FORMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIES APPLIED TO THE DECISIONS IN COMPANIES’ GAME SIMULATORS: A COMPARISON TO GENERAL GAMES FROM THE THEORY OF GAMES

Abstract

The learning process increasingly relies on recreational resources to produce knowledge of the concepts or techniques of the subject under study. These resources, in the present context, may be through audio and video or simulators that allow the representation of a market reality with as many variables as possible that may be known by the participant in whole or in part.In this study, the ludic resource to produce knowledge in the learning process is a simulator representing the organizational model of an organizational environment faced by companies on their every day life. The simulators are an important organizational tool for the preparation of managers in a controlled environment (Sauaia and Wadt, 2010). The formulation of strategies by the participant always takes into account the success rate of an event, that is, in decision making for the formulation of price, for example, the strategy adopted and its implementation are considered good because the expected result is the company’s better placement in their market and profitability increase.

Keywords: organizational simulator, strategies, ludic resources, game theory, zero-sum game, Simulab

1. Introduction

Strategy is a selected action to solve a problem. It is a choice that involves the entire organization and consists in selecting from a number of existing options which one best suits internal and external aspects of the organization (Chiavenato and Sapiro, p. 4). Strategy is a complete description of how a person should act under any possible circumstance; it has not got the connotation of skill (Davis, p.27). Considering the environment of a simulator, the formulation of strategies is based on information from the company’s participating environment which the participant will manage. For each problem you face, there are a certain number of alternatives for decision making. In this case, if we consider the problem of formulating price, for example, it is natural that the adopted strategy is improving the company's position in a higher level in the market so that price formulating decisions should follow the standard reduction of the current value and, at a second moment, eliminate high costs in acquiring raw materials and reduce production costs.

Market variables that may influence this strategic decision by the participant are already pre-formatted in the simulator environment and reflect very closely the market reality. In the process of learning, the use of organizational simulators is very important and does not need to be based on computer structures; on the contrary, the most sophisticated simulators presentation is the more complex it is to deal with them. Sauaia and Wadt (XIII SEMEAD) indicate that the inclusion of variables depends on the decision and the choice of the designer features their trade off, which provides gains and

losses: the simpler the model, the easier to use the educational artifact; the more detailed, more accurate is their representation and more complex and intricate is their use.

2. Research problem and objective

The use of simulators in the organizational learning process is an important tool for the recreational participant to investigate the events and plan their strategic actions, create chances and learn by reflecting on the unfolding of events. In this study, the research problem focuses on:

a. identifying the relationship between decisions taken in the organizational environment simulator;

b. the learning process through strategic actions aimed at improving the company's positioning in the market from one of the elements of the marketing mix, price;

c. comparing and identifying similarities between the decisions taken at SIMULAB - which is a phantom organization, and the decisions of a general finite set of game theory.

It's Important to highlight that this project analyzes the process of learning through ludic tasks of decision making in the fields of finance, marketing, manufacturing, human resources and planning and, at the same time, compares the strategic actions identified in the organizational simulator – called SIMULAB – to the actions of a general set of game theory.

3. Theoretical framework

3.1. The importance of ludic in the learning process

The learning process can be composed of different elements and tools that enable the individual to acquire knowledge, apply it in different situations and transmit to future generations, seeking to perpetuate and generate new discoveries.

The reference given here to the concept of ludic in the learning process has its grounds on the etymological origin of ludic, which means game (from the Latin "ludus") with the function to play freely or individually. In this research, ludic is represented by the organizational simulator - SIMULAB - which provides participants’ interaction through putting into practice management strategies for a company management in a controlled environment. For Kuwahara (www.qdivertido.com.br site), for children, adolescents and adults, ludic is a chance to develop affection, cognition, social, moral and motor skills, besides enabling the learning of concepts. Although the organizational simulator is not a game and participants do not act in an uncontrolled way without action planning as if they were acting in a play without purpose, the learning process may be verified in the mentioned company’s data analysis and

assessment, in strategic actions formulated during the discussion and interaction process with other company management team members. Therefore, if we base on the concepts described above in the definition of recreation, we will have the following correlations with organizational simulation:

