Cheers were heard from Auckland’s Amora Hotel conference room as 31 students from the University of Delaware’s study abroad program participated in a MikesBikes-Intro Business Simulation competition on the 11th of January. Facilitated by Smartsims, the MikesBikes-Intro Business Simulation allows student teams to run their own virtual bicycle manufacturing business as they compete against other student-run companies.

Smartsims’ staff began the event by discussing how they have overcome various sales and marketing challenges with clients spanning the globe, providing students with some real-world business exposure.

Students were then split into teams of five to formulate and implement their own business strategy for their virtual company. During the competition, Smartsims staff moved about the conference floor providing advice on how best to approach their desired strategies, answer questions and provide guidance where necessary.

Each new decision period in the simulation saw a rise in the student’s competitive spirit as teams were neck-and-neck and the leaderboard in constant flux. All of the teams performed admirably well but by the end of the simulation “Nick and the chicks” took away first-place with a Shareholder Value of $59.92, followed by “FabFive” in second with a Shareholder Value of $55.57.

The University of Delaware launched America’s first study abroad program in 1923. Now more than 1,100 students participating in 57 study abroad programs across 28 countries each winter. The program exposes students to the global business culture and environment. It was a privilege for our Auckland office to host this group and we certainly had as much fun as the students. We would like to wish “Nick and the Chicks” and “FabFive” a huge congratulations for their outstanding performance in the event!

– Brook McFarlane

“The secret to success is to do the common thing uncommonly well.”

-John D. Rockefeller Jr.

When students ask us for advice on what to do or how to achieve a high Shareholder Value, we tell them, making decisions that closely mimic the initial or default set of decisions will not help add value. You have to do something different and stand out among other firms to achieve your goal. At the beginning of MikesBikes-Advanced simulation, everyone has the same Shareholder Value and has access to the same reports, but in order to do better they have to make the most out of the reports available to them and come up with a strategy that will help them win the competition. The seven top-performing teams in the first Strategic Management Showcase by New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) were successful in doing this. These students are enrolled in the Strategic Management fall semester capstone course offered by NJIT’s School of Management.

Congratulations to the winning team and participants of the first Strategic Management Showcase!

The winning team, Champion Wheels, consisted of Mohammed Isahawk, Kelly Scharch, Erica Clemons and Cesar Lazo. They were mentored by Jim Schworn, a 2006 EMBA graduate who is Chief of Procurement and Support Services for N.J. Transit and the Mayor of Branchburg, N.J. They achieved a Shareholder Value of $136.78 and also received a cash prize of $1,300.

“Allowing students to play the simulation game, such as MikesBikes encourages them to get a feel for how they will apply their knowledge outside of the classroom. All in all, it was a great experience.” 

– Kelly Sharch (Member of Champion Wheels)

The competition centered around one of our simulations, MikesBikes-Advanced. This give students an opportunity to manage a Bicycle Manufacturing company and make all the key decisions involving Price, Marketing, Distribution, Finance, Operations, Human Resource and Research & Development. It requires students to continually analyse the changing market and understand the need of their customers, therefore it reinforces the importance of planning, implementation and evaluation of strategy. It is a good opportunity for students to have hands on experience of what it is like to manage their own firm in the real world. Shanthi Gopalakrishnan, professor in the School of Management organized the event. She said, “All the students displayed remarkable “strategy acumen” and very impressive decisions-making skills. The top teams displayed remarkable judgement and competitive spirit.” ¹

The Strategic Management Showcase was founded by Ray Cassetta, a municipal labor negotiator and chair of the School of Management Board of Visitors.¹ He said, “Be proud of the fact you’re here. All of you should look at what others did and learn from it.”¹ By looking at how other teams performed and what they’ve done differently, you’ll then be able to figure out how to do something common, uncommonly well.

Watch the event here.

References:

1. Crovetto, Christina. “Strategy for Success: SOM Capstone Students Compete in Real-Time Business Simulation” New Jersey Institute of Technology. New Jersey Institute of Technology, Dec 2014. Web. 28 May 2015.

