IUPUC business students are using an online game that simulates global business competition to prepare them for real-world experiences.
Second-semester undergraduate students enrolled in the Division of Business must complete the Business Strategy Game as their last course prior to graduation.
Students form teams of two to four and manage a company that produces and sells athletic footwear globally. They compete against their peers to attract customers and sell their product.
Course instructor William Haeberle estimated that about 53,000 students participate in the game each year.
“The Business Simulation Game simulates what it is like and what one has to do to manage a global manufacturing company,” Haeberle said. “It very closely replicates what managing a real business is like.”
The game requires students to utilize knowledge of all business disciplines, such as:
Production operating
Inventory management
Marketing
Employee compensation
Training
Assessing market conditions
Forecasting sales volumes
Each piece has its own vital role and they must fit together and interact in order to create a functioning, whole company, according to Haeberle.
One week in the game simulates one year of business. Students are not given a specific problem to solve. Instead they must identify problems and solve them as they come along.
Students are scored in five major areas that a real-world company would be scored, according to Haeberle. These include stock price, earnings per share, return on equity, image and credit ratings.
The goal is to prepare students for the highly competitive global economy and provide a method to experience how involved managing a company is, Belinda Allen, communications and marketing specialist at IUPUC, said in a news release.
This past year five student teams participated in the Business Strategy Game. The winning team consisted of two players: Thomas Svetlick of Columbus and Jayson Purdy of Osgood. Their company, DK Footwear, achieved the highest score in the course and placed in the global top 100 three times. They ranked 30th out of 100 globally, putting them in the top 1 percent of students in the world.
Svetlick, a production manager at NTN Driveshaft, and Purdy said in a news release that team collaboration and understanding, mapping their strategies for success and watching their competition led to their success.
Svetlick graduated with an undergraduate degree in management and marketing. He said in the news release that he thinks the degree will bolster his career options.
The team received an award certificate for managing the highest performing company in the class.
