Innovations in Veterinary Education
The Zodiak Workshop: An Innovative Model for Teaching Financial Management Through Partnership with Industry James W. Lloyd ■ Suzanne L. Frawley ■ Charles A. Neer ■ Christine Merle ■ Richard A. Goebel ABSTRACT The National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues (NCVEI) is working to enhance the non-technical skills, knowledge, aptitudes, and attitudes (SKAs) of veterinarians. This report describes the development of an innovative model for teaching the principles of financial management as they apply to the veterinary practice. Zodiak: The Game of Business Finance and Strategy is a “business literacy” game in which players work together in small teams (generally four people) to run a fictional multi-milliondollar company called Zodiak Industries for three “years” in order to learn principles of business finance and strategy. After finishing the 4.5-hour game, participants spend the rest of the workshop making the right “Connections”–exercises designed to connect what they have learned to business strategies, financial statements, and operational tactics drawn from veterinary practice. Issues addressed for the veterinary practice, with parallels drawn to Zodiak, included return on owner investment in a veterinary practice (vs. salary drawn by owner veterinarians); pricing (setting prices, price elasticity of demand, and relationships between volume, quality, and price); human resources and operations management as they relate to profitability and efficiency; cash flow and management of accounts receivable; and commonly used financial benchmarks. Workshop venues have included Michigan State University, The Ohio State University, the University of Illinois, and Purdue University. Financial and in-kind support were provided through partnership with Pharmacia Animal Health (now Pfizer Animal Health) and Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. Through course evaluations, participants generally rated the workshop high as an educational experience and indicated that the most important things learned were related to financial management (principles, terminology, and methods). The most enjoyable aspects of the workshop tended to be group discussions, teamwork, the dynamic/interactive environment, and the “game” atmosphere. Based on these experiences, the Zodiak workshop provides a useful model for teaching career development and practice management topics to veterinary students. The business simulation in a workshop format was especially useful for teaching these “non-mainstream” topics, as traditional classroom lecture approaches might not have engaged students sufficiently to achieve effective learning. In addition, the partnership developed between academia and industry offered substantial benefits to both parties. Similar educational approaches should be considered for additional aspects of the non-technical SKAs.
INTRODUCTION To improve the economic health of the veterinary profession, the National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues (NCVEI) is working to enhance the non-technical skills, knowledge, aptitudes, and attitudes (SKAs) of veterinarians.1, 2, 3 Based on recommendations of the KPMG4 and Brakke5 studies, and to help address several issues related to what veterinary students are taught in this regard,6, 7 a template was developed for a curriculum of those non-technical SKAs deemed essential for career success in veterinary medicine.8 In addition, a more recent study9, 10 suggests that effective veterinary student training programs in non-technical SKAs will be an important part of enhancing and sustaining the economic success of the veterinary profession in the future. Publication of a model curriculum in veterinary professional development8 provided a comprehensive list of topics for educating veterinary students in the non-technical SKAs. However, the issue of appropriate educational methods for these topics was not addressed. In addition, one of the primary constraints recognized in that publication involved limitations on resources, both human and financial, for teaching these topics. The process is often further hindered by a lack of strong enthusiasm on the part of the veterinary students who are the target learners for these programs. Because of the importance of these topics,10 successful educational models are needed to overcome such JVME 31(2) © 2004 AAVMC
barriers. The purpose of this report is to describe an innovative model for teaching the principles of financial management as they apply to veterinary practice.
BACKGROUND Zodiak: The Game of Business Finance and Strategy11 is a “business literacy” game in which players, in order to learn principles of finance and business strategy, run a fictional multimillion-dollar company for three “years.” As the Zodiak Web site explains, Each participant is part of a small team [generally four people] that runs a … company called Zodiak Industries. A facilitator monitors the players, providing key information about Zodiak’s operations. After securing bank loans and selecting investors, teams begin to coordinate the manufacturing and delivery of products. With financing in place … participants must also develop new products, pay taxes, allocate overhead, answer to stockholders, and much more. As strategic decision-makers, they’re responsible for budgeting “company” money, spending it, and maintaining cash flow. After each “year,” players complete income statements and balance sheets, calculating key ratios to analyze their results. In this way, they understand how to
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make effective, cost-conscious decisions with both short- and long-term impact. After the four and a half hour game, participants spend the rest of the day making the right “Connections.” Facilitators lead … a series of [customized] exercises that challenge [participants] to connect what they’ve just learned with their own organization’s business strategies, financial statements, and operational tactics.12 Zodiak has become quite popular as a training tool and is used in a variety of industry, government, and academic settings.12 In the pharmaceutical industry, Pharmacia Animal Health employed the approach with both staff and key customers and achieved very favorable results. In the course of brainstorming ideas for potential collaboration in the realm of SKAs with representatives from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University (MSU), Pharmacia agreed to conduct two initial Zodiak workshops at MSU, one with veterinary practitioners and one with veterinary students.
