Rules Of Engagement
Faculty Contributors: Xavier Dreze, Peter S. Fader, Robert Meyer, David J. Reibstein
Students experience a Prisoner's Dilemma by playing the role of cereal manufacturers who set rules for marketing expenditures
- About Rules of Engagement
- More Details
- Administrative Tools
Almost all business school students study strategy and game theory; however, these outwardly simple theories can often be difficult to apply to real world situations. Rules of Engagement is designed specifically to allow students to try differing strategies in a realistic environment and to demonstrate the intricacies of game theory when played in an iterative, competitive space.
In Rules of Engagement, students assume the role of major breakfast cereal manufacturers. They set "rules" that will govern future marketing expenditures and watch as their plans unfold and the competition heats up.
After an in-class discussion provides the background on marketing and advertising strategy, students break up into teams to set their company's marketing budget for the initial year and select the strategic rules that will be used to automatically set the budget for future years.
This application allows the professor to simulate the effect of these strategies over a long-range time period. Thus, the students can see how their strategies play out against one another over time. The administration module also allows professors to display results in graphical or numerical format, drill down through a specific scenario, rollback the simulation, and conduct hypothetical scenarios.