a. development of affection: it emerges in the interaction and understanding of thought and expression of a teammate, as divergence of thoughts is common between the human resources manager and the financial or production or marketing managers, and they differ from each other;

b. development of motor behavior: present in handling technical and educational resources such as a pen, a pencil, a calculator, computers, spreadsheets and texts about company under their management responsibility;

c. The cognitive process of reading, analysis and reflection of the company's management information such as balance sheet accounts, cash flow, income statements and other information which will assist management in strategic decision making to allow change in the company's current situation;

d. development of social behavior that shows in understanding the needs of all or a greater number of beneficiaries who may be involved in the company’s strategic action;

e. the moral behavior of participants in the present management and ethical decision making that respects and benefits the growth of the company and the community it belongs to;

f. Finally, one of the goal concepts in this text: concept learning. Here the learning process is present as the participant is aware of the scenario the company belongs to. By analyzing information and reflecting on the strategic actions that will be used to produce the best result possible, concept learning is present again. Reassessing new results after the decision-making, once again we may realize that the participant learns and fixes new concepts.

The process of interaction between managers of a company's organizational simulator supports the use of ludic as a dynamic method of management concept knowledge generation contributing to the learning will of the participant. During the interaction the participants reflect on the information about their strategy facts previously adopted and this facilitates the functioning of intelligence, since the construction of new strategies depends on a number of assimilations and accommodation of concepts during the process of decision making. Kuwahara (www.qdivertido.com.br site) also emphasizes that the game itself not only will allow development and learning but the action of playing will also develop understanding. In the organizational simulator, seen here as a game to facilitate comparison on the theoretical background, the dispute between the companies participating in a market and willingness to stand out among their peers leads to a search for development and learning, the latter being seen as the administration skills and competence. Here the author pointed out that the development of cognitive structures of each person is on

strategies for action, decision making, analysis of errors, coping with losses and gains, redesigning moves according to the movements of opponents.

As it happens to leisure activity out of an organizational simulator, the participant also sees internal conflicts among the boldest decision, conservative or passive compared to obtained results because of the implementation of the last strategies. They reflect and interact with management members in their company for new strategic actions that allow the company to reach a better position in the market it belongs to. From these conflicts, thoughts are enriched, restructured and enabled to deal with new changes in their personal and professional life (Kuwahara – website: www.qdivertido.com.br).

3.2. The organizational simulator– SIMULAB

An organizational simulator represents a teaching tool built by a set of economic rules to be applied to practice theories, concepts and techniques (SAUAIA, p.3). In practice, the organizational simulator - SIMULAB - is a management tool with accounting, financial, human resources and production information of a company, necessary for the participant to experience the environment and behavior of a company's actual field. Also according to SAUAIA its purpose is to facilitate decision making, and then examine the results produced, given the initial conditions of the variables of the simulator and the relationships of cause and effect under test, supporting the companies’ game. Comparing this passage interpreted by the author with the interpretation given by Kuwahara (website: www.qdivertido.com.br), the conceptual similarity is in the interaction of participants and discussion of information that make the facts from the strategies adopted previously, facilitating the functioning of intelligence since the construction of new strategies depends on a number of assimilations and accommodation of concepts during the process of decision making.

Table 1: Laboratory Management Components Components Learning Partnership PracticeOrganizational Simulator Formulate, implement and monitor the

company's strategyManagement practice tools and working models Develop skills in decision making under uncertainty

Applied Research Formulate a problem and develop a research reportAnalyze and discuss the results in the companies’ game in the light of the adopted theories; implement it in real companies

According to Oliveira and SAUAIA (XIII SEMEAD), the education model with use of organizational simulators fails to respond to the needs raised by students of applied social sciences courses, since it consists of the use of theoretical resources connected to the reality experienced by the individual, contributing for a management

education and research on problems which are similar to those existing in organizations, hence the importance of a simulator through this phantom organization - SIMULAB - that even with the modest presence of theory, practical activity of the organization every day management requires practical strategic actions.