PILOT WORKSHOPS During the winter of 2002, two pilot Zodiak workshops were conducted at MSU, both facilitated by Gary Heinrich and Suzanne Frawley from Pharmacia Animal Health (PAH). The first session involved primarily graduate veterinarians from the mixed animal practices in MSU’s Practice-Based Ambulatory Program and was offered as a component of that ongoing educational partnership. The second session involved primarily MSU veterinary students. However, a sufficient number of recent graduates were invited to accommodate one recent graduate per Zodiak group (one in four), thus blending a slightly different perspective into each team. Recent graduates were expected to provide a different context for the business situations that arise with Zodiak and the “Connections.” Scattered within the first and second sessions was a mix of faculty and administrators from MSU, the Ohio State University (OSU), and Purdue University. A small number of PAH representatives also participated. Target size for each session was a total of 24 participants (six teams). Evaluation comments about the workshops were generally very positive from both the students and the practitioners. The most important comment that recurred consistently was that the “Connections” to veterinary practice needed to be strengthened. Based on this feedback, modifications were made in the “Connections” component through a collaborative effort between PAH and MSU. Financial statements from a real veterinary practice were included for one specific exercise, as were financial benchmarks from a group of Michigan mixed practices. In addition, the “Connections” exercises themselves were fundamentally modified to better match management situations and challenges that exist in veterinary practice. Facilitators’ notes were prepared and modified accordingly to help guide the discussions in an appropriate manner.
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BROADER IMPLEMENTATION Once workshop modifications were complete, additional sessions were scheduled for the 2002/2003 academic year at MSU, OSU, the University of Illinois, and Purdue University. Students were selected for participation at each location based on their expressed interest and willingness to commit an entire Saturday to the workshop. Workshops generally started at 8:30 a.m. and concluded between 4:00 and 4:30 p.m., with breaks provided appropriately. The lead facilitator for these workshops was Suzanne Frawley, with assistance provided (in all cases except Purdue) by James Lloyd of MSU. To help with the cost of workshop materials, partnership was sought and obtained from Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. Hill’s has a long-standing tradition of partnerships with academia to assist with practice management and career development education, and this program was a logical extension of that activity. Based on favorable comments from the pilot workshop with MSU students, attempts were made in each session to integrate one practitioner per team (selected by invitation). In addition, incremental improvement of the “Connections” piece was sought between successive sessions. Issues addressed for the veterinary practice, with parallels drawn to Zodiak, included return on owner investment in a veterinary practice (vs. salary drawn by owner veterinarians); pricing (setting prices, price elasticity of demand, and relationships between volume, quality, and price); human resources and operations management as they relate to profitability and efficiency; cash flow and management of accounts receivable; and useful financial benchmarks. Overall, comments received from participants were very positive; a summary of the quantitative evaluations is presented in Table 1. Qualitative evaluations included a wide variety of comments, but common themes tended to emerge. For example, respondents generally indicated that the most important things they had learned were related to financial management (principles, terminology, and methods) and overcoming the accompanying mystique. The most enjoyable aspects of the workshop tended to be group discussions, teamwork, the dynamic/interactive environment, and the “game” atmosphere. By virtue of their Zodiak experience, students anticipated an increase in their perceived self-worth and an improved capacity to assess prospective employers. In addition, they felt that lessons from Zodiak would be particularly useful in the future as practice ownership became a reality. Although much was done to successfully enhance the “Connections” exercises, this part of the workshop remained the most commonly suggested area for further improvement. Based on experiences in these early workshops, a flexible format where facilitators have an opportunity to tailor the exercises to the particular audience, while still maintaining a structured base of practice management principles, might be useful. In this approach, facilitators would use both participants’ general level of understanding and their specific area(s) of interest (e.g., equine vs. companion animal vs. food animal practice) to modify the workshop appropriately.
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Table 1: Zodiak workshop evaluations MSU Practitioners
MSU Students #1
MSU Students #2
OSU Students
U of Illinois Students
Purdue U Students
Business knowledge—Beginning (1 to 10, “minimal” to “excellent”)
3.7
4.3
3.0
3.9
4.3
3.7
Business knowledge—End (1 to 10, “minimal” to “excellent”)
5.8
6.9
5.8
6.4
7.2
5.8
Improvement in business knowledge— End minus Beginning
2.1
2.6
2.8
2.5
2.9
2.1
Objectives met—Zodiak game (1 to 10, “not at all” to “completely”)
7.4
7.4
8.7
8.3
8.4
7.7
Objectives met—Connections (1 to 10, “not at all” to “completely”)
6.8
7.4
8.1
7.9
7.5
6.6
Workshop should be offered to others— Yes/No
18/1
26/0
14/0
16/0
22/0
18/0
Learning experience—Discovery process contributed to understanding (1 to 5, “disagree” to “agree”)
4.2
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.4
4.2
Learning experience—Team interaction was supported and encouraged (1 to 5, “disagree” to “agree”)
4.9
4.8
4.9
4.9
4.7
4.7
Learning experience—Comfortable, open environment was created (1 to 5, “disagree” to “agree”)
5.0
4.8
4.9
4.9
4.8
4.7
Overall rating (1 to 10, “poor” to “excellent”)
7.5
8.9
9.1
8.5
8.2
7.8
Finally, although participants consistently rated the workshop high as an educational experience, several of the veterinary students in each venue commented that the experience made for a very long day. This became a particularly important issue during the one workshop that was inadvertently scheduled in conflict with a high-interest college sporting event. Because of the co- (or extra-) curricular nature of this exercise, future workshop organizers should manage time efficiently during the course of the day and avoid head-to-head scheduling conflicts whenever possible.
