At last! A sophisticated management simulation you can run in real time, virtually anywhere, together with a suite of related exercises.

WashBox was conceived by an occupational psychologist and a training manager who wanted much more than a paper-driven in-tray exercise.

Here are details of our new management assessment programme. It is called WashBox, which is a virtual company, making 12 volt washing machines for the leisure industry (caravans etc). We have put together a 2 hour, PC based simulation based around the following concepts:

•      Whole Company Scenario
•       Dynamic Time Setting – Diary, Mail, Email
•       Realism – Email and Voice Mail – Existing and Incoming
•       Wide Choice of Information
•       Duration of 2 hours
•       Easy to use
•       Flexible Assessment

We wanted something that was as true to real life as possible, although we have stopped at allowing live phone messages (only because I couldn't' get the software to do it!). As well as "dynamic" activities- emails and voice mail we have included a wealth of company information including an Annual Report, standard manufacturing time and an employee handbook (15,000 words). We have set up a changing environment, overlaid with day-to-day trivia and minor crises.

WashBox is designed for stand alone use. It can be installed on individual PCs or laptops, rather than on a single network. The outputs – database and  Power Point presentation can be emailed, or downloaded on to data sticks (supplied). With WinZip or similar software the database can be compressed and loaded onto a Floppy disk, as a further option. The install programme offers the option of installing just the main programme, or the complete set with the Review one as well.

Range of Applications:

The original concept of WashBox was that of a management assessment programme, centred around a complete company. The results are mapped against the MSC competency set. These are are the foundation of many qualifications and we believe that they are more than sufficient for the job.

While the programme is run from the perspective of a General Manager, this does not detract from it use by “Trainee” Managers, or even by college / University students. In the case of the latter, it provides a rounded introduction to a Management situation, where it becomes important to separate the important from the Trivia.

 1. Users can be briefed to produce any of the following by the end of the 2 hours:

•         Power Point Presentation
•          Written report / summary
•          Completion of draft Plan (already in existence)

 2. Carry out a presentation after the programme has ended. This could be based on any of the above.

 3. Carry out a tutorial session after the exercise.

WashBox is a management assessment programme designed to assess a broad understanding of company operations in a dynamic environment.

It differs from traditional In-Tray exercises in that the data gathering is completely down to the user and covers virtually all aspects of a company's operations.

 Skills assessed via the programme are:

•      Business Planning
•       Data gathering
•       Decision making
•       Letter and report writing
•       Understanding and using financial data
•       Prioritising
•       Presentation
•       Time Management

Because the programme outputs are designed to be assessed without automated output i.e. human judgement, there is wide scope for setting the emphasis on how the users work is assessed. For example, at a higher level, the focus could be on how decision making was carried out and how the available data was used to reach conclusions. At a lower level, emphasis might be placed on written communication skills.

The programme is designed to be assessed by "qualified" people, who will predominantly be Training Managers, Occupational Psychologists or Consultants working in the Industrial and Commercial training fields.  However, users could also come from Further Education organisations. On site training is available for potential users.

All work is captured into a database which is viewed in a separate programme. The results can be mapped against the MSC competency set.