3.2.1. Managerial roles in organizational simulator

In the organizational simulator - SIMULAB - the following members are accepted who perform managerial roles defined in search for the best formulation of strategies that can generate the best outcome for the company under their management.

a) Planning: responsible for the actions of connection between functional areas, searching for optimizing the value chain by applying the best strategies for internal and external logistics;

b) Marketing: operate in shifting markets with the concern to produce the best results from the assessment and analysis of the company's behavior in relation to the components of the marketing mix;

c) production: satisfy customers as much as possible, having price competence, quality, reliability, and flexibility to assist this market because of contingencies generated by the simulator environment which reflects on the companies’ every day reality. Besides it, there is the knowledge of constraints theory present in SAUAIA, 2008:23, purchase economic lot and production balance point;

d) human resources: Always keep your motivation high so that employees can generate better results, and make decisions on employment and unemployment according to the contingencies experienced by the company;

e) Finance: care for the maintenance of positive cash flow so the company may have financial resources for its commitments, funding decisions and investment with the best business opportunities offered by the organizational simulator environment; make sure that there is a financial production balance and the ability to generate profits;

f) Chair: responsible for the strategic administration of the organization; manages scarce or abundant resources, analyzes market changes and foresees market trends in order to produce the best results possible for the company under their management.

In general, the participants assume a management role based on their knowledge up to that time, receiving management information about the company they will manage, analyze and discuss the best strategies along with the other members of their team. It is important to highlight that organizations are oriented toward better use of scarce resources and can pursue goals such as performance and social welfare, the first being obtained with the maximization of wealth for its shareholders and the second with the support given to redeem people dignity, without leaving behind the maximization of wealth that allows the support of social goals (SAUAIA, p.13).

3.3. Organizational simulator market environment

The organizational simulator market environment has been formatted to reflect the main existing concepts in the daily management of an organization. Essential information to meet the needs of each of the managers according to their managerial role is available to the participant to analyze and interpret according to their knowledge and evaluate the best management strategy. The management reports are composed by two major groups of information: Financial statements and operating statements.

a) Operational statements: composed by two information groups, one of them available to all participants and the other one to specific groups of the participating company's organizational simulator (SAUAIA, 2010, p.55/58)

a.1) Public data disclosed to all manufacturers- Identification of the company and the quarter;- Indexes to monitor and foresee the economic conjuncture;- Information on the industry, meaning the economic sector with information on pricing, dividend, profit, sales volume among others;

a.2) data reserved for each manufacturer’s report- Decisions of the company in this quarter: provided to assist in the planning and decision-making control.- Operations statement which allow identification of production capacity

b) Financial Statements

b.1) income statements for the year or profit and loss statements, presents the revenues earned during the period, total expenditures (disbursements or not), verifies gross profit, income tax and net profit, besides pointing dividend payment and retained profit, always on a cash accounting basis;

b.2) cash flow statements: presents the impact of disbursements on its initial position and displays the final position. When final cash is negative, they will have incidence of financial costs, also on a cash accounting basis;

b.3) Balance sheet: shows the ratio of assets (cash, inventory and fixed assets) and the total net worth, which is represented by the algebraic sum of assets and liabilities (cash negative is the short-term liabilities)

Even for the beginner process management who are not familiar with this information, they quickly become part of their knowledge according to the learning process ludic and this allows a different interpretation on the learning methodology being based on known participant conceptually from ACP - Participant centered learning (SAUAIA, 2010).

3.4. Strategic Actions for a decision

The word strategy derives from the Greek Strategies and translated literally says: leadership and command and to facilitate their understanding SALIM and Silva (2010, p. 140) offer some explanations:

Strategy is the way to go from one point to another, obeying and respecting certain time constraints and choice of strategy depends on:

a) describe the starting point: where, where is the company, where are the country.b) Characterize the end point, where we want to be considering various aspects or goals.c) Define the planning horizon or period indicating the period when the plan is valid or needs to run.d) establish the restrictions of financial, human, logistic and others.

