This blog post is a review of the effective business games teaching strategies discussed in "Effective Use of Business Simulation Games in International Business Courses". The article is written by Cesim Global Challenge (international business management game) adopter Tim Rogmans, Assistant Professor at College of Business at Zayed University, and published in the latest Academy of International Business Insights Volume 16 Issue 2 (2016).
Let's take a look at how Aston Business School aligns Cesim Global Challenge to the school's learning objectives. Aston designed the Business Game Module with the purpose of ensuring students' concentration on key topic areas in classroom that they may overlook as a result of coming from different disciplines. Having established this learning goal, Aston instructors implement various scenarios and challenges into the Cesim simulation, so students get to learn the importance of social responsibility, ethics, and human resources. Just like Aston Business School, the majority of Cesim users find the scope of the simulations to be just right, as they align Cesim simulations with their school or course learning objectives.
Brief-play-debrief activities (Rogmans, 2016) |
|
Brief | Instructor explains rules of business game and required theories |
Play | Students analyze information given and make decisions |
Debrief | Students analyze results in classroom setting and link game playing process and results back to course learning objectives and real world of international business |
It is very important for instructors to first identify the learning objectives and use simulations as a tool or means to achieve the objectives. Rogmans suggests that the alignment can be ensured with a standard sequence of brief-play-debrief activities with a debrief session held after every business strategy game round.
Module options in Global Challenge |
Human resources |
Finished goods inventories |
Corporate social responsibility |
Transfer pricing |
Equity financing |
International treasury management |
Company valuation |
Cesim business simulations offer customization and modules options for instructors to tailor the decisions to emphasize, the level and complexity of the simulation. There are several modules that can be enabled or disabled in Global Challenge, empowering instructors to curate the best business simulation experience for their students. Find out more about the customization options available in Global Challenge under "Modules" here.
More importantly, we usually advise instructors to go through 2-3 practice rounds with students, so they can get familiar with the decision making and the simulated business environment and perhaps get a good observation and formulate a winning strategy already.
For academic leaders who are new to intuitive simulations, the best resources you can turn to for a better understanding of the business game are the materials made available by the simulation providers.
Let's hear what tips two of our Cesim experts have to share:
At Cesim, not only do we have a collection of guide books, webinars, videos and manuals to help you get started, our staff are here to answer your questions and walk you through the simulation in a language of your choosing upon request. Up to 90% of our users find our support materials highly useful for them to understand Cesim business games and our support team helpful in solving their problems.
As you are adopting a new teaching tool in your course or training, you must be wondering, "What kind of role should I take during the simulation game, and how can I help my students get the most out of the simulation experience?" Rogmans suggests that instructors should be the "guide on the side", so as to "help students to think through what may be the consequences of certain decisions and link such analysis to the learning objectives of the course."
This guiding practice is shared among our fellow experienced Global Challenge adopters:
Rogmans believes the most stratightforward way to keep students engaged and motivated in the game is to award points according to the team ranking in the simulation, or instructors can decide on a set of winning criteria and communicate to students about the measures. However, he points out that "game performance may not always be a good reflection of learning and understanding.", and other methods to include the simulation in student assessment are exams, essays, and group presentations.
The last strategy suggested by Rogmans should take place after the game play for instructors to "discuss the assumptions and parameters of the underlying model" of the simulation game with students, to reflect on the behavior of the game that even though the model simplifies reality, it allows learners to focus on a specific set of variables and possibly relate the lessons learned in the simulated environment to those in the real world.
In Cesim simulations, every round has a different outlook which is based on the parameters that are defined for the simulation for each round. The parameters of the game form a base for calculating results on a marketplace. A default set of parameters are already defined for the basic case and those are automatically available when creating a course. Apart from the default setting, it is also possible to change these parameters, rewrite market outlooks and story line, and thereby create your own individualized case for your course or training.
We hope our review provides insights to improve your simulation teaching strategies. Interested in finding out more about how to use simulations in your course or training? We have a collection of case studies on our blog >>