THE RULES:

YOUR OFFICE'S EXPERTISE:

It is the assumption of this exercise that you have been in business for ten years. (See 'Profile') The first step is to identify three areas areas of expertise you have developed over those ten years. These areas of previous experience will play a significant role in the types of projects for which your firm will compete the strongest.

YOUR PROFESSIONAL MISSION:

Identify three primary reasons you are practicing landscape architecture. You may feel that all of the available choices apply to you and that it is unfair to limit your mission to just three motivating factors. But when you're down to your last dime and survival is at stake, which mission statements would guide your decision making?

You may change your mission during the exercise, but it would be impossible to change the work you've completed in the past ten years. Expertise is fixed as soon as it is submitted.

OFFICE MANAGEMENT:

At any time you may undertake changes to your office. These may includes:
*Adding or eliminating staff* (who are they and how much are/were you paying them?)
*Raising or reducing salaries
*Promotions
*Adding equipment
*Adding office space*

PURSUING WORK:

Each week you may also pursue new commissions. A list of Request For Proposals (RFP's) will be issued each week in the form of The Purdue Business Weekly. You must indicate by the following Thursday which jobs you intend to pursue and how much you are spending on the marketing effort. (It takes money to make money, but only a fool or a desperate person spends more money on marketing than the potential profit!) The RFP will provide enough information to develop a fee proposal. The RFP will also contain hints that will help determine what kind of effort it will take to win the project. Your firm’s challenge will be submit the fee proposal that is selected by the client over your competition. Factors that help win projects include: relevant experience; a competitive fee proposal (not necessarily the lowest!); a serious marketing effort (not necessarily the highest!); a mission compatible with the client/project type; available, qualified staff; less qualified/competitive fee proposals submitted by your competition. All fee proposals are to be submitted as 'lump sum' unless otherwise indicated on the RFP. (Although you may calculate it for your purposes any way you want).

REPORTS:

I will web-publish status reports each week detailing your office's cash flow, personnel status and capital expenses. (see 'Spread Sheets')

WILD-CARDS:

A series of five 'wild-cards' will be issued weekly. Unexpected news, good and bad, will result. Example: "Your client has gone bankrupt" hmmm...(Is this fair?!?.)

We're out of cash. Can we take out a loan?
YES. In the unlikely event that you incur debt beyond your assets, you have an unlimited credit line with the bank. In other words we'll let you dig your financial hole pretty deep so you can participate in the exercise until its completion.

We're out of space. How do we expand?
Each employee utilizes about 350 s.f. of office space. You currently lease 3,500 sf of office space, and started with seven employees. Therefore, you can add three employees without relocating or increasing your overhead. For the purposes of this exercise, the eleventh (11th) employee, the 21st, the 31st, etc., will necessitate a move to a larger space, (with the associated rent increases...see your profile). Each move adds space in increments of 3,500 s.f. Each move also incurs a one-time moving cost of $5,000.

May we merge with another firm?
NO. But, you may submit a fee as a one-time joint venture with another firm, to strengthen your qualifications. You must tell me: A. How much each participating firm is spending on the overall marketing effort, and B. How to distribute the fee, should you win the job. (i.e. a 50-50 split?)

How are jobs awarded?..a weighted computer index?
IT ALL DEPENDS. As in real-life, jobs are awarded based upon a variety of subjective and objective criteria...and professional practice isn't always fair! Clearly, an aggressive fee proposal and relevant experience are crucial. But some clients are looking for the lowest fee proposal, and some are looking for a good 'fit'. A local park project is more likely to look for a bargain fee. A museum of contemporary art might be looking for a forward-thinking design-oriented firm.

Other questions a client might ask:
Does the firm's primary mission(s) (environmental, social, profit, etc) match up with the project?
How has the firm re-invested in it's office?
Is the office too busy to take on more work?..Have they grown to keep up with workload

All things being equal, will the lowest fee always win the job?
NO. Clients don't necessarily work that way and neither does this exercise. Clients (and I) will dismiss unrealistically low fees and will assume the firm simply doesn't possess a good grasp of this project type, or didn't read the RFP closely enough. The trick is to position your firm COMPETITIVELY within the range of realistic fees.

How do financial resources flow through my office?
Because we are modeling years of practice into a single semester, capital moves very fast. If you are awarded a project, it becomes "BACKLOG". This means you have won the project, signed the contract, but haven't completed your work yet. One week later the fee becomes an "ACCOUNT RECEIVABLE". These are funds your are owed for work you have completed. It's not money in the bank yet, however. One week later, accounts receivable become liquid asssets, deposited into your bank account. (Unless a wild-card indicates that the client has refused to pay you!) Funds received via Wild-Cards become liquid capital immediately.

Are we allowed to SELL our equipment?
Yes, but you must find a buyer WITHIN THE CLASS. You need only tell me which firm bought it and what price the two of you agreed upon.

Are our grades a result of our profit in the exercise?
NO. A successful firm is one who:
recognizes their strengths and weaknesses and pursues work accordingly.
competes with a clear sense of their professional mission.
recognizes a shifting economy and utilizes an appropriate strategy to compensate.
is consistently in the running for projects. Most professional firms would be delighted with a 20% success rate on marketing efforts.
strives to find a competitive edge over their competition, rather than to be 'just as good' as other firms.
strives to improve their firm's chances of winning work through personnel decisions, purchases and/or office enhancements.