SAUAIA (2010, p.64) identifies four basic elements of management for establishing the management plan that participants should prepare to have more chance of success on the results desired and serve to improve the company's positioning in the market. The four steps hold great affinity with those proposed by Silva and SALIM (p, 140) when referring to the concept of strategy and the creation of strategic actions for the company. They are:

a) Diagnosis: where are we?b) Objectives: where do we go?c) Internal policies and external policies: how should we go?d) Budgets: quantitative targets

A good work-study scenarios and interpretation of the facts are not sufficient for choosing a good strategy. According to managing partner of Action Business Consulting and Business, Tatian Alex Müller (in HSM Management) without strategic alignment that involves communication to all levels of the organization. Soon in this regard, during the process of discussion among the members of this a new company managers in organizational simulator all receive the same information on the company's situation, discuss and reflect on the proposals made by his colleague area manager who chose to manage and ultimately present proposals to improve the strategic positioning of the company. It still follows the consultant noting that: knowledge management (information, procedures, facts and concepts), skills (technical skills and talent) and attitudes (values, principles and opinions) allow you to align the strategic objectives across the company, which is a key success factor.

In the simulation environment, organizational uncertainties are always present during the decision-making process and it ends up interfering with the emotions and feelings of participants. Inevitably this is all the time calculating gains and losses (CHIAVENATO and Sapir, 2009, p.4) and reorganize their moves in light of its findings and actions of market participants is an important part of the development of cognitive structures of a person (Kuwahara www.qdivertido.com.br site).

Kotler (2008, p.63) sees strategy as an adhesive through which to build and provides consistent value proposition and the different target market. Although the organizational simulator operates in a controlled environment it is possible for managers of participating companies formulate strategies for short, medium and long term value to meet the needs of the target market. Porter in Kotler (2008) warns that operational excellence is not to be the strategy pursued by companies, but their actions that differentiate it from other competitors in a target market.

3.4.1. Mix of marketing

Marketing Mix describes the set of management tools available to influence sales, seen by the traditional formula of 4 - Product, price, place and promotion (Klöti 2008, p.151). Given this presentation is clear that the responsibility for formulating the strategies is the director of marketing, considering organizational rules placed by the simulator in this regard.

Table 2: Marketing Mix in the organizational environment simulatorMix of marketing Organizational features in the

simulatorProduct Composite Technology, which gives

him constant change.

Product desired by the target market of defined composition

Price As the market is active base price is set in the reports of the last quarterThe influence of consumer follows the rules of economic theory for elastic product, but the increase in price causes a decline in demand

Point of sale Obeys the convenience features of real markets, that is, the consumer finds the product with ease depending on the availability and proximity of the outlet

Promotion Comes in the form of price discounts already from the promotion, if this is the strategic action adopted by managers

Source: elaborated by the authors

Whereas the compound of the marketing mix and its effects in the target market according to the strategy adopted by managers can be considered to have a change in the company's positioning in the market for both the positive and the negative sense. Thus, if the desire of managers is to achieve a higher position in the market, but have market share expansion in adopting the tool it can invest in product research and development to improve the product and the medium term will generate confidence market in relation to your product facilitating the implementation of strategies bolder in relation to price, for example.

In this study the tool of marketing mix in dc analysis is the price. From this definition methodological management strategies to generate the best outcome for the company will be about price, not forgetting the rules of organizational simulation that reflects the behavior of the consumer price elasticity of elastic, but when the price is about a natural reflection of declining sales of the company as a competitive market leads consumers to seek the offer with lower price in order to enhance their income. Also the price will be the object of comparison with the decisions of a general set of game theory.

3.4. Game Theory

Morgenstern (in Davis, 1973, p.11) notes that game theory has mathematical properties and novel possibility of multiple applications in social, economic and political. The foundations of game theory were built by John von Neuma in 1928 with the demonstration of Theorem Minimum Basic theory and consolidation occurred in 1944 with the publication of Theory of Games and Economic Behavior, found that when the social events can best be described and interpreted through models of sets of strategies allowing extensive mathematical analysis. Together with Oskar Morgenstern believed that the typical problems of economic behavior are presented strictly identical to the mathematical concepts that translate certain game strategies, game theory has therefore been created with the objective of enabling approach to economic problems from a new point of view.

This research does not propose mathematical models to explain the strategies adopted by participants in the simulator and organizational nor do the researchers want to prepare to understand intricate formulas developed a reputation as justification of text.

