Paper Planes, Inc.®
Paper Planes, Inc.® is an innovative business simulation that quickly reveals barriers to organizational success while providing insights into creative solutions and teamwork in business. Paper Planes, Inc.® helps participants experience the powerful effects of system reengineering and process improvement, gain first-hand knowledge about the cost and waste inherent in a dysfunctional system, recognize barriers to change, develop new paths to continuous improvement, see the impact of redesign and reengineering on quality, perceive the critical connection between systems thinking, total quality, and customer orientation.
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Scenario
Participants are employed by a plane manufacturing company that has the opportunity to sell as many planes as they can manufacture that meet specific quality standards. Each participant plays an individual role in the production process, i.e., inspector, tester, etc.
The simulation consists of three production runs. After each run, the group members meet to discuss and evaluate their efforts measured by production cost, quality, customer satisfaction, delivery time and worker satisfaction. After evaluating the effectiveness of their efforts, the workers are allowed to redesign the production process to their own specifications. Serial interventions from the customer complicate the work redesign and production process.
Production Runs:
Run #1 - A Functionally Designed System: Participants manufacture the planes using an established production design.
Run #2 - A Group-Designed System: Participants experience first-hand the impact of employee involvement on quality, cost, commitment and morale by working with a system they have designed.
Run #3 - A Continuously Improving System: Participants learn that through collaboration and continuous improvement efforts, significant changes take place. These are changes that are easier to implement and maintain becasue of the participants' ownership of the change process.
Outcome
Participants learn about:
* Problems inherent in compartmentalized work
* Barriers to team-based change
* How participation affects ownership and commitment.
* Elements of successful work redesign and re-engineering
* Ways to build learning teams and continuous improvement.
* The critical connections between systems, quality and a customer orientation
* New paths to continuous improvement
* Effects of work redesign on cost and quality.
In addition the simulation:
* Quickly reveals barriers to organizational success
* Provides insights into creative solutions.
* Effectively transfers workshop learning to the workplace
Trainer Skills
Experience with level 2 simulations, good group facilitation and debrief skills, team development experience
Cost
Supply Kit for 15 participants $515, Supply Kit for 20 participants $672.00, Supply Kit for 25 participants $830, Supply Kit for 30 participants $987. Facilitator Guide $125.00, Tool Kit $125.00, Starter Kit (Tool Kit & Facilitator Guide) $205.
Minimum participants: 15
Maximum participants: 30
Specifications
Participant Level:
|
All |
Program Length:
|
.5 day |
Space Required:
|
25 sq. feet per participant |
Equipment Required:
|
Overhead projector, Tool kit |
Recommended number of
facilitators:
|
1; 2 desirable |
Certification Required?:
|
No |
| |
2
|
Facilitator Guide Required?:
|
Yes |
Normative Data:
|
Yes |
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