– Camille Canuto

Iron is defined in the dictionary as “strong and capable of great endurance”⁴, while an Accountant was defined by Peggy Bishop Lane (Wharton Accounting professor) as someone who can speak the “language of business”.⁴ She said Accounting is the language of business as “it’s how businesses communicate about what they’re doing to their investors and to their creditors and to anybody interested in the performance of the firm. And so, if you want to understand anything about business or communicate about business, you have to understand accounting, because it’s the language.” – Peggy Bishop Lane.⁴ That’s what makes an Iron Accountant.  

Congratulations to all the winners and participants of the Third Annual Iron Accountant Competition held at Loyalist College last March 10, 2015.  

Among 40 participants from eight Quinte-area high schools, we have three teams who bagged the top three prizes:

Coming in First Place is a team from Moira Secondary High School, calledBike and Ike consisting of a trio, Erin Taylor, Ben Bacic and Damien Rikley who achieved a Shareholder Value of $54.10. They also received Go Pro cameras, a $500 tuition rebate certificate from Loyalist College and a position in MikesBikes’ World Championships in December.

In Second Place is a team from Quinte Christian High School, called Alpha Eagles Inc.represented by Brayden Stoffers, Andrew Rosenthal, Noel Hangelveld, James Bootsma and Garrison Oosterhof, who achieved a Shareholder Value of $51.53. They also received a $25 Cineplex gift card and a $300 rebate tuition certificate.

In Third Place is a team from Centennial Secondary School featuring Thomas Cheng, Zach Amolins, Zack Turner, Jake Waplak and Shenlong Li who achieved a Shareholder Value of $40.97. They received a book about personal finance and a $200 rebate tuition certificate.

Professor Carol Coupland, a member of Loyalist College’s accounting faculty said, “Each year the level of competition increases and I’m always amazed at the analytical skills these high school students bring to the event. We’re finding that business accounting is slowly starting to disappear from the high schools, so our goal with Iron Accountant is to reach out to students to give them a taste of what a career in accounting could look like. Each high school team has been assigned a third-year Accounting student as their mentor for the day. It’s a great opportunity for our Loyalist students to share their knowledge and experience.”

A team from Bayside Secondary School gathers around a computer during Loyalist College’s Iron Accountant competition. The event was designed to teach students about the analytical side of accounting.

Photo by: Beleville News (Steven Petrick

 

 

 

The competition centred around one of our simulations, MikesBikes-Intro which gives students hands on experience of what it’s like to manage their own firm and to show a different aspect of Accounting. The simulation also gives them a chance to manage all the key functional areas of a firm. It provides them an opportunity to apply basic business concepts in a real life context, such as a Bicycle Manufacturing Industry. They get to experience making critical price, marketing, operations, product development and financial decisions. As managers of their firms, their primary goal is to enrich their shareholders (owners) by providing a positive return to their investments.

Accounting is like solving puzzles as Lane mentioned. It’s not just about math; it’s about making sure that the whole financial picture fit together.⁴ Professor Coupland also mentioned, ‘”there’s so much more to accounting, it requires analytical skills and the ability to see the big picture.” ³This all ties up, as an accountant needs to be someone who is well rounded and able to communicate their findings. Loyalist College aims to show students the bigger picture of Accounting and MikesBikes-Intro provides that experience to students, who participate in the simulation.

Again, congratulations to all the Iron Accountants on this outstanding achievement from everyone here at Smartsims!

References:

1. Hamilton, Bevan. “Moira Secondary School Students Win Iron Accountant Loyalist Competition.” Q Net News. 10 Mar 2015. Web. 27 May 2015
2.   Petrick, Steve. “Iron Accountant Shows students the creative side of number crunching.” Inside Belleville. 16 Mar 2015. Web. 27 May 2015.
3. Lorimer, Kerry. “Loyalist College Hosts Iron Accountant Competition for High School Students, March 10.” Loyalist College. 5 March 2015. Web. 27 May 2015.
4. “Peggy Bishop Lane on Why Accounting Is the Language of Business.” Knowledge at Wharton High School. 23 Sept 2013. Web. 28 May 2015.