3.5.1. General zero-sum game

Although created for understanding economic behavior, game theory has renewed vision and interpretation of various problems in various fields of science and is the subject of academic studies as a way of determining which theories explain these facts. From deep studies of authors such as: Neum and Morgenstern (1944), Albert W. Tucker (1953), John Forbes Nash (1951), application of mathematical concepts by Herbert FACS, Carlton Lemke and Emanuel Sperner (1960), Thomas Schelling and Robert Aumann (2005), game theory has gained other deployments based on the study of facts of the behavioral sciences, for example. One of the definitions of these scholars was coming from the general zero-sum game that is the game that gives the best result for the strategy that beats the others, but, when one participant wins over the defeat of others.

3.5.2. Example business

Davis (1973, p.48) proposes an example business that contributes to the defense of this article as the dominant strategy formulation to decision making in a zero sum game. Two companies decide to launch competitive product considering how the advertising strategy and available funds in their budgets to housing. Whereas the C corporation has financial resources for two television programs and Company D of resources for three programs, the array of strategies for advertising inserts defined by C amounts to a total of six and Company D will make a total of ten. So we can summarize the strategies of both companies in the following figure 1.

Figure 1: Matrix of audience and advertising strategies of companies C and D

Source: Davis, 1973, p.49

The company's strategies are described in column C of Figure 1, while the company's D-line are noted in the column, and inserts six to ten and the first company as a whole for the second company. The understanding of the advertising game is determined by the rule that if during any one company to buy a longer time than the other, it will be with the entire audience of the period. Where do the purchase for a period equal, this audience will be divided by two. The same will happen if they do not buy time in the program, ie, they can divide the audience if they do not purchase the programming time. The consumers in this market to buy just one company and the audience is divided with fifty percent for the night, thirty percent for the afternoon and twenty percent of the morning. Then the strategic planning of the two companies will propose answers to two basic questions: 1) What is the best way to get the time schedule? 2) What is the market share that will achieve with molded by the strategic decision?

Considering that the company adopts a strategy the D line decision in June, so the results that answer the above questions are:

• With the company's decision to purchase D NMM, which represents a participation night and two during the morning, while the company decides to acquire C NN. This means that the company will be D with 35% of the audience and company C with the remaining 65%. This follows from the fact that when you buy two shares in the morning to Company D got the total audience of 20%, Company C was the total nighttime since bought two pieces of this period which gave a total of 50% just the total given by the indicator proposed in the hearing problem.

• Since both the D company as Company C did not buy the afternoon, it was divided by two, 15% of the total audience of 30%. Therefore, adding 20% obtained with the purchase of Company D was the morning with a total of 35% of the audience as possible to 100%, while Company C was given with the remaining 50% of the sum of the acquisition of the nocturnal period and 15 % of the division of the afternoon, not bought by them.

Applying this interpretation in other relationships in this column, we can see that D is the company with the largest share of audience in the strategies adopted for

columns 3,4,5 and 6, being the intersection of Row 6 and column 6 implies a rate of market penetration of 75%, in which case the company gets a D and two mornings ago and the company C gets two mornings. This generates an audience for the leadership of Company D in the evening of 50% and no leadership for Company C, since both chose the morning. It is noticed that both companies in their strategic planning despised the afternoon providing a division of the audience with 15% for each. The victory by D gets 50% of nighttime over the division of the morning sitting (10%) and over the division of the afternoon (15%), with a total of 75% and the remaining 25% is for the company C ( DAVIS, 1973, p.50).

4. Research Development

This research was carried out at least two types: bibliographic and descriptive, but it is possible that during the process of data collection observation was present during the development process and performance of organizational participants in the simulator - SIMULAB. The application of the literature allowed more knowledge about the parameters that could be used for comparison between the observed data and the stage at which the matter is in the scientific community (PARRA and SANTOS, 2000). The descriptive research directed at identification and collection of data for later analysis, and data from the two companies examined were obtained from the simulator itself and the participants only fit the strategy adopted for the next round.

Two firms were selected randomly and then there was the monitoring of their performance during the second half of 2010 with the aim of comparing the results of market share in relation to changes in price, considering the strategy adopted to improve the company's positioning in the market with the zero-sum game of game theory (Davis, 1973, p.49).

4.1. Descriptive data analysis

The objective of this research is to compare the strategies of decision makers of two companies that participated in the organizational simulator - SIMULAB - with the zero-sum game of game theory described by Davis of a business case involving the decision of two companies that wished to improve the its market position using the advertising time on a television channel, as described in 5.1.1. this text.

