The Outsourcing Game: Professor Testimonials

Since 2003, the Outsourcing Game has been played by more than 1,000 people in North America, Asia, and Europe.

Feedback from Industry Practitioners

Feedback from Students

Feedback from Professors

Read first-hand accounts from five professors who have used the Outsourcing Game in their courses: Jason Amaral, Andy Tsay, Corey Billington, John Gray, Geoffrey Parker, and Glen Schmidt, “‘The Outsourcing Game’ Addresses Supply Chain Power, Incentives, & Collaboration,” POMS Chronicle, 15(1), 2008, pp. 16-17.

Corey Billington, IMD
Chris Caplice, MIT
Lisa Ellram, Miami University
John Gray, The Ohio State University
Panos Kouvelis, Washington University in St. Louis
Serguei Netessine, University of Pennsylvania
Geoffrey Parker, Tulane University
Glen Schmidt, University of Utah
Leroy B. Schwarz, Purdue University
Andy Tsay, Santa Clara University

***

"I've used the Outsourcing Game several times in the operations core. … Student feedback has been very good, because the game shows how hard it is to really collaborate versus simply talk about it. The learning point that sticks best with students is that collaboration delivers huge benefits, but is against human nature in some basic way."
Corey Billington, Professor of Procurement and Operations Management, IMD

** Back to Top **

"The game provided an excellent opportunity for students to engage in realistic multi-party negotiations that they will see in their careers. It reinforces many of the concepts in outsourcing and supply chain management that we teach in our courses."
Chris Caplice, Executive Director of the Center for Transportation and Logistics and Executive Director of the Master of Engineering in Logistics (MLOG) Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

** Back to Top **

"The students thoroughly enjoyed this fast-moving simulation that embraces the complexities of managing an outsourced supply chain - including a consideration of the needs and concerns of the various parties involved. The broad perspective provides critical insights into supply chain power and relationship issues."
Lisa Ellram, Rees Distinguished Professor of Distribution Management, Farmer School of Business, Miami University (played while at Arizona State University)

** Back to Top **

"I used the Outsourcing Game in the ninth class of an MBA 'Global Sourcing' elective. … Students rated the game very highly, and several commented that it 'brought to life' lessons such as the loss of some decision control, the potential for misaligned incentives, the risk of opportunistic behavior, and the criticality of negotiation skills. … [The] Outsourcing Game is a very useful learning tool and I plan to use it again."
John Gray, Assistant Professor, Management Sciences, Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University

** Back to Top **

"The Outsourcing Game is a unique experiential exercise of immeasurable educational value that demonstrates the dynamic and complex decision environments in decentralized supply chains. Students experience the challenges of reengineering supply chains and aligning incentives of firms across that chain."
Panos Kouvelis, Emerson Distinguished Professor of Operations and Manufacturing Management and Director of the Boeing Center on Technology, Information and Manufacturing, Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis

** Back to Top **

"The game served as a wonderful reminder to students that there is more to supply chain management than inventory models and quantitative analysis: often human behavior takes over, and the game demonstrated this nicely."
Serguei Netessine, Associate Professor of Operations and Information Management, The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania

** Back to Top **

"I’ve used the Outsourcing Game in a first-year MBA core Operations course with a large mathematical component, so the game provides a welcome experiential break from cases and model lectures. … We ran the game for about 100 people in Fall 2006 and 75 in Spring 2008. … Formal feedback from both years was very positive. (Thanks in part to the game, I received the core course teaching award both years). Key learning points relate to the trust and reputation effects that can hurt or help outsourcing success."
Geoffrey G. Parker, Associate Professor of Economic Sciences and Director of the Tulane Energy Institute, A. B. Freeman School of Business, Tulane University

** Back to Top **

"Students found the game to be engaging and yet highly instructive. … It is game that students will talk about after they leave class; one that releases their competitive juices, but teaches them that pushing their competitiveness too far results in “the winners curse” (and provokes them to curse the winner). … Students may yawn if you simply tell them that the total supply chain profit can increase when they collaborate, but the game gives them a chance to practice what we teach."
Glen Schmidt, David Eccles Faculty Fellow and Associate Professor, Department of Operations and Information Systems, David Eccles School of Business, University of Utah

** Back to Top **

"Frankly, I was reluctant to 'give up' two class sessions for a game that, I thought, was focused mostly on incentive compatibility. After all, it is a simple concept that students experience in their own personal lives. What I was ignoring, of course, is the importance of emotional involvement in grasping a simple, but otherwise theoretical concept. The game also gets students more deeply into the role of decision-makers than a case-study discussion does. Last, but not least, events that took place during the game became a reference point for subsequent class discussions about the importance of trust and power in buyer-supplier relationships. So, I am looking forward to 'giving up' two more class sessions next academic year."
Leroy B. Schwarz, Louis A. Weil, Jr. Professor of Management at the Krannert Graduate School of Management and Academic Director of the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering, Purdue University

** Back to Top **

"While in traditional OM/SCM courses we often argue that using models and other systematic approaches to SCM can create financial benefit, in many cases what is at stake is a few percent here or there. This exercise impresses upon students that if a firm overlooks the gaming element, other parties in the supply chain can easily seize that much or more right from under its nose. The students who enroll in my MBA elective ('Coordinating Outsourced Supply Chains') are largely working professionals who have some sort of supply chain responsibility in their 'day job.' As such, they are particularly appreciative of the realistic elements of the game. This game will be a central component of my course for the foreseeable future.
Andy Tsay, Associate Professor of Operations & Management Information Systems, Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University

** Back to Top **

To learn more, contact Emeraldwise today at learnmore@emeraldwise.com.