– Camille Canuto

Takeovers are an optional feature in MikesBikes-Advanced that Smartsims can enable at your request. Once enabled, students have the option of entering a takeover bid under the “Investments” menu within the simulation. This menu shows all of the firms in the industry, differentiated by those who are available for purchase and those who are already owned. Of those that are available to purchase, the screen will provide an approximate minimum bid.

Takeover bids are processed at rollover time. If the bid is over valuation and there are no other higher offers it will be automatically accepted, except in the following circumstances:

1. As a result of the purchase the parent company’s total market share would be greater than 50% (statutory protection against oligopolistic behavior); or

2. The parent company does not have enough cash to cover their bid.

If the bid is successful the owned company will still operate as they have done previously, except that financial decisions will now be controlled by the parent company. It can be an interesting process. Although the child company may feel hostile toward the new parent company, these firms are usually in need of the extra capital as well as much needed advice. If both firms can perform better together, the rewards will be seen in both their Shareholder Values increasing.

Note: At any time the parent company can decide to sell the company back to the market. As such, firms can include an exit strategy as part of their investment once the owned company has increased in value.

If you would like to enable takeovers in your simulation, please email us (instructors only).

– Ian McPherson

Welcome Camille Canuto!

The newest addition to our Auckland Office will be graduating from The University of Auckland this May with a double major in Employment Relations & Organization Studies and Film, TV and Media Studies. She has previously worked in a customer service environment for nearly four years.

Camille has gained experience with MikesBikes-Advanced while completing her MGMT 300 paper (Management in Dynamic Contexts) at the University of Auckland. One of the many things she learned while using MikesBikes besides the importance of teamwork and thinking critically, is the ability to adapt and accept change. She believes that there are concepts that cannot be taught in class just by discussing theories alone. Considering the eye opening experience she has had with MikesBikes, she is eager for others to benefit from using Smartsims and gain experience in a safe, cultivating environment.

“At some of the top universities in the world … you are in a room with 200 or 300 people and someone is lecturing. I think institutions that continue to do that in 10 years are going to be in trouble” states Salman Khan, the creator of Khan Academy. “Teaching methods will need to change if they continue to charge thousands for learning that is available free on the Internet. Those institutions that will thrive, according to Salman Khan, are those “that can articulate what is special about what happens when the human beings get together.”¹

With a focus on the value of face to face interactions between an Instructor and the student, Salman Khan believes that those institutions who bring students into a room and “create simulations or projects or team things for them to work on, I think they are going to do very well.”²

“As a parent, yes, it’s nice to know that my kid can quote Shakespeare or know calculus. But the real thing I want my kids to have is this ability to take ownership over their own learning. To say, what’s my goal and what are the resources at my disposal and how can I put them together to reach my goal. Anyone who can do that is going to do very, very well.”³

A trend towards “flipped classrooms” has resulted from this need and Salman Khan believes this will improve student engagement and learning outcomes within existing tertiary institutions. Flipped classrooms use videos/lectures to pre-teach ideas and concepts before class, then using lessons for classroom activities such as simulations, collaborative work and individual tutoring.⁴

Photo Credit: University of Washington

While this is not a new method, it is a recent adaption to a years old method. This approach allows students to take responsibility for their own learning process through studying the course material outside of class by reviewing readings, pre-recorded video lectures or research assignments. Actual class time is spent briefly reviewing content and checking for Students then work on problems/simulations/in-class activities while the instructor circulates, allowing the teacher to correct misunderstandings on the spot. Through this the teachers can learn what topics cause issue for their students allowing for deeper, richer and active learning experiences for students.⁵

You can find more information on Flipped-Classrooms here and the Kiwi Education summit here.

