Parlez-vous français? We are organizing an on-site business simulation games workshop for our French speaking customers in Grenoble, France (26 March, 2012). The event will be held at the prestigious Grenoble Ecole de Management, and we warmly welcome all interested parties to get in touch with us about inqueries for joining. Space is limited!

The academic field of marketing is a vast pool of interrelated concepts and theories from areas such as the marketing environment, market research and new product development, marketing tactics and strategy, marketing mix, customer segmentation, customer management and more.

Below is a list of business concepts that participants will practice by playing the international business and strategy simulation game, Cesim Global Challenge. If you are wondering whether this simulation is right for your course or training program, have a look at this list to get a general overview of the concepts present within the game.

Passive learning is a thing of the past. Going forward, educators everywhere will need to understand and respond to the changing requirements of students, as well as governmental bodies that expect a significant improvement in the factor of employability upon graduation. Active learning formats help educators achieve that, by providing a much more stimulating learning environment to students to compliment and practice their theoretical business knowledge.

This post was inspired by the Mashable article: Why Higher Education Needs to Get Its Game On. If you think that gaming is only the domain of the young and nerdy, think again. A study shows that 70% of American college students play video games at least "once in a while", with the rest of the world showing equal signs of interest in this often misunderstood and underestimated source of entertaintment. Not only are games entertaining however, if focused correctly, they are also one of the most engaging learning platforms a student can encounter.

One of the hot topics of the education industry currently is the learning assessment of students and how to measure whether business school students truly derive that much touted value from their oftentimes expensive studies. After all, one of the hardest jobs teachers have is to ensure that they aren't merely reciting lecture slides, but pass on and create valuable knowledge in an increasingly demanding environment. Notice that I intentionally used the word 'create' in addition to 'pass on', to highlight the growing importance of collaborative learning in all disciplines, where knowledge is indeed created by the discussion amongst students as much as by the educator's contribution.

As of 12.10.2011, Cesim business simulation games have taken a leap forward and become compatible with Apple iPads, as well as any other flash-less devices, by introducing 100% flash-free charts and graphs. Previously all charts were utilizing flash, but have now been brought up to modern technological standards through the use of HTML5 technology. Currently Cesim Global Challenge and Cesim SimBrand simulations are 100% compatible.

Cesim OnService and Cesim Hospitality have a few gauge charts that are not yet supported in HTML5, thus making flash-less devices unable to generate them. The required support is expected to be added during the remainder of 2011.

A comprehensive study (An Experiential Study Of Business Simulation Games As A Marketing Learning Method: Training Managers Management Marketing Skills) conducted by Francis Blasco and Mario Martínez Tercero shows the viability and effectiveness of using business simulation games to train marketing professionals.

Michael J. Geringer is a professor of strategy and international business and the Orfalea College of Business at California Polytechnic State University. He has over 30 years of experience with research and consulting on strategic issues for private and public sector organizations worldwide. He has authored or edited 27 books and monographs (in English, French, Chinese and Indonesian) and published over 140 papers, including within Journal of International Business Studies, Academy of Management Journal, Thunderbird International Business Review, Strategic Management Journal, and Journal of Applied Psychology.

This post was partially inspired by Chris Brogan's article: Educators - Google Plus Is For You. No doubt some of you have already experimented with Google's answer to Facebook and Twitter, at least amongst your friends. But according to Chris Brogan, Google Plus has many yet undiscovered potential uses in the classroom as well.