tional classroom lectures might not have engaged students sufficiently to achieve effective learning. Similar educational approaches should be seriously considered for additional aspects of the non-technical SKAs, which are coming to be recognized as vital to the future success of the veterinary profession. Opportunities to develop win/win partnerships with industry should be combined with innovative educational delivery methods to further enhance the base of these non-technical SKAs. To the extent possible, the NCVEI should seek to facilitate such partnerships.
SUMMARY
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Zodiak workshop provides an innovative model for teaching career development and practice management to veterinary students. The partnership developed between academia and industry for this program offers substantial benefits to both parties. The academic partner obtained both human and financial resources to enable educational programs that might not otherwise have been possible, while the industry partner encountered a unique opportunity to build valuable relationships with both academia and future veterinarians. Broader application of the Zodiak workshop should be considered, as additional veterinary schools may have an interest in this program. In addition, those schools that participated in this first round of workshops have expressed a strong interest in developing an ongoing program.
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial and inkind support of Pharmacia Animal Health (now Pfizer Animal Health) and Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc., which made this project possible.
Business simulation in a workshop format was especially useful for teaching these “non-mainstream” topics, as tradiJVME 31(2) © 2004 AAVMC
REFERENCES 1 Rubin HE. How the National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues will deliver on its mission. J Am Vet Med Assoc 218:1088–1089, 2001. 2 Chadderdon LM, King LJ, Lloyd JW. The skills, knowledge, aptitudes, and attitudes of successful veterinarians: A summary of presentations to the NCVEI subgroup (Brook Lodge, Augusta, MI, December 4–6, 2000). J Vet Med Educ 28:28–30, 2001. 3 Chadderdon LM, King LJ, and Lloyd JW. National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues: Subgroup on
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skills, knowledge, aptitudes, and attitudes of successful veterinarians. Report of a meeting at Brook Lodge, Augusta, Michigan, December 4–6, 2000. Michigan State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, East Lansing, MI, April 2001. 4 Brown JP, Silverman JD. The current and future market for veterinarians and veterinary medical services in the United States. J Am Vet Med Assoc 215:161–183, 1999. 5 Cron WL, Slocum JV, Goodnight DB, and Volk JO. Executive summary of the Brakke management and behavior study. J Am Vet Med Assoc 217:332–338, 2000. 6 Lloyd JW, Covert BR. Veterinary practice management education in the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges member colleges during 1999. J Am Vet Med Assoc 219:176–179, 2001. 7 Lloyd JW, Larsen ER. Veterinary practice management: Research and teaching needs as viewed by consultants and teachers. J Vet Med Educ 28:16–21, 2001. 8 Lloyd JW, Walsh DA. Template for a recommended curriculum in “Veterinary professional development and career success.” J Vet Med Educ 29:84–93, 2002. 9 Lewis RE, Klausner JS. Non-technical competencies underlying career success as a veterinarian. J Am Vet Med Assoc 222:1690–1696, 2003.
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10 Lloyd JW, King LJ, Klausner JS, Harris D. National workshop on core competencies for success in the veterinary profession. J Vet Med Educ 30:280–284, 2003. 11 Zodiak: The Game of Business Finance and Strategy. Paradigm Learning, Inc., Tampa, FL, 2001. 12 Paradigm Learning, Inc., Web site . Accessed 3/17/2004.
AUTHOR INFORMATION James W. Lloyd, DVM, PhD, Professor and Assistant to the Dean for Practice Management, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824 USA. Suzanne L. Frawley, BS, Field Sales Trainer, Pfizer Animal Health, 10255 Huckleberry Lane, Richland, MI 49083 USA. Charles A. Neer, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVPM, Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, The Ohio State University, 1920 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210 USA. Christine Merle, DVM, MBA, CVPM, Assistant Dean for Public Engagement, University of Illinois, College of Veterinary Medicine, 2001 S. Lincoln Ave., Urbana, IL 61802 USA. Richard A. Goebel, DVM, Special Assistant to the Dean, School of Veterinary Medicine, Lynn Hall, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907 USA. Correspondence to Dr. James Lloyd, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, A-110 VMC, East Lansing, MI 48824 USA. E-mail:
[email protected].
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