Using the descriptive method will help educators, researchers and designers of simulators, it and other, the formation of new types of studies and research that enable teacher training to help business managers and entrepreneurs of new businesses. To contextualize the main elements of this research and make them understand how the variables affect the process and how to compare the results of the two companies and the business game made by Davis have great similarity with the possibility of formation of new theories about the behavior seen in the market results of the companies concerned.

4.1.1. Management structure of companies in the study

The companies that were selected for this study were part of a market environment composed of eight companies and all with the same initial information available in the simulator, preventing a would have any advantage over the other and the others working in the market. The management structure of the company was formed by a president and directors of marketing, finance, manufacturing, human resources and planning. Initial information about the company's financial health and operational capacity were available at the same time through the operating and financial statements could be consulted at all time for a review of their strategies, comparison and analysis of results (SAUAIA, 2010, p.56 / 7).

The description of the main tasks of each of the managers is on item 3.2.1, and participants tried to follow their responsibilities so that their ideas and suggestions on a strategy or the other they became clearer to everyone. The choice fell to the managerial role of directors, which stated only that the research components of the teams they should assume the company.

Even the acting organizational simulation in a controlled environment uncertainty in the decision, as well as the effect of changing market makes the decision making inserted. Define an organizational strategy is important to increase the chance of success in an environment of great uncertainty. An organizational strategy is the pattern that integrates the overall objectives of an organization into a coherent whole and with respect to the integration of resources and organizational skills in a viable proposition Punic and to anticipate environmental changes and contingencies (CHIAVENATO and Sapir, 2009, p.5). In this sense, participants received instructions on the main concepts, macroeconomic, microeconomic, financial, logistics, manufacturing, human resources, so they had a holistic view of the involvement of key concepts and their influence on business outcomes with the use of one or another strategy.

Defined components, the role of each within the organization and review of key concepts, the new managers departed to collect financial and operational information of his new firm, evaluated and initiated the discussion that led to answer the question: where

We? The other questions that are part of the strategic actions: where do we go? How are we going? And setting goals permeated the meeting.

Table 3: Initial Indicators of Company 1 and Company 2Indicator Company 1 Company2Box R$

1.047.000R$ 1.047.000

Stocks of finished product

R$ 133.000 R$ 133.000

Stock of raw material

R$ 1.220.00 R$ 1.220.00

Marketing expenses R$ 240.000 R$ 240.000Expenditure on P & D

R$ 150.000 R$ 150.000

Potential market 488.879 units

488.879 units

Market Share 16,66% 16,66%Product Price R$ 6,40 R$ 6,40

Source: Data from selected SAUAIA, p.56 / 7

The selected indicators of operational and financial data of companies operating in the market seek to reflect the object of this research is to analyze and compare the strategic decisions in the pricing of two companies in the Organizational simulator - SIMULAB - the business case for a zero-sum zero of game theory proposed by Davis (1973). The price is the object of analysis and comparison in strategic decision making of managers of firms 1 and 2, selected for this research.

Table 4: Scores junctureInitial levels value Forecasts for next

quartervalue

General Price Index 100 Annual inflation 2,0

Index of seasonal variation 100

A seasonal index (quarterly) 95

Index of economic activity 100

Index of economic activity (quarterly) 102

Source: elaborated by the authors with data available at: http://www.simulab.com.br/portal/mod/simulator/industries.php?id=881&a=88

The inflationary movements are dynamic and can’t be confused with sporadic high price, generating an upward scale, comprehensive and synchronized all prices in an economy (Vasconcelos, 2000, p.331). Inflation is a determining factor of demand, as consumer agents evaluate the price change of a product in a comparative perspective with the general price index, just a nominal increase in price inflation below the mean, the consumer, a negative real change (SAUAIA and WADT, SEMEAD XIII). Automatically, this effect represents a gain in purchasing power by increasing the possibility of expanding the composition of the consumption basket of a particular consumer, especially when it depends on fixed incomes (Vasconcelos, 2000, p.331).

