Game Case

Even though the results from the Game is convincing and promising, we need to take the time before we are confident that the Game proposal will provide definitive benefits for the company. Return on Investment (ROI) is an important consideration in every decision made by investors. Economy situation is one of the factors considered in ROI calculation. Given the situation faced by the company, the Great Game of Life proposal is a very aggressive and risky plan. If we were the owner of Simmons, we would not have supported the proposal except Simmons' top management could convince me that the company will achieve more than what the company have paid for and that this program will provide the company with the maximum benefits for a long period of time.

It is too early to be convinced that the Game is the panacea for the company's problem. We need to wait for several years to determine whether the effect of the Game on Charlotte performance improvement is definitive or not. We are also curious about the experiences that happened to the top executives of the company after the Game. Is that experience really affecting their performance or it is just a personal enlightenment which cannot be shared and practiced throughout the organization. Instead of rolling out the Game throughout the plants, Simmons' top management should try to implement what they have learned from the Game in their workplace first.

Moreover, Eitel has to be able to show that by paying millions of dollars for the Game, Simmons will get more than what it has paid. What has been experienced by top management seems to be encouraging. The immediate improvement of Charlotte plants seems to be promising. However, Eitel has to prove that those experiences and improvement have given rise of the company's profitability. Eitel should be able to present the calculation which shows that with the millions of dollars cash outflow for the Game, Simmons will get more millions of dollars in return. In other words, Eitel should present how many dollars of increase in profit has the company accounted after the Game has been rolled out for top executives and Charlotte plant and compare the increase with the Game expense.

Observing on the problems faced by Simmons recently, we assumed that the problems do not emerge from inside the company. Economy conditions, the bankruptcy of the three biggest costumer, and troubled raw materials are external problems. Question would