the
learning of our respective functions and its relation to the firm as a whole, and translating that learning
into the simulation.
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