The index reflects the seasonal variation of consumer expectations regarding the economic context in which he is living. The prospects for increased consumption are at the moment since the indicator is above 100 and when it is below 100, there is a natural tendency for the consumer, given the uncertainty of the next day, reduce their volume of purchase. Soon, the research will assess how marketing managers of both companies formulate their strategies for increasing sales, especially when the indicator is below 100. As consumers make consumption decisions based on rational expectations, indicators such as inflation and falling incomes directly act on this decision which is also known as the theory of consumer facing forward (Hall and Taylor, 1988, p.166).

Another indicator proposed by the simulator as organizational parameter macroeconomic environment firms' market is the index of economic activity shows that the intensity of production, consumption and operation of an economy. The higher the index the greater the capacity of activity at that time and generates positive expectations on the agents who work in the consumer market. Therefore, for firms 1 and 2 with the

indicator pointing to a 102 may seem antagonistic to the indicator of the consumer, and the first shows all the vigor of enterprises and other consumer fears in generating sales revenue.

4.1.2. Formulation of strategies for decision making from the Business 1 and 2

To facilitate the comparison object in this study, we propose two companies simply called 1 and 2, operating in a simulation environment with controlled variables, but of extreme uncertainty about the decisions that must be taken to improve the company's current positioning. Another element is the price component of the marketing mix, the definition of which is a critical component of marketing strategy, because it affects the sales and reflects the perception consumers have of products offered by the company in the market it operates (Cressman Jr ., 2002, p.33).

In the simulator environment organizational price is the amount of money consumers have to pay for the product and this includes list prices, discounts, benefits, term of payment and credit terms. It must be compatible with the perceived value of the offer or consumers will buy competitor (SAUAIA, 2010, p.27).

Possible strategies for the two companies are basically to increase, maintain or lower the price, considering that both are unaware of the price of another round except in the first quarter after taking up the management companies. In the simulator the consumer has no choice but to buy or stop buying that company's strategy to adopt as the price increase.

Table 5: Possible strategies for deciding on the price Company strategy Consumer Strategy

Increase the price Immediate reduction in consumption

Seek alternative product replacement

Buy from another vendor without changing the price or lower

Keeping the price Continue consuming

Find better quality product or nearest supplier

Lowering the price Increase consumption

Build stocks

Source: elaborated by the authors

4.2. Comparison between the strategic decisions of firms 1 and 2 and the business case of game theory in the case of item-sum game

Game theory has emerged to help solve problems of economic behavior and now has a very wide application in various fields of science. In this research the object of analysis is the strategic decision of two companies on price marketing mix compared with the decisions taken by two companies in the business case developed by Davis when the two companies buy television time to solve in order to improve its market position, as described in 3.5.2 of this text.

Table 6: Matrix of decision of firms 1 and 2 in relation to priceincreases maintains decrease

increase (-1) – (-1) (-1) – (+2) (-2) – (+4)maintains (+2) – (-1) 0 - 0 (0) – (+4)decrease (+4) – (-2) (+4) – (-1) 0 - 0

The company's strategic decisions are shown in column 1 and 2 are in the company line. Thus as an indicator of reading can be seen that when a company decides to increase price and firm 2 also takes the same decision, both lose at least one point in market share, which means loss of revenue for the loss in sales.

Possible strategies for firms 1 and 2 are:

• Increase in sales price as reflected by the loss of sales to the escape of the consumer to the competitor

• Maintain price: stay with the same amount of sales

• Reduce the price generating increased sales with the receipt of new consumers coming from the competitor that has increased or maintained its price.

Suggested values for growth, maintenance, and lower prices were based on the understanding that whatever the stage where companies are at the moment of decision it may have a drop of one point from their previous situation where have an increase of two points or have an increase of four points. All values are minimal compared to the actual market after the consolidation of results, ie, it is possible that a company decided to increase price and firm 2 makes the decision to drop the price, the first drop has two and the second increase 4, but in practice it may be that the company was with a 10% market share and now this disastrous decision to stay with her 6%, while the success of another company may have represented a jump of 15% for 25%, for example. The important thing is to realize at least a reflection of the values in the decision matrix of strategies for the price.

