The Business Simulation Blog

If you have never used an online learning tool like a marketing simulation game in your course before, it can seem like a daunting task to incorporate one at first. There are materials to introduce to your students, new features to learn, learning formats to consider, and you haven't even gotten to the part yet where you need to figure out how it'll all fit in your curriculum to maximize student engagement and knowledge retention. The good news is, it's not nearly as difficult as it seems, and we are here to help you hit the ground running.

This is a case study with Marie-Pierre Guillaume about an executive training she conducted for Terrena's HR managers at Audiencia using business simulations, specifically the Cesim SimFirm general business management simulation game. Below is a short summary of the company, the problem they were facing, the overall goals of the training, and the results after learning key financial concepts with Cesim SimFirm.

Cesim Bank is a browser-based bank management simulation game developed to facilitate understanding of the front and back office operations of a bank, and their interaction in a competitive environment, and to help cultivate a holistic and fact-based management culture, develop analytical skills, and create awareness about the current banking operating environment.

The flipped classroom is a term used to describe a reversed format in which students engage with pre-recorded video or audio materials in their own time prior to meeting face to face in more hands-on, workshop type lectures. Because of their independently playable nature, business simulations integrate really well with this increasingly popular classroom structure. 

Generally speaking, we don’t like to give too many recommendations about grading, since it is quite dependent on the specifics of your course. However, we have picked up a few best practices over the years that might be useful, so we would like to take this opportunity to share them with you. At the end of the article, you'll also find an example of how one of our clients graded their students at the end of their business simulation based courses.