June 8^th marked the start of this year’s Junior Achievement Business Week where High-School students from around the United States travelled to Johnson & Wales University in Denver to experience all aspects of business. This year the organizers sought to cultivate student’s business acumen through coaching from industry leaders accompanied by activities that put these ideas into action. As such, MikesBikes-Intro was a natural fit.

The 80 students were split into teams and tasked with developing a strategy for their virtual bike manufacturing company. The challenge was ensuring students at a high-school level sufficiently understood business concepts to manage their own company. So an emphasis was put on team building, and networking between students and mentors which worked with great success.

A Junior Business Week Group and Their Mentor. Photo Credit: Junior Achievement

“MikesBikes-Intro was an engaging way to bring the business world to life. This simulation helped high school students learn and apply real concepts in operation management, R&D, debt, marketing, and more in one short week at our summer camp. On behalf of all Junior Achievement students; thank you for making Junior Achievement Business Week a meaningful and fun experience!”

– Emily Milian (Manager of High School Events)

Dedicated to inspiring and preparing the young to succeed in a complex world economy, Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization with a dedicated volunteer network leveraged for the implementation and execution of school programs which focus on three key areas: entrepreneurship, financial literacy and work readiness. Junior Achievement encourages students to think entrepreneurially, tap into their creativity and capitalize on opportunities in their many forms. The goal for Junior Achievement is to teach concepts through experiential learning, allowing young people to put their new knowledge and skills into practice in a safe environment.

More information on Junior Achievement’s Business Week can be found here.

On March 21st and 22nd 2014, the University of Waterloo hosted their annual two-day Science and Business conference dubbed Fusion! Each year, Fusion aims to expose their delegates to industry leaders through interactive breakout sessions, employer expositions, and competitive networking events all the while exploring a common theme. This year’s theme, “Anticipate. Adapt. Achieve.”, revolved around staying ahead of the competition by anticipating change and adapting strategies to achieve success.

 

To follow our theme of staying ahead and to add greater value to our delegates, Fusion introduced theFusion Challenge! New this year, the Fusion Challenge allowed our delegates to network with their peers, speakers, and sponsors through an interactive competition. Teams of five delegates and one speaker/sponsor acted as a manufacturing company to develop and execute a business strategy through the course of three “years” with the goal of generating the most profit. The top 3 teams were awarded cash prizes and the opportunity to participate in Smartsims’ Mikes Bikes World Championships.

Many delegates loved the opportunity to work with a speaker or sponsor in a friendly yet competitive environment. At the same time, many speakers and sponsors loved the opportunity to make a personal connection with our delegates. Fusion speaker and President of Pivotry Consulting Group Inc., Wayne Wang noted, “it was an overall great experience and Carl Cao did a great job holding things together. I hope Carl Cao keeps the Fusion Challenge. It was very unique and deserves to come back in my books!” Many other speakers and sponsors felt that the Fusion Challenge will be the key component in expanding the Fusion brand.

For more information about our conference or for ways to get involved, please contact Carl Cao at carl@fusionconference.ca.

2013’s MikesBikes World Championship was an exciting event for all those participating, including those of us here at Smartsims. There were over 80 teams competing for a place in the final round. Placing fourth in the final round of the competition was College of Staten Island’s team, Luxury Bertels. Their achievement featured on the CSI website and we were pleased to read their complimentary feedback:

“This simulation is perhaps the greatest and most effective tool in learning how to run and manage a full scale business”

Their Professor, Heidi Bertels, is strong advocate for getting students “noses out of the books” and having them actually apply business concepts.
After the 2012 World Champs, Jodi Cataline (Professor at Drexel University) also had kind words to sayabout our MikesBikes simulation:

“Students love MikesBikes. They compete against other teams within Drexel, and they get really into the competition. They also love that it’s not a professor lecturing to them about operations management or strategy; they get their hands dirty, learn by trial and error, and put the new knowledge they recently gained from lectures and textbooks to the test.”