Note that in the case described by DAVIS business to show the behavior of zero-sum game, companies C and D have respectively two and three strategies for the purchase of television time in the light of the budget constraint of both. It follows that the piece copied from Figure 1, the advantage to the largest audience gets to Company

C in the first two columns - 65% and 55% - while the D gets the remaining four columns - 60%, 70%, 70% 75%.

Figure 2: Line and column array of advertising and audience strategies of companies C and DNN NT NM TT TM MM

NMM 35 45 60 70 70 75

Because the parameters of the game dictate that the company buys most of the time with the audience is full of that period and if both do not purchase time, the audience will be split between the two companies. Soon, we understand that the relationship of the company's purchase of D NMM, as described in 3.5.2, generates 35% of the hearing, represented by: 20% for two shares in the morning and 15% of the corresponding half of the quota no later bought by business case. Analyzing the outcome of the game by the side of company C, this was 65%, representing 50% of the shares of two nocturnal and 15% share of the afternoon, as said, that both have acquired. The same interpretation can be employed in other relations of this portion of Figure 2 and Figure 1. The reader who noticed the nocturnal period represents 50% of the audience; Morning is 20% and 30% late.

When comparing the data from the case of firms C and D with business simulator organizational perceive some similarities:

• The strategic decisions of firms involved in the comparisons are limited to failure in the decision of the other;

• Strategies that can be made are known by all participants, just do not know what decision will be taken to another company;

• Although the strategies on the price has not in itself a cost and the purchase of advertising time has its price, both can make a decision in a moment and review his decision after the consolidation of results;

• Similarity between the rating companies C and D on the market share of firms 1 and 2. These results reflect in more revenue because of increased sales of its products;

• The consolidated results of companies that participated in the simulator, not knowing that they were objects of research, shows an increase in market share due to the change in price.

• The teaching-learning process in both cases is present in discussions about the results and that decision may provide for better positioning the company and this event repeats itself in a virtuous circle of discussion and enrich the knowledge of participants involved in the management of company

5. Final Considerations

This study compared two situations in order to identify the relationship between decisions taken in the controlled environment of an organizational simulation - SIMULAB, the learning process through the strategic actions taken for the case and

identify similarities between the decisions taken in SIMULAB and if the purchase of television time proposed by Davis.

The results, shown below, firms 1 and 2 of the simulator supports the expectations of organizational strategies proposed in the decision matrix of Table 6 and possible strategies in Table 6.

Table 6: Values of price and market share of firms 1 and 2 in three quartersQuarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3

Company 1 R$ 6,00 (1)15,18 % (2)

R$ 6,3010,,02%

R$ 6,357,90%

Company 2 R$ 6,6012,84%

R$ 6,758,88%

R$ 6,3011,93%

Source: elaborated by the authors from data

http://www.simulab.com.br/portal/mod/simulator/reports.php?id=881&a=88&t=enterprise

Note: (1) the first figure indicates the price currency

(2) the second data indicates the market share in%

As a result of the implementation of the strategic decision to increase the price in the quarter 2 and 3, firm 1 loses market share as provided in the decision matrix of Table 6, where the two negative number indicates that position has lost twice in relation to stage earlier, while the second company increased its market share with its decision to reduce the price.

5.1. Study limitations and suggestions for further research

As shown in the theoretical simulation is an organization called SIMIULAB study tool that operates in a controlled environment, but the decisions taken by the managers of participating companies are in an uncertain environment. This is a limitation of the study, as the controllable variables of the simulator were built according to the designers of the environment, while the real market has many implications for both exogenous and endogenous variables.

We need to increase the number of variables in the study, here limited to item price of the marketing mix, so the comparison with the theory of games is closer to reality. Although the comparison made here has been limited, it has produced findings that are dynamic and purposeful application for new theories of rationality of managers in strategic decisions in an uncertain environment, therefore, at the same time, a new suggestion for further research.

To measure the learning process in this play before and after the study, an exploratory research would be important for this purpose. In this sense, we believe it would be possible to verify that the learning process was strengthened with the

discussions about what strategy to adopt for the analysis of operating and financial results of the company.

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Websites accessed during 2010 and January 2011:

http://www.brinquedoteca.org.br/si/site/0018031?idioma=portugues http://www.simulab.com.br/ http://www.princeton.edu/main/