Connections

Imagine The Apprentice without the celebrity status of the gamesters. Suppose, instead of cruising the streets of New York, four teams play online. And no one gets fired. What you have is the marketing management simulations of the Business Strategy Game, or StratSim.

"The game is not just about selling; it is about beating the other teams," says Serkan Kulaca with a grin. "It's all about competition." A graduate from Istanbul Technical University in telecommunications and engineering, Serkan is one of the students in Humber's postgraduate Marketing programs who is experimenting with StratSim.

The online challenge is a practical complement to the theory that students learn during their Business School education. "My university learning experience usually involved reading texts," says Andrew Norgate. "We did group work, but not to the extent we do at Humber. There is a great difference between learning and doing."

StratSim teams compete in a head-to-head rivalry as they manage a virtual automobile enterprise or athletic footwear company in a global market. This hands-on exercise helps them apply the knowledge gained from their course work in creative problem solving, communications, decision-making, goal setting and time management. They learn to analyze data in order to forecast future outcomes as they become aware of the way different areas in a company work together. And they do it all while building confidence in crafting profitable strategies as they sharpen their decision-making prowess.

"The idea is to give them the opportunity to practice not only case scenarios, but also improve their presentation skills and, most importantly, to develop team management skills," says Guillermo Acosta, the Program Coordinator for postgraduate programs in International Marketing and Marketing Management.

The virtual game board features company operations paralleling those of a real company. Students assume roles similar to those they'll fill after graduation. Each week, students are given a score describing the team's market position along with a new set of issues affecting their markets. They're faced with not only new products but also evolving customer needs and economic and environmental challenges in a game where one real-time week is equal to one year in the life of the company. As in a game of chess, they have to predict their competitors' moves. "We're constantly micro- and macro-managing the business," says Serkan.

"This is the coolest exercise I have ever experienced," says Eric Zhang, a student from China who is enrolled in the International Marketing program. His virtual company, Dream Sport Weaponry, comanaged with three teammates, made the game's Global Top 100 ranking during every week of the simulation. This ranking evaluates approximately 2,500 teams from 170 colleges and universities that participate in the competition worldwide. "It's a combination of a holistic view of the business and long-term planning," Eric says of the key success factors for his company.

Serkan explains that his group experimented with pricing. "If a car is not selling, or if we develop a new product, we have to decide if the market will bear a high price or, if we have to lower it. Then we see what happens." He says his team's price research paid off big for the company. "Previously we only had a 20 percent market share and we were losing. This week we are at 80 percent."

Contestants can buy their research - market intelligence costs $25,000 in game currency - or they can allocate $100,000 for a market test. "It was fun to be able to make decisions and see how it affected the virtual environment," Serkan says.

It is this kind of interactive experience that encouraged Andrew Norgate to continue his education at Humber after receiving a B.A. in Social Sciences. "The exercise required a group dynamic. It was collective decision making, just like in industry. It was a fun way to learn."

For Andrew, Serkan and their classmates, StratSim is more than a game. By showing that their decisions benefit the virtual bottom line, they're demonstrating skills that will help them in the real world of business competition.