Capstone Simulation At Northeastern
The Northeastern University College of Business Administration in Boston, Massachusetts, has chosen a new Web-based simulation for its undergraduate capstone course. Designed by Business Game Factory, a Web-based business tournament design company in Helsinki, Finland, the simulation is run in the last three weeks of the semester-long course "Strategy in Action". More than 200 seniors take part in the simulation. Students are divided into five-person teams, each managing a global mobile cell phone manufacturing company and network service. Their goal is to win the game by conceiving and implementing the best working strategies, winning market share, and maximizing long-term shareholder value. The simulation is held in four rounds, each equaling one year of business operation. For each round, teams submit dozens of online spreadsheets that outline their financial and operational decisions regarding product line, manufacturing options, pricing and marketing strategies, competitor analysis and benchmarking, and investment in new services such as music or games. Those "year-end" results are analyzed and returned to them within 36 hours. The experience demonstrates the cross-functional links inherent in business enterprises, says Bert Spector, professor of international business and strategy. "The emphasis is not on the technology," he adds. "The emphasis is on the process of information sharing and decision making that occurred within the groups."
BizEd September/October 2008 (pp. 67-68)
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